Thread by @dragonmount

Aww, look who’s a legal adult in the U.S. now!

Crossroads of Twilight, the 10th book in the #wheeloftime, was released in this day 18 years ago in 2003 from @torbooks.

Thread!

Book info:
dragonmount.com/books/crossroa…

#twitteroftime #wot #robertjordan #dragonsworn

Upon its initial publication in 2003, CoT was an immediate number 1 bestseller but critically was the least popular WoT novel up to that point. The 2-3 previous books had been notably slower-paced than the most exciting earlier novels.

I always had the impression that Robert Jordan was surprised by the critical fan reviews and that it helped influence him to back away from the main storyline a bit and let his brain recharge. After CoT he wrote New Spring and then returned for the faster-paced Knife of Dreams.

Writing New Spring (which was published 17 years ago yesterday) was RJ’s way of “taking a break” from the main storyline. After 10 books and 20+ years of writing about Rand, Egwene, and Perrin, he needed something fresh. For him, that was telling Moiraine’s backstory.

By that point in his writing, Robert Jordan was especially interested in exploring the nuisances of the White Tower. (Maybe a little TOO detailed for some fans at the time). But he channeled that enthusiasm into New Spring, which gives us an unparalleled look at the Tower.

In 2003, I received plenty of criticism for writing a relatively positive review of Crossroads of Twilight. I think the book has aged well though in many ways. It helps especially that there’s no longer a multi-year wait between novels.

When asked if he would’ve changed anything about his previous books, Robert Jordan cited CoT and his writing strategy of showing the cleaning of saidin from multiple viewpoints as something he’d do differently.

Today, CoT is still considered by many fans to be the nadir of the series. Some see it as not all that bad, especially if you’re already committed to a 14 book series!

Question is: what do YOU think of Crossroads of Twilight?