On October 27, thousands of rabid fantasy fans will clamor into bookstores across the country, grasping for copies of a book years in the making and much-anticipated. I will be among them.
Praise or censure, as well as the author's name, will undoubtedly be on our lips for weeks following the book's release. After all, fans have been discussing The Wheel of Time series with nerdy savor since Robert Jordan wrote The Eye of the World in 1990. The new arrival to the series? Book 12, The Gathering Storm. The author? Not Robert Jordan, but Brandon Sanderson.
The late Robert Jordan, whom some hail as the storytelling progeny of J.R.R. Tolkien, was not only a beloved author, but a Vietnam veteran, a nuclear engineer and a devoted husband. His many talents and experiences unfold into beautiful high fantasy writing in the New York Times bestsellers comprising The Wheel of Time. As he worked to complete the epic, Jordan died of a rare blood disease in 2007.
His, wife, Harriet, then opted for American writer Brandon Sanderson to conclude the series that has spellbound readers for almost two decades.
Trust this reformed skeptic when I say that The Wheel of Time is almost occult in its charm. After reading some very bad, very hackneyed modern fantasy novels, I steeled myself not to be hoodwinked by the hype surrounding The Wheel of Time, and to form an objective opinion. I was stunned. I found that The Wheel of Time is filled with originality and brilliant style, setting and characters that rank him with the best of the fantasy authors.
I admit that as I perused the first novel, Jordan's writing style confused me. He introduces a number of complex characters, alongside young protagonists Rand, Mat and Perrin, from the get-go, and makes zero effort to mute their complexity. Sudden turns of mood and incoherent thoughts spilling from the characters before I had a chance to get to know them disoriented me. Sometimes, it distracted me from the thrust of the book. I found myself often frustrated as I muddled through the streams of consciousness.
Article comments
1 - Jennifer Bogart
I can't believe the series has taken this long to wrap up. My best friend in high school was reading this 15 years ago!! Could never get into it myself. Never a big fan of Tor titles generally speaking.
2 - WOT a fan
great article! you rock!
3 - Shank Dizzle
I've recently done a re-read of the series that I started about a month ago, and I'm enjoying this a lot more on the second go-round as I have a greater appreciation for Jordan's style of writing. Epic.
Also, I've read the prologue and first chapter for the next book, which has been pre-released, and they both give good cause to feel excitement and trepidation about the final three volumes.
4 - Kim
I'm excited and scared to read the next book(s). I do care how it ends but I'm so glad it will end if you know what I mean. Having Jordan die before it was completed was sooo sad.
Great review!
Kim
5 - Bill Griggs
Hate to be picky, but The Gathering Storm is NOT the conclusion. That would be book 14: A Memory of Light to be released in 2011
6 - lol
God you're an idiot. Why would you even write an article if you have no idea what you're talking about? It's not even the last book for fucks sake...god the world is getting dumber.
7 - Jordan Richardson
It's not even the last book for fucks sake...god the world is getting dumber.
Agreed.
Where does this article say that it's the last book?
8 - Mel Odom
Actually she named the other two books remaing if you bother to read page three. And the last three books are like one big one, tightly plotted
9 - Wil
And the author does make a good point in the title. We really do have a definitive end point now as opposed to the years and years of not really knowing when this thing ends, so things ARE coming to a conclusion.