Robert Jordan's epic Wheel Of Time continues courtesy of Brandon Sanderson. As a charter member of WOT madness (books 1-4) WOT concern (5-8), WOT disillusionment (9-10), WOT semi-redemtion (book 11) and WOT depression (Loss of Robert Jordan) I must say I am not sure what I expected from this series continuation. Over the years I have re-read the series numerous times, even the horrible 8-10 books in order to prepare for the next offering. That I would buy this book was never in doubt... but I was prepared for the worst.
So what is the verdict? Well at least from this long time fan the verdict is superb. If you are a fan then pick it up. Think of this as J J Abrahms re-vitalizing star trek... only without the time travel nonsense. Sanderson picks up the threads of the story like he had been writing them all along... and he does so with the pace of the early books. He starts with this gargantuan traffic snarl of threads and pushes through solidly to the end and finally lots of progress is made. Here are the highlights (spoiler alert)...
- The willy nilly thread hopping of the last half dozen books is gone. Rand and Egwene represent some 75-85% of the story arc of this book and it is a good thing. By the time the dust settles Rand is poised to resume his rightful place as the centerpiece of the story and the Aes Sedai seem ready to finally rejoin the story as a mature entity rather than the catty fractured monstrosity that has been endemic for the last several books..
- Faile is blessedly absent but for maybe 10 pages... and in that brief time Sanderson adroitly returns her to an independent character of action. Only a paragraph or two is devoted to the dysfunctional relationship between her and Perrin.
- Nayneve is treated in a similar fashion though her closeness to Rand keeps her in the flow a good bit more... a couple of nods to plunging necklines do appear but not at the nails on chalk board repetitive nature of the last several books.
- Min only calls Rand a Wool Head once... and her character is returned to its uniqueness as Sanderson carves out a new niche for her to fill other than flouncing about as the only available booty call for Rand.
- Aviehnda is similarly low key but again her character is moved definitively towards something that will be productive. The past 3 novels of her struggling with no longer being a 'spear sister' is finally (mercifully) put to rest.
- Mat and Perrin have little time between them. This was one of the few disappointments. However I think Sanderson wisely chose not to try and do to much in this book and instead gave just enough of the two to placate long term fans... but they are still very much in a holding pattern. The next book should have two major plot elements with Mat, one involving his connection to Tuon, and the other his jaunt with Thom into the tower of Genji that will probably net a return of Moirane and Lanfear.
- Blessedly absent are almost any plot summary exposition sections trying to keep folks unfamiliar with the intricate story lines up to speed. These sections pretty much ruined books 7-10.
- Surprisingly absent are almost any sections dealing directly with the forsaken. There is one in the prologue... and a brief encounter between Semerihage and Moridin... and that is about it.
- And perhaps my personal favorite... Cadsuane is finally put in her place.
All in all Sanderson has handled the hand dealt him admirably. He is not trying to claim ownership of the story. However he is also not trying to do the impossible of channeling Robert Jordan. His own writing style flows naturally and the resulting effect is minimally jarring. The world remains familiar and the most dramatic change is the pacing of events. He did a lot to clean up the tangle of story lines and as a result has (at least in my eyes) successfully refocused the story. The next book should serve to clean up the few remaining loose ends and poise the story for its grand finale.
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