Title: The Gathering Storm: Book 12 of The Wheel of Time
Authors: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Contributor: The Black Oil
Date: 12/14/09
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

If you are reading this and have no prior experience with “The Wheel of Time,” this review is probably not for you. If you are trying to decide whether or not to take the plunge into Robert Jordan’s massive fantasy series, then there are a wealth of other resources out there. This, then, is for all those who are already full bore into it, but still wondering if this latest installment, with all its fraught history, is a worthy next step.

“The Wheel of Time” has been ongoing now for almost two decades. Many have grown up with it (much like the characters within), myself included. Jordan’s massive success can be pegged on the earnestness of his story. It is above all, REAL, with believable characters and settings that live and breathe long after the pages stop turning. While I have read books that I might consider better since, there’s still something to be said for most of Jordan’s writing. He gives you a world to get lost in, full of passages that can be read again and again with no loss of enjoyment. I still consider the series up to “Lord of Chaos” contain some great writing and story, with a plot probably unmatched for intricateness and expansiveness anywhere else in fantasy (and maybe beyond). But yeah…about that plot...

While those first six volumes were great, many long-time followers of the books agree that the series slowed after that point, bogged down in the ever growing immensity of its story, and that Jordan began to lose control of his plot. These trends never were more apparent than in “Crossroads of Twilight,” the tenth volume and widely considered the series’ nadir by many (though not all, certainly). For most fans, though, they had been following for so long…how could they stop? You still wanted to know what the end would be. There had been too many years spent waiting for it. But maybe that spark of anticipation you always had in the early years at the news of a new WOT novel wasn’t quite as hot as it used to be.

Perhaps Jordan heard the criticism. The following volume, “Knife of Dreams,” featured a noticeably quicker pace, and the resolution of several long running plot threads. Jordan then announced that the next book was going to be the last, and that the series was ending no matter what. There was hope again among fans that things were back on track. And then tragedy stuck.

Shortly after KoD’s publication in 2005, Jordan was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, one that carried a low mortality rate. Despite his hopes that he could persevere and finish his life’s work, he passed away in September 2007, having written only a small portion of “A Memory of Light,” which was to be the final volume.

While mourning his death, fans understandably, if indeed selfishly, wondered if they had been denied the ending they had waited so long for right when it was in reach. Jordan apparently knew that his time was short, however, and managed to leave a wealth of notes and partial scenes before his death, outlining his vision of how AMoL would enfold, and had also stated his wish that someone else would take his notes and complete the series for the fans. Soon, his widow, Harriet, announced that Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of the “Mistborn” books had been chosen for the task. Later news revealed that AMoL was unsurprisingly too big to fit in one book, and that it was going to be split into three books, the first of which would be called “The Gathering Storm.” While fans were happy that more WOT was coming, the doubts and unease were unavoidable. Could a WOT book really work without Robert Jordan writing it. No one believed Brandon Sanderson would intentionally produce a horrible work, but did he really GET it?

I’m happy to say that yes, he does, and that “The Gathering Storm” is a solid book, indeed maybe the best in the series since 1992’s “The Shadow Rising.” It’s an installment that will get fans excited again, and leave them counting the days till next fall when the following volume, “Towers of Midnight,” is hopefully released.

The story and characters to this point are so well established that anyone new to writing the narrative’s only real task, if still an immense one, was to stay true to the spirit of it. It certainly helps that the plot is still Jordan’s, as I don’t think anyone could’ve truly accepted another writer attempting to write what they “thought” Jordan wanted.

Sanderson is an admitted long-time fan of the books, and reading any of his blog posts about his work on the series shows the deep respect he had for Jordan’s world and final wishes. He wisely chose to adapt his own style to the book, rather than attempt to mimic Jordan’s voice, as the latter would’ve come off as nothing more than cheap parody. Sanderson’s introduction to the book basically compares it to a new director coming into a movie production and using the same script.

And Sanderson clearly understands the characters and what drives them, which was the most important thing for him to accomplish if this was ever going to work. Admittedly, I came into the book “cold” so to speak, not having reread the series right before or being familiar with Sanderson’s other work, so maybe the change in style wasn’t quite as glaring as a result. But once I was engrossed in the story, it was like a being in a familiar childhood place from long ago. There was no need to psychoanalyze which parts were Jordan’s and which Sanderson’s, because everything seemed like a Wheel of Time book. That isn’t to say there isn’t an odd turn of phrase that doesn’t jump out at you now or then, or that Sanderson hits everything pitch perfect (Aviendha’s POV chapters in particular, seemed off for whatever reason). You might find a spot where you think Jordan might have told it in a different matter, but not a spot where Jordan might not have told it AT ALL. These are the personalities you’ve grown to love or hate. In fact, some of the characters may even be better from the change, particularly the female ones. Nynaeve is probably the least annoying that she’s ever been here, and many Aes Sedai finally admit they’ve been acting like idiots.

There are other things that mark this book as different from the last few entries, and whether it’s entirely due to the author change or not, is hard to say. But again, the book is the better for it. There is a definite undercurrent of urgency lurking throughout, a sense that events are hurtling toward the Last Battle, as Jordan and Sanderson liberally sprinkle reminders of the Dark One’s touch and the unraveling Pattern. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the end of the series is now known, but things are no longer stagnant.

Despite essentially being the first part of a book that was split in three, this is also probably the most self-contained and coherent book in the series in some time, with two major story arcs that build to definite end points, each of which stands in a sort of symmetry with the other.

Most of the major characters make appearances in the book, but the bulk of it is reserved for Rand and Egwene’s storylines. Rand, of course, is the series’ most important character, but this is the first book in a while that has been heavily focused on him. When last we saw him, he was already in a very dark place, increasingly bitter and hardened under the strain of his burdens, and having just had his hand blown off to boot. His continuing descent into that darkness and what it means for the world he must save is a major theme of the book, and many readers are going to be surprised by just how far down Jordan and Sanderson drag him. There is one scene that is so bleak it reminded me more of something from George R.R. Martin than a Wheel of Time book. And there is yet another scene involving Rand that is perhaps the most emotionally brutal scene in the series yet. It’s a fantastic piece of writing, one that will leave readers turning the pages with sweaty palms, and also one that will have fans chattering all over message boards with its shocking resolution.

The other major story is Egwene and her battle from within the White Tower to reunite the Aes Sedai. Egwene is another character that many times I’ve found annoying, but Sanderson’s writing really has her shine in this book. Her scenes are among the most compelling in the book.

There are things in the book I could quibble with. The first 200 pages or so are filled with tons of exposition that causes the story to drag somewhat. While the need for exposition is somewhat understandable, considering the four year wait since the last volume, it’s still glaring. And Mat’s chapters, while exciting, really don’t seem to serve much purpose (at this point, anyway), and come off as filler more than anything else.

But this is a book that overall moves at a brisk pace. Four major events that fans have been waiting for (maybe even a fifth at the end) occur in this book, including one that has been hinted and foreshadowed at since way back in the third volume. If nothing else, this book proves to any doubters that Jordan really did know where he was going with the story, and the intricacy of it again proves quite overwhelming.

Of course, despite all the upheaval behind the scenes in the series, it’s nice to know some things have remained constant about it. In this case, absolutely AWFUL Darrell Sweet cover art, this time featuring Rand doing a Michael Jackson tribute after blowing a hole in a wall by farting saidin, while being stared out by a woman obviously wondering how she wandered in to such a horrible painting. Seriously, I think he’s doing this on purpose now. I didn’t think it could get worse than the bad romance novel cover of “Lord of Chaos,” but you sure showed me, Mr. Sweet! It’ll probably come out later that the painting was actually supposed to be depicting Perrin leading a pack of wolves...

Really, when you get to the scene it’s supposed to be “depicting,” the cover completely ruins it, since all you can picture is Rand’s Fist Bump of Dorkiness and have to start cracking up.

In any case, bad cover or not, “The Gathering Storm” proves that, for now at least, the Wheel of Time is in good hands with Brandon Sanderson. It is not the same as if Robert Jordan wrote this book. It never could be, and fans will always wonder. But this is the next best thing, and Sanderson deserves credit for making the most out of an unenviable task. Any fans that lost interest in the series should give it a try. Pick it up, turn the page to that familiar map of the world, and let the memories come flooding back.