A Memory of Light: Wheel of Time, Book 14

For those readers that have gotten this far in the series it is pretty much a no brainer that you would buy this book to see how the story concludes. So many civilizations. So many individuals who have threads that need conclusions. And readers that want to know the answers to each. The only question then is whether or not the last book satisfies the questions that readers have and whether or not the last book is worthy of reading all prerequisite books leading up to the final book. To me the answer is "yes, this book was very satisfying". And for that reason alone I give the book 5 stars for being a fun read, keeping the humor of the series in tact, and for answering many of my own questions regarding conclusions.But it is more than that in a lot of ways also... For example, when I started this series of books I became a fan of Robert Jordan's writings. Particularly the first few books of the Wheel of Time were very good reads. Towards the end of Robert Jordan's writings the books lost perhaps a bit of the edge that they once had and that is understandable given Robert Jordan's health concerns. Jordan's final books were still very enjoyable but perhaps not with the same captivating ability as his first few books. Then enters Brandon Sanderson. And wow, the series all of a sudden had that same flow that the first few books in the series did. And the continuity of the story was excellent. All of a sudden I found myself becoming more and more of a Brandon Sanderson fan and I started reading some of his other books (Mistborn in particular) and really enjoyed those as well. I just find that Brandon Sanderson's writing was a great tribute to Robert Jordan and really did justice to Robert Jordan's story telling capabilities.In the final book of the series the humor and the individual character traits were fantastic in my opinion. And the book flowed very well which was important for bringing forth the final chapters to the book. And Brandon Sanderson took one of Robert Jordan's tricks to heart very well which was to leave one character hanging on the edge of a literal cliff while shifting to the story of another character so that you wanted to read further to find out how the first character gets to safety. Book writing techniques like that were a great Jordan trait which Brandon used well in the last book (perhaps partly to the credit of Jordan's outline and to Jordan's editing crew and wife who knew some of Jordan's tricks). The fact that characters laughed and created songs at dangerous moments with levity were just as important as the base story surrounding the facts of the danger. And that laughter intermixed with fast paced reading makes for a good combination that this last book has in abundance.Bottom line... Definately read this book if you are a fan of either Brandon Sanderson or of Robert Jordan. It is a fun fast paced story that satisfactorily concludes a fantastic series of books with a few twists and turns in and of itself.The above paragraphs contain no spoilers... However, the next few paragraphs contain a couple of minor spoilers so you can stop reading now if you don't want to know about the book.On the flip side I should mention that there are a few flaws or improvements which could have been made a bit better in this last book. These are nitpicks more than anything else but just my opinions only... 1) The character of Moghedian was concluded by placing an adam around her neck and making her damane. That is a bit flawed though because Rand's peace explicitly states that any bound damane that wishes to go to the white tower is free to do so via Seanchan agreement. So if that is the case then what is keeping Moghedian from going free and fulfilling her wishes of becoming an "empress of her lessers"? 2) The Seanchan seemed to have gotten off way too easy in the last battle. Just about all of the other civilizations got beaten up badly and yet the Seanchan are a civilization that could arguably have taken over other civilizations (if the shadow were not present and Rand's peace were not signed) and yet the Seanchan sat on the sidelines for much of the book waiting. Whereas most civilizations lost most of their important members of society to war and to the last battle it seemed like the Seanchan kept most of their important members of society alive and was almost as much of a power thru it all as when they started. That seems a bit strange that such a mighty civilization had a minor role in the last battle. 3) Several of the books leading up to this book describe the flow of black sisters from the white tower and that the "black ajah" had grown to be quite sizeable with their defections. One could reasonably state that the black ajah was one fourth the total number of the Aes Sedai in the Wheel of Time. And yet the black ajah played a fairly small role in this last book whereas the other ajah colors played larger roles. Further, there were several civilizations which played large roles in this last book (the Sharan army, the red-veiled Aiel, and the darkhounds) which I thought would have been better represented by more major roles by the already established black ajah force and Padan Fain. And Padan Fain, himself, was such an infamous character that I felt that he deserved a bit larger role in this last book than what he received. Especially in comparison to the Sharan army, the red-veield Aiel, and the darkhounds. 4) Damandred starts with a full circle of support to give him power. And yet, at some point in the book, Damandred loses his full circle of support. At what point in the book did the full circle decide to leave him and why when he was so effective with it? And what happened to the individuals of that full circle as the book went on? It seems like a full circle is a lot of powerful members of the source and it left a question with me as to where these people went to during the story. Although it is true that some members of the shadow with capabilities of "the one power" were discussed it didn't seem like there were enough members discussed that could have made up an entire full circle around Damandred. 5) I had predicted that Elaida would make a comeback in the final book either as a damane to Egwene (that would have been fun) or as a former damane that became subsequently freed and again got on Egwene's nerves in some manner or another. Both options seemed plausible since Elaida was captured by the Seanchan but was not, to my understanding, killed. Elaida was such a pain in the side of Egwene in previous books that it would have been fun to see her play a role (even if minor) in the last book. Unfortunately my prediction never came true which was a mild disappointment but one that doesn't detract from the book itself.

...and it's done. The first serious major fantasy series I ever picked up, back in probably 1998 or so, comes to a close. (I'm discounting The Lord of the Rings as not being quite a series. And I can't remember when I first picked up any of the Drizzt Do'Urden books, whether it was before or after the Wheel of Time, but in any case I think those books aren't quite so hefty as these.)I'm one of those fans who spent hundreds of hours reading the books, theorizing about them, discussing them online (in the long-ago book forums on the Wheel of Time computer game website, mostly a ghost town now -- yes, I remember what the Land of Doubles is :-) ), attending book signings for them, and even going to the Provo midnight release party for this one. Really, to me, this is much more than just a fantasy book, even the final book of a series. It's the end of an era, of waiting years between books waiting for the next to come out, wondering what would happen next. I never would have guessed how far the ripples would extend from borrowing The Eye of the World from a friend who happened to be reading it.Does the book deliver, as the final Wheel of Time book? (There's going to be an encyclopedia, but almost certainly never anything beyond that. Jordan left the barest of notes for potential "outrigger" novels, and he was ardently opposed to "sharecropping" his world, as he's said George Lucas has done with Star Wars. So it goes.) Yes. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time, but this is an ending, and a satisfying one. It's even more impressive given that Jordan wasn't even the one to end it, as he sadly passed away from a rare blood cancer awhile ago and had to prepare all his notes for a successor -- not even one he had a hand in choosing -- to take up the challenge. We as fans demanded an awful lot of this concluding book, and Sanderson delivered.Given the personal significance of the Wheel of Time to me, I would be more than justified, I think, in assigning it a five without further thought. I may have spent a few hundred dollars on Wheel of Time books (and ebooks) over the years, but I've gotten far, far more entertainment and joy out of them than that. At the same time, I think there are certain aspects of this book with which I take issue, or over which I have inchoate concern.First, this book covered the Last Battle. Throughout the entire series the Last Battle has been portrayed as monumental and epic in every sense of the word (not just the overused Internet sense of it). And indeed it is that, in this book. The longest chapter of the book, titled -- well, I'll let you make the obvious guess -- is 190 pages. And there's plenty more battle beyond that. This might have been necessary, to appropriately fit the immenseness we'd all imbued the Last Battle with. But at the same time, it is looooooooong. It is excellent throughout, but even excellent battle scenes can't go as long, and sprawl as much as they did in this book, without going a bit too long. I have no idea how fewer or shorter battles could have conveyed the sense of scale and import of it all. But I do wish somewhat that it had been done. Also, totally contradictorily (I told you this was inchoate!), I kind of expected that there would be more fronts to the battle than there were, and that it would occur in many more places. The addition of large numbers of channelers to the Shadow's side explains why there weren't more, perhaps -- what Light-side channelers could have mopped up on their own became often overwhelming when Dreadlords entered the stage. But I expected far more widespread mayhem, perhaps far-flung guerrilla warfare, for the forces of darkness to have delighted in.Second, the Black Tower. The gradual unfolding of much of that plot thread, and the interactions among particular characters in it, is delightful. (Especially with Pevara and Androl's relationship hearkening back to the Aes Sedai united as one in the Age of Legends.) Yet I was somewhat underwhelmed with the actual mechanics of the Dark here. (Admittedly the Dark aren't always the smartest or most well-coordinated villains around, but still.) It took them that long to accelerate their efforts? (And, really, previous books had made me think those efforts had progressed far further, and more successfully, than apparently they had.) And the denouement of that thread was really that sudden? I don't think those scenes did quite justice to the words of Elaida's prior Foretelling. (Unless that referred to other future events -- I think some of the prophecies did, but not this one -- but in this case it seems incredibly poor if that was the case.)Third, Demandred. A competent Forsaken, finally! And yet. I wasn't surprised to see him appear, and from where he did. But I think we needed more than process of elimination to explain how he got to where he did. And we needed more back story to his dealings of the past couple years, to explain how he did it. (This may be a topic for the encyclopedia, but that tantalization should have been salved somewhat before. This issue goes all the way back, and I don't think Sanderson can truly be blamed for it.) And, returning to competency, slightly: Demandred was waaaaay too vocally angry. Sure, he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Hoth, but he was also really the only Forsaken that consistently got things done. And you're telling me he couldn't control his ego enough to not sound pompous? Seriously, he started to remind me a little of his parody in ISAM's classic Wheel of Time parody summaries. Not to mention, the supposed best general of the Shadow never seriously thought that Rand might be, um, some other, more strategic place, maybe? Like, um, maybe Shayol Ghul? C'mon Demandred, this is clownshoes.Fourth, Slayer. The eventual way everything went down there was satisfying. But I feel like I never really understood the why of Slayer, his motivations, the history behind him, and so on. Probably that'll be cleared up in the encyclopedia. But I'd have liked a little bit more on him before now. (This is another complaint that isn't really at Sanderson's feet -- I feel like he may possibly have made extra effort to address these concerns. Really they should have been elaborated more in previous books -- perhaps the ones Sanderson did, so maybe I'm okay with shifting a little of the blame to him. :-) )And there's probably more I could say here, both to praise and to complain, if I spent the time to think about it. But I'm already at ~1400 words, and I really should be moving on to other things now. :-) So I'll leave it at that.All these complaints notwithstanding (and I feel like there are enough I really do have to drop it to a four, even if I loved it like a five), this was awesome. Highly anticipated, thoroughly enjoyable, a satisfying conclusion: Sanderson done good. (Although, reading an epilogue I knew to be almost 100% Jordan, I found myself missing all the more his words for the conclusion to the series. Sanderson doesn't have the same lyrical approach that Jordan does. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and probably particularly wasn't for many of the battle scenes of these last three books. But in the quieter interludes and pauses, I sorely missed the real thing.) And much thanks to Team Jordan for picking him, and bringing Sanderson and his books to my attention. The only real regret I have is that this is an ending to fifteen years of my life, and to much of the endless theorizing, discussion, and anticipation. We all wanted this to happen. But it is a bittersweet ending nonetheless.

I was concerned that, even with Robert Jordan's extensive notes to work from, Brandon Sanderson would not be able to pull off a suitable climax to one of the best fantasy series I've ever read. I was however, wrong to doubt as he has done a superb job of bringing the series to a fine conclusion.My only criticism, and it is a very small one, is that it would have been even more satisfying if the epilogue had included just a little information about what happened to each of the main characters after Tarmon Gai'don is over. However, I recently bought Robert Jordan's A Companion to The Wheel of Time, which I highly recommend with the caveat that inevitably there are a lot of spoilers, so it is best read after you have finished reading all the books. It contains a wealth of information about the world of the WOT, including character biographies, which fills many gaps.Thank you Robert Jordan (Rest in Peace) and Brandon Sanderson for such an enthralling read. My only sadness is that whatever I read next is going to struggle to match the magic that is The Wheel of Time! 😊

I read the first 13 books several years ago, and then the 14h book had not been released. So I had to read all 13 books again to refresh the story in my mind, eagerly awaiting the moment when I could read the final 14th book. Brandon Sanderson, working from Robert Jordan's notes, did a fantastic job of writing the final chapter in the epic Wheel of Times series.In many ways, it is the beginning of the end. The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. ... There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time.Robert Jordan

Not the most eloquently written or deftly handled words, either by Sanderson or Jordan. But the most intriguing, vast and engaging story that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I have observed a fantasy world of magic and wonder and of the purest good and the darkest of evil and it was realised and formed into something solid and real feeling.As the end to the series this review is for the whole lot.The Wheel of Time is the most epic tale of a grand cast of players where I cared about each one and longed to know their place in the pattern. I was not disappointed and the great ball of story yarn that led into the final stretch beautifully unraveled to show where each thread satisfyingly ends. So many endings and so many different conclusions.The strengths of this series is its scope and it's size and how well woven together it all is. If you have the time and the inclination and tenacity to immerse yourself in a vast journey then this series will not disappoint.

I've given all the other books 5 stars in this series - it is a truly epic fantasy saga. PLOT SPOILERS AHEADSo a random sentence so that you can stop reading before I spoil some of the plot.So a when a major character dies I felt massively disappointed. It isn't one of the ones everyone likes but when he/she dies you then realise how much you liked the character and how much you'd invested in that character over 14 massive books. It is completely unexpected and almost unnecessary - as if Brian Sanderson felt he had to kill one of the main characters and chose the one he thought would be missed least! There are few plot lines not tied up: like who Olver was when he was spun out of the pattern (it should be obvious him being so ugly and all but I'd have liked it confirmed and explained why he could blow the horn of Valere when he might have been one of the heroes summoned previously), also Logain's glory could have been worked in instead of being postponed. I'd also have liked to have seen the Seachan start the process of change towards the damme.Towards the end of the saga you realise how much your time and emotional investment depends upon this one final book. It was never going to be perfect - everybody can't all survive the final battle so this made a good ending.

It's tempting to write a million words, after all this is Wheel of Time. But I'll keep it short- this is glorious. Like a lot of people I lost a lot of faith in Wheel of Time in its bloated middle but Memory of Light doesn't just deliver a spectacular, loyal and worthy ending to the series, it even goes a long way to rehabilitating some of the worst bits of the later Jordan novels. It delivers on a level that's astonishing. And yet it's also undeniably a Sanderson novel, with his usual endlessly inventive uses of magic- impressive to put his own flavour on someone else's world.Of course, it still has its issues- Sanderson can't write battles, at all, and the Last Battle itself is as boxy and boardgamey as every other battle he's written, but without any of the tricks he can usually use to mask that. And it is ponderous at times, though I think not damagingly so. And he's still dealing with the same threadworn and sometimes poorly drawn characters he was left with (tugs braid).But this is imaginative, well crafted, clever, and maybe above all,filled with warmth- Sanderson's love for the material shines through. I read it in a frenzy while I was supposed to be touristing and I regret nothing. Get it.