The Gathering Storm- Wheel of Time Book 12

[Vesvius]

Well, Book 12 of the epic Wheel of Time series is out. It's the first of the final trilogy, and also the first since Robert Jordan died in '07.

Mine came yesterday, and I finished it today. Great book, IMO, and Brandon Sanderson was very good as the new author.

What're everyone's thoughts?

[Ellisande]

Oh shit, I completely forgot about this series. Jesus, I almost feel like rereading all the other books... I might just do that before I read this one.

How is the pace in the book? I'm not after spoilers, just wanna know if he writes with a bit more of a... concise style.

[Sree]

Mm, I'm reading it now, and I'm a hundred pages in. Like always, it jumps from character to character, never staying too long in one setting. We're finally seeing some headway in the whole saidin cleansing though, Rand is getting understandably pissed when people don't believe that it's cleansed. Hopefully it's touched upon some more than what I read, that was one of the best scenes in the series and the aftermath should've been huge -- but there was barely a mention in the two books following.

Freaking long though -- 766 pages hardcover. And this is just the first part of a trilogy.

[Garrus]

I completely forgot it was coming out. Damn now I'll have to spend 25 bucks on the hardcover copy. I wish Robert Jordan had been able to finish it, RIP. Hopefully the writing won't suffer, although if the pacing is faster it could be a godsend.

[Sree]

I only spent 19 bucks.

Protip: get Borders Rewards, saves you an extra 10% on new hardcovers and they periodically send you coupons via email. Just yesterday I got a coupon for 40% off.

Of course, I found out about it AFTER I bought the book. I would go return it and buy it again with the coupon if I weren't so lazy.

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Garrus

I completely forgot it was coming out. Damn now I'll have to spend 25 bucks on the hardcover copy. I wish Robert Jordan had been able to finish it, RIP. Hopefully the writing won't suffer, although if the pacing is faster it could be a godsend.

$31.50 down here, but so far well worth it.

It would have been great for Jordan to finish what he started, however I'm a 100 pages in and so far one dangling plot thread has been viciously concluded, the pace is good, and the writing hasn't suffered at all. It feels like a Wheel of Time book did within the first five volumes of the series.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm tentatively thinking that Sanderson pulled it off with elegance and style.

[Onii]

The end bit of chapter 33 was my favorite i think of the whole book, it just made me stop and cry a bit about it....

[Ashan]

I cried tears of joy after I finished. Sanderson really managed to pull it off. Even after reading Mistborn and Elantris, I partially doubted him.

I'm going to go read it more slowly (Four hours, while good for taking it in after a massive wait, is not long enough to truely enjoy it) and I think I'll cry again, though I've just realised I've forked out ~US$37 for this book.

Those.... were some intense moments. Chapter 22 had me stunned for a few minutes. Chapter 33.... Nearly cried (Though I did get teary-eyed). Chapter 39 was... for want of a better word, interesting. The last page of chapter 41 made me laugh. Loudly.

The last chapter was just... breathtaking, though the epilogue seemed too short to be real, now that I think about it.

I can only hope that the next two are as epic as this. Hats off, once more, to RJ, and to Brandon Sanderson.

[DvorakQ]

14.00 at walmart :b

I really like sanderson's other works. Have any of you guys read Elantris or Warbreaker? Warbreaker is available free of charge on his website

[Ashan]

I've read Warbreaker, though I thought it wasn't as good as his other books.

[Joe]

Here's my review/take on The Gathering Storm. Spoilers, you've been warned:

Right, just finished. This book was a long time in coming. It felt a lot like Jordan, in part, yet there is invariably a significant Sanderson touch to the whole darn thing.

It was revitalising, actually.

This book did more for the series than the last five books. It focused on the core main characters, particularly Rand, and left that annoying bitch Elayne out completely. Unfortunately, she's bound to appear in the next two volumes, but I pray and hope she gets balefired into oblivion.

Finally, Rand grew some bigger balls and slapped Cadsuane into place. Based on his realisation at the end, she'll probably be back, but just because Rand is laughing again doesn't mean he'll break under all the manipulation. Hell, he has broken beyond anything anyone could do to him now. This whole installment was about that, and the latter half was expertly executed - the reader has no idea which way Rand is going to fall. He is entirely without emotion, forged beyond steel, and he may use balefire to slaughter millions, he may have killed his own father, or he may stay his hand. It was all about balance.

Rand coming face to face with Tam after so long was something I'd been looking forward to for awhile. The fact that it was Cadsuane trying to manipulate him again into caring, and the fact that Rand damn-near wiped his own father from existence, confirms Min's comment after the fact that maybe, just maybe, the Dragon Reborn cannot be controlled.

There's a great line where Cadsuane calls Rand 'boy', and Rand beats her down, stating that becuase of his memories of past lives, of Lews Therin in his head, he is thousands of years her senior. Utterly fantastic.

As for the rest, Egwene and the rift in the White Tower took up about half the story. It's good that after so long Sanderson brought it to a close. It's hard to tell just what is Jordan's and what is Sanderson's, but a lot did happen and more than one desparately frayed plot thread was tied off neatly in The Gathering Storm.

TL;DR - Egwene is recognised as Amrylin by all Aes Sedai in the Tower, the Seanchan attack and make a damane of Elaida, and most of the Black Ajah is routed from within the White Tower.

Rand goes batshit insane, starts killing people with balefire to ensure they don't come back, closes himself off to all emotion, almost kills Min, Tam, everyone in the entirety of fucking creation, and spends most of the book struggling against the nature the world has forced upon him. In the end, he succeeds, and finds some measure of acceptance and redemption within himself and Lews Therin. The two men become one.

All in all, a fantastic installment to a series that has had its ups and downs. The wait is on for the next novel, and the last. Well played, Sanderson, well played indeed...

[Hashasheen]

I wonder if the ending was his idea or Jordan's.

[Vesvius]

Two more plot points were wrapped up that Joe didn't mention. Both were subplots, but they've been going on for what seems like ever.

First, the whole Prophet situation is finally dealt with. Faile took it upon herself to bring her little group after him, and then killed him without mercy. About damn time.

Then, Graendal became the latest Forsaken to be dealt with. Only this didn't involve any epic battle or grand chase. No, her location was discovered, and Rand balefired the entire town to get rid of her. And it worked.

Overall, I loved this book, but one subplot that he didn't mention at all was the Black Tower. I hope that gets covered next. The title of the next book (Towers of Midnight) gives me hope.

[Fardeki]

Well I'm regretting it, my birthday is coming up and I told my sis in-law she could get me this for it, not thinking it would be that good of a book. After reading these reviews I'm thinking of buying a second copy. (Not really.)

Can anyone tell me what happened with the snakes and foxes with mat and moraine? Did they cover it in this book?

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Fardeki

Well I'm regretting it, my birthday is coming up and I told my sis in-law she could get me this for it, not thinking it would be that good of a book. After reading these reviews I'm thinking of buying a second copy. (Not really.)

Can anyone tell me what happened with the snakes and foxes with mat and moraine? Did they cover it in this book?

Hmm... spoiler:

It didn't get resolved, no. Mat, Thom and one other unknown have decided to attempt a rescue, yet it wasn't covered in The Gathering Storm. Mat took the Band as far as Andor with the help of a gateway courtesy of the Black Ajah, and that's where he remains for now.

[Manatheron]

Originally Posted by Hashasheen

I wonder if the ending was his idea or Jordan's.

Jordan's. He and RJ appearently spent a LOT of time together just before RJ passed on. supposedly Jordan had the whole thing mapped out (Major events) and just couldn't get them all linked together before his death so he found a fellow author he trusted to do so. supposedly they were working together on these last three before the release of book 11.

(/me Cries 'cause he can't afford the gas to get home and pick up his copy.)

[ReverseSide]

Great, great book. Sanderson's writing style really fit the Wheel of Time universe.

I was really hoping for more Mat!action though. Ah well.

[Warlocke]

Originally Posted by Joe

It would have been great for Jordan to finish what he started, however I'm a 100 pages in and so far one dangling plot thread has been viciously concluded, the pace is good, and the writing hasn't suffered at all. It feels like a Wheel of Time book did within the first five volumes of the series.

We'll see how it goes, but I'm tentatively thinking that Sanderson pulled it off with elegance and style.

This. I won't dis Jordan, after all we wouldn't have the series if it weren't for him. However, it was dragging so slowly and painfully... every time you would think he'd start tying up plot threads and resolving things, he'd introduce ten more characters and nearly as many new subplots.

And in this one book we get resolutions for numerous threads and progress for some others.

I like an inch-by-inch description of the apparel of everyone in a room, including the history of the countries that provided the various materials, as much as the next guy, but I think the number of remaining books was probably halved by cutting down on the red carpet fashion jibber jabber.

A few braids were tugged, some arms were crossed under various breasts, and a few sniffs were had by all, but, for the most part, the filler was drastically reduced.

The male a'dam, the so called 'sad bracelets'? Smashed by Rand accessing the friggin' True Power! In one shot a troubling plot thread that has been festering for thousands of pages was resolved and a whole new one rears its ugly head.

With the by product of Semirhage being toast. It's irritating because Rand is handing out Balefire like beads at Mardi Gras, when using it a little earlier would have saved his hand. You know what, Cadsuane, fuck you. Fuck you right in your self righteous, ageless, ass with the Dragon Scepter. When the person responsible for saving all of creation loses his hand, give him the nod and let him know that, 'just this once', he can use the Balefire to get his damned hand back.

Graendal? Toast.

VERIN. Questions answered. Conspiracy theories put to rest. Verin was a good guy, posing as bad guy, so she could study the bad guys, for the benefit of the good guys. She's what Snape was supposed to be instead of the transparent douche he turned out to be; just a contemptible, evil, asshole with a hard on for a girl he couldn't get, who liked to pick on kids to make himself feel bigger. While Verin is more or less a saint.

Rand naming a daughter Verin would be waaay more appropriate than Harry naming one Albus Severus. Just sayin'...

The hatchet is finally buried between Siuan and Gareth, thank the fuckin' Light. Maybe riding a horse won't be so hard after she gets some regular dicking. Right, what are the odds she'll do the smart thing and hit it before the battle most of them are likely to die in?

Masema finally got bitched. Thanks for not being useless and irritating (and on screen) this book, Faile.

Aviendha is a Wise One, finally (Though Moiraine is, perhaps, the only ovary-bearing lifeform in the series that is possibly deserving of such an appellation).

Maybe she'll be one of the first characters to actually act wise and fucking talk to someone about their mutual problems. An ounce of communication among the good guys about fifty books ago and the Dark One would have been back in his cage with a minimum of casualties, or at the least a lot of people would be alive now that aren't.

Is it too much to hope that Gawyn gets raked good and hard over the coals when he finds out the truth about Rand, his mother, and how utterly fucking pointless his part in Elaida's bloody coup was?

Apparently, Moridin can send Rand visions through his curse scar... Didn't I read this shit somewhere before?

Tuon becomes a bigger, greedier bitch... then her smash and grab mission fails spectacularly when Egwene completely kicks motherfucking ass on the Seanchan. Next book's prologue will be full of members of the Blood wearing t-shirts proclaiming, "I raided the Tower and all I got were massive casualties and this bitchy false Amyrlin."

Various snooty bitches in the tower saw Egwene's epic curbstomping or heard about it after the fact and, upon checking their undergarments, found they had involuntarily 'joined the Brown Ajah'. They decide it will be less embarrassing if they have the excuse that she's the Amyrlin, and so she's officially made queen hen of the biggest bunch of peckers ever. Or something like that...

At any rate, I had said right before this came out that if any main plot got cleared up during this book, the Split White Tower business was the most likely candidate and, apparently, I was right.

Mat did his usual turn in this book (travel, gamble, drink, bitch impotently while maintaining a waning air of coolness, get fucked by bubble of evil), though some actual progress was made. His firearms are on preorder with Amazon. And it will be interesting to see what Verin wrote to him.

And Moiraine may finally get rescued... but not in this book.

Speaking of... what's with these Aes Sedai and leaving postmortem notes for people?

And, perhaps best of all, Bella makes a new appearance! If any character is guaranteed to survive the series, it's her.

All in all, probably the best book in the series since Lord of Chaos.

In related news, the WoT term 'Pillowfriend' once again took the award for Best Euphemism in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Medium, beating out numerous substitutions for 'Fuck', like 'Frak' and 'Frell'. 'Pillowfriend' being a euphemism for 'The homely girl who taught me to eat pussy during a vulnerable moment I had following an undeserved spanking at the hands of the Mistress of Novices that I in no way secretly enjoyed. No, not at all.'

I predict Tower enrollment will drop sharply when the women realize they don't need being stuck in an all-female environment with scores of girls wearing rainbow striped dresses, kowtowing to bitter, domineering, older, women, as an excuse for their lesbianism.

[Verse of Darkness]

Just manage to snatch the series up to Crossroads of Twilight. How is it compared to CoA/TDF?

[Dwitbal]

Has Mat always been that funny? Maybe its just sleep deprivation, but he definitely made me laugh more than all the others combined.

Semirhage is still kicking about, right? Min's bruises didn't disappear, so the balefire didn't work. Presumably since it was drawn from the True Source. Plus, y'know, at one point Min thinks about how Balefire makes shit go bye bye then she fingers her bruised neck.

Rand's sheer unutterable insanity and instability - and yes, unpredictability - was both the high and low point of the book. The dreary depressing-ness of it, fortunately, didn't hit until right at the end when he's wandering about on his own about to end the whole fucking universe.

All in all, fucking fantastic. On par with the last book I read - oddly enough, the first of the Mistborn series. Go figure.