A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

I finally did it. I finished the Wheel of Time. It is only fifteen years since I embarked on this quest but those who joined at the beginning waited twenty three years for the conclusion of the monumentally epic saga. A saga that spans 14 books (plus a few short stories) and that has even survived the death of its creator.

Should you read the Memory of Light? Well that question is superfluous. If you have read the other 13 tomes in this story then you have no choice. You must read the conclusion. You can rest assured however that Sanderson has done a masterful job at bringing all the threads of this vast story together. All is tied up and all is finally resolved. Long time readers of the series will know that Jordan himself excelled at creating a rich believable world infused with complex characters and their equally complex and entangled storylines. He seemed almost unable however to close off any storyline. thread. Each new book introduced new characters and new plot threads to the despair of those of us who longed to see how the story turned out. Well Sanderson, working from Jordan's notes has finally told us. 

The bigger question really is whether or not I would recommend a new reader to start this saga? What is it all about really?

Well it is the story of a humble farm boy from a backwards village who finds his simple world disrupted by evil and who is led away on an adventure by an experienced magician (albeit a female one). The once humble farm boy discovers that he is the subject of prophecy and that he must develop his own latent powers to eventually confront a terrible evil that lives in a dangerous mountainous region in order to save the world. 

Sound's original? Of course not. But I believe that Jordan's re-telling of the monomyth is the most important version since Tolkien.  Jordan lacks the scholarly erudition of Tolkien but he makes up for it with incredible depth and the complexity of his world and his story lines. Yes the saga has flaws. Some of them deep. While the first few books of the series are completely enthralling it loses its way a bit in the middle. Even the confusing middle books however are rich with details and depth. Now of course with Sanderson's help the series draws to a stupendous conclusion. Of course you should read this. If you care about fantasy you should read it. If you care about storytelling you should read it.

The Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson

It is hard for me to be objective about Wheel of Time. Thirteen hefty books (and a short story or two) over the last twenty odd years is too much of an investment for the concluding volumes of the series not to be brilliant and I am convinced that they are. The dreary confusion of the middle volumes is long forgotten, Randland hurtles towards Tarmon Gai'don (the final battle) and I can't wait for book 14 to see how it turns out.

"The Gathering Storm" by Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson

If I had to pick a defining theme of the Wheel of Time saga then I would have to say arrogance. The arrogance of the Dark One and his forsaken, the arrogance of the Aes Sedai, the arrogance of the Seanchan, the arrogance of the Wise Women, and even the arrogance of Rand himself are all central to the plot and its many twists and turns. Think of all the times you groaned in frustration when the arrogant pigheadedness of the heroes prevented them from listening to people who could actually help them. Remember also the delicious moments when the most arrogant are finally pulled down to size.

"The Gathering Storm" is the first book finished by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan's untimely death. I put off reading it for some time but my recent enjoyment of Sanderson's Mist-born trilogy reassured me that he could write and I finally took the plunge. I am delighted to report that not only can Sanderson write well but he has also done a masterful job of preserving the feel of the series and his depiction of good old WoT arrogance is central to this.

I am once again enthused but Wheel of time and very much looking forward to the remaining two books.

The Well of Ascension and the Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Books 2 and 3 of the Mistborn saga. Great stuff. 

Mistborn: the final Empire byy Brandon Sanderson

 A new fantasy series for me and a very enjoyable one. Brandon draws a masterful picture of a segregated society with an enslaved underclass who are kept underfoot by an unthinking nobility. The whole structure is held together through the godlike powers of a malign immortal ruler. The book tells the story of a revolution plotted by a rare defiant group of downtrodden ska (the underclass) who wield the magical powers of Allomancy and art supposedly denied to their class. .

It is good stuff and a great read.  The necessary magical system  (Allomancy) is a bit over explained to my liking but that is a personal preference. Fantasy requires some form of magical power and you can either make it all a big unexplained mystery (as was popular with earlier writers like Tolkien) or you can try to classify and categorise the whole business turning it into an invented science. Sanderson has very much gone for the latter.

I am looking forward to the remaining two volumes in the trilogy. The only reservation I have is that if the rebellion succeeds then segregated society that formed such a core feature of the setting will collapse. I wonder will Sanderson be able to make the world which replaces it as interesting to read about.