View source for A Crown of Swords

{{Short description|1996 novel by Robert Jordan}}
{{redirect|aCoS|other uses|Acos (disambiguation){{!}}Acos}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name         = A Crown of Swords
| orig title   =
| translator   =
| image        = WoT07 ACrownOfSwords.jpg
| caption      = Original cover of ''A Crown of Swords'', showing [[Rand al'Thor]] standing in [[Shadar Logoth]]
| author       = [[Robert Jordan]]
| cover_artist = [[Darrell K. Sweet]] <br> [[Tyler Jacobson]] (2013 Edition)
| country      = United States
| language     = English
| series       = [[The Wheel of Time]]
| genre        = [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]]
| published    = 1996 ([[Tor Books]]/U.S. and Orbit/UK)
| media_type   = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages        = 881 (U.S. paperback edition) & <br />720 (U.S. hardback edition)
| isbn         = 0-312-85767-5
| isbn_note    = (US hardback edition)
| dewey        = 813/.54 20
| congress= PS3560.O7617 C76 1996
| oclc= 33819178
| preceded_by  = [[Lord of Chaos]]
| followed_by  = [[The Path of Daggers]]
}}
[[Image:WoT07 ACrownOfSwordsAlternate.jpg|right|thumb|''A Crown of Swords'' was the first ''Wheel of Time'' book for which the cover of the ''first'' paperback edition, shown here, did not use the same art as the hardcover edition.]]
'''''A Crown of Swords''''' is a [[fantasy literature|fantasy]] novel by American author [[Robert Jordan]], the seventh book of ''[[The Wheel of Time]]''. It was published by [[Tor Books]] and released on May 15, 1996. ''A Crown of Swords'' consists of a [[prologue]] and 41 [[chapter (books)|chapter]]s.

==Plot summary==
''A Crown of Swords'' has three primary plotlines:

* [[Rand al'Thor]], the Dragon Reborn, prepares to attack the [[Forsaken (The Wheel of Time)|Forsaken]] [[Sammael (The Wheel of Time)|Sammael]] in [[Illian]] while enjoying life with his friend, [[Min Farshaw]], and attempting to quell the rebellion by nobles in [[Cairhien]], during which Padan Fain severely injures him. After recovering, Rand, accompanied by [[Asha'man]], defeats Sammael in [[Shadar Logoth]], where Sammael is destroyed by [[Mashadar]]. Rand then takes the crown of Illian: formerly the Laurel Crown, but now called the 'Crown of Swords'.
* [[Egwene al'Vere]] and [[Siuan Sanche]] attempt to manipulate the [[Aes Sedai]] in Salidar against [[Elaida a'Roihan|Elaida]]'s Aes Sedai in the [[White Tower (The Wheel of Time)|White Tower]].  Investigating [[Myrelle Berengari]], Egwene exploits the transfer of [[Lan Mandragoran]]'s [[Warder (The Wheel of Time)|Warder]] bond from [[Moiraine Damodred|Moiraine]] to Myrelle, to force Myrelle and Nisao to swear fealty to her.
* In the city of [[Ebou Dar]] in [[Altara]], [[Elayne Trakand]], [[Nynaeve al'Meara]], [[Aviendha]], and [[Mat Cauthon]] search for a ''[[ter'angreal]]'', the Bowl of the Winds, to break the unnatural heat brought by the [[Dark One (The Wheel of Time)|Dark One]]'s manipulation of climate. They find it and enlist the help of [[the Kin]] and the [[Atha'an Miere]]. They also confront a [[Gholam (The Wheel of Time)|Gholam]]. Mat is left behind and caught in the fighting as the [[Seanchan]] invade Ebou Dar.

==Reception==
Andy Butcher reviewed ''A Crown of Swords'' for ''[[Arcane (magazine)|Arcane]]'' magazine, rating it a 7 out of 10 overall, and stated that "The story has lost the sense of urgency and tension that made the first three so readable, and Jordan falls into the trap of spending too much time on unimportant details and minor sideplots. ''A Crown of Swords'' is still a cut above a lot of fantasy, but the pace needs to be picked up. It would probably help if Jordan set himself (and his readers) a goal by disclosing just how many books there will be in the series - at the moment you get the distinct impression that it could run forever, becoming more meandering and aimless as time goes by."<ref name="Arcane11">{{cite journal | last = Butcher |first = Andy | title = The Great Library | journal = [[Arcane (magazine)|Arcane]] | issue = 11 | pages =81 |date=October 1996}}</ref>

==Reviews==
*Review [French] by Henri Lœvenbruck, Alain Névant, and Mydia Passevant (1996) in ''Ozone'' #3, Août/Octobre 96
*Review by Carolyn Cushman (1996) in ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'', #429 October 1996
*Review by Jim Seidman (1997) in ''[[SF Site]]'', November 1997, (1997)
*Review by Joe Sherry (2024) in ''2024 Hugo Voter Packet''<ref>[https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?5152 Internet Speculative Fiction Database entry] for ''A Crown of Swords''</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|The Wheel of Time}}
*[http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/Crown_of_Swords Concise summaries of each chapter from http://www.dragonmount.com/]
* [http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/books/acos/index.html Even more detailed summaries of each chapter from http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916075803/http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/books/acos/index.html |date=2008-09-16 }}
* [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20B11F635580C7B8CDDAB0994DE494D81&incamp=archive:search "Flaming Swords and Wizards' Orbs"] - article in ''[[The New York Times]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050910003358/http://www.flowerfire.com/seized/reviews/a_crown_of_swords_sara_lipowitz.html Review at http://www.flowerfire.com/]
* [http://www.sfsite.com/11a/csword20.htm Review at http://www.sfsite.com/]
*{{ISBN|0-312-85767-5}} (hardcover)
*{{ISBN|0-8125-5028-5}} (paperback)

{{The Wheel of Time}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown Of Swords}}
[[Category:1996 American novels]]
[[Category:1996 fantasy novels]]
[[Category:American fantasy novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Robert Jordan]]
[[Category:The Wheel of Time books]]
[[Category:Tor Books books]]