Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - A Crown of Swords

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan

17 reviews

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Writing: 2⭐️/5

**SPOILERS**

This is a shorter book than several of the previous and yet it felt like one of the most tedious so far. Several times throughout the novel, Jordan would have paragraph-long descriptions that read like Wikipedia entries. Beyond the tedious sections, Jordan also left out most – if not all – of the most action-packed sequences in favour of revisiting them via flashback. Several times we join characters after something exciting happens, and are told about it in the character’s head, instead of just being allowed to experience the story altogether. This drew out the reading significantly. I will also never forgive RJ for not letting me see Nynaeve and Lan’s wedding.

I also, personally, felt the reluctance to say the word, “Rape” in rape scenes was a pointed choice that I don’t agree with. Also, knowing that RJ intended the Mat rape scene to be a “humourous role-reversal” really takes any unintentional realism he may have woven into that scene feel gross, unnecessary, and lacking compassion.

Characters: 2.25⭐️/5

Every RJ novel I read, I complain about how the characters never remain consistent. And, here we are again. At multiple instances, Elayne and Nynaeve’s names could have switched and it wouldn’t have mattered. In fact, the only characters who really retain their own personalities are Rand, Mat, and Perrin – though even they fluctuate to some extent.

The characters have such fantastic potential and yet they cannot seem to remain consistent long enough to meet that potential. And, though there are 2700 named characters throughout this series, several of the more minor characters feel so unimportant the only purpose they seem to serve is to make the plot more confusing and convoluted.

Plot: 3.0⭐️/5

The plot could have been more interesting, but there was no reason for anything to take as long as it did. This book – to achieve the necessary plot – could have lost a solid 100-200 pages and been a stronger, more interesting read. Some parts were definitely interesting, so elements were definitely engaging, but overall it fell kind of flat, and I spent most of the time wishing I got to see the fight between Perrin and Rand instead of two paragraphs on what a longboat is.

Who Should Read This Book?

Those who read book one to five of The Wheel of Time and are able to overlook some misogyny

Content Warnings?

Toxic relationships, blood, gore, abuse, domestic abuse, war, sexual assault, rape, toxic friendships, gaslighting, misogyny, sexism, death, murder, injury, injury detail, sexual harassment, emotional abuse, slavery,

Post-Reading Rating: 3.0⭐️/5

This one really didn’t have that amazing moment at the end. It was just okay.

Final Rating: 2.5⭐️/5

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shaniber's review

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This is the first book that's ever made me go from "I really enjoy this author's writing," to "I will not read anything solely by them again."

I was slogging through it, but when I got to the point where Tylin rapes Mat at knifepoint, I decided I was done. I'll read a summary for the end and the rest of his books, then skip to the Sanderson wrap-up trilogy.

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gfmetz's review

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adventurous inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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athenathor's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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espressoreader's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I loathe the Tylin. Vile creature.

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lindsaybethlyons's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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spiderelsa's review against another edition

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4.5

This book was wildly influential to me as an early 20-something. It still holds up well enough, even in the new world where this may not have gotten published as-is. But even so, this plot makes the next book's work, and I'm that way, the work of the pattern threads serve their purpose even if they don't enjoy the process. Or even if they do.

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missgarceau's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This felt like a chore and I am really upset about the TW’s in it. Definitely check warnings.

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diazona's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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dreamreader's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I had been fairly sure that I never made it to this book the first time I attempted this series years ago, but upon picking it up to read for what I thought was the first time, I realized that I remembered lots of it. I'm not entirely surprised that I apparently completely forgot making it this far in the series, and I'm also unsurprised that this is where I ultimately abandoned it (I think. I don't remember Path of Daggers at all, so I don't think I made it that far).

I did like this book a lot this time around. It has its problems, but every book in this series so far has its problems. This book doesn't have much forward plot progression, but there is a feeling of chess pieces being moved on a board, so I think in future books I will be able to look back on this one and really appreciate what happened here.

That being said, this book had my least favorite plot arc so far: Ebou Dar. Specifically, the whole Mat and Tylin mess, which plenty of othe reviewers have commented on. To balance that out, I did really enjoy both Rand and Egwene's chapters in this book, and thought in general there was a lot of great character work here. I'm still looking forward to more!

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