[Insert your name]'s AMoL Review [Full Spoilers]

[yoniy0]

This thread is meant as a place where you can post a review of AMoL. Read the book? Have a lot to say about it? Well, this is where you can say it all in one (preferably coherent) big post.

 

To allow this post to serve its purpose, we encourage you to ask questions regarding another's review, but please don't debate any one review in depth, so as to drown the discussion of others. If a controversial point arises, we ask that you take the discussion to the quality or errata threads, or ask for a new one if none exists.

 

This topic will be full spoilers, so if you haven't read through the book yet, continue at your own risk.

 

That's it, go for it.

[Timothy Craig]

I enjoyed this book, actually. I thought most of it was fairly decently written, though obviously I think Jordan could've done better but still. My problem only comes in the last hundred pages. And this problem was how rushed it suddenly became. It's like Sanderson forgot that he could write 1200 pages for this book and none of us would mind, having read that much before in this series (multiple times, in fact). So instead he panics and starts throwing together all the stuff we were given huge lead ups to, and then just makes them tiny, insignificant objects. Examples include (but are not limited to):

1) Padan Fain. We've been waiting since, what, book 1 for this guy to strike? And then he appears, and dies, in the course of approximately 10 pages - with only 4 of those actually being pages dedicated to him. The hell kind of huge let down was that?
 

2) Alivia. "He will help Rand die", we kept being told. Apparently this translates to "She'll leave some stuff for you to pick up when you transform yourself into Moridin". Fantastic. That's not a let down at all.

 

3) Then there's Moghedian's return, only to end with her basically doing nothing except some spy work (which we didn't even know was her until she mentioned it at the end) and then getting collared by one of the lesbian domina--- I mean sul'dams. 

 

4) Bryne is killed off screen? Siuan too? Really? Yeah I guess that makes sense, I mean it's not like they've been in virtually _every book_ or anything like that. Oh wait.

 

There are a few other things I'm forgetting, I'm sure, but those are the 4 that stuck out to me the most. Just seemed very rushed.

 

Of course, it doesn't help that Rand is brought back to life and then just leaves everyone. What? I guess he didn't want the fame, but considering he stayed connected to all 3, you KNOW one of them is eventually going to let it slip. And why did all 3 of them know not to tell anyone "Oh, that's not really Moridin, don't worry"? As a finality, you expect me to believe that people aren't going to be IMMEDIATELY hunting for Moridin upon returning to that tent after Rand's sham of a funeral and going "OH DAMN, MORIDIN ESCAPED"? Rand's just going to end up being axed by an Ogier, or shot from a raken, before he ever gets out of Merrilor.

[Treebeard]

As this was the last instalment of the series nothing short of a miracle could have answered all my questions or  fulfilled my desires. I thought that the book - although not completely bad ( not in a long shot ) did leave a bitter aftertaste. The book is full of battles that in pure numbers of soldiers or should i say lack of  specified numbers is unconvincing. And even if there are gems  , like the manipulated generals there are simply to little to get the monotony away.  Atop of that a few character arcs did´t contain as much as you could demand due when you regard the build up in the previous books. A few arcs that did´t hold was Morgiane , Nyneve and Moridin who just did´t do anything- witch was sad as they certainly had potential to make the book something beyond normal.

 

But there were of course also real nuggets of pure gold. Many of the character arcs was handed good and added spice in the otherwise dull action. And some of the moments in the book was just wonderful. One of them , when Olver is saved by Noal has gone up to a place in my top-list alongside Deamandred ( aka Bao ) vs Taim. And although we did´t get as many dead as i would have liked we got some , and the persons that died was a lovely mixture of characters that i liked ( formost Eggy ) and people that i think should have died a long time before ( Gawyn ).

 

so to surmise - the book although not in the same league as the best books in the series ( EOTW, TGS and LOC ) it was totally worth the money.

[Barid Bel Medar]

So, I have yet to really put together my feelings on aMoL. 

 

At first it was hard- after finishing the book my emotions were mixed and all over the place. So I decided to re-read the book before making any "review"-like judgement. 

 

First of all, before things become a tangle and incoherent, I would like to say that I enjoyed the book - flaws and all. I thought it was an improvement in many ways on ToM. It had other issues, but these things are of a different nature - which I will explain below. It was not my favourite book of the series, but I felt satisfied with the ending given to us by Brandon and RJ. 

 

I could think of many things that were mistakes and things I felt could have been done better or different. I also don't believe it was a piece of outstanding literature. However, all things considered, it was as good an ending as I could hope for. I didn't have high hopes - not because of Brandon, although I cerainly think RJ would have been the only one to truly do it justice - rather it was because I felt no ending could do justice to a 14 book epic such as this. So I started reading with low expectations. 

 

At first, I had mixed reactions. The Black Tower arc started off terribly - but after the pre-release material, things started to pick up, and I found myself enjoying it immensely. Brandon using his own character in Androl (who was already a character, but had no real story) only bothered me on principle. I felt it was tampering with the world - but no more than that. I actually enjoyed that arc - it was the only real character development we got to see in aMoL, and it showed. 

 

Continuing in that vein, I had two major issues with aMoL. The first was the lack of any sort of characterization. Indeed, to advance the plot characters needed to temporarily regress. I see this as a problem with the 3 way split. I can't off the top of my head think of any better ways to do it, however, the subsequent lack of character development left aMoL feeling shallow and flat. The second problem I had was Demandred. In fact, this isn't particuarly an aMoL problem, but a WoT problem in general. Demandred was poorly executed in all of the books. His arc could have been one of the most interesting in the series, however, RJ left it too late, and Brandon I felt didn't deliver what could have been. Which is not entirely his fault, RJ is as much at fault. I think Brandon didn't do Demandred's arc justice, the 3 duels seemed like fan-service. I believe that the handling of his arc was the worst mistake RJ made in the WoT, leaving it out and randomly popping it in in the final book. 

 

Moving on to positives, I believe that Brandon improved a lot on ToM in terms of delivery. The dialogue was not to my liking - there were cringeworthy conversations - but Brandon definitely stepped up in the depth department. I can re-read aMoL and find new things that I missed. Unlike ToM and even tGS, it had more depth, it wasn't just a cinematic experience without much underneath. Similarly, subtly - one of Brandon's weaker points in comparison to RJ - was greatly improved. Not perfect, but it didn't feel so much like Brandon was leading a horse to water. A lot was left to the imagination and reader's own mind. I particularly enjoyed the way he left out what could have been very important events - namely Hawkwing-Tuon meeting, which is the best example. Instead of making things painfully obvious, he left us to think and slipped hints instead of just hitting us with a hammer. I definitely appreciated that, it was one of my favourite things about WoT, and that was returned to me in aMoL. 

 

The ending, which has people divided - I liked it and thought it was perfect. Fain's ending for me was perfect. Fain was built up solely by the fandom. RJ's comments were blown out of proportion, and it is plain to see with aMoL. Beyond the delivery and words, I saw the pieces coming together, and things that previously were obscure fit into place. Now more than ever I can see the Pattern that RJ intended to weave. 

 

All in all, I would rank aMoL in the middle of my WoT "best book" list. There were many problems and many mistakes, but I felt satisfied with it as the end of this epic. 

[The Fisher King]

Please be warned: The following review is mostly general in nature but does contain a few specific spoilers.

 

I have focused this review primarily on A Memory of Light, co-authored by Brandon Sanderson, and the third part of the conclusion to The Wheel of Time, written by James Oliver Rigney, who penned tWOT under the pseudonym Robert Jordan. These books were edited by his wife and professional editor Harriet McDougal.

 

I finished reading A Memory of Light over a week ago. And my original plan, which was to process for a couple of days and then form a review, went by the wayside. This happened because I just was supremely unmotivated to share my feelings. And that surprised me. Shocked me, really. Good or bad, high or low, I have always been moved to strong emotions by these books…ever since the day I shook the hand of the man that shook the Third Age…as it is called by some…

 

The Gathering Storm motivated me and stirred emotions. Mostly positive ones – though a severe case of puzzlement over the impostor wearing Mat’s hat lingered. … Towers of Midnight motivated me alright, lol! Motivated me to fury, but it motivated me! But, part three of the A Memory of Light trilogy stirred…not very much either way, I am afraid. And if you knew how much love I have for this series, its original author and its fans, you would know what a sad surprise that was – and is – to me.

 

One of the running themes in the series was:

 

Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

 

And what a gamble it was when the decision was made to use the combined efforts of Tor chairman Tom Doherety. Harriet McDougal, a ‘’Team Jordan’’, a collection of audio and written recordings of information left by James Rigney and a pen supplied by young fantasy writer named Brandon Sanderson to finish – and split three ways – the final volume of ‘’Robert Jordan’s’’ epic, sprawling saga. The result is one that was destined to have a different effect on all of us – leaving some, hoepfully, happy, or at least satisfied - and some, perhaps perplexed, even stifled. But, pressing on is what we do in life and it is appreciated by me that I am given the chance to share my feelings, so press on with my review I shall.

 

Here we go:

 

Overall, A Memory of Light read like a ‘’To Do List’’ to me, with things happening because the fans were breathing down Team Jordan’s neck to make sure that they did not forget them. But the way that most of these things occurred felt far too rushed and rather oddly-executed, as well.

 

A few disappointments and then some things I enjoyed.

 

Moiraine. Everyone was waiting for years for her reunion with Rand. And then – after an admittedly cool chapter-closing entrance – the POV shifts…to PERRIN!

 

How under the Light it was approved that Moiraine’s reunion scene would NOT be told from inside Rand’s head is beyond me. To me, that alone is unforgivable. And, if you were one of the many who spent years looking forward to her reunion with Lan for the first time ‘’onscreen’’ as well – then you were destined to disappointment in that regard as well.

 

To never see Rand, Mat and Perrin together again collectively even once was also something I couldn’t quite get past. Although, thinking on it, if some of the wincing I still do after some of what happened when Mat and Perrin reunited in Towers of Midnight is any indication, perhaps I should be thankful this was eschewed after all.

 

Also serving as a bit of a letdown to me were the odd, brief appearances and conclusions to Shadar Haran and Padan Fain’s arcs. If they were NOT going to have significant parts to play in the finale, then why treat them with such build up?

 

The fact that Rand and Demandred never ever see each other…puzzling. In fact – in the entire series, do Rand and Demandred ever meet in the Third Age?

 

Who WAS Demandred’s Third Age identity? Sanderson – after some vacillating – did say we had indeed seen it as of and past Knife of Dreams.

 

What was ‘’The Message’’ that was so dire in Chapter 22 of Lord of Chaos? The one that received nothing but ‘’RAFO’’s for decades.

 

Why the silly vacillating over things now (Nakomi, Verin, the Voice, etc) at the Signings, Q and As and on Twitter after Brandon was quoted as saying: ‘’After the last book is out I will be much more free to answer questions.’’? … Harriet, bless the woman, sometimes seems a bit…stern…and if this closed-mouthness is an edict of hers, then the only word to describe that approach is:

 

Disappointing.

 

If they think it is ‘’cute’’ or ‘’mysterious’’ to leave certain things ‘’open’’ – they are not picking the right things. Mr. Jordan wanted a freshness and sense of continuity to linger – we all know that – but even HE is quoted as saying it was his desire to ‘’close up most of the major arcs.’’

 

It was a bland read for me. And I despise the fact that I keep coming back to the word ‘’bland.’’ There were only two times when I did not feel I was reading a list. When something truly moved me…or when I was wincing in embarrassment over some ‘’funny’’ part that Brandon had presumably added.

 

I thought nothing would ever top the ‘’Letter’’ or the ‘’Backstories’’ or ‘’Master Crimson’’ until:

 

Nevermind. I can’t even quote it. It hurts too much. Ok – just a snippet. I can’t help myself. I’m a masochist:

 

Mat said. “By the way, I saved Moiraine. Chew on that as you try to decide which of the two of us is winning.” Mat followed Tuon, and behind him rose the laughter of the Dragon Reborn.

I’m sorry. I know it is not a big deal to some. And, further, I understand that there are those who actually found it funny. I respect that. But, speaking strictly for myself, this ‘’One Up Each Other’’ interlude between Mat and Rand gave me a new understanding of the word ‘’cringe.’’And, to avoid any more of the above-referenced pain, that is all I will say about that.

 

Mr. Sanderson is a mere three years away from being a 40 year-old man! How he feels positive about some of the ‘’cute’’ or ‘’funny’’ things he puts in these books is astounding to me. He reminds me so much of David Edding’s dialogue and ‘’witty’’ and ‘’clever’ repartee in the Belgariad and Mallorean. Except…Eddings did it better. And that is FRIGHTENING to say.

 

I also feel that Mr. Sanderson allowed personal prejudices to interfere with his writing. I seriously doubt that Jordan had intended Cadsuane to get a mere three pages (if that) in the last book. Speaking admittedly as a Cadsuane fan, that was a true shame.

 

The last thing I will criticize is the redundancy in the writing. And the fourth-wall breaking (which used to be considered a BIG No, No) that Mr. Sanderson regularly engages in. There are parts – many – where he has the character literally listing step by step what he or she is about to do for the reader.

 

It hurts me that two of the oldest rules of fiction writing (Show, don’t tell and: never talk down to your reader) are frequently broken by a man who TEACHES a class in writing at a university!

 

In Jordan-written WOT novels, Morgase and Messana were raped. RAPED. People were murdered, beheaded, lost limbs, etc. No, it wasn’t a Martinesque bloodbath of vulgarity and violence on every page but it was no shiny fairytale for five year-olds either. Mr. Sanderson seems uncomfortable in writing explicit, grim subject matter.

 

Considering some of the subject matter indigenous to this particular story…it is yet another reason that – in hindsight – Mr. Sanderson seems to arguably be so odd a choice to complete this saga.

 

Oh, Mr. Sanderson, you came like a tempest, like a tempest touched everything, and like a tempest you were gone.

 

The good stuff.

 

I continue to feel Perrin, Faile, Berelain, Galad and others were written very well by Brandon Sanderson.

 

However, this meritorious truth only makes me wish even more that he had taken more time with certain characters, been more extensive with his prose, matured the dialogue and not insisted on changing things (bloody ashes!), adding his own brand of…humor…(Master Crimson, you and your zany antics crack me UP!) and trying to make everything ‘’cool’’ enough to satisfy even the most ardent comic book fan/fan-fic writer’s dreams.

 

But, we have what we have. And, it wasn’t all bad.

 

When Egwene died…it touched me. And I HATED Egwene. But her death touched me. When Tam and Rand sparred…that was fantastic. Lan in this book was pure greatness. Mat had several moments of not just awesome, but PURE awesome – when he wasn’t being ‘’funny’’ – and I’m glad Rand is alive and free to truly wander as Min predicted – and not just around Ebou Dar with an old cloak and walking stick with a bandage over his eyes.

 

The battle stuff was awesome. For the most part. I agree it was chaotic at times and jumpy – but a battle that size is meant to be.

 

The end…well, we know there ARE no endings to this Wheel, but…as I said, let Rand wander, Perrin reclaim his Falcon and Mat juggle his Daughter of the Nine Moons for a few decades.

 

I could wish that, with the 2,700 pages Brandon Sanderson was able to write of WOT’s end, he had used some of the page space he devoted to Master Crimson easing the badger, Androl and Pevara’s James Bond operations, the pointless ‘’Horn Arc’’, backstories, letters and Hinderstap – and used those spaces for answering the fans most long-desired questions and doing so in a way that didn’t feel so rushed and bland.

 

However, I am still very thankful for the journey. I know that Brandon Sanderson worked hard. I appreciate that. I appreciate Team Jordan and Harriet. I say ‘’Thank you.’’

 

In fact, I am saying ‘’Thank you’’ with my wallet four times. One hardback, just read, one to collect, one in paperback and one for the Kindle in April.

 

But, I most say ‘’Thank You’’ for James Rigney’s imagination and the joy and friends this series has always given me.

 

Yes, as I said at the top: One of the running themes in the series was:

 

Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

 

It is true that even as early as the first book there were bumps in the road, but…all in all…

 

It was a GREAT toss of the dice.

 

 

Fish 

[Beidomon]

AMOL was one of the best of the series. Certainly not as good as Book 4, The Shadow Rising, but still good.

 

First the good stuff:

 

1. Androl and Pevara, Logain's redemption, and the whole Black Tower story line. Some fans were thrown by a minor character having such a big role in the final book - I enjoyed it.

 

2. The Perrin/Lanfear story in TAR was quite interesting.

 

3. For the first time, I didn't find the Matt/Tuon angle completely annoying. Matt was entertaining throughout.

 

4. It was also nice to see the Shadow not acting completely incompetent for a change. Attacking the Great Captains in their dreams was a nice touch. Demandred kicked some serious butt until RJ basically just decided, "Ok, now you need to die." More on that later.

 

5. It's also good that at least a few of the protagonists finally bit the bullet.

 

6. I enjoyed the Demandred reveal, mostly because I called this and, let's face it, it just made sense. Demandred had an army worthy of him, he used it effectively, and it's also cool that he was pretty much crazy at the end.

 

7. Egwene dies. At least she dies heroically, somewhat redeeming her character, but I was still happy to see her gone.

 

8. The Horn of Valere story was good. Obviously a bit of a plot convenience because you can't have the Horn sound at the beginning and make things too easy (but wasn't this an important enough item that Egwene should have been carrying it in her purse from the get go?!), but I liked the brief journey through the Blight and the twist at the end with Matt and Olver. Didn't see that coming.

 

9. Finally, I thought the idea of time moving more slowly the closer you get to the Bore actually made some sense and worked quite well. Again, an obvious plot convenience, but that's Ok with me.

 

The book also has some annoying flaws:

 

1. At places, it reads a bit like fan fiction. This is most noticeable where BS inserted a joke (like Rand's remark to Roedran) or just randomly explained something to resolve an issue that only die-hard fans cared about. These things disrupted the story and didn't seem realistic.

 

2. The Light's battle strategy made no sense. At first, I thought the whole "let's split our army up 4 ways to fight on fronts selected by the enemy and, while we're at it, let's waste a bunch of resources kicking the beehive that is Caemlyn" was a product of the Shadow influencing the Great Captains. But then somewhere later on Mat remarks about how good the strategy was. Huh? The battles were interesting, but only if you don't dig too deep.

 

3. Where'd everybody go? As many others have pointed out, the number of the Light's forces didn't make much sense.

 

4. Inventing weaves. This has been one of the biggest flaws in the series and it is most prominent in the final book. The protagonists have an uncanny knack for inventing... whatever the heck they need to succeed at just the right time. At least with the Cleansing, Rand had obviously devoted some thought to it, got Fel's help, and it was "logical." But Rand basically went in with no plan to seal the Bore and, at just the right time, it just came to him. "Hey, I'll just take some Saidin, Saidar, a dash of True Power, weave it all together and voila! Prison sealed!" Egwene was getting her butt kicked by Demandred until she figures out "Hey, there's obviously a weave to counteract balefire, so here it is!" It's just annoying.

 

At the end of the day, this book is a very satisfying end to the series. It wasn't airtight - in fact, there are a number of gaping plot holes - but neither was the series. The book was very entertaining and I enjoyed it. Thanks to BS for doing as good a job as could be hoped for wrapping this up!

[MarkDiLillo]

Book was [removed].  An utter slap of disrespect to RJ's legacy and WoT fans everywhere.  There were parts that were enjoyable to read, but overall it was an unmitigated disaster that should never have been published.  See the quality thread for details as to why I feel it was so terrible; there is no use retyping or copying pages into this thread.

[Rhienne]

...however, the subsequent lack of character development left aMoL feeling shallow and flat.

 

This really sums up how I felt after reading the book.  On the one hand, it was enjoyable, it was fast paced, it was a page turner.  On the other, I felt it barely scratched the surfaces of many of the characters we have come to know and love.  I don't know how this could have been resolved.  Throughout the series you put up with having one book very heavy on Egwene, Perrin, Rand, Elayne, etc., and the next one very short because you know that things will balance out in the long run.  In the last book of the series you no longer have the knowledge that you can read more about so-and-so in the next book.  There were just too many characters to do justice to in the sufficient depth to meet expectations built up over such a long series.  My personal feelings (probably influenced by my own character preferences) were that there was too much: i) Androl and Pevara.  I actually found their story fascinating and welll written but given the limited space I would have preferred more time with old favourites., ii) Mat and Tuon.  I like reading about Mat, not so much Tuon, but I felt like they had pages and pages more time than any of the other characters/relationships, iii) Lan.  I will admit that I absolutely loved every page he was in, and all the awesome things he did, but given he hadn't even had a POV until the very end of the series (apart from NS) there was maybe a bit much.  I would be hard pressed to choose anything to cut from his arc though!

 

I didn't think there was enough of: i) Moiraine.  If it weren't for the excitment at the Tower of Ghenji and the mystery leading up to her return I would be very much inclined to have kept her dead.  It was almost painful to be deprived of any interaction between her and Siuan, and worse to have that little throw-away sentence about how she and Lan were cool but civil. ii) Nynaeve. Yes, her plot has just been sub-plot of Rand's arc for the last few books but for one of the six main characters to get almost no mention was really disappointing.  iii) Interaction between the original Emond's field group.  I feel this would have made the series feel a little more finished to me.  The lack of comment on Egwene's death or Rand's death.  May just disappearing off to Seanchan without seeming to care about any of his old friends or life at all. Elayne, Min, and Avi not even commenting on Egwene's death.  iv) Min and Rand.  No scenes between them?  I'm not actually a big fan of Min but seeing no interaction between her and Rand kind of makes me feel frustrated that so much time was spent building up their relationship to have the last book slew her off towards Mat and Tuon instead.

 

I know I've really just focused on the characters here, but the lack of character interaction and character resolution (as opposed to plot resolution) really spoiled this book for me.  Don't get me wrong, I loved some of the scenes: Faile leading the trollocs away to save Olver, Egwene's self-sacrifice to defeat Taim, Lan's duel with Demandred.  There was a lot of action in this book, and much of it was well written, some of it even moving.  But I felt that because so much had to happen we were distanced from the characters.  This is not me complaining that we didn't get to see how Tuon and Mat revolutionised Seanchan, or how Elayne's twins grew up, or Faile and Perrin taking the throne of Saldaea.  That wasn't what RJ wanted, and it wasn't needed.  What I am complaining about is that the last chapters and epilogue contain no more than a few lines of relfection by the main characters.  They have won the Last Battle but lost friends and loved ones and homes.  And all we get is Rand flippantly thinking about whether he should visit Min or Elayne or Aviendha and having a little laugh to himself.

[The Fisher King]

AMOL was one of the best of the series. Certainly not as good as Book 4, The Shadow Rising, but still good.

 

First the good stuff:

 

1. Androl and Pevara, Logain's redemption, and the whole Black Tower story line. Some fans were thrown by a minor character having such a big role in the final book - I enjoyed it.

 

2. The Perrin/Lanfear story in TAR was quite interesting.

 

3. For the first time, I didn't find the Matt/Tuon angle completely annoying. Matt was entertaining throughout.

Who's ''Matt'' ???

 

 

Fish

 

[Pinzarn]

Ok, this is more of a review of aMoL as it pertains to the entire series instead of the just the individual book.

 

1.  I doubt that RJ could have wrapped up all of the loose ends in the final three books.  Looking back at how the book series went from a 3 book to a 6 book to a 12 book to a 14+ book series, I can see how things could get out of control.  RJ developed a lot characters and side plots that simply just ran out of pages to bring to closure.  Characters that would not have had a name or real role in the three book series all of a sudden had POV chapters by the end.  I loved the detail and all of the plots along the way.  I am upset that more weren't brought to clean closure.

 

2.  I am glad the story was finished.  I feared that with the passing of RJ, I would not receive the conclusion to the story that drew me in.  I never had hopes that BS would equal RJ's righting style.  Heck, I would have been happy with a bullet point outline of the completion of the story.  Yes, I would have preferred to have RJ finish the story, but the Wheel didn't allow it.  I am grateful that someone was willing to step up to finish it, and he probably knew all of the critisism that he would receive.  For that, I thank BS.

 

3.  Ok this pertains to #1 a little bit.  I really started irking me by chapter 37 about how many random plot lines/theories/fandom were wrapped up in a single line.  Too many items were left as RAFO and all we got after 13 previous books was a single line.  Examples:

 

Prophecies - Moraine's little speech at the Field of Mellior(sp?) was a very anti-climatic confirmation of the prophecies.

Blood on the Rock - Ok, Rand bleeding at various other times through-out the books received more detail than at SG.  Oh the wound broke open again and it ran down his leg to his foot and he left bloody footprints.  Really?  THAT fulfilled the prophecy.

 

I don't mind that some minor items were closed with a single line, but some of the major items either were built up too much earlier or they needed a bigger finish.

 

4.  This might apply to #1 as well, but some major items in the earlier books were left as plot inconsistencies.  They were introduced as a major cliffhanger or teaser, but then nothing came of it.  More importantly, the author didn't pay off on the teasers.  Examples:

 

Verin's Letters and Alanna:  Ok, to bring some closure to the Black Ajah, I understand Verin's revelations of the BA members just thinned out the herd of channelers a bit before the Last Battle.  I have no issues there, but RJ/BS made a point to mention the various letters (or at the very least make it appear the letters were from Verin).  There was no pay-off to that information.  Also, there was a huge gap of information on what happened to Alanna (Tear...she is in the north...<blank>....being captured at SG)  Why didn't Rand ever feel her fright through the warder bond?  He mentioned she was to the north so he felt her, but nothing about her being captured/injured.

 

Seanchan 2nd Attack on the White Tower:  At the end of ToM(?), we are left with Tuon, may she live forever, ordering a second attack on the White Tower.  In aMoL, the attack is never mentioned.  On top of that, it appeared that none of the troops were marshalled for the attack because it took Mat a while to get the troops in order when he became the 3rd in command.  I would have been happy that the troops were at least organizing, and Mat then diverted them when he assumed his post.  I mean it took Mat a while to go from the Tower of Ghengi(sp?) to Ebou Dar.  During this time there should have been some Senchan activity if the Empress, may she live forever, ordered the attack.

 

5.  Along with the teasers, I know that BS mention the butchers bill (death toll) in a tweet or something.  Did an "A" level character even die?  I know we had a few "B" level characters die and a passing mention of various "C" level, but I don't think and "A" level character died.  [Disclaimer: we might disagree who is "A" level and not.]

 

6.  At least in the final books we finally had some decent action by the Chosen.  Too many of the Chosen were complete let-downs compared to their legends.  Some of it may have been they didn't get enough page time to develop their plots and actions.  Instead we are left with no real action from most of them.

 

7.  Overall, I liked the book only because it brought closure to the story.  I was disappointed in the direction that the entire series went.  Too many pages spent on Perrin/Faile/Shaido.  Too many pages spent on rebel Aes Sedai burning candle wax and looking at supply lists.  Too many pages spent on the Dark Ones touch and spoiling food.  Too many pages spent on the Elayne securing the throne.  Too many pages spent on developing "C" level characters that stole page time from "A" and "B" level characters.  Too many pages spent on the traveling circus.  Yes, these added depth to the WoT world, but in the end they created more issues for the readers/fandom than closure would allow in the final book(s).  Sadly, for some the items with a poor closure or non-existent closure, I thing back to the "too many pages" list.

[Suttree]

@pinzarn

 

You don't consider Egwene an A character?

 

As for plot holes there was more than enough time to address things given all the wasted space in these last three books. In fact it was made evidently clear that RJ was right in how much space he needed(Brandon agreed btw, he argued against the split).

[Pinzarn]

@pinzarn

 

You don't consider Egwene an A character?

 

As for plot holes there was more than enough time to address things given all the wasted space in these last three books. In fact it was made evidently clear that RJ was right in how much space he needed(Brandon agreed btw, he argued against the split).

 

Opps, forgot about her.  I got hung up on Gawyn (B character) and skipped over her.  Also, I could be convinced that a couple of the Foresaken could qualify as A characters.

 

Regarding the plot holes, with how much detail that went into the "too many pages spent on", I don't see how anyone could have wrapped everything up that was introduced and developed in the first 11 books.  At least not to the level od detail that was presented in the first 11 books.  It is a matter of opinion is all.

[Niniel]

I´m happy that I finally got to read the end even though it makes me sad at the same time. There are a lot in the book that I think BS could have done much better but I´m truly grateful that he finished it for us.

 

A lot of scenes where just brilliant. I haven´t cried or laughed this much when reading any of the other books. What I found worst was that many times during the book BS managed to leave a great cliff hanger and then… nothing. We just get a short comment later on that tells us what happened after.  Rand get to know what happened in the Black Tower almost accidentally by Cadsuane. Bah! Moiraine doing the best entrance ever and then… nothing. No reunions with Siuan or Lan. Bah! Moghedien turning into Demandred and then...nothing. Meh!

 

What I liked:

 

1. Black Tower: Androl/Pevara – I love them. What a wonderful story! I understand why some criticize that Androl got too much power but I can´t help loving him. The BT scenes started out great. It was horrible to see their friends getting turned and the way they almost turned Logain. True horror. But Taim gave up a little too quick and ran away. It didn´t become this huge war that I had expected. That is a little disappointing. And I would have wanted to know more about what happened between their victory and them showing up on the battle field. The way Rand learned about what happened was just wrong. But still – their story was great. 

 

I also loved Logain´s story. His story is one of the best in the book. The way he almost got turned, his struggle with himself. You never knew until the end what the glory, that Min saw, would mean. I had thought that he would fight Taim but this was much better. The others fought on the battlefield but Logain´s fight was in his own head.  He had one of the best lines in the book: “The Black Tower protects.” I shiver as I think about it.

 

2. Lan had some great scenes. I got chills when the borderlanders came to his rescue in Tarwin´s gap. His fight with Demandred was totally unexpected but epic.  I was so sad when he “died” but the scene where he stood up in front of all of them were wonderful. I had always imagined Mat to kill Demandred but this turned out so much better. 

 

3. The Shadow: I liked the way this book was much darker than the earlier. Some of the characters I loved were killed – Siuan, Gareth etc. I loved the way Graendal used compulsion on the great captains and others on the battle field. Seeing Rhuarc under compulsion was much more horrible than him just getting killed. I´m sad that Graendal never got to be nae´blis before the end. Her end was a little disappointing but I guess she deserves it.  I loved that Lanfear stayed selfish and evil until the end. I would have been disappointed if she had turned to the Light.

 

4. Olver – this story was a big surprise to me. Sure, I have liked to read about Olver but haven´t cared much about him. His story was the one that caught me the most in AMoL. First when he realized that battles weren´t so easy as he had imagined it. He was so afraid but he rescued Faile anyway and he managed to blow the Horn. It was a surprise that he could but it fitted well into the story.  I cried several times during my reading but not as much as when Noal showed up and Olver realized that someone finally had come back for him. Wow, that scene was wonderful. I´m happy that Noal became a Hero.  I´m sorry that we didn´t get to know more about his past.

 

5.  Egwene – I can barely think about it. I was sad for three days after reading about her death. Her story was great. I had not thought that she would be the one fighting Taim but it worked out well. I had not thought she would die. What a hero. Gawyn sort of did his part. If he hadn´t died Egwene might not have been able to sacrifice herself like that.

 

6. Characters that I thought was well written: Perrin, Gaul, Galad, Tuon, Elayne and Birgitte.

 

7.. I like the way that the Aiel got a new mission. Not to fight but to preserve peace. Sort of going back to the Way of the Leaf but in a new way.

 

 

What I´m neutral about:

 

1. Min – what happened? She is now Tuon´s truthspeaker. Lol  It´s just wrong even though it gave her some kind of meaning in this book.  I wish that we would have seen more of her, Avi and Elayne in the end.

 

2. Rand – how could you make his scenes good? I don´t know. He had already become Jesus Rand. There was no way that he could have lost to the DO. His talk with the DO was not interesting. But the way it ended in the cave was great. The way they let Moridin take Callandor and use him was surprising and I´m happy that we got some surprises in the end. I think it was fitting that Moridin helped Rand in the end even though it wasn´t his intention. Moridin is a great character. I hope he gets his rest now.

 

I don´t understand how they could have swapped bodies. I want to know more about that. The way Rand left in the end was okay I guess. I´m sad that we didn´t get any scenes with him and others in the end. No scene with him and the girls, no scene with Moiraine and Nyn and no scene with him, Mat and Perrin. And why didn´t they tell Tam?! That is cruel. In the end Rand is one of the best characters throughout all of the books. I have loved reading his story and I guess this end is good enough.

 

Talking about the end – I laughed so much at Cadsuane in the end. She will surely become Amyrlin and she will have to work with a man that she once hunted down. lol

 

 

What I didn´t like:

 

1. Moiraine – a little disappointing. As I said, no reunions with Siuan or Lan. Well, she met Lan but we didn´t see their first reactions as they met. Her reunion with Nyn was great though.  When Nyn hugged her and started to cry I almost cried as well. After that she almost disappeared. Did we even see Rand asking her to come with him to Shayol Ghul? And what did she wish for?

 

2. Mat – now I see why people have been saying that BS can´t write Mat. He just takes it too far. Would Mat run to Tuon to escape the last battle because Rand will be mad? I don´t think so. He ended up there anyway of course but that was unnecessary. It was of course great to see him on the battlefield, managing to fool the enemy more than once.  When he shouted “Tai´shar Malkier” and charged – that was one of the most emotional scenes in the book. Mat asking Arthur Hawkwing to go to Tuon was great. I would have loved to see her face. I think that his question regarding if he was a hero of the horn was unnecessary.  There were other scenes/lines in the book that were there only to give us answers but didn´t fit in the story.

 

3. People we didn´t see at all or people that I wanted to read more about: Sulin, Elaida, Berlaine, Myrelle, Narishma, Flinn, Nynaeve (no amazing healing in this book!) and  Cadsuane.

 

4. The battle scenes. Well, I don´t like battle scenes in general but I guess I can´t complain that there are a lot of battle scenes since it was the Last Battle. But I would have preferred to cut out half of the battle planning and give room to things I think are missing.

 

5. The Shadow: Demandred was truly disappointing. I loved how he turned up with the sharans. They were cool. What could have been a great story was what happened to him in Shara but without it his arc became meaningless. He has been mostly absent until now and when he finally shows up he is already mad. How could he even think that Mat or Lan was Rand? There is so much missing. I´m also disappointed that Moghedien didn´t get more screen time. I had hoped that she would be the only free forsaken in the end. The way she was captured by the sul´dam made her look just silly.

 

6. Fain – he showed up and suddenly Mat had killed him. Seriously?

 

7. All the answers that we never got: Who was Nakomi? How did Isam/Luc become Slayer? Why was Luc so important to the last battle? What did Verin´s letter say? I wanted to know more about her life, the Town, Shara… I would happily trade some of the battle scenes for more information about these things.

 

 

 

AMoL was not perfect but it was good. There are a lot to criticize but some of my favourite WoT scenes are in this book. It will be interesting to see what I find when I re-read it.

[NitroS]

People are complaining that Brandon wasted time on pointless stuff in the last 3 books ought to look at POD to COT all that wasted time on terrible boring dragged out arcs. It was Robert jordans fault. He could have finished the series before his death if he didn't drag the series out.

 

Also if demandred got any more screen time his arc wouldn't have been as mysterious and his character would have been less exciting. That's what makes the age of legends so exciting cause we don't know anything about it. Our imagination has set such a high account of these things that no matter how well anything was written, moraine , demandred, fain and the last battle could not live up to the hype not even if RJ wrote it.

 

I was satisfied with the ending and couldn't have been any happier with demandreds happenings. I mean nearly everyone believed the roedran theory and are actually upset we get something as cool as the sharans. Also the people complaining about a sword fight killing demandred. You tell me a way someone with the one power could have beaten a circle of 72 and the most powerful sad angreal left for a male could have been defeated? I'm glad we had the 2 best blade masters left in the world fight each other.

 

Things I wish we got to see include siuan moirane reunion I expect something like all aes sedai decorum being dropped and siuan running for moirane in tears with flashbacks to early accepted times. Lack of ashaman in the last battle. Adelorna bastine leading the last battle instead of elayne since she is the captain general but Brandon needed to give elayne simething to do cause her character is so one sided and boring in relation to all other aes sedai. Lack of cadsuane and the use of her paralysis net. I liked her final scene though. Lack of nyneaves tearngreal and moraine. Lack of moridin being usefull collected items of the one power for centuries for nothing? More circles, more seanchan collaring sharans and a bit more aes sedai and sharan povs

[Guest]

My review aligns with Barid Bel Medar's

THE POSITIVES:

Logain's arc (absolutely loved his ending)

Rand's arc

The ending (apart from not giving any hints at what comes after, or a few views into the future)

Fain playing a minor part

 

THE LETDOWNS

A lot of missed plots left unresolved or unsatisfyingly;

DEMANDRED (so disappointed)

Verin's letters,

Tuon and Hawking having a chat.

Unresolved prophecies.

Only hints of "the song" ? (Loial singing outside Cairhien)
Put bluntly, this book had so much more potential, and with about 50 pages left, i felt it was massively disappointing. However, it ended as an "ok" end to a series, nothing more to me. It felt rushed.

I am one of those who would have liked a peek into what the 4th age held, union of channelers, rise of Malkier and so on.

[rane008]

I posted this on the Quality Discussion Thread but will copy/paste it here too as I think it got a bit lost in the other thread. Be warned it is a largely negative review, but more from a high level thematic point of view than from a "nit-pick all the stuff I didn't like", though there is some reference to specific events. The TL;DR is essentially that our expectations were built up to the level of requiring a legendary, transcendent ending and this is not what (I think) we got. I felt it was flat, not really noteworthy. Hell, the Lay of Manetheren had a better ending than the series culmination.

Anyway, feel free to flame this, it's just an opinion.

 

I don't post here much, but I do lurk a good amount. I'm saying this because it will be relevant later. Like all of you, I am also a dedicated fan of the series.

I finished AMOL about a week ago. In that time, I've gotten my thoughts in order regarding the end of this epic. Shortly put, I found it lacking.

When I say lacking, I do not mean in word count, or even in action. Chapter 37 was, to Brandon's great credit as he was not the student of tactics and strategy that Robert was, one of the best battle sequences I've read. The pacing was excellent and doing it in one chapter was brilliant. In fact, my issue has little to do with Brandon. Yes his voice was off for Mat, Aviendha, and Tuon, but Androl, his own character, was one of the most compelling figures in this book. He even made Demandred somewhat sympathetic. No, my issue is with Robert.

 

With a saga as complex and as epic as The Wheel of Time, I expected the ending to be as complex and epic. But gone was almost mystic quality that lingered when one finished any of the first five or six books. Gone were the unanswered questions that lent to that mysticism (What was the Eye? What is the Great Serpent? How did Callendor split balefire?). Sure these questions remain somewhat unanswered, but where are the new one?

 

Beyond the lack of mystery, the ending felt flat. Too tidy, too neat, too predictable. Here is where I agree with other posters. Characters wasted: Lanfear, Fain, Gawyn (and not because of his death), Galad, and Rand. Story lines that meandered and/or were cut short: Androl v. Taim, Shaisam, the Wounds, the ta'veren call. And the twists that were in the book felt contrived. Callendor is also a True Power s’angreal? And it has no buffer? And two women can wrest control? No, Callendor is a Skyhook. Lanfear’s big plan was to pull a Ruby from Supernatural? [sidebar: I found the Ruby storyline much more surprising.]

 

Where are the hidden Darkfriends? Aravine? That’s it? No Wise Ones (Sorilea, Bair, I’m looking at you). No Clan or Sept Chiefs. Not one of the Light’s generals from any land. Not one ruler. Not even hidden Black Ajah. What of Davram or Deira? What of Zaida?  I'm aware of Jesus Rand's ability to see them, but that just seems like a another skyhook to me and surely a high level Darkfriend could be clever enough to avoid Rand staring deeply into their eyes. 

 

Where were the great betrayals? I don’t even mean by hidden agents of the Shadow but by good-intentioned people. Or even bad people who weren’t Darkfriends. Elaida is a perfect example. Robert was able to weave the complexity of the human experience into his books. There was not just right and wrong, there was a whole continuum. The story is less compelling because of these parts are missing. And yes, I know the “Compulsed Great Captains” constitutes a great betrayal, but there is little depth there, aside from the initial shock that Bashere may be a Darkfriend.  It just seems that the writing made things black and white, completely excising the gray, which is where life lies. 

 

But what is missing most of all, and this is a direct result of the above flaws, is the sense of legend. I do not believe that this a story for the ages. Robert’s vision was to weave the great archetypes of fantasy, myth, and legend into a story that elevated those archetypes into a story that transcended traditional trope. In this, he failed.

As I said, I am a frequent lurker here. The most damning criticism I can give of the book is that I have read better, deeper, more moving, more SATISFYING conclusions to WOT on the Speculation threads on Dragonmount than the actual ending was. I grew up with the alluring mysticism in the first few books. When I was young, I wished I could channel, saw myself as the Dragon in the First Age. And I do not think that maturity, or what little of that I can claim, has dimmed this sense of connection, of adventure. Rather, it was the later books themselves that did that.

 

Secretly, I wish the WOT Community would collaborate on a fan-rewrite. Yeah, that sounds lame, but consider: being able to trim the fat, refocus, redirect? It may not be the solution, but it is a solution.

[Vambram]

I started reading the Wheel of Time shortly after the release of The Eye of the World. By the time I had finished The Dragon Reborn, the Wheel of Time had become my most favorite series of fictional books ever written. Almost 20 years after finishing The Dragon Reborn, I still believe that The Wheel of Time is the best and greatest series of fictional novels ever written!!!
A Memory of Light was awesome, and I loved reading every word, every line, and every page. I loved that a few of my theories were right, but I was also very happy to be surprised by much of the developments and plot lines with A Memory of Light.

For me, this book is truly an Epic ending to the Wheel of Time. A Memory of Light will certainly be re-read by me and countless other WOT fans for years and years and years. To me, A Memory of Light was such a grand ending to this epic fantasy series, that I expect to read all of the books at least once every two years for the next few decades. 

 

 

[TheBeerPatriot]

I finished AMOL last week, but wanted a few days for it to soak in before I wrote a review.  But after waiting a few days, I hate to say that I still feel letdown by AMOL.  While the re-sealing scene was well done, the narrative read almost like a history book at times. 

 

Specific issues I had with the book:

-Too much focus on Androl and Pevara.  Logain should have been much more of a focal point through the Black Tower and Last Battle sequences.  Androl and Pevara were tertiary characters that had way too much screen time being the last book of the series

-While the last confrontation didn't need to be between them, there should have been some more scenes between Tain and Logain

-What happened to Elaida?? What about her Foretelling about walking the Black Tower grounds? Yes, she is damane but she should have been given at least a scene or two, given how many scenes she was in from early in the series.

-Building confrontation between Rand and the Dark One was a letdown.  Instead of just imposing their visions on each other, I would have liked to see the Dark One try to taint saidar this time in an effort to keep Rand the Light off-balance.  It was disappointing to see Moridin not have more of an active role.  Also on a related note-Moiraine and Nynaeve were completely sidelined throughout the book.

-I didn't see the rationale in killing Egwene's character.  Why all that struggle in re-uniting the White Tower from Salidar to Tar Valon, only to kill her off in the end?

-The body switch between Rand and Moridin seemed forced.  Rand's closing scene seemed uninspired-I could see where the Wheel was setting him free to live the life he wanted, but there should have been more connecting threads, especially to Tam and his 3 women

-The fate of the Forsaken: Aside from Demandred's arc, Moridin was merely a vessel, Moghedien's arc was wasted, Graendal's fate was forced, and Lanfear's ending was weak.

-Shaidar Haran: LAME! That was disgraceful that he had zero action in the final book, after all the action he has undertaken since his introduction in LoC.

-Padan Fain: Also a wasted opportunity to be used as a wild card in the showdown between Rand and the Dark One.  To have him in only a few pages after so much buildup was a waste.

-The Song: not even a mention of trying to rediscover it? This seemed like a plot line that should have been explored at least, if not necessarily resolved

-lack of focus on the central charcters, ones that had POV's since the early books in the series

-I would have loved to see a reunion between Moiraine and Siuan to circle it all back to New Spring

 

What I liked:

-we got an ending.  The sealing itself was very well done, and surprised me

-Brandon's characterization of Mat has improved over the last 3 books, and I did not find his dialogue and characterization as jarring as I had found it in TGS and TOM.

-Perrin's arc was very well done, I would say he was the best charcter in AMOL.

-Lan's arc was gripping as well, a definite improvement from TOM

-Elayne had a good arc as well, the best one she's had since at least KOD, if not ACOS.

-Birgitte's death was poignant and fitting, loved how she is bound to the Horn once again

-The Last Battle chapter was great.  It showed the entire breadth and scope of the Battle through the various viewpoints, from the commanders down to the common soldier. 

 

Overall:

3 out of 5.  While the ending (sealing) was well done, I never felt truly connected with the characters (excepting Perrin).  It appeared that the goal was to hit as many of the outstanding plot points as possible, and unfortunately that made characterization a casualty in this book.  As a result, this did not truly feel like a WOT book due to the lack of connection with the core characters.  Having now read AMOL, I now understand all of the criticism pointed at Sanderson prior to AMOL being released. 

 

With that said, I truly appreciate Sanderson taking the time to complete these books on RJ's behalf.  While AMOL was disappointing, I feel that there was no way the book could live to all of the expectations mounted up over the 23 years of the series.  I still think WOT is an amazing series, and ultimately has a fitting end to the series. 

 

Thanks to Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Harriet and the rest of Team Jordan to ensure we got an ending to the series.  I started reading EOTW in late 1992, and have been hooked on the series since that time.  Thanks also to everyone here on Dragonmount, it's a passionate site and I look forward to continuing discussions of the WOT and other topics going forward.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Guys, remember to read the OP. This is a thread where anyone can post their own review of aMoL for everyone on the boards to see. 

 

To avoid the thread being derailed and losing it's purpose, we ask that you take any debate over to the quality thread or the thread appropriate to the content. This is purely for posting reviews. 

 

Questions regarding something in one of the reviews are permitted, if something isn't clear or you don't understand. Beyond that, please take it to the appropriate thread. 

 

Cheers!

[Entreri]

Main problem: Too many things to wrap up in one book.

 

IMO, the "Last Battle" should have started around the middle of book 13, full on, which would led to more character interactions, development and tying up loose ends.  Ending book 13 off in a cliff hanger would have been fantastic (e.g. Demandred wrecking the Light forces...full blown retreat).

 

Overall, the book was good (right around the middle in terms of quality...I would rate The Shadow Rising as #1, The Lord of Chaos as #2 and The Fires of Heaven #3).

 

The Good: Lan, Perrin, Rand, Androl, Demandred and the battles in general were good. 

The Bad: Fain, Moraine, Cadsuane, Shadar Haran, Demandred, #'s of Shadowspawn, # of Light channelers were way off.

 

Lan made this book good. I was dissapointed with Fain, so much build up and went out like a whimper.

[Tenesmus]

Tenesmus' review of AMOL.  I need to comment on the series as a whole before wrapping up with AMOL specific comments.  I began reading WOT at the end of 1990.  I read EOTW and TGH back to back and thought they were pretty darn good.  It wasn't until I read TDR that I realized I was hooked.  Then I waited patiently for each volume.  I loved them all, but then I remember after ACOS, I thought, "Still pretty good, but I hope the next one is better".  Rand and Sammy's battle just seemed like it was phoned in. I got TPOD and remember being quite pissed at the end.  I think what really set me off was Egwene's ending in that book.  All the war build up and it ends with them opening a gateway.  I literally stood up, yelled, "WHAT THE F@#$!!!" and slammed the book onto the table next to me. I thoroughly enjoyed WH and felt re-energized as a fan.  COT came out, and instead of being angry like TPOD, I felt used by what I thought at the time was a self indulgent author. Though, to be fair, on a re-read it grew on me. KOD came out and, again, I felt energized as a fan.  When I heard RJ passed,  I was surprised at how sad it made me feel.  I was unprepared for the  melancholy I experienced at the thought of never seeing these characters in my mind again.  Not ever getting a new book was a secondary sadness.  I felt like the Dark One had in fact won TLB and destroyed the Pattern.  When I heard that BS would finish the story, I read a couple of his books and enjoyed them.  BS completed a thankless task.  I have closure.  I don't focus on what was written, I think of the story, the characters, the scenes, the moments.  The story is RJs, some of the words are BSs.  So be it.  I know the end, and that is good.  I'll leave the sanctimonious parsing and pedantic quibbling to others and just say, "Thank you."    I personally believe that Rand's new pipe is just a terangreal from the stash that works for non-channelers.  That is MY ending, the way RJ inended. 

 

Now for AMOL specifically, There were some very touching and well crafted scenes; Rand/Tam, Noal/Olver, Perrin's arc, Egwene's arc, Lan's arc.  All very well done.  I even enjoyed the brief Moiraine POV and her tea.  I think BS' hands were tied when it came to certain details that RJ left undone. BS probably didn't want to create or change existing canon,and played it safe just connecting the dots that RJ left behind.  I can't fault him for that.  Most of the time when he strayed off the ranch, he did it well; Androl, Perrin.  When he was just conencting the dots, it sometimes came off flat; Fain, Demandred.  I am really interested in reading Demandred's arc in the upcoming anthology for this reason alone.  I give it a solid "B," not quite a B+, but how could it be?  I honestly think we got this ending 2-4 years earlier than if RJ completed it, and we would have been critiquing it just as hard, for some of the same reasons.  All is well.  The Wheel, she keeps a' turnin'.

[ironisles]

All I will say is, I wish it had been as good  as The Way of Kings.

[TheWyld]

Before you read my review, I must have you know that I am by no means an expert on literature or WoT, in fact I just joined the forums. I am a fourteen year old fan of the series that got really into the books.

As I neared the end of the book, I realized that I hadn't felt satisfied with a lot of the decisions. I wasn't mad either, I just had no reaction whatsoever. I felt that way through the whole book, until the end when I was overwhelmed with sadness that the series was over (especially because it ended with Rand becoming a bum and roaming around chopping wood). I felt like there was too many questions that hadn't been answered, and while many readers like to try to imagine what will happen after the ending of the series, I don't feel the same way.  It just seemed too predictable- the whole battle at FoM and the last stand and the forces of the light miraculously winning. I had figured that the four battlefronts would fail, and that there would have to be one "desperate" last stand. I must admit that I was touched when Egwene died because she has been built up for so long and had so much potential (even though her Amirilyn speeches got horribly annoying), but besides that I felt neutral about almost everything. The book had so much potential and so much that could have been written that just WASN'T THERE. I, like others who have posted, felt that the book was fairly black-and-white. I wouldn't say that this is the worst book in the series, but it most certainly wasn't the best- especially for the ending of such a great series.

[Scarloc99]

So some 16-17 years since I first entered Robert Jordan's world and we reach the end. Throughout it all I have been a defender, yes this started as a copy if Lord if the rings, the similarities between EOTW and the fellowship far to big. Ahh I would say but that was only book 1 and things have become unique to this world, anyway Tolkien was the master the granddaddy of modern fantasy is it not surprising his plot lines are the framework if so much.

 

Yes halfway through it was becoming bloated overlong and drawn out with far to many story lines that seemed to be there for no reason. Stick with it I would tell people, RJ has a plan these thugs will all come to fruition (while hoping at he back of my head my faith wasn't Mis placed).

 

Yes I understood that when RJ passed and anouther took the mantle we may see a change in structure and pace however I maintained this was RJs story, his notes his ending we will get a finish. In fact BS pacing was a breath if fresh air why didnt RJ inject some if this into some if his overlong scenes and plots.

 

I accepted so much because nothing could takeaway from those moments of Joy, in no particular order watching Mat go from young scamp to general, the moment we see Aiel where fallen from the way if the leaf. Seeing the irks before the breaking all Star Trek and shiny and great. Realizing how far that breaking went. Egwene manipulating the tower and becoming a truly great amyrilian. These and so many more moments if story helped me see past the flaws (rands live stuck puppy is 1 ffs your the dragon reborn act like it) no book is perfect and it is through the flaws we appreciate the great moments.

 

I explain myself above so you see I am not a BS hater, I am not new to the series having come to it in a few years. I accept this is RJ and now BS story to tell and we as the reader have no right to demand or request.

 

However MOL is out the story is complete and I am considering taking my set of books, some of them signed, to a charity shop. I have read the series many times over. Once through every time a new book is released, again in the space between, I am someone who has several books on the go at once and so I also have one next to me always to dip into.

 

Overall MOL is an ok book, the last battle is written fairly well and the build up is good. I have gripes but no one was going to be pleased with everything there was to much to tie up to much to close off. No for me this tale lived or died on one aspect. Rands facing down of the Dark One this is what we have been building towards all other tales mere sidelines to this one confrontation. Even the last battle was always going to be a sideline (again you could argue lifted from Tolkien the battle at the gates if Mordor anyone). However I digress.

 

I wanted something exciting and unique I wanted something different something great. I wanted evidence that for over half my life I have been right to wait.

 

I was disappointed. The great showdown between rand and the DO didn't need to be showmanship and lights, I didn't need bangs explosions and battles, or the slaying of dread lords but I needed more then was provided.

 

Moving away from editorial issues (I have a personal dislike if the use of bold capitals in dialogue) this was a showdown and plot device that I am sorry I have read so many times, seen so many times in various formats and in many alot better. The obvious one is Thomas Covenant facing down Lord Foul is the obvious and I am sorry is far better telling. But changing story the climax if the war between Virlan and Shadow in Babylon 5 has similar overtones so I got to the end and thought ok.

 

Without that moment being truly epic the rest falls down and I am sorry those who claim having this understated as a plot device was different. This is the climax the moment it ends, the defining point. It matters not what Perrin or Mat, Lan or Egwene, Faile or Olver do if Rand loses. The plot holes throughout the rest of it can be accepted if this had been right.

 

I don't blame BS for this in totality you have to believe that scene was described by RJ in his notes, that his aim and plan was to have this happen and so I feel cheated RJ wasn't the master story teller I believed, he did get lost and wayward with his story he did fail to self edit and cut and he could have finished this series in fewer books. Every charge laid at his door by critics is proven right by the laziness of this ending.

 

Unless this is all BS creation, in which case Harriet you have done more to ruin RJs legacy by allowing this through.

 

Why do I say this, can you see this series being lauded in 20 years as the fantastic fantasy epic it could have been with this ending? Or will it now just be another over long story? I truly feel the latter because I as a fan (and there are / will be many more of us our there) will no longer be insisting people must read this tale. I have already had to apologise to 2 friends who I recently (the last 5 yrs) made get into the series and who finished MOL and told me they wish I had t bothered, I find myself wondering the same thing.

[Scarloc99]

I just want to apologise wrote that review on my I phone on a train and just reread far to many typos. Stupid auto spell.