The Gathering Storm: Book Twelve of the Wheel of Time

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 finally go there and do that, or where you find out why they haven't.Anyway, if you like any prior books in the Wheel of Time series, you'll like this one, and if you've read any prior books in the Wheel of Time series, this one will answer a lot of your questions. Apart from a few relatively minor hiccups, it has all the strengths of the best prior books in the series. Very much worth reading.----Edit: now that the book's been out for a bit, I can tell things are back on track because I find myself buying copies of "Eye of the World" to give to friends again. That's something I hadn't done in a long while.

Creation itself is at stake. The pattern is beginning to unravel and reality is in danger. The dead walk the land. Cities rise out of the earth and disappear again. Across the world gray skies hide the sun for weeks on end. Set against this backdrop, The Gathering Storm details the beginning of Tarmon Gai'don.The Gathering Storm focuses mostly on Egwene and her battle from within the Tower and also on Rand and his growing emotional instability as he follows the road to what he thinks will be his own demise. This book is tightly focused, delivering powerful emotional punches and quite a few answers and resolutions for some major characters. While there is a small bit on Mat, Egwene and Rand are the centers of the book and all the other points of view are interwoven into the main plots rather than left to begin new plots. Mercifully, there is no Elayne in this book. And very little of Perrin.The Egwene sections of the book are some of the most powerful of the series. It's interesting to continue to watch her rise. And offers a good foil for the Rand sections of the book because we continue to see him fall. Into possible madness. Into emotional turmoil. Into self-doubt. And though there are some confrontations with Forsaken here (including an intriguing one with Ishamael-Moridin), it is Rand himself who seems more frightening than the Forsaken.The Gathering Storm is a remarkable achievement because it brings back the feeling of the first six books. Not bad for someone who was not the author of the first six books.Apparently Sanderson also loved sniffing because he returned the level of sniffing to a point not seen since A Crown of Swords. Bastard.For The Gathering StormNynaeve - IIIKaterine - IAmys - ICadsuane - IILelaine - ISiuan - IIIII IMelaine - IYukiri - ISaerin - IIVasha - ICorana - ISemirhage - IJoline - IIIMesaana - INicola - IRomanda - IEgwene - IBeldeine - IAnd for the books so far, Siuan rises to 5th place due to a particularly strong showing in this book. Wonder if Sanderson hated Siuan?Nynaeve - IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII III(53)Egwene - IIIII IIIII IIIII III (18)Elayne - IIIII IIIII IIIII III (18)Aviendha - IIIII IIIII II (12)Suian - IIIII IIIII I (11)Min - IIIII III (8)Moiraine - IIIII III (8)Leane - IIIII II (7)Faile - IIIII I(6)Joline - IIIIIElaida - IIIIMelaine - IIIIRomanda - IIIIAmys - IIIBair - IIICadsuane - IIICorvil - IIIDyelin - IIIIdrien - IIILanfear/Selene - IIILarine - IIILelaine - IIIRenee Harfor - IIITeslyn - IIIBeonin - IICook at Inn - IIDeira - IIFeraighin - IILaras - IILiandrin - IILini - IISaerin - IISetelle Anan - IITiana - IIAdine - IAilhuin - IAlise - IAlivia - IAludra - IAsne - IBalwer - IBarasine - IBeldeine - IBerowin - IBornhold - IBreane - ICaira - ICarlinya - ICorana - IDaigian - IEdelle - IEllorien - IEssande - IErith - IFemales in Crowd - IGalina - IGarenia - IGraendal - IJavindhra - IJeaine - IJeaine - IKaterine - IKireyin - ILatelle - IMarin al'Vere - IMerana - IMesaana - IMerilille - INesta din Reas - INicola - INildra - INisao - IRenaile - IRendra - IRhiale - ISamitsu - ISemirhage - ISeonid - ISevanna - ISignet Ring Fellow - ISilk Shopkeeper - ISomara - ISorilea - ISuroth - ITavern Wenches at the Woman of Tanchico Inn - ITherava - ITion - ITylin - IVandene - IVasha - IVerin - IVillage Wisdom - IYukiri - IWoman in Fal Dara - IWomen of Emond's Field - I

I loved the series and this is my second read of the entire thing, but while I appreciated Jordan’s writings, Brandon Sanderson is doing a much better job: depth of character, realism, bad things happening as well as good things but most importantly- no more of the childish man don’t get women and women think all man are stupid bs. Finally we can concentrate on the story and not some issues the author had from home.

Much faster pace than previous books; the action had me gripped . I can't quite believe I am nearly finished the series!

Sempre meraviglioso Robert Jordan

Husband loved this series. Happily read it many times.

La roue du temps est un voyage qui ne laisse pas indemne. Au travers des tomes, l'auteur a réussi à créer un monde divers, rempli de personnages intéressants, qui vivent des aventures grandioses. The Gathering Storm, premier livre des 3 tomes de fin mené par le remplaçant de l'auteur, décédé trop tôt, est la conclusion magistrale de cette oeuvre. A titre personnel, lire tous les tomes me prend en général 3 mois, mais je finis par l'extase. Dans ce volume, on se prépare à la bataille finale, qui est annoncée de manière prophétique dès le premier tome. C'est le moment où le Dark One lutte, et où le Dragon doit protéger le monde. Toutes ces pages, toutes ces péripéties, tous ces complots, tous les complots dans ces complots, toutes les trahisons, tout a mené vers cet instant. Et the Gathering storm est le début de la fin d'une série mythique. Les pièces sont en place, la partie peut commencer. Mais qui l'emportera?

Por fina la historia acelera! No sé si es por Brandon Sanderson o no pero el libro me gusto mucho. La historia se desarrolla y acelera por fin!