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“The Forever Knight” by John Marco

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The Forever KnightI approached The Forever Knight with some trepidation because it was the fourth book in a series that I hadn’t read (The Bronze Knight), and I haven’t read a series out-of-order in more than ten years.  However, it turned out to be pretty good and stands very well on its own.

Lukien is the Bronze Knight, a hero in his world. However, he’s old and barely keeping himself together – he has lost the love of his life and watched his best friend go insane. It’s pretty much the worst time for him to become near immortal, but so life goes. An Akari magician’s spirit named Malator lives within his sword, keeping him alive despite Lukien’s best efforts and insisting that Lukien still has a destiny to fulfill. So he sets out as knight-errant to Akyre, in the ever-warring Bitter Kingdoms, to help his friend Cricket regain her lost memories.

The story is told from the first person perspective, which is very hard to get right, but Lukien has a very believable voice. He’s clearly been through a lot, and his struggle to find purpose in his new life is compelling. It’s interesting to see his thoughts and insecurities from an inside perspective – to everyone else, he is a living legend, but to the reader, he’s just a person who is as capable of making bad decisions as anyone else (and he makes some pretty bad ones in the book, although he can’t really be blamed for them because he didn’t have enough information to make better ones).

The other characters are also quite likeable, especially Cricket – her obvious hero-worship of Lukien mixed with her carefully cultivated shell of quirkiness was pretty poignant. The interactions between characters was sometimes a little too abrupt (both trust and distrust seemed to be acquired relatively easily), but I’m not complaining – it just took a bit of time to get used to, and it did help advance the plot quickly.

The plot itself seemed like a setup for future books; even though it’s the fourth book, Lukien’s life has changed completely, so it reads like the first book of a new series. He’s lost everything that defined him, so he’s discovering himself again, his powers, his boundaries and his purpose. In the beginning, he’s an aimless adventurer, and through his adventures, he makes some questionable decisions and ends up wiser and more focused.

I’m intrigued by Lukien’s world – Malator and the Akari in particular are very mysterious. I really enjoyed Malator’s character, but I’m somewhat suspicious of his motives. I’m not sure if there’s more about the Akari in the previous books of the series, so I might be way off base, but I’m very curious to find out what exactly he wants from Lukien, and why the Akari do what they do (it’s explained that they get to live with the help of humans, but it doesn’t seem like that much of a life).

Overall, a pretty good book, and a great introduction to Marco’s work. I’m looking forward to reading more about Lukien’s past in the first three books (starting with The Eyes of God) as well as seeing where his story goes in future installments.

Note: I received a review copy of The Forever Knight from the author via TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest opinion. See more details and a full schedule of the book tour here.

tlc tour host

“Planesrunner” by Ian McDonald

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PlanesrunnerPlanesrunner is sci-fi author Ian McDonald’s first foray into YA, and it’s pretty good. I’ve only read his River of Gods and Cyberabad Days, and it was great to see a different writing style and world.

Everett Singh’s father has been kidnapped right before his eyes, but no one believes him and the police seem strangely uninterested. Everett is convinced that the kidnapping is related to his father’s groundbreaking research, and since no one else seems to want to, it’s up to him to rescue his father… even if it means leaving the reality he’s lived in all his life.

McDonald is great at building science fiction worlds – the parallel realities in Planesrunner are really cool. Each version of Earth that our Earth has made contact with is different; shaped by a single historical change. For example, in the Earth that Everett spends most of the book in, oil was never discovered, and all technology is powered by electricity. That means airships but no planes, plastics being much rarer, and no space programmes.

Everett is a pretty good protagonist. He’s average in many ways, but he’s a really good cook and extremely smart, both of which he uses to great effect. Sometimes he’s too much of a Mary Sue (he figures out a puzzle that stumps his father’s colleagues in a day or so), but he’s still pretty lovable. The rest of the characters are also fun to read about – there’s Anastasia Sixsmyth, the airship captain, Sen, the bratty navigator, and the extremely well put together but evil Charlotte Villiers.

The plot confused me a bit – notwithstanding the Infundibulum being an iPad app (so Everett’s dad is a iPad programmer as well as being a theoretical physicist?), why was Everett’s dad’s kidnapping conducted in public, if the authorities wanted it covered up? I also would’ve liked a bit more planesrunning in the book. I was hoping to explore more than one of the parallel Earths, but that only happens in the sequels. I was a bit disappointed when I found out what the Everness was, since I know the series is called “Everness”. I like airships, but I like alternate realities more, so I wish the focus wasn’t on so much on the adventures of the airship and her crew.

Those are small nitpicks though. Overall, I enjoyed Planesrunner and I’m looking forward to revisiting the world and characters with Be My Enemy.

“The Daylight War” by Peter V. Brett

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daylightwarThe Daylight War is Book 3 of the Demon Cycle (I reviewed book 1, but I never reviewed book 2, which is too bad since that’s the book that got me excited about the series). I had it pre-ordered for quite a while, and so I was pretty excited when it finally arrived on Feb 12, and ended up finishing it the same day.

We pick up the story right about where we left off in The Desert Spear. Our heroes (Arlen and Jardir) are now aware of mind-demons and mimic demons thanks to the attacks they both survived independently. They also realise that there will be a massive attack when the moon is full again, so they start preparing – Jardir in the ex-Fort Rizon and Arlen in Cutter’s Hollow. The star of the book isn’t the present-day story, though, it’s the flashbacks to Inevara’s story.

The Daylight War is the best book in the series so far. I really enjoy Brett’s slow expansion of the world and the protagonists – so far, both his sequels have taken the one-dimensional antagonist from the previous book and turned them into a sympathetic protagonist. Inevara handles this treatment even better than Jardir. She ends up being my favourite character so far, maybe because she’s almost always in control of herself, even when the dice throw surprises at her (and they throw quite a few). Even when she’s consumed by doubt, she takes action and adapts as necessary – no other characters in the series do that so well. It’s a pretty classic story – poor but smart girl gets chosen, goes to “school” with a bunch of other people who are jealous, etc. The dice are very interesting – I wonder if we’ll ever find out more about how they tell the future.

The other characters have also changed and grown – some for the better. Rojer has finally acquired some self-confidence, probably helped by his newfound relationship. I’m really glad he stopped mooning over Leesha, but I still find the progression of his new relationships a bit unbelievable – especially given that most of the book takes place over a month. I mean, I’m glad it works, Rojer is way less annoying, so I guess I won’t complain too much.

Jardir and Arlen seem to have turned into zen masters, except for their very rash decision towards the end of the book. They’ve developed extremely strong powers, and a patience and understanding to match. This makes them kind of boring, since they’re always being reasonable and don’t really have any internal conflict. I don’t want to say much about the ending, but I didn’t approve of it at all – I think it belies the leadership that they’ve both seemingly accepted. But then, there’s a lot of personal history there – maybe that was the internal conflict.

The other characters – Renna is scary. She always seems like she’s one second from losing his mind, and Arlen is the only thing keeping her together. I’m glad they’re working, but I still have the feeling there’s a looming betrayal. Leesha didn’t seem to have a lot to do in this story except be sad, so I hope she gets better next book. I do like Thamos, he seems nice, but I’m afraid to think that; the next book will probably focus on how he’s all screwed up inside.

The general lasciviousness in this book seems lower than the other books, which is good. There’s still too much sex and rape for my tastes, but at least there’s a lot more fading to black, and Leesha is being described without so much focus on her body. I’m still somewhat troubled by Krasian society and the casual way in which rape is treated (at one point, a character is described as having a habit of visiting another character’s home and raping the first daughter or wife he sees – how does that even work?!) But Krasian society is changing slowly, so that’s good, I guess.

I should probably say a bit about the present-day events – they did advance the plot, and we found out a lot more about demons through some demon PoVs. It took a backseat to the growth of the characters, though, and that was totally fine with me. I’m guessing a lot more will happen next book on that front – a lot of the things that did happen seemed like setup.

One last thing: beware the cliffhanger ending. Aside from that, it was a great book and I’m eagerly waiting for The Skull Throne.

“The Rise of Ransom City” by Felix Gilman

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The Rise of Ransom CityThe Rise of Ransom City is the sequel to The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman, but also works very well as a stand alone book. It’s one of the best second books I’ve read; it manages to avoid the sophomore slump by shifting focus to a new character, “Professor” Harry Ransom, who we saw briefly in The Half-Made World. Liv and Creedmoor are still in the story, but they are just minor (but important) characters whose adventures Harry occasionally hears about – Heroes of Another Story. (I apologise for the TV Tropes link… see you in a few hours).

I love a good framing story, and this certainly has one. The Rise of Ransom City is presented as the autobiography of Harry Ransom, inventor extraordinaire (according to himself, anyway). It is introduced and edited somewhat by a journalist of Ransom’s acquaintance, Elmer Carson, who has had his own adventure tracking down the full manuscript. It covers Ransom’s childhood and his journey from a relatively unknown traveling showman looking for investors for his Apparatus, to his rise to widespread infamy.

Ransom makes a very unreliable narrator – sometimes he’s self-satisfied, other times he’s full of despair and hopelessness, and he’s often evasive. He dedicates his life to his Apparatus, with which he hopes to provide free energy to the world – the one problem is that he doesn’t fully understand how it works, and it doesn’t reliably work yet. He would probably be insufferable in person, but his flaws make him all too recognisable, and his genuine idealism and earnestness make him ultimately pretty darn lovable. You can’t help but root for him, even as he makes some questionable decisions and ends up in some pretty awful situations (not all of them are his fault), and learns that achieving your dreams can sometimes be the worst experiences of your life.

The rest of the characters are pretty wonderful too – there’s the mysterious and profanity-ridden mechanic Mr. Carver, who is Ransom’s constant companion. There’s the Amazing Amaryllis, a brassy woman trying to make it as a female magician against all odds. There’s the wry Elmer Carson, who is also the editor of the book (usually books with “editor’s footnotes” are very overdone – this was not; I actually wished there were more footnotes). And of course, there’s Adela, the passionate inventor of the player piano, and Ransom’s intellectual match.

I also loved the setting – this book didn’t have the quest-type plot that the previous one did, so there was much less breakneck travel into unexplored territory, and more regular travel around the settled West. I especially enjoyed the portion of the book set in Jasper City – vibrant and cultured, but still quite new – probably inspired by late 1800s Chicago, or something like that. It was also nice to hear about the great events of the day, but from someone that (mostly) wasn’t involved in them.

There were some pretty sad events – most of the book is set during a war, and war has many casualties and some of them are very unexpected. One in particular was devastating. The Gun and the Line are both pretty horrible (this book shows that in even more detail than the last), and it was nice to see the beginning of the end of their Great War.

I still have a lot of questions about the people and the events in this book (for instance, I really want to know more about the Folk and their motivations), so I’m eagerly awaiting Gilman’s next foray into this world.

I highly recommend this book, whether or not you’ve read anything else by Gilman. If you’ve read The Half-Made World, you will be satisfied – we find out about what Liv and Creedmoor did and the consequences thereof, but with a fresh and exciting voice. If you haven’t, this is a great introduction to both the world and Gilman’s style.

“Cyberabad Days” by Ian McDonald

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CyberabadDaysCyberabad Days is a book of short stories set in McDonald’s River of Gods universe – I’ve had an eye on it for a while, but finally had the opportunity to read it. I love speculative fiction and I’m from India (which really needs more sci-fi/fantasy representation), so these books are a natural fit for me.

First, a note about the world. As with River of Gods, this is the part of the book I have the most trouble with; otherwise McDonald’s writing and concepts are excellent. He captures the chaos and the contradictions of India very well, but there’s no core holding it all together. Every Indian I know has a strong sense of community – to their family, friends or other networks; there is none of this in McDonald’s India. Everyone is too eager to be individualistic, to be virtual – it’s a hard leap to make, considering quite a few of my high school classmates don’t even use e-mail. Maybe that’s just McDonald’s writing style (I haven’t read any of his other books); but in that case, India isn’t a good fit for it.

The way that India has evolved also feels somewhat off to me – it’s like McDonald has taken all the most “exotic” things in India and made those India’s defining features, even if they’re currently in decline – the soap operas, child marriages, female foeticide, the hijras, even royalty (which doesn’t really exist anymore). Some of the terms used would be archaic now (although I suppose it is possible that nostalgia would make a comeback). It’s not that any one of the things he describes is impossible, but the whole picture combined just doesn’t feel right. Also, I have no idea why this book is called Cyberabad Days – Cyberabad is an area of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh (my home state!), and neither state nor city is barely even mentioned in the book.

Don’t get me wrong, though – this is a very good book! I just feel obligated to talk about the world since I’m from there and feel oddly protective about it.

There are seven stories in this book, and they’re a nice mix of lengths and styles. The protagonists run the gamut from a poor village boy to a rich, genetically superior “Brahmin”, and the stories span decades.

Since there are only seven stories, I’ll write a bit about each:

Sanjeev and Robotwallah: This is the classic story of the kid that wants to be cool but then discovers that the cool kids really aren’t that cool. It’s classic because it’s satisfying no matter how many times it’s done, and that definitely holds true here. It was also interesting to learn more about how warfare in India has evolved, and how the villages have stayed pretty much the same.

Kyle Meets the River: The only one of the stories with a non-Indian protagonist – a young American boy that’s curious about the real India. This story was depressingly real, right down to the parenting decision made at the end. I also liked seeing how the relationship between the US and India had evolved.

The Dust Assassin: One of my two favourite stories, this features a young water heiress who has been told her entire life that she is a weapon to be used against their rivals. When she finally finds out what that means, it has tragic consequences. This story was almost told like a myth, and I loved the sheer romance of it.

An Eligible Boy: A story that explores the consequences of female foeticide leading to a very warped gender ratio. Jasbir, a young middle-class professional, is desperate to find himself a city wife, and of course, hilarity ensues. When he does snare a girl, he finds out that it isn’t quite because of his charms. Probably the weakest story, but that’s only because it doesn’t stand out in any way – it’s still pretty good.

The Little Goddess: The adventures of a former living goddess from Nepal, and her search to find meaning in the new world. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the Kumaris of Nepal, so I really enjoyed this story. It’s told from the first person perspective, and that adds a lot of authenticity to the telling. What does a former vessel for the divine do, when the divine have left her and the AIs are now gods?

The Djinn’s Wife: A famous Awadhi Kathak dancer falls in love and marries her biggest fan – a Charati diplomat AI trying to make peace between their two nations.  However, the looming ratification of the Hamilton Acts (which ban high level AIs), and the sheer differences between the couple (think Laurie Jupiter and Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen) make it a hard time for the first human-AI marriage in history. I could’ve done without the framing story; I don’t think it added much, but otherwise, it was poignant.

Vishnu at the Cat Circus: This is the longest and most expansive story, and the only one that hasn’t been published elsewhere. The protagonist is a Brahmin (I was glad about this; they’re so often demonised by characters from other stories), and happens to be involved in (or know of) events throughout River of Gods as well as after. I don’t want to spoil much, since this was very plot-intensive. This is also a case where I could’ve done without the framing story, though.

Summary: Cyberabad Days makes a great companion book to River of Gods – we learn more about the history of India, what the events of River of Gods meant to the population that wasn’t involved in it, and how India and the world fared afterwards. (I wouldn’t recommend reading Cyberabad Days first, though, unless you’re not planning to read River of Gods).

“Hunter and Fox” by Philippa Ballantine

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13275818I was pretty excited for Hunter and Fox, since I enjoyed Ballantine’s Books of the Order series.

Hundreds of years ago, the Vaerli ruled the world until the Casiah removed their supernatural gifts and rose to power. Now the Vaerli are shunned and persecuted – all except for the feared Talyn, who works for the Casiah as his assassin. Talyn was once proud, but her centuries of service have made her bitter and tortured. Talyn’s brother Byre has spent those centuries mostly just trying to stay alive, but has somehow stumbled his way into a destiny of his own – one that could bring his people’s strength back.

Meanwhile, Finnbarr the Fox, a tale-spinner, has had enough of the Casiah’s despotism, and spontaneously decides to cause political unrest by spreading the tale of his mistreatment of the Vaerli. He hatches a plan to publicly shame the Casiah in his palace – and this may or may not have anything to do with his attraction to Talyn, who resides there.

There were too many viewpoint characters in this book. In addition to the aforementioned three, there was Pelanor the Blood Witch, Nyree the Vaerli Seer, Finn’s three friends, Kelanim, the Casiah’s consort… I can’t actually remember which of these were viewpoint characters and which of them just appeared a lot, and that’s not really ideal. There were also too many plotlines going on for a 275 page book – the Casiah’s mystery, Talyn’s hunts, Byre’s destiny, Pelanor’s allegiance, Byre and Talyn’s family story, Kelanim’s hatred of Talyn (not sure why that was even necessary?), the rebellion, the history of the world, the various races… I could go on. The book should’ve either been twice the size or some plotlines should’ve been moved to the next book.

The characters weren’t that compelling either. Most of the characters have just enough background to make them lose their mystery, but not enough to make you identify with them and understand their actions – it’s pretty frustrating. For instance, the big reveal concerning Finn was uninteresting to me because I didn’t actually know enough about Finn to find it surprising. My favourite character was probably Byre, because he fits the old but good Clueless Fantasy Hero With a Destiny trope.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

The central romance also didn’t really feel convincing. I think part of it was because of how it was framed and paced – my first impression was that Finn was just intrigued by Talyn because she was a Vaerli and he didn’t actually know her, but it’s revealed towards the end that they actually had a romance and Talyn chose to forget it. I really didn’t get that from the beginning, and if there was foreshadowing, I missed it. I know Finn kept alluding to a previous meeting, but he made it sound like he offended her in some way and didn’t want her to remember.

END SPOILERS!

I don’t want to make it sound like I didn’t enjoy the book – I did! I loved the Chaoslands, the constantly shifting landscape that occupies the land that the Casiah doesn’t directly exert influence over. The world is pretty intriguing – what is the White Void, how exactly did the Harrowing take place, and who exactly is the Casiah? What are the other races that make up the world, and how did they get affected by the Casiah’s rule?

I’ll definitely keep reading the series (the cliffhanger ending doesn’t hurt!), but I hope that it gets it a bit more focused in the next installment.

“The Half-Made World” by Felix Gilman

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The Half-Made WorldThe Half-Made World is a Western-inspired fantasy (is the fantasy/Western mashup a new trend now? I’ve read quite a few recently – Brandon Sanderson’s The Alloy of Law, and my last review, The Six-Gun Tarot.)

Dr. Liv Alverhuysen, a psychologist, has received a letter from a veteran’s hospital at the very edge of the tamed world, offering an opportunity for her to study mental ailments that are unknown outside the industrialised and war-torn West. She has never really thought about adventure, but ignoring her colleagues’ ridicule, she sets off to lands she barely knows anything about. Unfortunately, her peaceful research opportunity doesn’t exactly turn out as she envisioned – one of the patients at the hospital knows a secret that could shake the foundations of the New World, and the two dominant Powers of the West, the Gun and the Line have sent their forces to retrieve him. As you can imagine, hijinks ensue.

Felix Gilman takes the romance and promise of the American exploration of the West – the engines of industry, the famous outlaws, the unexplored territories, the mistreated original inhabitants of the land, and creates a whole new world where metaphor becomes reality. The Engines are immortal demons that control armies of Linesmen intent on spreading industry and homogeny wherever they go. The Guns are their arch rivals, spreading their influence through superhuman outlaw Agents of the Gun, who go by monikers like Hang-‘em-High Washburn and rob banks and blow up train tracks. Unsettled land is malleable by nature – the landscape is not fixed, thoughts can create independent entities and words have much power. Human settlement solidifies the land but does not entirely drive out the magic – the settlers instead controls it by enslaving the original population, the First Folk.

The characters are also terrific. Liv starts out very wide-eyed, but slowly gains her footing and learns to take herself less seriously as the novel progresses. She’s also pretty amusing sometimes – she constantly psychoanalyses herself, but manages to completely ignore her dependence on her “nerve tonic” (laudanum). She ended up being one of the more memorable characters I’ve read about recently – she’s not especially brave or confident or even nice, but she comes through in the end.

The Agent of the Gun Creedmoor was the ultimate anti-hero (I’m not actually sure he qualifies to be a hero at all). He’s not very nice either, and he’s terrified in some ways. He makes a perfect foil to both Liv and his direct antagonist Sub Invigilator (Third) Lowry of the Line (who’s an upper-level bureaucrat who tries his hardest to be self-effacing but cannot quite succeed). It was great to get points of view fron the Gun, the Line and an uninvolved party (Liv) – it made for a very compelling method of storytelling. The side characters were also pretty compelling – the loyal giant Maggfrid, the outwardly gruff businessman Mr. Bond, the lonely but sane Director of House Dolorous, and of course, the object of everyone’s search – the General.

Gilman’s writing is top-notch; I especially love his sense of humour. The story never really drags, and Gilman does a great job of telling you just enough to keep you satisfied, but still intrigued.

Here’s the point where I usually say I can’t wait for the sequel (The Rise of Ransom City, review coming soon), but I actually read the sequel instead of writing this review. So, yeah, it’s that good, and I can’t wait for whatever book Gilman releases next! I’ll also be checking out his back catalogue.

“The Six-Gun Tarot” by R.S. Belcher

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Six Gun TarotThe Six-Gun Tarot is a pretty mind-blowing book. It incorporates a million different ideas and tropes (for instance, the Christian creation myth, Native American myth, Chinese myth, horror, ghosts, angels, an order of assassins, the American Civil War, early Mormonism, the plight of women and gay people in the 1800s, romances), all within a small Nevada town (with all the trappings of a proper Western). It chronicles the inception and rise of ancient evil and the forces arrayed against it. It also introduces a ragtag band of heroes, each with their own complex backstories – even minor characters are three dimensional. And it does all this in under 400 pages, and it works!

Golgotha is a town in the middle of the Nevada desert, next to an abandoned silver mine. Somehow, Jim Negrey, a fifteen year old boy who’s running from his past with his father’s fake eye in his pocket, ends up here. He soon discovers that Golgotha is no ordinary town – things that are normal in Golgotha would be exceptionally strange anywhere else. And then there are the people –  the seemingly immortal sheriff Jon Highfather, his half-Indian, half-coyote deputy Mutt, the banker’s wife Maude, who seems like a proper lady, but isn’t, the upstanding Mormon mayor who has more than his fair share of secrets, the local inventor Clay, who has a strange obsession with death… the list goes on.

The depth of the characters is astounding. Belcher can flesh out a character and make you sympathise with them in just a few sentences – I’m not sure how he does it. He also manages to write both good women and good gay characters. Each person has their own secrets, their own motivations and dreams and internal conflicts, and their own growth and character arc and it all flows completely naturally. It’s not just individuals, either – the interactions between the people of Golgotha show genuine chemistry, especially the romances. I especially loved the relationships between Harry Pratt and his wife Holly, Maude and Mutt, and the sheriff Highfather and the notorious salon owner Bick (it reminded me a lot of the amazing chemistry between Sheriff Bullock and Al Swearengen on the HBO show Deadwood.)

The story takes place via many different viewpoints, but also alternates between time periods. One would think that this would be very confusing, but it works very well. As the threat in Golgotha unfolds, we learn more about how the threat came to exist. I really enjoyed the in-universe creation mythos, especially the portrayal of the Christian God. However, the “everything is true” mindset did get a little frustrating at times, since I didn’t really know what the “rules” were, and stories where absolutely anything is possible grate on me a little.

The Six-Gun Tarot definitely has some problems – some very cheesy rituals of the Dark Side, a few too many characters, so even with Belcher’s magic character depth powers, some still come off as bland. The magic system was confusing to me – I would have liked some explanation there. However, my biggest problem was that I can’t imagine where the story goes from here. The mythos established here is so vast and complex – I would love to see more novels set in Golgotha, but this book tackled such a huge story that anything that comes after it runs a huge risk of being insignificant (or making the events of this book seem unimportant). Some Golgotha short stories would be awesome, though.

All in all, a great genre-bending book! Read it!

“A Memory of Light” by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (SPOILERS)

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a memory of lightWarning: This review contains full spoilers! I have also written a spoiler-free review, though.

I intended to get this review up much sooner, but I think I needed to let the book sink in a little. I still can’t believe the Wheel of Time is over!

A Memory of Light is everything I wanted, although it might not have been everything I expected. All my questions were not answered – some were, but there are bigger things going on, and it feels right. I don’t want to regurgitate the rest of my general thoughts beyond that – see the spoiler free review for those.

I have so much to say, but I’m not quite sure where to start, so I’ll start with Rand vs. the Dark One. In hindsight, there’s no other way it could have ended. I was hoping that Rand would find a final way to defeat the Dark One (probably because my background in programming has really made me hate infinite loops), but the Wheel of Time’s metaphysics and theme has always been about the balance between two opposing forces, so it makes total sense that Rand realises that the Dark One is necessary to balance the Creator. I assume that the “three shall become one” prophecy refers to the combination of saidar, saidin and the True Power to reseal the Dark One – I’m really glad that the fan theory of Min, Elayne and Aviendha combining to become “Ilyena” did not come to fruition. The Rand/Moridin switching bodies thing was foreshadowed a long time ago (“to live you must die”), and it’s the only way the Dragon could disappear entirely, so I wasn’t too surprised.

I thought that Perrin’s arc had a really satisfying end – all the lessons he’s been learning throughout the book really helped. I didn’t expect that he would basically fight in Tel’aran’rhiod the entire book, and I certainly didn’t expect him to be the one to kill Lanfear (although, again, it makes sense, since she’s the Daughter of the Night and he’s the most experienced with Tel’aran’rhiod). I especially loved the end, where he goes looking for Faile – their relationship is really the most important thing to him, and it made a great ending.

And now we come to Mat. I’m not really sure how I feel about his and Tuon’s relationship – Tuon was a lot nicer when she was travelling with Valan Luca’s circus. I’d feel sorry for Mat, but he seems to like living on the edge, so whatever. He starts off commanding one Seanchan regiment, but of course, by the end, he’s commanding the Armies of the Light after some deft maneuvering by the Shadow that got rid of the Great Captains. I bet the Shadow thought they were doing themselves a favour, but they didn’t count on Mat and his foxhead medallion rendering him incorruptible. He also manages to get Tuon pregnant and win the respect of the whole Seanchan army, so he’s pretty busy. Oh, and he defeats Mashadar/Padan Fain/Mordeth. Apparently his brush with the Shadar Logoth dagger has left him Mashadar-vaccinated, so yeah. All I have to say is: I love Mat.

So, this was much more of a war novel than I anticipated. It feels right – any less battling would have made Tarmon Gai’don seem too easy – this way, we truly feel the horror and despair of battle without the usual shortcut of killing off half the main characters. I thought it was very well executed – we’re used to our main characters being completely badass, and we see them get slowly overwhelmed despite all their resources and all their strength.

Not that characters don’t die – Egwene is the only one of the main trio, though. And against all odds, Lan survives! (Although, I knew he had to because of Min’s vision of his kid.) Anyway, back to Egwene. I was really surprised by her death – she’s the one that has the most to do after the battle, reforming the Aes Sedai. She had so many plans that were barely coming to fruition – the integration of the Kin, the Aiel-Sea Folk-Aes Sedai alliance, the opening of the novice book. I don’t really like Egwene, but I do admire her, so I was pretty sad. She certainly went out in style, though, taking out Taim and all the Sharan channelers, and inventing the opposite of balefire to restore the Pattern (again, the theme of two opposing powers in balance). Her bonding of Leilwin was also a nice touch – that’s definitely not how I expected her help to go.

Speaking of the Sharan channelers – I totally saw that one coming! I knew Demandred had to be in Shara (although Rand’s reaction to the Murandian king Roedran not being Demandred was pretty great) – it was interested that he was seen as their own prophecised hero. I wonder if Rand had made it to Shara whether he would’ve fulfilled those prophecies? Demandred was definitely formidable, though – killing Gawyn, disfiguring and nearly killing Galad, but finally falling to Lan. I’m used to the Forsaken falling easily, so it made a nice change. Although, I’m not quite sure why Demandred kept calling for Rand to face him – wouldn’t he know that Rand would be heading to Shayol Ghul to battle the Dark One?

Gawyn’s death was pointless, but Gawyn seems to have made a habit of doing pointless things. I read his story a lot differently now that I know how it ends – it’s always been a tragedy. This actually makes me like him a little better.

The saddest death was definitely Bela’s, though. Although, Rhuarc’s comes pretty close, considering what happens to him beforehand.

Min’s story did not go where I expected it to go. I guess I didn’t really expect it to go anywhere – I figured she’d just provide support to the forces of the Light, but her becoming Tuon’s Truthspeaker was a completely unexpected twist. It fits with the Seanchan obsession with omens, as well as their imperial disregard for people’s wishes, though. I’m glad that that happened – along with Mat’s influence, and Tuon and Egwene’s conversation about allowing free speech in each other’s lands, this really sets up the stage for the end of damane and hopefully da’covale. (I hope Tuon will hold to the free speech idea now that Egwene is dead, the Seanchan don’t really have a history of keeping their promises). I think Min can hold her own very well against Tuon, and I wish I could read more about her adventures.

Some of my favorite moments – Annoura burning herself out to deliver Galad to Berelain, the moment between Egwene and Rand before the Last Battle, Androl creating gateways into the lava within Dragonmount, Olver blowing the Horn of Valere (one of the best parts!), Birgitte’s return to save Elayne (yay, Birgitte is still around!), and the magical undying army of Hinderstap. I thought that sequence was kind of pointless in Towers of Midnight, but I didn’t count on Mat’s military ingenuity. Also, pretty much everything to do with Gaul was awesome. I knew the Aiel were brave, but Gaul took it to a whole new level, entering a realm that he had no power in and no conception of to watch over his friend.

I can’t help but wonder how the Fourth Age is going to go. Perrin is Lord of the Two Rivers, and Faile is the Queen of Saldaea – how will that work? Cadsuane as Amyrlin? The poor Aes Sedai. And Logain building the Black Tower back up as a force of good – the moment where he realises where his glory will come from was priceless. If you’re interested in this, too, there are a couple of awesome articles on Tor.com about the Fourth Age – Brandon Sanderson giving some answers on future events, and some speculation on the fate of the world after the Last Battle.

“A Memory of Light” by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (SPOILER FREE)

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There are no major spoilers in this review but you probably shouldn’t read it if you want to go into the book with an absolutely blank slate. For those on the other end of the spectrum, a spoiler-filled review is coming soon.

a memory of lightI know there are no endings to the Wheel of Time and this is merely an ending, but I still can’t believe the Wheel of Time is over.

This book is a perfect ending. The main theme of the Wheel of Time has always been balance between two opposing forces – saidin and saidar, Darkness and Light, good and evil. The resolution of the story carries that philosophy to its logical place – there’s no other way it could’ve ended.

Don’t go into this book expecting all your questions to be answered – some are, but a lot aren’t. It feels right, though – there are far bigger things going on.

Most of this book involves battles. Tarmon Gai’don is the Last Battle, and the stakes are truly desperate. The book does a great job of conveying the scale of this conflict, even though it’s exhausting to read about. Any less, and it would’ve been too easy to win. The usual “no one dies” approach that the rest of the books have does not apply. Some very bad things happen to very good people, and death seems better than some of them. Our heroes are outnumbered and outmaneuvered, and it shows. Even at the end, you’re not left feeling like it’s been a great victory – you’re horrified. There’s still hope, though, and that’s what matters.

Of course, it’s not all bleak – there are several moments where characters are really awesome, including some unexpected ones (Gaul, you are the man). There are some very touching moments between people (one of my favourite ones involves Annoura Sedai and Berelain). There’s even some humour – usually Mat or Talmanes are involved (although, one fan theory concerning Demandred gets a very unsubtle nod). Long-awaited prophecies are fulfilled in unexpected ways (Logain’s glory and Seanchan helping Egwene, I’m looking at you!) And there are still some cool plot twists.

The battles are not just about swords and spears and the One Power, there are several maneuvers by both sides that were absolutely brilliant. What seemed like throwaway incidents in the previous books come into play in a very clever way.

I liked that Perrin, Mat and Rand were fighting on different “fronts”, so to speak. Their special strengths were uniquely suited to what the forces of the Light needed, and brings their character arcs to a satisfying close. Most of the characters got a satisfying ending, not just the ta’veren, but my favourite was Birgitte’s.

We finally get to meet Demandred (I guessed right about where he was!), and he’s quite formidable. I’m used to the Forsaken being easily balefired/defeated by our heroes, but not Demandred. Some adversaries that I thought would have a much bigger role end up not being a huge threat, though.

I really couldn’t see how the multitudes of issues with the Seanchan would be tied up in time for Tarmon Gai’don, but it’s handled very neatly. A completely unexpected character ends up playing a pivotal role, and I hope that the Seanchan system of institutionalised slavery can end because of that character. The Black Tower plotline’s resolution was not quite so satisfactory, but it works pretty well.

I kind of wish there was more of an epilogue, but I think that’s just me being selfish and wanting to see the dawn of the Fourth Age. It’s probably a good thing there wasn’t one, judging by the Harry Potter epilogue.

It’s rare that I say this about a book that ends a much-loved series, but A Memory of Light
 is everything I wished for and more! Thank you, Robert Jordan for creating this incredible world, and thank you, Brandon Sanderson for doing such an excellent job giving us a satisfying conclusion.

I’m giving away a copy of the audiobook version of the first book in the Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World – enter here.