I loves me some Wheel of Time.
Title and cover art for Book 13.
Kind of :-)
LOL
Joking aside, if you get Wheel of Time, get them in Paperback and RIP THE COVERS OFF. The cover art is terrible. TERRIBLE.
What's worse, is after I read it (especially just after reading, though there's a little bit of that even now) I have a tendency to look at the way women are acting and expect them to see me as incompetent and try to manipulate me.
I love Nynave and Lan's relationship, though. The whole "she's in charge outside the bedroom and I'm in charge IN the bedroom" thing is a freaking GAS. I love Nynave, but I really love to see her with the wind taken out of her sails.
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Birgitta is, hands down, my favorite female character. She won me over when she sat Nynaeve down and lectured her about the "step and fetch" behavior she adopted after pulling Birgitta into the real world.
I like the fact that she doesn't treat the men in the story like idiots, unless they actually behave that way.
My only dislike of her is the "I absolutely, positively, never ever ever ever ever miss what I shoot at." This makes her seem like a transgender Legolas rip-off, at times. Although, I do appreciate the fact that Jordan let us in on how particular she is about the manufacture of a bow and arrows suitable to her standards, which at least implies that it isn't (entirely) some "marvel hero-esque" supernatural power.
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I get the impression, though, that she wouldn't have those suspicions were she "spun out" the usual way. Her conversations with Elayne and Nynaeve seem to imply that she is the way she is in every age and in every incarnation. Her name may be different, and she may look different, but her personality never changes.
I guess that also goes with the theme of the series, that everything is cyclical, and it all comes back around again.
THE EYE OF THE WORLD was first published in January 1990, making this month the 20th anniversary of the series. Eleven volumes, a prequel, a companion work and over 44 million sales later, it's still going strong (for another two books anyway).
(Although a chapbook containing the first few chapters was actually published in August 1989 but whatever ;) )
I first picked up the series in the summer of 1996 after A Crown of Swords came out, on the possibly flawed basis, "Seven books? Must be over, or nearly over, by now,". Fourteen years later (!) I'm still waiting for the end, but the journey, warts and all, has been (mostly) fun along the way.
I liked the series when I first picked it up and was able to read several books in a row, but it bogged down for me when I could only read one book per year. I could never remember what was going on. I haven't read any of the books in years. I'm just waiting for it to end, then pick up the remaining books so I can read the whole thing in one big go-around.
Same thing goes for George R.R. Martin now I guess with the amount of time between his books.
Final US cover art for TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, due in October.
Much better than the previous volume, although this cover and the one for Book 14 will only be around for a short while as Tor US are republishing the series in new covers a couple of years down the line.
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Sorry I am late to the party. I just saw this thread and thought I would weigh in.
For many of the new releases I have reread the whole series. Therefore, I have read the first half of the series at least four times and maybe five. I will likely wait for the next two books and reread the whole thing after they are released - although I read the latest one and it was one of my favorites.
I have loved this series when I started reading when there were only about 4 books out. I agree that it bogs down in the middle for a few books and although that part is a bit hard to take I still enjoy the series throughout. My understanding about that time is that the publisher was pushing him to finish a couple of the books and he tried to please the publisher during a time when has father passed and some other life events overtook him and the story suffered. After that he decided he would not let pressure rush him anymore (translated as successful enough to tell them to screw off).
There are a lot of characters I really enjoy from the books. I really like both Matt and Perrin. I loved Rand early on and do not like the transformation he took but I assume that Cadsuane's purpose is to bring him back to himself.
I like strong competent characters in books and therefore like Lan, and Egwene - I really enjoy watching her bloom and become confident and a force that cannot be ignored.
I wish it had not gotten slow for three books or so but it did and the story is still a good one but it does drag for a time.
I look forward to the next one in October. And I love that they have come out on Kindle in the past couple of months. I will never have to carry them around with me again.
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Andrew, books 11 & 12 are fantastic. The pace really picks up as the series reaches its climax.
I've found I read ebooks much faster than I ever did traditional paper, probably because I can carry the book, literally, everywhere--whether on an iPhone or an iPad, one of which is always on my person; or at a computer screen (when I really should be working).
I've been told by several people that the last few novels more than make up for the slow middle, so I'm really looking forward to being at the end of the series by mid- to end-summer. Also, I think it'll help that I won't experience that long wait between novels most others endured, and the next long sequence featuring my favorite character will be mere weeks away rather than years.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Andrew, books 11 & 12 are fantastic. The pace really picks up as the series reaches its climax.
I'd agree. The only total dud in the series IMO is book 10. Book 8 is kinda blah but not awful. Book 12, though, definitely picks up the pace and the resolution of a lot lingering threads and has characters DOING THINGS again. YAY!
I love the series, but I hate the parts with Sevanna. She comes across so flat that I was expecting her to twirl some facial hair and tie Faille to the railroad tracks shortly before noon.
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LOVE< LOVE< LOVE them. all of them. read first ones several times. course i can get obsessive at times. once did a time line on first two books to plot rand and mats travails. so that means i am in the minority in that I LIKED BOOK 10, yes i said it. i love it when they all stop and look to the huge power beacon, thus bringing everyone to the same date. more though it was there reactions.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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LOVE< LOVE< LOVE them. all of them. read first ones several times. course i can get obsessive at times. once did a time line on first two books to plot rand and mats travails. so that means i am in the minority in that I LIKED BOOK 10, yes i said it. i love it when they all stop and look to the huge power beacon, thus bringing everyone to the same date. more though it was there reactions.
I agree that in principle that is a neat moment, but detailing that event and reactions to it in the prologue, and maybe a few revisits to it throughout the book later, would have been ample to squeeze all of the available "NEAT!" out of it... without just beating it to death and the whole book kind of grinding to a halt. It just felt like nothing was happening for 800 pages. That's a lot of nothing.
But, to each their own.
I'm looking forward to reading #13, but I'm trying to be disciplined and focused and make sure I turn over my deadline stuff before going to the store and buying it, so I won't be getting it on release day because I've been naughty and procrastinated and haven't gotten done. Work first, sweet delicious crack later. :)
I'll see if I can pick it up today.
The Last Battle has begun. From Saldaea to Shienar, vast armies of Shadowspawn burst forth into the unprepared Borderlands. Whilst Rodel Ituralde prepares to stand siege against overwhelming numbers, Lan Mandragoran rides for Tarwin's Gap with the last of the Malkieri at his side.
The Dragon Reborn has overcome the darkness that was threatening to swallow him but now faces a struggle to repair the damage his actions have unleashed. Arad Doman is starving, the Borderlander army at Far Madding must be confronted and Cairhien remains without a ruler. But before Rand can address those problems, he must stand within the Hall of the Tower and answer for his actions to the Amyrlin Seat...
Perrin Aybara and Mat Cauthon have their own challenges to face. Perrin must make peace with his wolf side and forge a dangerous alliance with those who only want to kill him for crimes from long ago. Mat must face his own nemesis on the streets of Caemlyn and undertake a desperate quest to rescue an old friend, but the price will be high. And, in the Aiel Waste, Aviendha must journey into Rhuidean and confront a terrible truth that could shatter the Aiel more completely than Rand al'Thor's revelations.
Towers of Midnight is, at last (and third time lucky) the penultimate volume of The Wheel of Time. The fourteenth and final book, A Memory of Light, will be published in early 2012. Towers is published just short of the twenty-first anniversary of the series, which is appropriate as this is where the series finally matures and comes of age. Lots of the more irritating quirks of the series, such as the inability of the major characters to, you know, talk to one another about what's going on, are absent from this novel as fresh alliances are forged, plans are laid and armies are readied for the grand finale.
Just as Rand al'Thor has decided that he must sweep away the rubble of the Bore before he can confront the Dark One, Towers of Midnight sweeps aside many storylines and side-characters in preparation for the grand finale. The pace of the novel is relentless as we drive towards the moment when the Last Battle must be unleashed in its full fury, with each chapter seemingly ticking off character and story arcs stretching back all the way to The Eye of the World. Many characters who first appeared in that book, including relatively minor ones like Dain Bornhald and Morgase Trakand, have important roles to play here, giving the feeling of a vast circle slowly being closed off. There are also strong ties to The Shadow Rising, with the Aiel playing a larger role in events then they have for a while and a revisiting of Rhuidean and its glass columns providing a late-series game-changing moment that was wholly unexpected but quite satisfying.
Thematically, Towers cannot hope to match The Gathering Storm's tight focus on Rand and Egwene and their respective journeys through chaos and fire and out the other side. This book is far more epic and sprawling, with many more storylines and characters visited and progressed. However, Sanderson manages to maintain a strong focus on getting the original major characters back into the thick of the action, this time with Perrin and Mat. There's also an interesting dramatic device used where Lan's march across the Borderlands towards Tarwin's Gap serves as a countdown to the moment when all hell truly breaks loose, which helps the book achieve its oppressive feeling of events moving towards a final, chaotic doom.
In terms of the writing, Sanderson continues to do a fine job of integrating his and Robert Jordan's styles, although Sanderson's 'voice' is a little bit more noticeable here (Towers apparently has far less of Jordan's finished text than the other two books). Fortunately, his grasp of Jordan's characters is more assured than before, with the major weak link (Mat) coming across far more like he did in earlier books. Of the characters prominent in this novel, he only really struggles with Berelain, hardly the most vital of characters anyway, whilst he gets the likes of Perrin, Elayne and Birgitte spot-on (for example, Elayne continues to make wince-inducingly stupid mistakes and not really learn from them). In fact, Sanderson achieves the near-impossible here of making Faile actually quasi-likable for a few chapters, which may be his most towering achievement in writing these concluding volumes so far.
Elsewhere, problems remain. The formal agreement between two armies to do battle at a given place on a given time feels very odd and doesn't ring true. Whilst the pace is mostly furious, there's possibly a couple too many chapters and scenes where people sit around and talk about the plot rather than getting on with business, although these are less noticeable than they have been in the past. There's also, to this reader's frustration, the fact that this is the seventh book in a row where Perrin and his forces are messing around in the Altaran/Ghealdanin backwoods (a story which, thankfully, finally and definitively ends here) rather than doing anything that's actually interesting. Fortunately Sanderson even rescues this storyline, taking advantage of the longueur to conclude Perrin's 'wolfbrother' arc. However, I suspect there will be complaints that both the Seanchan and Black Tower storylines are only barely touched on here, rather than being explored more thoroughly. As it stands, it is dubious that Sanderson can bring those two storylines into play and conclude them satisfyingly with only a (relatively) small number of chapters remaining, but we will see.
Many events unfold that people have been expecting for years (and yes, we learn the answer to a long-standing but utterly irrelevant mystery that Wheel of Time fans have furiously debated for over a decade), but Jordan's plotting skills and Sanderson's writing means that there are still plenty of big surprises to come, some of them almost strokes of genius in how they were set up beforehand.
Towers of Midnight (****½) clears the decks of a lot of dead wood and brings us almost to the end. Some minor issues mar what could have been the best book of the series, but there is nevertheless the feeling that we have been set up for a huge finale. Time will tell if Sanderson can deliver on that. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.
Just picked it up yesterday. Am reading Whisper of Venom by Richard Lee Byers to prepare, and then I'm going headfirst in that b++$*.
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Andrew, books 11 & 12 are fantastic. The pace really picks up as the series reaches its climax.I've found I read ebooks much faster than I ever did traditional paper, probably because I can carry the book, literally, everywhere--whether on an iPhone or an iPad, one of which is always on my person; or at a computer screen (when I really should be working).
I've been told by several people that the last few novels more than make up for the slow middle, so I'm really looking forward to being at the end of the series by mid- to end-summer. Also, I think it'll help that I won't experience that long wait between novels most others endured, and the next long sequence featuring my favorite character will be mere weeks away rather than years.
This was an interesting coment. So, I've decided to go ahead and restart this series on my Kindle. Give it a chance. Knowing that the end is in sight and with the comments about it getting better, I may be able to slog through the books that made me give up and finish the series shortly after the final book comes out. (Next year, I'm assuming?)
This was an interesting coment. So, I've decided to go ahead and restart this series on my Kindle. Give it a chance. Knowing that the end is in sight and with the comments about it getting better, I may be able to slog through the books that made me give up and finish the series shortly after the final book comes out. (Next year, I'm assuming?)
The final book is slated for Spring 2012. Sanderson had written THE GATHERING STORM and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT in a massive writing explosion lasting from December 2007 to August 2010 (with a couple of months' break to ready a final edit of THE WAY OF KINGS, though that was mostly pre-written years ago) and wanted a few months off to recharge his batteries and re-read the series before starting work on A MEMORY OF LIGHT on 1 January. He's helped by the fact that MEMORY has a fair bit of Robert Jordan-penned material in it already, but it's going to be quite a big book (as you might expect).
If you want it on an E-reader be prepared to wait an additional year. TOR has put a delay on it "At the request of the Author's Estate."
Translation is Harriet isn't a fan of the things.
The ebook is out in February. Apparently Tor and the Estate have had some concerns over how widespread pirate copies of the existing ebooks have become and wanted to put in a buffer to ensure paper copy sales of the new book. Interesting to see if the same is true of the last book in the series.
Read them a long time ago, got up to book 8 and gave up, read 9, 10 and 11 years later but I can't say I love the series. I think what drives me mad is all the pulling of braids and folding of arms to show female anger. Just comes across as spoilt and annoying to me. Can't re-read the series again, it would drive me mad.
Erickson and the Malazan series...now that is different kettle of fish altogether. Simply amazing, complictaed yes but boy is it good.
having grown up in a rural environment on a ranch; I pretty much can identify people I know with most of the characters attitudes; lol, I love the books, but I get pretty tired of all the girls parts and the tower and like that; just droans on. I dont even remember which book I am on or if there are more; think I read like 12 of them or so. About the relationships; I like Perrins and the Falcon's the best; that girl is a double handful, whew.
Was a bit annoyed by the editing of this last book; the timeline seemed to bend back upon itself in a few places, particularly if you play the "where did he just say Tam al'Thor was again?" game. If you can get past silly little things like that, it was enjoyable.
I am afraid that there are still far too many loose ends than Sanderson will be able to attend to in one book, unless it is significantly longer than what has been the norm so far. I hope he can get it done without the book suddenly feeling especially rushed when compared to the pacing of the series as a whole.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Just finished the book today. There were some noticeable editing glitches. Typos or malapropisms or mispunctuation, and yes Tam's location did seem a little fuzzy.
But, I liked the fact that this book signaled the last hurrah for whiny angst and the final transition into full-on heinie-kicking mode. Nice hero moments for Rand, Mat, and Perrin each, and blessedly plots getting actually resolved.
Aviendha's section was short but quite intriguing. Some nice teasers for the final book as well. One of the Forsaken being especially naughty and getting in trouble for it. Some characters getting to face their nemeses and try to push for a final conclusion.
I'd agree that there are still a lot of dangling plot threads, but a TON of stuff actually got tied up in this book, especially some of the more annoying ones (I'm looking at you, royal family of Andor).
Overall rating: Very good.
My all-time faves are still The Fires of Heaven and The Shadow Rising, and probably The Great Hunt just a hair behind those and Lord of Chaos a hair behind that. I'd say that both Sanderson books, though, are not far behind that top group.
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Just finished Towers of Midnight last night. I enjoyed it, but there were a few obvious editing problems, as has already been stated.
The only one that seemed to grate on me was the direct contradiction of how many and what kind of Ashamen could be bonded. If I recall correctly, Rand gave specific permission to the Aes Sedai to bond an exact number (47, I think) of Ashamen, of Soldier and Dedicated level only, and that those men could not refuse.
The conversation between Pevara and Mazrim Taim, however, says differently. Pevara states that they weren't given a limit, and Taim states that HE will not allow full Ashamen to be bonded, regardless of what was promised.
Other than that, this book moves SOOOOOO FAST. Of course, it could be that I've just grown accustomed to Jordan's Snail-on-Valium speed for so long. The fact that so many things happen in this volume is a radical departure from the rest of the series.
13.5 hours left! (Audible is quite nice, and picked up the second book of Mistborn too).
I quite enjoy the book so far, and while sometimes the descriptions can be too much to care about it doesn't bother me that much when listening instead of reading it.
The only one that seemed to grate on me was the direct contradiction of how many and what kind of Ashamen could be bonded. If I recall correctly, Rand gave specific permission to the Aes Sedai to bond an exact number (47, I think) of Ashamen, of Soldier and Dedicated level only, and that those men could not refuse.
The conversation between Pevara and Mazrim Taim, however, says differently. Pevara states that they weren't given a limit, and Taim states that HE will not allow full Ashamen to be bonded, regardless of what was promised.
Hmm, I could well be mis-remembering, but if Pevara was from Elaida's faction, then she's totally unaware of, or at least not beholden to, Rand's instructions/restrictions. Of course, I feel like the whole thing doesn't matter if Taim ** spoiler omitted **
Frequent spoilers for later books, not including The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight, follow:
Pevara is from Elaida's faction, loosely. She was one of the Black Ajah Hunters. It's been a while since I read this plotline, but my understanding is it went something like this:
Elaida, being the stupidest jackass in the entire series (and that puts her tight in the running for most idiotic fictional character in all English-language literature) found out about the Black Tower and ordered a hit on it. Somewhere around 50 sisters were dispatched and they arrived only to get mass-bonded. The Tower remains unaware of this.
Rand discovered that this happened from Logain and wanted to even the scales between the rebel Aes Sedai and Elaida's. So he offered up an even number of Asha'man for a bunch of crazy Rand reasons, some of which might make sense. This offer went to the rebel Aes Sedai while they were besieging Tar Valon.
Separately, new reached the Red Ajah that the Taint had been cleansed. This came in the form of a note that one of Rand's captive and sworn Aes Sedai passed to a free and Tower-aligned Aes Sedai. The Reds now face an existential crisis, since their lives generally revolved around misandry and, in a distant second, neutering male channelers before they could kill scads and scads of people. Since it seems like their days of using Valerie Solanis as pornography are probably about over, the Reds buy their first clue in ages and decide that from now on maybe their job should be to bond men who can channel and maybe help them integrate into a new, all-sexes channeling society.
So Pevara's party Travels to the Black Tower, walks up to Taim, and asks if they can do some bonding. Taim happily agrees, in his usual crazy spooky way.
Like a lot of things in the books, it's a confusing mess generated by lots of similar, overlapping situations created by the characters acting on incomplete information.