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Superb Oct 28, 2009 (297 of 308 found this helpful)
The Gathering Storm is the twelfth volume in The Wheel of Time series and the first released since Robert Jordan's unfortunate death in 2007. Jordan spent his final months amassing and dictating a significant amount of notes, outlines and chapter summaries for another writer to use to finish the series. Previously, Jordan had indicated he'd wipe his hard drive to stop someone else completing his work, but with him being so close to the end of the story he changed his mind, trusting his wife and editor, Harriet, and his publisher Tom Doherty to find a writer capable of finishing the series well. In theory, it should have led to disaster: typically one writer finishing a series begun by another is an atrocious idea that only leads to very bad books (note the vomit-inducing new Dune novels and the ill-advised Amber continuations). The only example I can think of this working was when Stella Gemmell completed her late husband David's final novel in fine form, but the amount of work required to bring Wheel of Time to a conclusion required an altogether different level of commitment and effort from Brandon Sanderson.
Almost unbelievably, Sanderson has pulled it off. In his introduction he hopes the differences between his style and Jordan, whilst unavoidably noticeable, will be comparable to a different (but still good) director taking over your favourite movie series but all the actors remaining the same. This isn't a bad analogy at all, and whilst there are a few moments in The Gathering Storm where you think, "I don't think Robert Jordan would have done things quite like that," there's never a moment where you think, "He definitely wouldn't have done that at all!" which is vital.
Another concern was that originally these last three books were supposed to be one volume, A Memory of Light, and Sanderson actually wrote the bulk of the text under the impression it was going to be probably split in two. The decision to split the book in three instead resulted in much recrimination, although at 800 pages in hardcover (and assuming the second and third come in at a similar size) and well over 300,000 words, tying it with Knife of Dreams as the longest book in the series since Lord of Chaos, it's clear this could never have been done in just two books either. One problem with this split was that since Sanderson hadn't been writing with three books in mind, The Gathering Storm would feel incomplete or unsatisfying on its own. This is not the case at all. In fact, The Gathering Storm has the most cohesive through-line in story, character and theme of any book in the series since The Shadow Rising, and possibly out of all of them.
The structure of the book focuses on two primary storylines: Rand's deteriorating mental state as he struggles to bring Arad Doman into the confederation of kingdoms sworn to him, and Egwene's efforts to unite the White Tower and end the civil war within the Aes Sedai that has raged for the past seven and a half volumes. Other characters and stories appear briefly, such as Perrin and Tuon, and Mat has a slightly bigger role, but other major characters and storylines do not appear at all. The recently-quelled civil war in Andor and the Mazrim Taim/Asha'man plotlines are notable by their absences. Instead, this part of the story focuses on two of the central protagonists, Rand and Egwene, and the experiences they go through to achieve their goals. The novel could almost be called The Long Night of Rand al'Thor as the series' central figure is dragged through the wringer, going to very dark places indeed as he struggles to understand his own role in events and how he is to achieve the things he must do to save the world. On the other hand, Egwene is shown to have already passed through her moments of doubt and misjudgement in previous volumes, and in this book her story focuses on her battle of wills with Elaida to restore unity to the Aes Sedai.
This contrast of d
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Excellent Handover and Excellent Book Oct 28, 2009 (95 of 107 found this helpful)
This book is a genuinely great contribution; if you like any other book in the Wheel of Time series, you'll like this one. It's the 12th book in the ongoing saga; Jordan unfortunately and sadly died in 2007, before completing the last chunk of the series, and Brandon Sanderson (author of several excellent but less-well-known fantasy novels) was hired to finish it up based on Jordan's notes, outlines, and completed sections.
Those kinds of handovers seldom go well, and to add to that uncertainty, the quality of the series has been somewhat of a sine wave, with definite peaks and definite valleys. So, despite a marked increase in quality in the book immediately prior to this one (Knife of Dreams, which came out in 2005), Jordan's death and the series' checkered history gave real reason to fear that the handover of this series would not go well.
So far as this volume goes, at least, the handover has succeeded. There's a real spark and fire here; if you're a fan of the earlier books, and you haven't gotten completely jaded to the entire Wheel of Time series by now, you *will* love this one as well. Promise.
Because of the nature of the coauthorship (Jordan wrote some sections of this book before he died, and the rest was completed from outlines and notes), it's hard to know precisely how much we're seeing here of Brandon Sanderson's work and how much of Jordan's, and there were one or two moments where I as a reader wondered whose voice I was reading, and one or two points where I felt Sanderson had stumbled slightly in his presentation of a character or handling of internal monologue. (After several re-reads, the issue seems to be that a few of Sanderon's turns of phrase seem more stylistically "modern" than what Jordan had used to date). But I could count those problem points on the fingers of one hand, and this is an 800-page book. The riveting action and powerfully compelling characters that made the series great are all still here, and overall Sanderson's work is excellent, especially considering how badly some similar series handovers have failed in the past.
Perhaps most impressive (and necessarily similarly controversial), Sanderson manages to show these characters continuing to develop and change as individuals -- something absolutely necessary if continuing the series was going to be at all worthwhile, but also inevitably controversial, as it's impossible to do anything more than guess at how closely Sanderson's character changes parallel or follow what Jordan's would have been. Still, apart from one or two hiccups, I think most readers will feel they're reading about the same characters as before (and different readers may well pick different hiccups; some readers may prefer Sanderson's hiccups to Jordan's -- even where the differences are noticeable, Sanderson hasn't made *bad* choices, just *different* ones). Sanderson states in a brief introduction that he'd like for readers to think of these novels as film scenes shot by a secondary director, but part of the same film and with the same cast of characters, and I think most readers will find he achieves that.
I'll avoid detailed plot summaries for fear of spoilers, apart from noting that the book focuses primarily on Rand and Egwene's storylines (though we do get appearances from most of the other major characters). I will say that it's probably the most grim of any book in the series to date, both in terms of characterization and of plot; the pacing throughout is torrential. Many major plot lines and open questions are finally resolved, and Jordan's prior tendency to spring fifteen new puzzles for every one answered is turned on its head here, with about fifteen new answers for every new puzzle: this is a book of answers and solutions (some of them very dramatic and even poignant). If you've ever wondered "Why doesn't [character] just do [x]", there's a good chance this is the book where they fi
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Enjoy your ride... Oct 30, 2009 (56 of 62 found this helpful)
As I sat down and opened the book to the map page, I was surprised at the well of emotions I felt. I gazed upon the map of the world where I have spent so many enjoyable, frustrating, mind boggled hours and tears filled my eyes. I felt like I was reacquainting myself with an old, much loved friend.
Like so many others, I began reading the Wheel of Time series almost 2 decades ago. And, again, like so many others, my heart broke upon hearing the news of Robert Jordan's passing. He created such a vivid, real world, unlike anything I had encountered before or since. When I heard the torch had been passed to Mr. Sanderson, I was elated the story would be brought to conclusion, if a bit worried at how well the vision would be upheld.
I would be dishonest if I said the transition between authors was seamless, but I did seriously love the book, largely because of some of the differences in style. I like the way the characters seem to have matured. There is added depth to the characterizations, a deeper PoV, that I really enjoyed, especially with Rand, Egwene and Nynaeve. As was mentioned in another review, the women are portrayed a little more realistically, with less hair pulling and sniffing. I liked it. I also had no problem with Mat, unlike others. He has always been my favorite character and I look forward to his story. It seems the next installment will focus on the Tower of Ghenjei and Moraine, in which Mat should figure prominently.
I purposely did not reread the series prior to The Gathering Storm, which I think made the transition to Mr. Sanderson less jarring than it may have been had I recently been immersed in RJ's vision. Nonetheless, there were a few moments where the story let up enough for me to realize a different bard had taken up the song. The detail was not as prominent in this book, and when there were descriptions, they were not as rich. As one who has traveled this world for years, though, my memories took over and were able to interject the appropriate detail.
WOW, did this book move the story along. It's as if the first 10 books were the slow ascent, filled with anticipation and anxiety, clicking and clacking the car to the top of the coaster. Knife of Dreams was the turn as you approach the 1st hill, just barely able to see what lies ahead. The Gathering Storm is the beginning of the rapid race to the end. The end is near and the story has been entrusted to a capable hand. I plan to enjoy the ride...
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Thank you, Brandon Oct 27, 2009 (63 of 73 found this helpful)
We fans of the WoT, who have been reading this series for nearly 20 years, have been waiting, and waiting and waiting for The Gathering Storm. Robert Jordan created an epic tapestry of characters and plotlines; so many of us felt that this tapestry was unwinding over the last couple of books and perhaps even the remarkable Mr. Jordan would find it impossible to weave them back together.
But Brandon Sanderson (and I'll admit I've been a big fan since Elantris) has done a truly amazing job in The Gathering Storm. Mr. Sanderson has, in many ways, adopted the language, prose and style of Mr. Jordan, while simultaneously improving areas where the characters, dialogue and prose felt stilted and unclear. Flesh was added to core characters like Rand, Nynaeve, Suian, Egwene and others, taking them off the page in a way that has been lacking for many WoT novels. It's too early in the reviews to give away spoilers, but take heart -- all those disparate plotlines are starting to make their way to Tarmon Gaidon where all questions will be undoubtedly, and satisfactorily, answered.
The WoT is not only in good hands, it is in the right hands.
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One of the best WOT books Nov 2, 2009 (13 of 13 found this helpful)
Brandon Sanderson has accomplished the impossible. He took over a good series that used to be great and brought it back to its prior greatness. The action is fast paced, the storyline is constantly moving and building, the subplots get resolved, and the main characters develop and grow. The decisions reached are logical and reasonable. There is not a single page in the entire book that did not contribute to the story. Other reviewers have explained the central plot lines so I won't repeat them. What I will say to all those who had become frustrated with the later WOT books...give this book a chance and you will not be disappointed.