Warning: 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.

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.

I 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.

In anticipation of the Jan 8, 2013 release of A Memory of Light, the fourteenth and final book in the Wheel of Time series, I’m rereading the entire series. Each book gets its own spoiler-filled post.

Finally, we’re at the last book of the Great Wheel of Time Reread. I’d originally thought about rereading New Spring too, but I can’t keep myself from reading A Memory of Light anymore.

Probably the biggest change in this book is Rand turning into an infinitely compassionate Messianic figure. While I’m glad that Emotionless Rand is gone, I’m not sure if I like Jedi Rand any better. He still lacks the quirks that make a character endearing, but I guess his job is to save the world, not be endearing. At least I didn’t wince every time there was a scene with him.

So… Graendal isn’t dead? Dammit! I did not remember this, I thought she was a goner. She actually drives a lot of Perrin’s plot, so I’m not sure why I didn’t remember it, but that sucks. At least Halima/Aran’gar is gone.

Perrin finally accepts his destiny as a Wolfbrother and undergoes extreme Tel’aran’rhiod training provided by Hopper. Perrin’s character arc has been stagnant for a while – he’s always had problems accepting his wolf nature, his leadership qualities, his battle skills. He’s always said “fine, I’ll do this ONE thing, and then I can go back to being a blacksmith”. He confronts much of the same issues in this book, but instead of just accepting it, he embraces it. And then he proceeds to school Egwene in Tel’aran’rhiod! And then he rediscovers Power-wrought weapons and forges a legendary hammer! Go Perrin!

There’s a lot of embracing reality in this book – Gawyn finally realises that to have Egwene, he needs to drop his preconceptions and actually start listening to people. Galad realises that the world isn’t just black and white – Light and Dark, and that allies can be found anywhere. Morgase realises that she can marry Tallanvor and be okay with it. Lan realises that his people regard him as a king despite his reluctance, and fully accepts that he needs to lead them. Finally, everyone’s getting over their shit!

I was glad that Morgase finally got a break – she’s been through hell and back again several times already. At least she knows it wasn’t her fault, and that it was a Forsaken that messed with her mind. I was also glad that she was able to reunite with all three of her kids.

Moiraine gets rescued! I don’t really have any words for this except “YAY!” And Jain Farstrider finally revealed himself! I hope Mat gets to pass Jain’s message to Malkier on to Lan.

There were several touching and very well done moments in the book – in no particular order – Lan riding through the Borderlands, Faile and Perrin’s anniversary and reconciliation (as well as Faile’s realisation of how immature she used to be), Bornhald stabbing Byar, Ituralde’s desperate fight in Saldaea, the Kandori Guard Tower scene, Olver picking up his knife to defend Caemlyn, Grady and Neald realising that they’re fighting to live instead of die with the taint cleansed, Bethamin and Seta assuring Mat that they will do their best to show the Seanchan Empire that channeling is okay, Mat and Perrin’s meeting after eight books, Perrin watching and rejoicing at Rand’s epiphany on Dragonmount in Tel’aran’rhiod.

This book also has funny moments! Mat’s letter to Elayne was hilarious (“Your Royal Bloody in My Back”), and so was Moiraine’s disbelieving “You accidentally married the Seanchan Empress?” I was also very amused by Berelain and Galad falling in love immediately – the two most beautiful people in the world, of course. I particularly loved Faile’s comparison of Galad and Perrin’s looks (“you can’t compare a stained glass to a sturdy cabinet built by a master carpenter”). And Mat and Birgitte got to go drinking together again!

Elayne continues to annoy me – her treatment of Perrin was abominable. I understand that she fears rebellion in Andor, but… the Two Rivers hasn’t seen any support from Andor in five generations, and she says she’s going to execute Perrin? Plus, she goes off alone again to interrogate the Black Ajah. Plus, she’s trying to seize the throne of Cairhien two days before the Last Battle. It’s not that I dislike Elayne, but she’s just so… royal.

Nynaeve gets back to being awesome in this book – she heals the madness caused by the taint on saidin, she gets Lan’s bond from Myrelle and she passes the hardest Aes Sedai testing ever. I loved Rand telling her not to be a Stock Aes Sedai and instead focus on her strengths – passion and compassion, and let them show. And then she does exactly that at her testing, and stands up for herself. Very cool.

Egwene… I wish she wasn’t opposed to Rand’s idea of breaking the seals, because dammit, don’t make the same mistake every Aes Sedai makes and try to control Rand! Trust him! Other than that, Egwene is pretty awesome – defeating Mesaana and killing a bunch of Black Ajah, creating a Channeling Women Alliance of Randland, bringing the Hall of the Tower to line by changing some rules that allowed people to be super sneaky. Oh, and bonding Gawyn and saving his life, I suppose.

Wow, so much stuff happens in this book. I’ll attack them by plotline.

Black Tower – there’s a Dreamspike on it! And everyone’s trapped within, and people are being turned to the Shadow (poor Tarna, I liked you). I guess this might be to create a Dreadlord factory for the Last Battle, I hope Pevara and Androl can stop it. And bring down Taim.

The future of the Aiel – these were actually some of the best chapters of the book, including Aviendha’s encounter with “Nakomi”. I really hope A Memory of Light explains who Nakomi is. I also really hope the Aiel’s future can be changed once Aviendha convinces Rand that the Aiel need a purpose, that the Dragon’s Peace should apply to them too? Also, the future that Aviendha saw says that Rand bowed to the Seanchan – I hope that can change too, but judging by Tuon’s current attitude, I’m not sure.

The Seanchan – they now have traveling, and Tuon is still adamantly opposed to leaving channelers free. I’m not sure how her attitude will turn around in one book, but I really hope it does. Right now, they seem to be planning more assaults of the Dragon-related forces.

Padan Fain – is still alive and kicking, but now has a can of Portable Mashadar. Last seen heading to Shayol Ghul to wait for Rand. Scary.

Borderlander armies – now on Rand’s side! Yay! And Rand apologises to Hurin!

Caemlyn – last seen burning. Luckily, Talmanes is on it, thanks to Olver. Why didn’t Mat open Verin’s letter?!

And last, but not least – R.I.P. Hopper and Nicola Treehill. I was hoping Nicola would make something of herself, and Hopper deserves sainthood for teaching Perrin so well. I will miss you, Hopper.

In anticipation of the Jan 8, 2013 release of A Memory of Light, the fourteenth and final book in the Wheel of Time series, I’m rereading the entire series. Each book gets its own spoiler-filled post.

The Gathering Storm continues the newly established tradition of A Lot of Stuff Happening. Tarmon Gai’don is most definitely coming, and the people of Randland are getting ready.

Rand continues down the path of going totally nuts – he’s convinced that he has to a weapon and show no mercy, but fails to realise that he’s not really different from the Shadow if all he can do is destroy. His chapters make for very unpleasant reading, but it’s because it’s so believable, considering all the stuff that’s been happening to him. He goes absolutely as low as he can go – using the Choedan Kal to balefire an entire fortress controlled by Graendal, for example (and a lot more, but I don’t want to dwell on it). His final epiphany on Dragonmount was a little cliché, but also necessary, and also nicely fulfills the “he shall weep over his own grave” prophecy. But I guess your life would seem pointless if you had to lead the world every time you were reincarnated, and the thing you had to realise would be that you can learn, love and improve despite that.

Anyway, for me, Verin is the real star of the book. I love the idea of Verin poking her nose into the Black Ajah out of curiosity, ending up drafted and deciding to be a spy for the Light. I also love that she goes to Egwene with her suspicions, as well as sets off a bunch of different plots – I counted a letter for Mat, and a letter for Rand and a letter for Alanna show up in the next book. I can’t wait to see where they all go. I also loved her revelation that the Shadow looks for selfishness above all in its minions, that makes the Forsaken make more sense.

Oh, and the White Tower finally reunites and Elaida is conveniently kidnapped by the Seanchan, so Egwene gets raised to be the Amyrlin! I wasn’t really happy with how Elaida was disposed off, but I’m happy that the plotline is over. Not that I disliked it, but it’s been a long and arduous road and at least they’re reunited in time for Tarmon Gai’don. I’m not sure how I feel about Egwene – I thought she was a lot more awesome the first time around. She’s still pretty awesome, but I’m not sure if I buy her character arc as much. I guess her time with the Aiel really hardened her, she’s always been full of initiative and she’s a breath of fresh air for a complacent Tower. She just seemed to jump from childish to authoritative very quickly.

I wonder where the Seanchan storyline is headed – Rand scared Tuon into opposing him, and Seanchan have to deal with that now. They also now know that Trollocs and Myrddraal aren’t a myth, and that the Last Battle is close. I’m not sure why they attacked the White Tower – killing Aes Sedai is just less power for the Light, but I guess Tuon sees herself as opposing the Shadow AND the Dragon.

Other small but very good things – Faile takes it upon herself to kill Masema in secret. I can’t say I disagree. Siuan finally bonds Gareth Bryne and promises to marry him after the Last Battle! That’s one couple I’m really rooting for – I think they’re one of the only couples where both parties are equally confident and strong. Tam and Rand reunite (even if it goes terribly) – it was nice to see Tam be a father to Rand again. Nynaeve is grown up – I’m not sure when it happens, but she controls her anger now. Maybe it’s being married and also being terrified of Rand that made her realise what’s important.

Perrin – Perrin is emo all the time, and his timeline is a month or two behind Rand’s, but we get hints of what’s happening with him through other eyes – for instance, Tam has left Perrin’s camp, and Rand sees Perrin with Galad. Most of the actual Perrin POVs are just set up, though. The same goes for Mat, although Mat is considerably more entertaining. He’s not as smoothly written (his jokes are a bit off – he’s a bit too immature), but any Mat is better than no Mat.

Gawyn continues to make me want to thump him over the head. He’s like, the Lanfear of this age, mooning over Egwene instead of Rand. Yeah, yeah, I know he has a good heart but he’s so dense! Why isn’t he in Caemlyn doing his duty to Elayne? Egwene doesn’t even need him! He’s shirking his true responsibilities AND treating Egwene like someone who can’t take care of herself. Ugh.

Other random plot points – Aviendha finally passes her test to become a Wise One (boring in this book, but good set up for the Rhuidean revelations in Towers of Midnight), the Altaran King Beslan swearing fealty to Tuon and meaning it (makes sense, his people are mostly happy, and he’s more likely to get rid of slavery from within), the Moridin/Rand connection continues – is this because of the streams of balefire? Also, where the hell is Demandred and his army?!

This was the first book partly written by Brandon Sanderson, so I was paying a lot of attention to see if the style changed. It didn’t change enough to be distracting – the plot and characters still shone through fine (with a couple of minor missteps, like Mat). I had to pay special attention to it to notice. Sanderson tends to be more direct than Jordan – Jordan will make characters hint and dance around things, but Sanderson’s more likely to have them just explain. I’m not sure which one I prefer. Most people aren’t very self-aware in the moment, so Jordan is probably more realistic, but Sanderson’s writing makes me want to punch the characters less.

Only one more book to go!