The Gathering Storm
Wheel of Time
The Gathering Storm is book twelve of the Wheel of Time, a book series written by Robert Jordan, however Robert Jordan passed away in 2007 leaving the series unfinished. Brandon Sanderson was later asked by Jordan’s widow and Editor Harriet McDougal to complete the series using the notes that Jordan left behind. Due to this I have placed this review under books by Robert Jordan as well as books by Brandon Sanderson. The Gathering Storm is on my reread list with the rest of The Wheel of Time, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone else, after they’ve read the rest of the series of course.
In The Gathering Storm Brandon Sanderson doesn’t try to emulate Robert Jordan’s style of writing, instead he integrates his own style into Robert Jordan’s world, adapting the story as his own while not changing the story from Jordan’s vision. I feel that a better author could not have been found to complete Jordan’s work. The Gathering Storm features all of the components you would expect from a Wheel of Time book, the living characters, the numerous plotlines and the grand schemes to change the world. Furthermore Sanderson increases the pace of the series, tying off several loose ends in a satisfying manor.
If you have not read the rest of the series please do not read this part of the review as there are potential spoilers. In The Gathering Storm the main character Rand continues his struggle to unite the nations of the land, not to mention his fight for sanity, before the final battle; Faile, now reunited with her beloved Perrin after months of being separated, takes care of the Prophet of the Dragon. Egwene, now a captive of Elaida and the White Tower, continues to oppose Elaida in any way that she can even when she is subject to punishment from her captors. All the while the final battle, or Tarmon Gai'don, looms closer.
My rating for The Gathering Storm is 5/5.
