Synopsis: (from Goodreads) 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.

Wow! Where do I start? Reading the Wheel of Time was my goal for 2019. With not even a day to spare, I accomplished that goal.

Looking at the size of this book (1150 pages), I didn’t quite know what to expect. The Last Battle had to be starting soon and, indeed, this volume is pretty much the all the Last Battle. At first, I wondered how that could be. How could 1100 pages be all one battle? Well, it’s not just one battle. It’s a huge battle being fought in various places with nearly every character coming into play in one way or another. Because of how the Pattern is beginning to unravel, the flow of time has changed, so Rand’s battle against the Dark One seems only a short time to them, but in the rest of the world, days, even weeks pass.

It was really difficult for me to put this book down. I actually stayed awake until 6 in the morning because I just had to keep reading. With so much happening to all the different characters, the thought of putting the book aside and going to sleep was barely in my mind. I needed to know how it was all going to end. I was not disappointed. I’ve heard other readers say that getting through some of the middle books with a slower pace is worth. And I  have to agree. If you’re reading this series and you’re near the middle and wonder if you should continue reading, well I really hope you do. The ending is worth it.

I give this book 5/5 stars, which I rarely ever do.

Overall, this series is an amazing one. Robert Jordan created a vastly detailed world. He incorporated a magic system unlike any other that I’ve read about, while also creating various countries of this world with different customs and qualities to the people. Accents, clothing, and hairstyles to name a few things that would distinguish different nationalities.

The thing I disliked the most about this series was the female characters. From the beginning, they all seemed to be extremely haughty and arrogant, especially the Aes Sedai. It annoyed me how they all seemed to think that they knew better than every one else and that they should “guide” the Dragon Reborn. Really what they wanted to do was control him. Their attitude is that because he is a man that he is a complete idiot and will likely get himself killed if left alone. When Egwene starts to adopt this attitude as the Amrilyn Seat, my fondness for her declined. Yes, Rand could be a stubborn person at times, but really, who wants people constantly telling them what to do when you’re supposed to be the savior of the world? Brandon Sanderson managed to salvage a lot of the female characters by having them reflect on their past behavior and learn and grow from it, without losing who they were.

There are questions that I still have that were never answered by the end of the books. I won’t say what those questions are, as i don’t want to provide any spoilers. The questions I still have are little things and not necessarily important. The ending is still satisfactory, although I could see a sequel of some kind being set in the same world had Robert Jordan lived. I don’t think Brandon Sanderson would be the one to tell the stories of future generations in this world. He has his own books to write. While I would read a sequel or spin off, I don’t find that it’s necessary to the overall plot of these 14 books.

Overall, I give this series a rating of 4/5 stars.

Have you read the Wheel of Time? What did you think of it? Do you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said here? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unraveling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight.

The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age.

Perrin Aybara is now hunted by specters from his past: Whitecloaks, a slayer of wolves, and the responsibilities of leadership. All the while, an unseen foe is slowly pulling a noose tight around his neck. To prevail, he must seek answers in Tel’aran’rhiod and find a way–at long last–to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever.

Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The creatures beyond the stone gateways–the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn–have confused him, taunted him, and left him hanged, his memory stuffed with bits and pieces of other men’s lives. He had hoped that his last confrontation with them would be the end of it, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. The time is coming when he will again have to dance with the Snakes and the Foxes, playing a game that cannot be won. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost.

This latest novel of Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series–the second based on materials he left behind when he died in 2007–brings dramatic and compelling developments to many threads in the Pattern. The end draws near.

Dovie’andi se tovya sagain. It’s time to toss the dice.

There isn’t a lot I feel I need to say about this book. Everything that is happening is all leading to the Last Battle and the conclusion of the series. I will say that the pacing has picked up a great deal as the end of the world creeps closer. The characters reflect on their lives over the past two years, from the time when they left the Two Rivers til now. Faile has even redeemed herself in my eyes as she reflects on her own past behavior. I no longer want her to die, though she is still far from my favorite character.

I know this review is short and not much of a review at all, for which I apologize. I hope to have more to say after I finish A Memory of Light and complete the series. Please look forward to that post.

I give the Towers of Midnight 4/5 stars.

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) The dead are walking, men die impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable: All are signs of the imminence of Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, when Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanity’s only hope. But Rand dares not fight until he possesses all the surviving seals on the Dark One’s prison and has dealt with the Seanchan, who threaten to overrun all nations this side of the Aryth Ocean and increasingly seem too entrenched to be fought off. But his attempt to make a truce with the Seanchan is shadowed by treachery that may cost him everything. Whatever the price, though, he must have that truce. And he faces other dangers.

The winds of time have become a storm, and things that everyone believes are fixed in place forever are changing before their eyes. Even the White Tower itself is no longer a place of safety. Now Rand, Perrin and Mat, Egwene and Elayne, Nynaeve and Lan, and even Loial, must ride those storm winds, or the Dark One will triumph.

After several books in this series moved along quite slowly, not really progressing the story very far despite the length of the books, I’m happy to say that Knife of Dreams has broken that mold. The Last Battle is coming and there is much evidence showing that the Dark One is touching the world. The dead appear before the living, people die horrible deaths, food spoils long before it should and the spring crops aren’t growing.

Perrin could care less about all of this, of course. His only focus is getting his wife back. Like, obsessively!  Yes, she’s his wife and he loves her, but he even witnesses an impossible and horrifying death and shrugs it off because it has nothing to do with rescuing Faile. I’m sorry, really? I don’t think my wish is going to come true. Faile is likely going to survive all the way to the end of the Last Battle.

Mat is still on the road, though he has left the travelling show. If readers recall to several books ago (I can’t remember precisely which one) Moraine, the Aes Sedai who brought them all out of the Two Rivers, sacrificed herself to kill Lanfear and save Rand from that Forsaken. You may recall that she left a letter for Rand, as well as one for Thom Merillin. All this time, we have never known what was written in that letter. Well, in this book we finally find out. Personally, I never truly believed that Moraine and Lanfear were dead. Rand was throwing around a whole lot of balefire (which burns out threads from the Pattern) while fighting one of the other Forsaken. The author certainly made us wait to find out what happened to them. And we’ll continue to wait because we only learn the contents of the letter, not what actually happened.

Moving on. Egwene is captive in the White Tower, reduced to being a novice again by Elaida. Egwene, of course, refuses to become a novice again and continues to behave as though she were the Amrilyn Seat, earning herself a lot of strappings. She has instructed her people not to rescue her because she thinks she can bring Elaida down from the inside. I’m not sure how well that is going to work, but Egwene seems to have a good start so far.

Elayne is besieged on two different fronts. One by her rival for the Lion Throne and the other by Aes Sedai who think to bring her back to the White Tower. While also dealing with her pregnancy symptoms and everyone trying to coddle her, Elayne remains one of the strongest characters in this series. She has had a few moments of stupidity, just like anyone else, but overall, she knows who she is, who she is meant to be, and what she wants.

There is a great deal more action in the book than there has been for the last few books.  I don’t want to give anything away, but there are numerous battle, including attacks by Trollocks, which we haven’t seen for awhile.

This was the last book Robert Jordan wrote before he passed away. I’m glad that this was his last book, as opposed to book 8 or 9, which may have left readers not particularly eager to continue it after the break to find a new author and him to start writing.

I’m really looking forward to how Brandon Sanderson picks up this series. As of this writing, I haven’t read anything by him in the past.

I rate this book 4/5 stars.