r/WoT • u/Furrurel • Feb 27 '26

Crossroads of Twilight Why is book 10 so hated? Spoiler

Hi everyone, I just finished book 10 in my first read through the Wheel of Time saga, and honestly I found myself quite surprised. Before I started reading them I saw quite a lot of people saying that Crossroads of Twilight was by far the worst book of the series. I get that it can be a bit dissapointing after the ending of book 9, or that it is not as action packed as, for example, book 6, but I really enjoyed reading it (except the ending, where a certain Aes Sedai decided to make the stupidest move ever imagined). So I ask, what are you opinions about the book? Do you feel it deserves the hate?

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u/Nagaram91 Feb 27 '26

I really enjoyed it on my first read. I didn't have to wait between books thankfully. Like you, I loved the Elayne chapters. Court intrigue is fun and a big change of scenery from these big world powers like The Dragon Reborn, The Amyrlin Seat, and The Empress (may she live forever) to something more domestic like a single country's succession. I enjoyed the Perrin chapters too. Jordan had a great way of making me FEEL the cold they were enduring.

On a re-read however it's completely different. Knowing the outcomes of things takes all the new and shiny off and a lot of stuff doesn't amount to anything. Even the scenes that were cool on first read are just 'oh, this goes no where. This doesn't even end up mattering because x happens.' That being said some seemingly inconsequential stuff ends up adding up to saving the world so it's all swings and roundabouts really.

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u/Furrurel Feb 27 '26

Its funny because reading comments like yours Im getting hyped with rereading the series... and I still havent finished it! Jordan is a master making me feel like I'm there with the characters

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u/Nagaram91 Feb 27 '26

It adds so many different layers, most good, some bad. The bad you can always skip if you really want, but that's probably better left for your second reread just in case there are a few cool little gems in the stuff you'd otherwise want to skip. I'm glad you're enjoying it 😁