[no direct spoilers]

Yes, I’m a slacker of a fantasy fan.  I did not have the book on launch day  – because I pre-ordered a signed copy and, you know, mail takes time.  I did not finish the book in 24 hours – I wanted to savor it.  And I did.  Kind of.  Once I hit the last half I had to plow through it as fast as I could.  It took a lot of restraint to put it down last night and save the last third for today.

What to say… what to say.  Well, it definitely left me with a lot to think about for the next 14+ months or so (release date for the finale is like Jan-ish 2012 I think).   A ton of stuff happens here.  Lots of bouncing back between characters.  Lots of page time for Perrin and Mat, but also sizeable chunks for Rand and Egwene and tertiary chunks for Elayne & Gawyn.  Most of the others are represented, but sometimes only in a single chapter or sequence from their perspective.   Aviendha, for example, only appears in a single sequence, but it’s stretched out over several chapters and the imports are pretty damn dire.  I’d forgotten she had a Talent as well.

Man.  The Perrin stuff was gold.  Literally?  *ducks*  I’ve been waiting for so long for him to fucking man up and he finally gets there.  Rand got there last volume and Mat… well, I don’t think Mat is every going to change.  Not that Perrin and Rand change, per se (OK Rand kind of did), but rather they sort themselves out into the more mature versions of the roles they’ve found themselves in.  Or something.

So much happened here that I have a feeling the “Sanderson effect” is that Jordan would have taken two books just to write this one.  I’m sure I would have been quite alright with that, but I’m also completely fine with what we have here. I was hoping for more of a reveal about the Eelfinn and Aelfinn and other potential “alternate worlds”  – I mean that’s a pretty huge carrot to stick out there in a fantasy series – but it looks like they are just there.  You know?  Just another spot of weirdness in an already very weird world.

Some of the leads have been apart for so long that it’s jarring to see them interacting again.  Jarring and refreshing.  Like seeing that childhood friend you only catch once a year.  Sometimes what’s said isn’t as import as that it’s being said.  Except that people (actually? finally?) say important things here.

One thing: The conflict in the Black Tower is barely addressed here. I was really expecting (and hoping!) that that would play out before the final book.  As a reader, I’m very concerned about Rand and the way he’s neglected them for so long and missed the INSANELY OBVIOUS threat exploding right between his legs.  We pretty much always knew that Taim was a Forsaken (OK maybe he’s not but really?  REALLY?  I’m pretty sure he is.  In fact, we may even have been given the answer to which one he is.) but he pulls a few major moves in the brief bits where Black Tower goings on are mentioned and I can’t help but feel worried for Rand.  Yes, after almost 20 years you MIGHT call me just a little bit invested in the lives of the WoT clan.

I wish I could remember the other books better as individuals, to better compare the pacing of this one with those, but I can’t.  It’s one of the ones where, although lots of crazy things are happening, you can see the pieces being moved into place to line up even bigger things.

[NOTE: We finally get to find out who Asmodean's killer is!  In the Glossary! (Best.Reveal.In Glossary.Ever?)]

FOUR AND THREE QUARTER STARS

Dude.  It’s almost over. You know?

I picked it up when I was 13 or 14 and now I’m almost 32.  Has there ever been another epic like that?  Will there ever be another?  Hell, Harry Potter happened in the middle of the wheel of time.  The Lord of the Rings movies happened.  Some Star Wars crap happened.  Jordan will bookend some kind of fantastic literary era for me, I’m sure.  There are other series as long, even longer (The Dresden Files is supposed to be around 23)… but do they have the same weight (for me)?  I doubt it.  It’s not the same investment to pick up something that is already ended and plow through it… nothing can match the years (YEARS!) of savoring, languishing, savoring, lying awake at night dreaming…

What will that feel like, as a fantasy reader – as a Wheel of Time reader – for it to be over?  I can’t even imagine.  I’ve grown up – as a reader and as a person – with this series.  Always waiting for the next one.  Sometimes (OK, all the time) doubting it would ever come, then devouring it like the last scoop of cookie dough, eating it so fast that I get a little sugar sick afterwards when it finally arrived.   But now there’s only one more last, last scoop.

Let’s just get this out of the way:

FIVE STARS

1. It was awesome.
2. There will be minor spoilers in this review, so click out now if that’s your thing.

So, what makes it awesome?  What doesn’t!

By that I mean: not a single chapter, and maybe not even a page of this 900+ page monstrosity is wasted.  Nothing is over described, and very little is underdescribed – the things that are, are done so for a very specific reason.  And you (me) always wanted more.

Why so long?  Could it have been split into two books?  Maybe.  Maybe even 3 (as there were 3.5 major points of view, with two mostly overlapping in location if not time), but those books would have been much, much poorer with the lack of information from the others.  So no, not any more so than any other novel that skillfully employs multiple perspectives.  It is exactly as long as it should be.  It never felt like slogging reading, not once.  I paced myself for the first half, but the last pushed me harder. I forced myself to put it down at night (or when the boys’ naps were over, or whatever).

The characters are brilliantly and vibrantly done, and even the ones you hate (there are a couple), you have a good reason for doing so without descending into any kind of simple good/evil. I mean.  Wow.  The epilogue has me so confused (in a good way, and not even about details, just about where the hell he is going with the power struggles here).  Sanderson is so good at making villains that aren’t quite villains, or heroes that aren’t heroic per se… and it’s all out in force here.

Even stuff like Shallan’s plan, which I mentioned in my last post to be bound for obvious fail, kind of has some personal force behind it, revealed in a tiny one liner near the end (which I won’t spoil).

At the same time, we have engrossing examples of what it is to truly be honorable and selfless in this world.  I love what he is doing with the honor spren, and where he appears to be going with the Codes and the idea of honor/nobility/rule.

I also love how he leaves clues for the readers that always pay off.  He pulls nothing out of his ass here – if there’s a twist, there was usually at least two hints for it that an analytical reader will pick up – I was about 50/50, at best, maybe.  But I generally don’t try and figure everything out ahead of time, I just enjoy the ride.   I can only wonder how much was seeded here for future volumes.

Also… the nature of the enemy, or at least what we know of them so far.  It’s well done.
][update:  After thread browsing yeeah... probably not exactly the enemy.  Man, I love clues, especially when I miss them.  So much awesome.]

Double also: for the long time Sanderson fans, there are at least two references here to the SandersonCosmos (or whatever it is called), and Hoid is a semi-active secondary character.  Things we have speculated (or, in my case: lurked on forums while others speculated) about for years are finally being revealed.  Well, nothing yet, but hints are laid anyway.   Note to those not in the know:  All Sanderson’s fantasy books take place in the same universe,  and happen in the order than the books were released.

Of course, now I’m pissed because it will be $^*# knows how long until the next one… although if he keeps up with his current pattern, it may be as early as ~1.5 years.  The 2nd part of the final Wheel of Time trilogy comes out in November (!!), so that will distract me for a bit… and he only has one more WoT book to finish… sooooooo maaaaaybe.

Questions I’m left with (a shortened list):

1. Szeth and Kaladin appear to be accessing Surgebinding via a different system.  Kaladin’s learned vs. Szeth’s innate?
2. WTF is up with the King in the epilogue?  Also, I assume he is part of Ghostblood?  The name totally fits with what he is doing…
3. Don’t tease us with Shadesmar like that!  Is it connected to all the other worlds, or just Roshar?
4. Why doesn’t Syl like Shardblades? [EDIT: Someone on the forums cracked the writing system in the book and we know a likely answer to this now.]  I saw a theory on the forums about them each being a part of a different broken shard but… but that doesn’t explain the dislike (unless shardblades come from Odium, which doesn’t make *any* sense), there’s nothing that says that shards don’t like each other.
5. Who is the third shardholder!?
6. How and why did Shallan do it (the thing she did in the past, not present)?

I have many more but that’s enough for now.

Man, I hope the series doesn’t run more than 5 books.

Also, how awesome would it be for all of the ex-Bridge 4 crew to become Surgebinders?

It’s good.  It’s very, very well written.  I’m jealous.

Some of you may have seen that preview chapter from Towers of Midnight.  I think that, so far, every chapter in WoK has been better written than that chapter – and that’s not a sloppy chapter by any means.

I’m just kind of meandering my way through it, trying to savor it and rush less than I usually do through these things.  Old age?  Maybe.  It could also be that the more I grow as a writer, the more I’m able to observe about the craft itself.   Sanderson does such a great job of building emotional curves over his chapters… I really need to just sit down on my ass, and take notes (like he did, I think he said he did this for a WoT book when he was starting out).  But, knowing me, I won’t.  Unless I can re-work writing into my obsession… but no luck yet.

It could also be that, no matter how long it is, I know I will be craving more as soon as it’s gone so I might as well savor the hell out of it now.

Anyway.  What else about the book?

I really, really dislike the female lead’s plan. I think it’s dumb and juvenile and bound to fail, given everything we know about the world and about power and people in general.  So I’m sure this must be intentional.  I’m not questioning the writing, as I’m sure he did it on purpose… I’m just not sure what the purpose is yet.  All I know is that when her plan is talked about about it I wish she was a man I could punch.

At the core, the book is pure fantasy.  The depth that’s poured into the world is impressive, immersive and beautiful (without dwelling on things unnecessarily, he’s also very good at pacing his information injection so it rarely, if ever, feels like a dump) and the growing (as I get further in) depth of social complexity also promises to go interesting places.  He’s very directly put in a system of  prejudice and caste via something idiotic (eye color) and a slave system – neither of which will be throwaways, I can pretty much guarantee.

The expected completely new and logically bound (within it’s own logic that is) magic system (he creates a completely new system for each series, and he’s quite good at making them compelling) is interesting.  I was initially hesitant about it, just based on blurbs and early descriptions, which did not leave me with a good feeling.  It sounded too “item based”  for how I’m currently feeling about magic in fantasy (but this could change at any moment anyway so who cares!), but I’m happy to see that a) it is not entirely item based (there is something here that feels like a combination of Breath & Allomancy in addition to all the empowered items) and b) it’s damn interesting anyway, so screw my hesitations.

Oh, and I just passed the first chapter that mentions Hoid! Extremely geeky Sanderson geeks may find this amusing.

<.<

>.>

Also, check out Tor’s post on the cover creation process.

What?? A “mid-book” review?  What does that even mean?

It means that I’m midway through the book and felt like making some brief comments.  Because I can.

So let’s just get this out of the way first:

It’s good.

Quite good.

Only once or twice have I stopped to wonder if a passage was Jordan’s or Sanderson’s – and in the end I didn’t care anyway.

I found myself going back and re-reading passages to soak in details – something  I almost never do.  But – this is a book I’ve waited four years for – a book most thought would never come, thanks to Mr. Jordan’s horribly unfortunate passing.  This is a book to be savored!

There were one or two points where I wondered at a character’s actions, thought briefly would they do that?, but then realize that DUH, the series has to end, so they have to suck it up and change eventually.  And besides, they both did things I actually wanted them to do – so wins were everywhere.

I’d forgotten how skillfully crafted the characters here are.  I understand each person’s perspective.  I know why they do the things they do, even if I really wish they wouldn’t.  Each one is a living, breathing thing to me – which I suppose they should be after 12 books in 19 years.

Halfway through the book feels like I just read a whole book too -  there was a point where it felt a little like one book ending, and another beginning.  The first half contained in itself  the standard Jordanian progression of things, leading up to a battle with a Forsaken and another terribly Pyrrhic victory.  There were several shifts in allegiances, and two big reveals – one about a darkfriends identity (I’m pretty sure this was news, but I might have forgotten it) – and one about the identity of Moridin.  Rand did something he really shouldn’t have done with the power (and I know it will come back and bite him – but how?!).

Oh, and there’s the requisite AWFUL cover.  Seriously what the hell is up with the proportions on this thing?  Still, they’ve grown on me over the decades (!), so it wouldn’t be a WoT book without one.  Seriously though, that cover artist….*shakes head*.

Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze in the last 300 pages tonight.  Fingers crossed.  If it’s as good as the first half… hell of a book.

His latest, although evidently it was written a while ago, or something.  He also released early drafts of it on the web for free.  I probably should have checked them out, to see more about how his process went but I hate reading books on computer.

So. Yeah this was good, it took me a while to get into it – 15 chapters or so, so that makes it probably his “least” good book, but it was still quite enjoyable.  The whole magic system came off kind of goofy to me BUT with the caveat that if he has a good explanation for it in a later book I may change my mind.  Only having certain phrases invoke the magic just seems silly.  I suspect that’s not the case, and it’s just that certain things are simpler than others, but we’ll see.  The whole color thing is rather strange too, but I suppose there is energy of some sort stored in colors sooo…ok, sure.

My only real complaint is that we didn’t get enough info about the magic system.

The story itself was entertaining though – a really rather classic multiple bait-and-switch setup – probably the most “normal” of his 5 books so far.  I think it was the shortest too.  Still, none of these things are real negatives – I recommend it for any high fantasy fan.

3.85 STARS out of 5

Elantris
also by: Brandon Sanderson

Wow, what a debut.  I’m not even going to bother shooting this high.  Definitely stronger than Warbreaker (I know, I read the new one before the old one but they are only microscopically related, so it doesn’t matter, nyah!).

There were very few parts I skimmed – just some annoying banter about food.  People talking about food…yeah that’s pretty much something I’m not going to waste more than half a second on.

The rest of the novel (you know, the other 99.9%) was excellent, especially for a debut.  He created a fascinating world – almost as interesting as the Mistborne world, and more so than the Warbreaker one (so far) – and populated it with some good characters.  That being said, the story was definitely not as unpredictable as his other books.  Even though I said Warbreaker followed more of a formula, that formula included lots of twists and turns – this one had very few.  The ones it did have were great though.

I wish he’d explained a little more thoroughly what they had to do to fix the magic, but I’m sure it’s out there on an internet discussion board somewhere, waiting for me.

Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.

4.1 STARS out of 5

Having finished all his (published) books, I’m definitely seeing a reoccurring theme of religion: examining it, its strength and roles in society, and its relationship with various forms of resurrection.

Good thing I wasn’t particularly motivated to read any of his new books anyway – although I did see Ender in Exile on the shelf recently and at least made a mental note to wiki it.

I prefer Brandon Sanderson’s “moderate Mormonism” to Orson’s somewhat more militant stance.  Even though they agree on the issue at hand, Brandon comes off looking much more rational & personable.

Oh my god – an epic fantasy series that actually finished not only in a timely manner, but within the bounds of my lifetime!  But let’s not congratulate the author only for that small feat – he also deserves praise for writing an awesome book & series.  The quality of writing in this book is just as high as the previous ones, the stakes are even higher and the twists are pretty decent (and work!).

He hit on a couple of points – picking up some things from the first book that you didn’t even realize were plot related and making them huge – in a completely organic way that felt like the opposite of him pulling them out of his ass.  In sense, I got a real sense of respect for the reader, and a desire to make the pay-offs really matter for characters and reader alike.

I wasn’t particularly excited about all the religious angles in the book – but it turns out my fears of Mormon proselytizing were unfounded (Mr. Sanderson is Mormon – see here for an interesting look at his theology interacting with his personality and the rest of the world: ) – yay!  I’m always weary when a book deals with religion and I know the writers personal religion because the clashing of bias (my trying to read into what they write vs. are they actually putting anything in there to read into) is annoying.  However, the way he dealt with the religious questions was somewhat surprising, and happily moved me out of my place of paranoia.

The ending itself…made perfect sense, was laced with sadness and triumph, and moved the world on in a new and interesting direction.  I think I would have been happier in some ways if certain characters had not met their ends BUT I see why it happened for the story, and it is better for their doing so.

Random summary: Well written, entertaining, rewarding on multiple levels.

He may come back to this world later in his career – it’s been mentioned on his message board and in interviews – and that would be awesome.  I love where he left things, and the things he mentioned as potential future elements seem like crazy fun – Feruchemical mistings, the other metals, and folks with 1 feruchemical & 1 allomantic misting ability.  And steampunk.  I think that came up too.  Good times.

FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS

GOOD SHIT.

Interestingly, I couldn’t find an image of the cover I have (the paperback), this one is from the hardcover.

This is probably the best new fantasy book I’ve read in a while.  Not that that says much, because I don’t read much new fantasy.  It’s at least as good as George R.R. Martin’s stuff, but very different.

I love how he takes common fantasy cliches and tips them upside down (he’s pretty upfront about this being intentional too).  The first book’s thing was basically that evil had already won.  Sure, good “won” in the end, sort of, BUT there was this overwhelming sense of dread inherent in the win in that it didn’t actually make things “good”.  Also, to a lesser extent the hero/catalyst was actually killed, and there’s the fallout from that too – how do you live under his shadow?

So in this book we have a great, awesome continuance of this “upside down” effect that comes into play (hah mtg term…funny) only near the very end of the book but when it does..wow!  I think you’ll be very pleased, unless you just want to read the typical tropes.  In that case, steer clear.

Before the ending though, the upside-downness continues in the sense that this book is “after the good guys win, how the hell do they manage a kingdom?”. I haven’t seen that done before, at least in such a realistic and depressing way (depressing in a good way).  The one good thing (for the characters) that comes out of the final ending is so overshadowed by the continuing foreboding that it almost seems like an afterthought.  Vin gets the entirety of what she thought she wanted in a man, and Elend can finally feel less of an inferior, but neither of them even really gives it a moment’s thought…they can’t, because what’s coming will be even worse than what’s come before.

(I know, my writing is horrible today.  That’s ok though, I’m ok with it.)

I was left with a lot of things to think about as I went to sleep last night, lots of comments I wanted to make, but I can’t remember most of them.  I know I’m glad I waited for the paperback, as the final book is only right around the corner now (October?)!

Without giving any spoilers, I’m very curious about what was in the pill at the end…it seems like if it had pewter in it as well as whatever caused the “big” effect, it should have had many, if not all, of the other allomantic metals as well – potentially even the ones they haven’t rediscovered yet.  I was frustrated that he didn’t go into that at all, the final chapter was way too short.  I have no idea what’s coming in the final book …hell they could even “lose” for real.  I doubt it, but it seems possible.   The characters are left with almost zero clues about what’s actually going on.  The only lead I can see is the “helpful” mist spirit thing…other than that, all Sazed’s massive discovery does is remind them that they got royally fucked.

His character arc is also particularly interesting and unsuspected…it seems like he’s being set up to lead the Terrismen, but lead them to what?

Brandon has an excellent section on his website with notes on each and every chapter in the book.  I love how open he is about the writing process.  You can see that a) he really loves his work and b) he is very confident in his skills as a story teller.

FOUR AND A HALF STARS