ROBERT JORDAN (1948-2007) is best known for his internationally bestselling epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time(R), which has sold over 40 million copies in North America and is currently being adapted for the screen. A native of Charleston, Jordan graduated from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, with a degree in physics. He served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army and received multiple decorations for his service.
KATE READING is the recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named by AudioFile magazine as a "Voice of the Century," as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by authors such as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. AudioFile magazine reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate's performances are a consistent pleasure."
MICHAEL KRAMER has narrated over 100 audiobooks for many bestselling authors. He read all of Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time(R) fantasy-adventure series as well as Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive series. He received AudioFile magazine's Earphones Award for the Kent Family series by John Jakes and for Alan Fulsom's The Day After Tomorrow. Known for his "spot-on character portraits and accents, and his resonant, well-tempered voice" (AudioFile), his work includes recording books for the Library of Congress's Talking Books program for the blind and physically handicapped.
"The solid performances by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer add a new dimension to the story, especially in the way these veteran narrators breathe life into the inner thoughts of the many major players." --AudioFile "For sheer imagination and storytelling skill. . . . The Wheel of Time(TM) now rivals Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Path of Daggers "Jordan has not merely put old wine into new bottles: he has clothed old bones with new flesh." --Chicago Sun-Times on The Eye of the World "Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal. . . . The evil laced into the forces of good, the dangers latent in any promised salvation, the sense of the unavoidable onslaught of unpredictable events bears the marks of American national experience during the last three decades." --The New York Times on The Wheel of Time(TM)
The eagerly awaited 10th installment (after 2000's Winter's Heart) in Jordan's monumental Wheel of Time has all the breadth and depth that have made this fantasy author one of the acknowledged greats of the genre. Like Tolkien's Ring trilogy, Wheel of Time is a single, extended novel rather than a series, and in Crossroads, new characters join the cast and old favorites grow ever more complex. Yet if the scope of Jordan's richly nuanced creation has won him millions of readers, it also forms the saga's biggest obstacle. Here Mat Cauthon is still fleeing the Seanchan; Perrin Goldeneyes still hunts the Shaido to free his beautiful wife, Faile; the cities Caemlyn and Tar Valon are still besieged and the battles have not been joined. Those impatient with the glacial movement of the last four books will find more of the same. As the title suggests, this entry represents a turning point, a time of momentous decisions as the rebel Aes Sedai consider an alliance with the Asha'man and Rand ponders a truce with the Seanchan. Lending perhaps the most recognizable humanity is Mat's love interest, Tuon, the spoiled, adorable Daughter of the Nine Moons, whose kidnapping is concealed by Valan Luca's Grand Traveling Show and Magnificent Display of Marvels and Wonders. She twists Mat around her finger, deliberately annoying him by calling him "Toy." The epilogue suggests Tuon will play a major role in volume 11. Jordan fans who miss the breakneck pace of the earlier books can always hope the action will pick up again. (Jan. 7) Forecast: Backed by a $600,000 national marketing campaign, which includes an author tour, this one is guaranteed to debut at number one on many lists. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
"The solid performances by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer add a new dimension to the story, especially in the way these veteran narrators breathe life into the inner thoughts of the many major players." --AudioFile "For sheer imagination and storytelling skill. . . . The Wheel of Time(TM) now rivals Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Path of Daggers "Jordan has not merely put old wine into new bottles: he has clothed old bones with new flesh." --Chicago Sun-Times on The Eye of the World "Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal. . . . The evil laced into the forces of good, the dangers latent in any promised salvation, the sense of the unavoidable onslaught of unpredictable events bears the marks of American national experience during the last three decades." --The New York Times on The Wheel of Time(TM)
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