A Memory of Light

Finally, The END..........and yet I feel so sad, it has been 20+ years, this series is truly an epic in every sense, from the start when Moiraine went to Two Rivers to try and save Rand and company, until the ending of this book, you realize there are books that truly mirror our mundane existence, minus the magic of course..................................

When this series started, we see Rand and his fellow youths, start from being clumsy, inexperienced individuals to become the Ruler of the land( The Dragon Reborn), the Amyrlin, the Prince of the Ravens, Lord GoldenEyes and so forth.........for this I thank Mr. Jordan, you have made this characters as alive as they can be, for us to care, sometimes to laugh with them, sometimes to shrink back in fear with, to cry with the decisions they had to make.............until finally all that has been prophesied came to pass and we see the true gems!!!!

The final book, from the start until the final line, is one huge fight, truly the end of the world, where all the stakes were against Rand and his friends, here we see the hands of Mr. Sanderson, a writer who is not afraid to lay to rest individuals that we have followed for the past 10 books (until now, I still think, “that”really did not help nor hinder the story for a bit, Siuan Sanche and Gareth Bryne why????), such is the writing ability of Mr. Sanderson (I am truly sorry Mr. Jordan but I do not think you could have done what Mr. Sanderson did) that I almost did not finish the book, I loved those two, finally a happy ending.......and yet.........then again another momentous event, too much, Mr. Sanderson, TOO MUCH............we cared for them, all of them, the most heroic hero to the dastardly villain, still................almost, almost did not read the end after those two events, but no............there are more to come...............

Behind every dark cloud lies a silver lining................in the end......a truly, truly wonderful read......... “The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.” {Please I am not plagiarizing their wonderful works}.......................Maybe there will be tale of the Fourth Age................

Ok. Not sure if is the cognitive dissonance speaking for reading 14 volumes averaging at 850 a piece. But I thought it was good. It was a satisfying ending. Which in the land of long-running fiction is hard to accomplish. Overall I'm happy. But I'm also happy to move on to something else ;).

There is a small annoyance throughout the series that grew to an escalation here as it was so often used: Balefire. The "evil" fire ("Not that, never that.") that burns away objects and people from the pattern. It always felt like this was very much to the author's convenience: you burn someone away. But not all of the things they did were reversed. But some were. That said this is the first novel where "balefire" has the ramifications you'd expect, things reversed that actually has a lot of effect. But then it immediately gets solved in the same paragraph. So yeah. That kind of bums me.

I forgot I still had this book open....

In any case, I finished this book back at the end of March, and was very pleased with how it wrapped everything up. I remember spending maybe a week trying to decide if I really enjoyed the book as a book, or really enjoyed the fact that the series was finally over. Not that I didn't enjoy the series, just that I had been looking forward to a conclusion for many (many) years. I eventually decided that I really did like the book as a book.

Sanderson is a talented writer, no question. I've read all of his stuff thus far, and while his early writing is somewhat less interesting to me (I had to force myself to finish Elantris, for example), he's come a long way. He took everything that Robert Jordan had set up and knocked it all down. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I think he took some of the core characters and changed their personalities slightly. Some of the characters said/did/thought things that I don't know if they would have if Robert Jordan were still with us. Not necessarily to a bad result, just that there were small jarring moments like that.

All in all, a very, very satisfying conclusion that was a long time in coming.

Executive Summary: How do you end a book series that has spanned 15 volumes (including the prequel), nearly 12,000 pages and over 4 million words, where the author died before finishing? Quite well in my opinion. I loved this book start to finish, and feel rewarded for sticking with it through some of the middle books.Audiobook: Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are fantastic again. They've made my reread quite enjoyable.Full ReviewThe Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.It's hard to review the final book of a series, especially one as long and as old as as the Wheel of Time without including some personal history and talking about the series as a whole. Many folks have been at it the whole 23 years. Many others for at least 10. This is a series where I came late to the party. I first heard about/was recommended this series by a good friend of mine back in college in the early 2000s. I wasn't much of a reader in those days, with priorities on other things. I mostly forgot it for the next 10 years or so. It wasn't until I heard about [a:Robert Jordan 6252 Robert Jordan http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1175475715p2/6252.jpg]'s death and that [a:Brandon Sanderson 38550 Brandon Sanderson http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201547425p2/38550.jpg] was going to complete the series that it was on my radar again. I wasn't familiar with Mr. Sanderson, but it reminded me that I wanted to read this series.I still wasn't much of a reader. I always was reading something, but the time I spent was few and far between. It took me about a year and a half to read all the books through [b:The Gathering Storm 1166599 The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12; A Memory of Light, #1) Robert Jordan http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312064325s/1166599.jpg 1920889]. I didn't have long to wait for [b:Towers of Midnight 8253920 Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time, #13; A Memory of Light, #2) Robert Jordan http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358109459s/8253920.jpg 7338128] by the time I was caught up. The only real waiting I had to do was 14 months or so between that book and this one.So I can't tell you what's it was like to wait one decade or two. I can't tell you what it was like to see Mr. Jordan die and dread the notion that a series you loved would never be complete. I had a nearly similar experience with [a:Stephen King 3389 Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] and the Dark Tower, but thankfully he finished that series and has gone on to continue writing.This series is largely responsible for getting me back into reading more. Some friends on mine started reading it not long after I did, and I enjoyed talking about it with them. One of them hit the middle books and gave up, the other pressed on, but hasn't read this one yet.The middle books of this series are why I stopped recommending this series to people/warned people who asked me about it. It's not a perfect series from start to end. But I love these characters. I love the world Mr. Jordan created. I wanted to know what would become of them, my friends.I read this book far faster than I would have when I started this journey maybe 4 years ago, and a large part of that is thanks to this series.Endings are always a tough thing. Especially for long series where the audience has invested a large amount of their time. Not everyone will be happy. I've read some complaints that not everything was resolved, or that their are lingering questions that spoiled it for them. Personally, I loved the ending, but I won't say anymore than that here.I close with the words Mr. Jordan did:This wind, it was not the ending. There are no endings, to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was an ending.

Finally done with the entire series. I started reading, well listening to, it very late in–I think around the time vol. 9 or 10 was the latest. Overall, the story is good, but the characters, esp. early on, were always only 2 1/2 dimensional, always falling back on gender stereotypes of men and women thinking the other is stupid and can't do a thing for themselves, etc. even though they grew up together and know that it isn't the case.

The 14 audio books combined are over 18 days long–I hope Peter Jackson doesn't make this a future series–it will probably be about 3 dozen 3.5 hour installments...I don't think I could take that :)

I must admit that it is a bit surreal to be writing a (spoiler-free) book review for A Memory of Light. If you had told me when I first picked up the books as a middle school student that the conclusion would be half a lifetime away... Well, I still probably would have read it because that is the kind of kid I was. But I don't think I would have been able to comprehend how much my life would change in the years waiting for the finale.

It is amazing to think what a profound influence these books have had on the person I have become. In some ways it is a bit embarrassing to admit how often I thought of characters and situations in these books to give me guidance. It might seem silly to credit a fantasy series with strongly forming my sense of being, but I have grown up with the characters in these books. They were my heros. My mentors. My friends. Which is why the ending to their story was so important. And, I have to say, I am very satisfied by the ending. It was exciting, emotionally exhausting, and, in a word, epic. (Is there a more appropriate word to describe a book that contains a 200 page long chapter?) It was exactly the ending that the series deserved to have. It just felt right.

I mean, sure, there were a few times where I thought that a particular character arc might have been a bit rushed, or that we hadn't quite had the set-up for a particular ending. But, in general, I felt that everything that happened came about with a purpose and a plan. Not that there weren't a few twists and surprises. There were definitely more than a few times when I was shouting at the book. Either in horror at what was happening, surprise at a twist of events, or glee at seeing a beloved character return to the page. This was probably the most vocal book-reading I have ever done since I no longer had to sound out words on the page. Which is, I think, a good indication of just how engaging this story is.

I would also have to say that it was clear that Robert Jordan himself wrote a fair bit of this book. I mean, I know there has been a bit of debate in the fandom over whether we should even be speculating who wrote what, but I have to say that there is a certain tone and precision to Robert Jordan's writing style that makes it fairly distinctive. And there were some characters who were just not quite the same after Brandon Sanderson took over the writing. Don't get me wrong - I am not complaining. I would rather have an imperfect ending than no ending. Because this story deserved an ending. But I am also willing to admit that there were some characters who were just slightly off in books 12 and 13. But not here. At a certain point in the story everything just felt... right. Comfortable. Like slipping on a well worn pair of boots. Which ultimately served to give the ending that much more impact.

In the end I have to say I gave this book a standing ovation. It delivered everything that the series has been promising for the past two decades. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me scream out in frustration and joy. Considering everything it was as close to perfect as I think it could be. I had a lot of people ask me if I was feeling a sense of emptiness or withdrawal now that the series had ended. I actually feel quite the opposite. I feel full and satisfied. Happy and content. At peace. These characters whom I have know for so long have at last had their story told, and it was a great one. It has enriched my life in ways I cannot fully express, and, despite my rambling review, I don't know if I can find adequate words to describe what this series has meant to me. It is a story I am sure I will carry with me forever, and one I am sure I will turn to and read again and again. I don't know if I can appropriately express my gratitude to the entire team of people who made this possible, but thank you.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

Godverdomme en miljaardedju en gelijkaardige.

Ik had het kunnen vermoeden: het einde lag natuurlijk al vast vóór Sanderson de mantel van Jordan overnam, en daar was niet zo enorm veel bewegingsruimte – om er nog niet van te spreken dat de hele epiloog van het boek letterlijk door Jordan zelf geschreven was, jaren geleden.

Dit is hoe het boek ging:

* Het eerste kwart: oh boy oh boy oh boy, een héél boek veldslag, zo wijs. Wel vreemd dat er plots zo'n enorme deus ex machina (satanas ex machina?) komt – de Sharan, nóg eens een heel nieuw volk met zijn eigen eigenschappen en achtergrond, waar we praktisch niets van gehoord hadden.

* Het tweede kwart: euh, wacht, dit is het allerlaatste boek, moeten we hier niet een aantal losse einden vastknopen? en okay dat er gevochten wordt, maar als dit de Ragnarok van Wheel of Time is, waarom voelt het dan zo klein aan? akkoord er zijn vier strijdtonelen, maar ze voelen allevier aan alsof er een paar honderd man vechten, niet de miljoenen soldaten en tienduizenden channelers van allerlei achtergronden die ons beloofd waren

* Het derde kwart: tiens, het begint gelijk allemaal een beetje op elkaar te lijken, die veldslag.

* Het laatste kwart: néééééé!!!!

* Epiloog: ugh. Zelfs van uit het graf kan Jordan een boek kapot maken.

Neen, ik was niet tevreden. Ik verwachtte geen Tolkienachtig einde en dan nog een einde en dan nog een en dan een epiloog en dan nog een epiloog – maar ik had toch een zeker einde verwacht, dat de rest van de boeken de moeite waard zou maken.

Eén voorbeeld: in de eerste boeken wordt er een groot spel gemaakt rond de Tinkers, een soort pacifistische zigeuners, die blijken de voorouders te zijn waar de Aiel, een soort Fremenachtig volk, van afgesplitst zijn. De Tinkers zijn al duizenden jaren op zoek naar een mysterieus lied, en de Aiel die leven volgens een strikt systeem van eer en schuld en boete, zijn duidelijk ook niet klaar met hun verleden. Eén van die Tinkers, ene Aram, neemt in weerwil van duizenden jaren traditie de wapens op, en dan lijkt er op te gaan lijken dat we naar een soort hereniging gaan, of iets in die zin. Maar dan wordt Aram afgemaakt in boek tien of zo, en dan horen we niets meer van de Tinkers. Ja, een korte acte de présence in een ziekenboeg in het laatste boek. Twee of drie regels of zo.

Aaargh!

Hoe meer ik er over nadenk, hoe lastiger ik ervan loop. Ik had twee en een half boek de indruk dat het allemaal goed kwam met Wheel of Time, en dat die eerste elf boeken  toch de moeite waard waren geweest, en dan blijkt dat het keurslijf waarin Jordan de reeks gegoten had, en vooral het einde dat hij al geschreven had, er een onmogelijke opdracht van gemaakt hadden voor wie dan ook.

En het is niet eens allemaal de schuld van Jordan. Hoe degelijk Sanderson ook was met menselijke interactie en een beperkt aantal personages, zo zwak is hij met epische veldslagen.

Kak. Nee, niet leutig.