Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Published in January 2003, it was preceded by Winter’s Heart and followed by Knife of Dreams. Despite being published afterward, the chronological timelines of Crossroads of Twilight and Winter’s Heart blur together so that many events in the two novels are actually occurring simultaneously. Like most of the other books in the series, it commences with an extended Prologue. However, it is just one of five of the original entries to also contain an Epilogue.
The centerpiece of the narrative action in the larger Wheel of Time storyline revolves around the siege of Tar Valon by Egwene, Perrin’s ongoing efforts to find and rescue his kidnapped wife, Elayne’s movement forward toward taking the Lion Throne, and Mat Cauthon’s ever-evolving and ever stranger relationship with the Daughter of the Nine Moons.
Immediately upon publication, Crossroads of Twilight rocketed to the top of the best-seller lists where it remained for several months. Despite this success in the short-term, however, the march of time has proven to less than kind to this entry in the Wheel of Time series. Finding universal agreement on any aspect related to the books in this series is practically impossible with one singular exception. While perhaps not truly universal, it is a near-universally shared agreement among readers and critics that the “worst” of the fourteen original books plus a prequel appearing out of chronological order in 2004 is Crossroads of Twilight.
More than just finding widespread agreement upon the placement within the series, there is also comprehensive accordance on exactly why it is the most disappointing entry. None of the books are quick reads with word counts ranging from just over 220,000 to just under 400,000 words, but even with their great lengths, the story typically moves along at a brisk pace because so much is happening. The problem with Crossroads of Twilight which has perpetuated its status as the most disposable spoke in the Wheel of Time is that not only does nothing much of consequence actually seem to happen, but it takes forever for it not to happen.
