The Gathering Storm - anyone reading this?

[Ebon Shar]

I got it. I read it.

TGS is in the top 3 of the series for me. I wasn't a fan of Egwene before the series but has been stated this is her moment of awesome. I'll concur with the prior statements on Rand ~ his scenes were terrible in a tragic sorta way. They weren't off or wrong or anything just something that you don't want to see the hero endure.

I wondered about the strange town scene with Mat but concluded that it had to be a Jordan thing since it seemed so out of place that if he didn't include it the scene would never have passed the stress test.

This book -- for the first time in a long spell -- demanded to be read in one sitting. It had a pace and sense of urgency. You can literally feel the ending rushing head long at the major players. There are also a few moments where you choke a little and reach for a drink lest you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of explaining to your wife what the waterworks mean.

There are really two parallel stories running through the book that both.... hold on to your seats.... conclude! Yes, you heard it here. The stories actually wrap up along with two or three other minor subplot.

Sandarson said - We are fulfilling prophecy at a breakneck speed and by goodness he wasn't kidding. None of the minor plot resolutions felt rushed (well maybe one did but I was glad to see that particular one dead and buried).

Very good read. I've already dived back in to re-read specific chapters.

Ah, Eosin, I've been waiting for you to chime in. To me, you are the WOT guru. Ever since we worked together on the first WOT Netbook, I've greatly respected your opinion and loved your work. I'm glad you like the book and, while I'm reading it much more slowly than you guys, being only on chapter 11, I am enjoying it. I find myself wanting to go back to it whenever I get a free moment.


How are things going over at your publishing company? I haven't checked in with you in years.

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

I started it last night. I have to say, I'm no fan of Brandon Sanderson. I couldn't get through Mistborn because of his very poor characters. Aside from his main protagonist, all his characters were pretty much the same. While I've only gotten through most of chapter one, my first instict is, "I really miss Robert Jordan."

Gasp...

How can you say that about Sanderson's Mistborn??? That's one of the better fantasy trilogies in the last few years, and one of my favorites. To say the character's are poor, thats just not cool mr. ebon. They are fantastic characters, the pacing of events is superbly done, the backstory is rich, as is the world and it's more unique than most fantasy set worlds. The way magic works is amazing... shame on you

I'm glad they picked Sanderson for the last three Wheel of time books, he will do them justice.

 

[Darth Shoju]

Gasp...

How can you say that about Sanderson's Mistborn??? That's one of the better fantasy trilogies in the last few years, and one of my favorites. To say the character's are poor, thats just not cool mr. ebon. They are fantastic characters, the pacing of events is superbly done, the backstory is rich, as is the world and it's more unique than most fantasy set worlds. The way magic works is amazing... shame on you

I'm glad they picked Sanderson for the last three Wheel of time books, he will do them justice.

We've been through all that. It got rather dodgy, but peace has been restored. Birds are chirping, sun is shining...puppies are...being fuzzy, or something. It's all good now.

Sanderson is talented, but he isn't perfect. Jordan had his flaws, but he's one of the all-time greats. Let's leave it at that, eh?

 

[Ebon Shar]

We've been through all that. It got rather dodgy, but peace has been restored. Birds are chirping, sun is shining...puppies are...being fuzzy, or something. It's all good now.

Sanderson is talented, but he isn't perfect. Jordan had his flaws, but he's one of the all-time greats. Let's leave it at that, eh?

Well put, Darth. I will add that I think Sanderson is maturing as a writer. Perhaps it's because he is writing existing characters, but I'm enjoying his work on this book more than I did in Mistborn. Since I only read his first book, I may have missed that maturation of style in subsequent books in that series. The point is, I'm enjoying TGS and I look forward to the next book in the series.

...and might I add, children are laughing.

 

[stonegod]

Enjoyed it, and don't have much to add that hasn't been said here other than this: It seemed Jordan like most of the time. The only time it felt a bit off was that last chapter. I understand why that bit had to happen, but it felt a bit forced/rushed in comparison to how everything else flowed.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

My wife and I are almost finished listening to the audiobook version.

We're liking it. It mostly feels like Jordan ... except that the plot is moving forward and things are actually getting accomplished (and the ponytail pulling, arm crossing, skirt straightening, and harrumphing are at a relative minimum).

Egwene's plot line definitely rocks. It was also nice to have confirmed a number of Black Ajah members that I always suspected.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

The one thing that weirds me out just a touch is the logistics.

There are several extremely large armies moving around, between the Seanchan, the Borderlanders, Rand, and others. These are rather unrealistically large, especially given that the food's rotting as fast as it's prepared and there should be widespread famine.

But that's the only real problem I have with it.

Brad

 

[drothgery]

The one thing that weirds me out just a touch is the logistics.

There are several extremely large armies moving around, between the Seanchan, the Borderlanders, Rand, and others. These are rather unrealistically large, especially given that the food's rotting as fast as it's prepared and there should be widespread famine.

Since the Aiel have been immune to logistics since their first appearance, this really isn't a new thing.

 

[Shade]

I finally finished this (not for lack of interest!)

This was easily the best book since the first four, and completely rekindled my passion in seeing this series through to the end.

Maybe I just prefer Sanderson's writing style, but as I read this, characters to which I never could relate have suddenly become much more enjoyable.

It's so nice to finally feel the plot is going somewhere again, and some of the go-nowhere/run-their-course subplots are ending.

It's been a long time since I've been able to honestly say "I can't wait for the next one!"

 

[Orius]

I finally got around to reading it recently.

Holy crap.

Yeah, this book is mostly Rand and Egwene, with a side of Tuon character development. Which is fine by me, since the last two books mostly were development with Mat, Perrin, and Elayne (especially happy that Elayne didn't show up, I was getting sick of her storyline).

This was definitely THE Egwene book of the series, even after the last one. Normally, I don't listen to music when I'm reading, but when the

Spoiler

Seanchan attack on the WT occured, I simply had to listen to O Fortuna while I was reading it.

It just felt right. The

Spoiler

Black Ajah purge was damn good too; and Verin's role in it was quite surprising. So that's what she's been up to. I wonder what was in that letter she left with Mat (next book?), and I'm definitely going to miss having her in the books, she's been around since nearly the beginning.

Rand very nearly went off the deep end here. I've read some things Jordan had said in his past about his experiences with Vietnam, particularly mentioning how he realized at one point that he was getting too cold and hard to be able to readjust to civilian life. I think a lot of what we're seeing with Rand's storyline is reflecting that. Some of it is probably reflected in Perrin too, but Rand especially in this book I think is a reflection of some of Jordan's experiences.

I'm not sure how much of this book was Jordan and how much was Sanderson, but it still felt like WoT. There were a few places which I think were Sanderson, Mat's complaint about women in his first scene didn't feel a lot like Jordan, and there were a few things here and there that moved faster that usual for the series. For the most part though, I think the book doesn't have a style that feels jarringly out of place compared to the rest of the series, and that's to Sanderson's credit. And while a lot of people like to poke fun at Jordan's rather wordy prose, he's probably one of the best world-builders the genre has ever seen. The level of detail he put into the world is absolutely astounding and really does bring it to life.