The Gathering Storm

This is the latest installment in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I will continue to refer to it as Jordan's even though Brandon Sanderson is, quite wonderfully, finishing off the series for the deceased Jordan. Luckily for all of us fans, Jordan left a plethora of notes and outlines, as well as haven already written somewhere in the range of 10-20 thousand words already. The 'final' book ballooned to a reported 800 thousand words, and subsequently is being published in three different volumes. So, basically, it went from a 12 book series to a 14 book series. Some may cynically see this as a money making ploy. I frankly don't care if it is, as long as I get more great story, and honestly when you pick up this latest book, it couldn't have been three times this size and been manageable.

On to the book itself. I will not put down any spoilers, I hate spoilers. (The most shameful experience of my life is giving the ending away to a movie for some inexplicable reason that I still can't comprehend, sorry Mark). Anyway, many Jordan fans began to be turned off around books 8-10. Admittedly, the story slowed to a snail's pace. I will not spend time defending the books as good, which they are, or explaining that on a second or third reading there are parts that you really get to appreciate, which is true, I will simply say that in books 11 and 12, the story jumps back to the amazing form that fans were used to at the beginning of this series.

The first thing I must say is that Sanderson did a masterful job at picking up where Jordan left and weaving Jordan's notes into a book that, frankly, is impossible to distinguish from Jordan's writing. I was leary that the books would have a different feel, being authored by a different person, but it did not. For you fans, do you remember the way you couldn't put down The Shadow Rising because of how compelling the story was, or the excitement of Fires of Heaven. The Gathering Storm should be placed firmly in the very top of these books, as good as any of them. Story's begin to resolve and it is clear that this series is headed quickly and decisively to an amazing conclusion. I wish I knew more people who have read it, so I could start talking with them about it, so far its just Alisa and me, as far as I know.

For those fans who gave up back in the slow time, come back and catch up with this series, I promise you won't be disappointed. For those who were tempted away by that flash in the pan George R.R. Martin, or any other of a myriad inferior writers/series, you need to catch up and read The Gathering Storm, it was a masterpiece, plain and simple.