Book review: The Gathering Storm
by: Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Well, it was just as good as I thought it would be. I mean, really there is no let down here. And I’m not talking about milk.
I did not see the ending coming. Really. I would not have expect the series to change course in such a powerful way. Without giving any spoilers, I’ll say that the laugh in the final chapter may go down as the most ….<adjective I can’t find, but a good one> in fantasy lit.
I mean, wow. Sure, the way they got to that point was a little cheezy but really, what other way was there to get there? The protagonist in that chapter had to learn a hard, but somewhat basic lesson, that most people learn somewhere in their mid 20s. Often if they don’t pick it up by then, they never do.
I think Rand is somewhere in that age bracket?? Or has the whole series really only taken months? I suppose I should look it up, maybe later.
So, what else is there to say?
Shit happens. Prophecies are fulfilled. Every prophecy in this series comes true eventually – which is an interesting plot device and not half the stumbling block you’d think it would be. I didn’t see how the one about Rand kneeling to the Seanchan could come around in a less than obnoxious way (ie: no stupid collaring), and yet the ending of this book sets up a few potential options. I’m impressed.
At least one long time supporting cast member dies. Two (?) forsaken die, probably permanently. People are finally learning what other people are doing. Stuff is just… well, it’s a good time to be a fantasy fan. Only two years till its wrapped!!! Then I’ll go through the whole damn thing again at some point. Maybe Z will be old enough for me to read it to him, we’ll see.
One thing I wonder is if Brandon Sanderson came up with any of the big story beats, or if they were all laid out in notes. Was his job just to fill in all the bubbles, dot all the i’s and connect the disjointed dots (which he did exceptionally) or was there more?
I think I did that mostly spoiler free. Can’t suggest it enough. Well, if you’ve read the previous 12 books or so. Which, if you did, there’s no way you’re not going to read this. So my recommendation means exactly nothing.
FOUR AND THREE FIFTHS STARS
(because nothing is perfect?)
I actually read this entire review despite having no idea what series this is, why he looks like he’s gonna break into disco dancing and having today thrown a fantasy book not less than three times. It’s called The First Book of Lost Swords: Woundhealer’s Story by Fred Saberhagen and I’m totally surprised to see it’s published by Tor. Mostly because I didn’t know they printed fecal matter. It reads like bad stage direction and lives in our bathroom so that on long visits, I can open it to a random page and get instantly angry. Soon, it’s pages shall be used for ceremonial butt cleaning.
I love the Saberhagen swords cycle. Classics of pulp fantasy. I just re-read them all last year, or maybe year before that. I probably posted a review…
Here we go: http://onefinemess.rhinopanda.net/2008/05/03/book-review-woundhealers-story/
Holy bricks of defecation. I knew you were going to like them just because they’re old school fantasy. That ish was suicide-inducing.
It’s pulp fantasy. The story moves along. There is very little navel gazing, time is used economically. People don’t spend chapters internally ruminating on the meaning of life or their place in the social hierarchy (although that does usually find its way into most fantasy books to some degree).
I don’t always have an appetite for epic fantasy (or sci-fi, or history, or anything else I read), sometimes I want something lighter.
It’s hard to find good pulp fantasy these days – do they even print anything < 400 pages?? In a way this is good because I’m finding old authors, or at least reading older works by authors that I wouldn’t have had the time to read otherwise. At the same time, I want “new” pulp fantasy too….
So, that’s what I’m trying to do with the thing I’m writing now. Fast moving. Light. Plot development, world building – but not to an obscene level, character building – but not to an obscene level. Hopefully fun and gripping, a good way to spend an evening. We’ll see.
I need to print out your book, which is pretty much my only response to this. No, seriously, I can’t think a book isn’t crap because of attributes that sound good in theory but do not translate into a book. In his case, it read like notes for a book. Also…I need to print out your book. It’s not like I’m honestly doing all that much work on my pilot.
I think it boils down to what you enjoy reading…also keep in ming that Woundhealer was technically the 7th book in the series, lots happened before. 8th if you count the mid-quel.
Printing is expensive, sorry about that. Yeah it is kind of odd that you still haven’t read it.
O.O
No seriously, this is like the one time in my life where it would’ve taken me this long. I can show you my flow chart edition of the Morrow Family Plan … and did u get the photo album from our Road Trip and Disneyland adventure? I sent you invites.
And printing’s not that expensive. I’ve done it about fifteen times per book.
Sure sure. I suspect it won’t be your bag as it is.
I dunno, I thought about printing something once and it was over $10 – those Kinkos/etc. places are a rip off. I print mine at work when I can, but as rarely as I can manage.
Yeah, I printed up Anagnorises at Concordia and it was so much cheaper than my love affair with KinkosFedEx, I almost plotzed.
I concur with the review!
I found out that I’ve had my head in the sand for a couple years. I wasn’t aware that the GS wasn’t going to be the last book…two more are due out–someday! In any event the magic isn’t over yet. I suspect this was a business decision, though this is denied by Sanderson (BS) on both the Dragonmount and BS blogs.
Anyway, a lot was settled in the GS! I agree with you that it is one of the best installments yet (I like the GH and WH, too). The writing was very good. I was afraid it wouldn’t be before I started the book, but I was not disappointed. BS doesn’t attempt copy RJ, but he does attempt to keep with the spirit of RJ’s meandering, Nth detail MO. His style is good in its own way, but I could tell a distinct difference (I won’t get into that now).
Surprisingly, BS is able to keep most of the je ne sais quoi that RJ had with the miles deep characters he’d built…most of it. But, there was a slight difference…just a feeling on my part. Probably just a writing style subtlety that gave RJ writing about RJ characters a type of magic. STILL…it was very good and far, far better than I expected from a Mormon. But what better genre than Fantasy for a Mormon writer? harhar…
Now, the story itself. I rate the Egwene stuff as unbeatable! Well done! Could say more, but…
Rand’s story progresses nicely. I still have some of the same frustrations with Rand’s character (still seems a bit uppity; but to be fair, I’d probably be the same way if I was surrounded by so many fussy women, 24/7…he gets the equivalent of “take out the trash”, etc, every time he talks to an Aes Sedai), but the conclusion of this book promises a dramatic shift in Rand’s character that will likely make the next installment very, very good. I suspect a lot of loose ends and lack of communication will be fixed up in the next book, all thanks to Rand’s revelation in the GS.
Mat an Perrin: These guys were just strung along this time around. What was up with the village Mat visited? Was there a point to that? It was somewhat interesting, but really? I think RJ or BS got a wild hair and thought it would be cool to insert this marathon of a “bubble of evil”. Anyway, consider that this could be part of the business end of WOT, adding a few thousand non-essential words and thus forcing more installments. Anyway, that’s probably paranoia and what do I care? I wish the series would never end! Back to Mat and Perrin: I guess they are just being inched along for the next book, where they will be positioned for some pivotal roles.
Gawyn: I hope he NEVER leaves Egwene’s side, if only to ensure he isn’t the first person of a chapter again. I detest Gawyn chapters. I don’t hate the character (too much), but he is so boring and you know he will never be a key player. Great, he’s good with a sword now…who isn’t? BS, please, just kill him off if he strikes out on his own again. I don’t know if I can take the brooding and self-righteousness again.
I guess that’s about it. The GS was more than I expected. It would have only been better if RJ had written it. The best news is that there will be two more books. RJ had intended book 12 to be the last one (yeah, right, RJ…you probably would have never been able to write a last WOT book), but BS said that he needed 750K words–no more, no less–so who are we to argue?
An interesting aside is that BS is a far more concise writer than RJ, which a dubious distinction for a guy that just penned a 766 page novel. I guess concise relative. Ahhh….I just thought of something. I think a key stylistic RJ/BS difference is the huge amount of time RJ spent setting up each act and each scene. BS really doesn’t do this.
Great book!!!