To be fair, he gets his groove back...in a couple of books...Though he has to suffer for a while first.

 

Yeah, Mat's cool, but I've always liked Rand more than any other character in the series.

 

Got the book today and read it. Will probably go through reading it a dozen more times before the year is out.

It is satisfying. That's the word for it. It's not the epic, great ending novel to the series every fan would have hoped for, as even Sanderson struggles with the massive scope of characters, individual stories, etc... Some characters get less screentime or less important screentime in the overall scheme, and their parts seem kind of rushed. But even if if raises a couple of questions/teasers by the end, it hits the sweet spot just right, and I'm ultimately sated by how things went. There were a few things that got to me, but I can live with them just fine. They're annoying, but fuck it. I'll give Jordan/Sanderson a bye until I do another reading or three...

 

My only problem with this book was that I'm pretty sure Brandon Sanderson has ruined me for other fantasy authors.

 

Epic. Just. Fucking. Epic.

 

I ordered this from Amazon, but my traitor housemate refused to answer the door to collect the parcel even though he promised. So I pirated an ebook copy and finished it about an hour after I finally got the hard copy. Maybe I'll keep this book pristine and never opened as a memento.

What can I say about it without throwing in spoilers?

Tarmon Gai'don lived up to expectations, spanning most of the book. It had the full scope and sense of worldchanging presence that it promised. I've never seen anything written on this scale before. Sure, some authors have used bigger armies, or knocked together more nations, but this is the archetypal battle between good and evil.

I loved some of the subtle revelations about the nature of the Dark One and the Dragon, especially those towards the end.

Even most trilogies usually have deeply unsatisfying final books. Perhaps this is the solution: have another author finish things off with their outside perspective and fanboy passion for the series. Hell, as a fanfiction forum, we've known that this can go pretty well for a while. Brandon Sanderson has just gone and shot us all out of the water by getting his fanfiction slipped into the genuine series.

This may have been the most I've ever paid for a single novel, but it was so worth it that I'm willing to go out and drop twenty times that much on a complete box set.

...brb, checking Amazon

 

From: http://library.tarvalon.net/index.php?title=Brandon_Sanderson_Q&A

Q - Who makes it all the way to the end?
B - Bela.

B being Brandon Sanderson.

Spoiler

LIES D:

In other news, the book was great. Just incredible. I agree with what above posters said in saying it was nothing but satisfying. The scale of the battles was great, but so much of it seemed rushed.

Spoiler

Especially Padan Fain's death

Sanderson really managed to pull it off, and I'm personally really glad they chose him. Now awaiting the eventual release of TWoK book two with vastly raised expectations.

 

Re: Padan Fain

Spoiler

I think his death was exactly what the character deserved. An ignominious end for a detestable piece of shit.

 

Spoiler

I agree with regards to Fain. Honestly, I was pretty happy with this book - plenty of named good guys dying gives it a real feel, and I like the way Rand survives. One gripe I had was that I would rather have had Mat be the one to kill Demandred - or, failing that, leave Lan dead. It was a good way for Lan to go out, and him coming back kind of diminishes both the moment and Demandred's character.

Aside from that, though, it was honestly epic enough and the scale of the battle was, as CareOtters said, suitably grand. I was expecting a letdown, given the sheer scope of what needed to be covered, but Sanderson managed it brilliantly.

 

This has been bugging me:

Spoiler

If the Dark One being outside of the pattern makes him unable to touch/influence it, what does it matter if he "dies" or not? Wouldnt the end result be the same?

In a few moments during the book I had the feeling he was going to be revealed as the 'creator' himself. Or at least a part (half?) of "it".

 

Finished it yesterday, and I'm equally happy and sad. Happy because it was such a good book, and apart from a few scenes that felt rushed, I won't change a thing. Sad because it's all over.

A few thoughts.

Spoiler

The battle - Well and truly epic. Sanderson pulled off the epic feel wonderfully, although reading it was kinda exhausting. So much of the book was just pure battle. Felt entirely like the second half of Deathly hallows with a sense of urgency. That said, I'm happy with how it turned out. We were promised a bloodbath, we got one.

Bela - Fuck Sanderson (or RJ, if it was his decision). The last scene in which Rand steals a horse, that horse could very well have been Bela, and it would've given felt like coming full circle. But no, he had to go off and kill Bela.

Gawyn - Totally called it. Knew he would use those rings to get in way over his head and will get killed.

Egwene - She kinda irked me sometimes, but I always liked her. Her death was sad, but also necessary. WoT has been targeted too many times for not killing off main characters. Her death scene was also very fitting. The Queen of Manetheren also died the same way (consumed by the one power) when she hears about her husband's death.

Perrin - After gathering this huge army and bitching and moaning about responsibility of leading them for 4 WHOLE BOOKS, he leaves them in command of Tam, so he could go on and fight Slayer. WTF.
I mean, I get it that Slayer needed to be destroyed, but it took him the entire fucking book to do it. This arc could've been much better.

Mat - Mat was fucking awesome, but his coming out of nowhere and killing Fain felt rushed, as said above.

Lan - Like `Moridin` says, Lan should've stayed dead. It was the perfect way for him to go out, taking Demandred with him.

Demandred - Very much lived up to the hype. Although the whole "prophesized dragonslayer Sharran savior" thing felt kinda weird. The random Sharran chick he falls in love with came out of nowhere, and was just done to add some depth to his character, imo. Would've been cool to see him actually fight Rand.

Rand - The whole Dark One battle thing was kinda awkward, felt like that Aes Sedai test Nynaeve had to go through, but still, well done. I guess I can see how the Dark One is just a manifestation of evil in a person's mind, and destroying him would've meant that people would be unable to chose b/w good and bad.

I maintain the theory that the woman he saw inside the cave was Nakumi, and was somehow, a manifestation of the Creator.

Despite this, the Epilogue felt very much rushed. There was no sense of closure for me, apart from the beautifully written last few lines. We see that Rand got a new body, but we don't get a sense of devastation, the "Aftermath" of the Battle, which should've been emphasized more. Nynaeve is the only one who cried, and that felt entirely false. Loial is looking for people just to get their stories. Meh. :/

All in all, a good book, probably not the best. Exhausting read, because of the battle. TGS/ToM were good reads, and I wouldn't mind re-reading them, but this one, damn, so much of the book is just the battle.

Now I want fanfic from Rand's POV after the Battle. Who's gonna write one?

 

Spoiler

Speaking of Rand after the battle...

I got the feeling from his "impossible pipe" that he wasn't using the One Power, but rather rewriting the Pattern to suit him in that tiny way, as if he'd ascended above that. Which is entirely appropriate, especially given the death and rebirth of leaving the Pattern and all its Jesusy parallels. I also like the idea of him achieving apotheosis only to believe that retiring to a quiet life with the women he loves is all he wants, despite being able to have the entire world, should he wish it.

It's a nice, rounded ending. He not only fulfilled his destiny, but skipped on over to have a happy ending without undermining the epic themes of the series.

Could be that I'm only reading what I want, and he lit it with a weave of Fire. The rest of what I said still applies, though: his godly power being reduced to demigodly power doesn't take away from my satisfaction at the end. I just like the idea of him being something more than a very powerful human.

 

Spoiler

Nah, wasn't it made clear that he couldn't channel anymore? I got the feeling that it was what you said, him simply rewriting reality ala what they do in the World of Dreams. Look at the wording:

"He found nothing. No saidin in the void, nothing. He paused, then smiled and felt an enormous relief. He could not channel. Just to be certain, he tentatively reached for the True Power. Nothing there either.

He regarded his pipe, riding up a little incline to the side of Thakan dar, now covered in plants. No way to light the tabac. He inspected it for a moment in the darkness, then thought of the pipe being lit. And it was."

Which, I agree, is way more awesome.

 

I read the book the day it was released and since then have been slowly considering whether I actually enjoyed 'A Memory of Light', or not. The following is a (not so) brief write up of my thoughts on the final volume and Brandon Sanderson's Wheel of Time contribution, in general. Spoilers abound, ye be warned.

Spoiler

A Memory of Light. Ultimately, yes, I too was 'satisfied'. Unfortunately, that satisfaction rings somewhat hollow with me. I began reading the series when I was 12 (the eighth book had just been published fairly recently, as I recall) so, like many, I've invested a great deal of time in the Wheel of Time... no pun inten- hell, that's a lie. The pun was, in fact, intended. Despite agreeing with the general consensus that RJ began to get too bogged down with increasingly inconsequential minutiae, I have from 'The Eye of the World' enjoyed these books to a degree unparalleled by any other fantasy series I've read, with the possible exception of 'The Dresden Files' and 'The Coldfire Trilogy'; both of which, I should note, pale next to The Wheel of Time in scope.

I thought 'The Gathering Storm' was an absolute whirlwind of fresh air to the series... furthermore, I thought BS captured the essence of RJ's spirit towards the world he created, if not his fondness for braid-tugging. Rand's "hard as rock<iron<steel<heartstone" transformation that had been on-going for books felt like it culminated naturally here with the final confrontation with Semirhage. The last scene of Rand atop Dragonmount, his 'great awakening' felt like a beautiful coda to Rand's arc for the previous 6 or so volumes.

'Towers of Midnight' I enjoyed nearly as much as 'The Gathering Storm' - Rand's new perception/personality was so dynamically different from his previous incarnation in the books that I think it allowed Sanderson a great deal of room to breathe into the character, as it was a Rand reintroduced to us for the first time. I loved his interactions with Tam (particularly in light of how disastrous their reunion was in the previous entry), Cadsuane, Nynaeve, Egwene... nearly everyone. I equally enjoyed the Perrin and Galad interactions, Elayne's reunion with Morgase and Galad, not to mention her scenes with Mat. And, of course, Moiraine; enough said on that account. I think this book left off with the stage beautifully set for Tarmon Gai'don.

'A Memory of Light', alas, I felt still struggled to end (and, indeed, did not, in many cases) the various plot threads that had been woven over the fourteen (including 'A New Spring') previous entries. I agree with many comments I've seen about the good points: "The battles were epic!" "Mat was awesome!" "Perrin sleeping, WTF" and I agree with points you have made - I think the Light got off entirely too easy.

I think the bulk of my issue with 'A Memory of Light' - and it has taken some time to put my finger right on it - is that so much of what I enjoyed from the previous installments, the character interaction, was nearly devoid after about page 200 of this book. Yes, we got a beautiful, if oddly placed (in my opinion) scene of Rand with Tam, and Rand and Mat had some fun banter but that was... it, really. Once the battles began it really felt like there were no major character interactions. No reunion of the Emond's Field gang together on page? Hell, at least Mat, Perrin and Rand together one last time? Mat and his father? No real dialogue/interaction between Nynaeve and Lan, what with him having survived his near suicidal assault on Tarwin's Gap/Demandred and her being in Shayol Ghul? WHERE was the Lan/Moiraine reunion scene? These are just a few of the "character interaction" pieces that really felt missing to me.

Some of my major gripes overall:

Spoiler

Moiraine) Moiraine felt WILDLY under-utilized. Mat gave up "half the light of the world to save the world" and she did, what, really? Walked into a tent and stunned everyone with her presence while quoting/reminding them of the verbage of the prophecies? This was an incredible let down for me, personally... I thought her reunion with Rand (and everyone) was rushed and her entire presence nearly pointless, beyond fan service. Sure, she was a woman Rand trusted and was with him in Shayol Ghul... again, doing nothing. I was stunned we didn't get a better piece for her in the Epilogue, given the MAJOR role she played in starting the series. To tell you the truth, I can't quite recall if she was even mentioned in the epilogue.

Demandred) Prior to this book, the mystery surrounding Demandred made him one of my favorite of the Chosen. His arrival with the Sharans was cool, but he felt like a violently one-dimensional character... we are told that he is a great general, sure... but all we really see out of him is him prancing around the battlefield in an immense circle wielding a powerful sa'angreal screaming for Lews Therin. Seriously, he felt as bad as a Scooby Doo villain.

Egwene) Her death was an emotional one but, what the HELL was with the "thirty-seconds-before-I-die-I'm-going-to-discover-antiBalefire"? They have a beautiful, if rather transparently placed allusion back to the whole balance, equal/opposite theme of the Wheel, but... how exactly is the Flame of Tar Valon weave the opposite of balefire? Balefire burns threads from the pattern... the Flame turns things to crystal? And somehow that stabilizes the world?

Dark-turned Aiel) When I first read about these guys in the prologue when it was released several months ago, I got chills. I thought, surely these guys are badasses and will be the Shadow's trump card against the Light. Instead, they served an extremely minor role.

Perrin) Is now, apparently, the most powerful being in the world, with the possible exception of Moridin/Rand/I-think-and-it's-real-God. I think RJ really lost direction on the whole wolfbrother thing... It must have either become too under-powered or just didn't jive with where the books were going, but that Perrin - a normal man - can now enter Tel'aran'rhiod, think himself somewhere, and step back into the real world in an instant, basically means he can be anywhere, at anytime and kill anyone. Those who wield the One Power could not travel to Shayol Ghul because of wards/Pattern failing - whatever - but apparently none of that was any bar to Perrin and Slayer. Seriously? So Perrin could just step out into the real world and slit the throat of Amyrlin, behind all of her wards, and jet back out just as fast. Ridiculous.

Mat) Is a badass, of course, but I couldn't stand the extraordinary back seat that the Band of the Red Hand took in the Last Battle. Why spend so long having Mat build up this famed band, who adore their leader, and then marginalize them in the Last Battle? I understand, perhaps, that Mat had to be free in order for him to command the battle at large, but... it just felt weird.

Galad/Gawyn) I'm REALLY glad that Galad learned that Rand was his brother, but I wish we could've seen his reaction to Rand's "death". Gawyn is an idiot.

Padan Fain) Was also an incredible let down... *HOW* was there no interaction/confrontation, either before or during the Last Battle, between Fain and Rand? Their various scenes together during the series, few and far between through they were, were some of my favorites. Fain/Mashadar showed up like 10 paragraphs before the Epilogue and was all but instakilled by Mat! What a waste of a potential third-party faction that could have played a part against both the Light and Shadow throughout Tarmon Gai'don.

I'll stop while I'm ahead... I could keep going on. I don't mean to sound overly negative towards the book. In many respects I did, really, enjoy it. And I'm glad we had a conclusion. I think, ultimately, I've come away with the notion that RJ was out-of-his-mind ambitious to think that 'A Memory of Light' could have ever been one book. BS was closer with his three book contribution towards wrapping up the series but, we learned that really, the series (after RJ's death) probably really needed another 4-5 books to wrap up things properly. The first two BS entries near-perfectly tied up many loose ends and set the stage for the Last Battle; but AMoL should, perhaps, have been spread out over two books, at least, and included a wealth more of character interaction and depth to many scenes. More members of the Light should've died. We should have had a more complete epilogue, even if it ended with the exact same scene. We deserved more before that scene, showing the recovery, or wonder of everyone that they had survived. I would have loved seeing more of the reaction/thanks given to the Dragon.

My number one complaint

Spoiler

Lastly (and, perhaps, most oddly) the number one most irksome thing to me was the very last scene... when Rand checks out his funeral and Cadsuane sees him as he walks away... it should have been Moiraine. Moiraine should have been the one to see, to know and to acknowledge that Rand al'Thor, the boy she had taken out of Emond's Field, had well and truly accomplished the destiny that she set him on the path to fulfill. Let the Aes Sedai drag Cadsuane away to become Amyrlin, sure, but I truly believe that Moiraine should have been the one to see the truth of Rand in Moridin's eye.

Brandon Sanderson did a Twitter Q&A yesterday that addressed some of the questions AMoL left fans with, and/or addressed some of the creative decisions made for the final book. Everything is contained in this link: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/01/brandon-sandersons-wheel-of-time-answers-from-torchat

 

Since sharra was not part of the dragon peace they are open to being taken by any force.

Spoiler

The whole aiel solution, was great away for them to find a new place in a new world. You know how the shaido aiel are left out, I have an epic solution for them. Tuon could offer them a home, the Seanchan continet must has a desert enviroment, grant it to them, and you get an armed force capable of a great deal. They have lost most of their wise ones, and the other clans are against them.

say the ways are restored or rebuilt, seeing as it is international in nature, it makes sense for the aiel to watch over them, so a way will be built at the desert city. Then extended to all major cities.

one day instead of the damane being bound by the collar they will be bound by an oath rod. While it would decrease their extended life expectancy, it would allow them to circle, and allow both those who are spark born and those that can learn to be able to channel, instead of channelers being restricted to sparks.

 

Somewhat random, but this fun, quick little web app is how I've always like to picture "weaving" the One Power's elements. Quite beautiful. This is one I did, you can do them yourself.

http://new.weavesilk.com/?uf2c

 

Pretty cool! I always pictured weaves to be more asymmetrical though. More fluid.

Gateway

A more symmetric one

 

i think weaves actually got depicted in comics.

 

No, it totally wouldn't have been.

Spoiler

Demandred was always second best and it drove him crazy.

The way he died, without ever getting to fight him, was the best possible way he could have been handled... barring him getting his ass handed to him even earlier in the fight.

There he is, he's wearing his armor made of money, he's surrounded by the largest army of channelers in the world, bigger than the Aes Sedai and Ashaman combined, and he is the leader of an entire nation.

And, all he can do is flail about and scream, "Look at me! Look at me, Dragon! Come on, Lews Therin, fight me! Co- Come on, fight me... I'm important... really. Please?

He so desperately wants this 'battle royale' between himself and The Dragon, to finally prove, after thousands of years, that he truly is the better man.

And, don't forget that he wasn't reborn into this life, no, he was first trapped in the Dark One's prison, then roaming free, and he has been alive for a long, long time, living with this grudge. All this time, without respite, he's been stewing over Lews Therin being the better man, taking the woman he wanted, getting all the attention, all the fame, being the better swordsman... having the bigger prick?

The frantic way he tries to flush Rand out at the last battle, because he is just so sure that no one else could possibly be such a match for his leadership in battle, that Lews Therin must be there because he's too important for The Dragon to ignore... It's pathetic. And, the also-ran Forsaken dies, having never actually fought Rand, and at the hands of a half-dead man who couldn't channel.

Rand never showed up, because Demandred, for all of his power and armies and embarrassingly over-compensatory armor, was not important enough to bother with.

And, It Was Fucking Delicious.

(Even Moridin would have been ignored, if he hadn't been standing smack in front of the Bore!)

I almost want to say that I wish Demandred had gone down before killing so many 'name brand' characters, but I never could give two collective shits about Gawyn (boneheaded twat) and Galad (Fascist!), so...

As for Bela: I have a feeling that her constant survival, despite all odds, had become such a joke in the fan community that, even if the original plan had been for her to survive, Jordan would have crossed that out and penned her death, before he died. However, having said that, I think her heroic death was always in the cards, and her repeated instances of survival were just building her up for that scene.

Though, supposedly, we actually have Harriet to thank/blame for killing off Bela.

It was a damned sight more than Hedwig got, dying in a fucking cage, during a plan that could only be called half-assed if one were feeling particularly charitable. That was one thing the movie version of Harry Potter was extremely smart to change, and it makes you wonder exactly what JKR was thinking. It's not like her readers needed a cheap shock tactic by that point in the series to figure out that life sucks and sometimes horrible shit happens. The movie version had her set free, only to come back, of her own free will, and save Harry's life. Fuckin' A!

/tangent

As much as Egwene could annoy me, especially when she was thinking/saying that she knew oh so much better/more than Mat or Rand, I had hoped she would survive.

At the very least, I was all set to see her appear as a Hero of The Horn, after it was blown, but no such luck. She'd really started to become awesome, in her own way, after turning the rebel Aes Sedai's plan to install her as a malleable puppet Amyrlin back around on them, and especially after her quiet strength put most of Elaida's Tower behind her, instead of the usurper.

Fain got the ending he deserved. While I chafe at accusations that the entire series was too derivative at best and a complete ripoff at worst, I do think Fain was only ever a more dangerous version of Gollum, and he vanished from the books for so long that, really, I couldn't care about what he was doing. I just wanted him dead, without a lot of fuss, and without taking anyone actually noteworthy with him, and that's more or less what happened.

He was a footnote to the other goings on, really, and was rightfully treated as such, in my opinion.

I did think the end of the book, the after battle scenes, were awfully abrupt. Not only would it have been nice to see some aftermath scenes, at least a broad overview of the landscape and a bit of catching up with some of the more notable figures (generals and such), I could have done with more exposition regarding the surviving main cast, especially regarding...

Spoiler

What was going to happen with Rand, Min, Aviendha and Elayne. Obviously they want to keep his survival under wraps... okay, fine, but there wasn't even a hint of what the plan was beyond 'Let's keep it a secret'. Are they just fine with going their separate ways, as long as they all made it out, alive? Bleah.

Not exactly a satisfying thought, particularly considering he has children about to be born.

Putting that aside, since one can make up their own conclusion, as they wish, I did think it was pretty moronic and disappointing for them to have gone through all of that, only for some of Rand's last thoughts to be, "Gosh, which of my girlfriends should I pick?"

Dude, are you stupid or some shit? Was every woman in the series who ever called your intelligence into question more correct than we ever knew or, indeed, could have possibly imagined? If you are really bound and determined to leave two of the women who love you out in the fucking cold, despite your feelings and more importantly theirs, then do try to be the lesser douche and pick the one having your (sure to be woefully stupid) children.

Fuckin' hell... :facepalm

A Lan/Moiraine reunion would have been nice, as would an expansion of the Rand/Moiraine one. And, she was underutilized.

I thought Rand caved a little too easily on the whole 'Seanchan being allowed to keep the channelers they enslaved' thing, but I guess, by that point, he was just thinking, "Fuck it, man! I guess some people are too stupid to notice there's an apocalypse happening, but I gotta get this shit done. Fine, keep the bitches."

Having said that, the last of the books was, overall, satisfying.

Probably a better end than many expected. Perhaps better than Harry got.

Not a bad thought. It probably would have had a greater emotional impact, and nicely brought things full circle.

It could be said that she deserved at least that much.

Spoiler

At least Cadsuane got roped into being Amyrlin: A fitting punishment for someone who was so self-righteous and sure of her absolute correctness in all things.

That, in the end, she will probably go down in history as "...competent and noteworthy, but not a patch on Amyrlin Egwene al'Vere." sits very well with me.

 

DId you know there were once plans for 3 out rigger books, set along side the main books series? My guess was each book covered the time period of the whole series but on a different continet, as there are three continets largely unseen. Outriggers are supposedly stories that takes place during the same period as out the books. It sounded very interesting to me. Apparrent BRandon sanderson has no plans for ever writing these books, so if they ever are, it would be decades before they are seen as he has his own book series to take priority.
SO in one we would see true might Seanchan intact, then destroyed by the forces of the dark. We would see it deal with the coming of the final battle and the plans of darkfriends, as well as the return of true heir of the empire to restore order and peace.
IN the other,

Spoiler

we would see an ancient empire of Sharra, united and isolated be converted in to the force of the forsaken, watch as it marches against the forces of the light and be defeated. We would then see the coming of the Seanchan force to remake the ruins of this defeated beast, completing the plans of the long dead high king.

IN the third, it would give a chance of a near independant story. THe Land of Mad men, is barely known. Its not even a proper country, never regaining civilisation apparently. SO much of it could possibly be the forces of light remaking the land into a true land.
I kinda would love to see a book from entirely the perspective of the ogier. SAy an ogier that has decided to locate each lost steading and grow a way gate to link them all. SO he would travel to all of the unseen lands, finding cousin ogiers and learning of their new life styles. He would help unite the ogier people once more.