Gathering Storm
So I picked up The Gathering Storm, the latest tome in the ongoing Wheel of Time opus, and I have a few :
The book was a pleasant surprise. Given how these things usually go, I was not expecting much. Instead, this turned out to be one of the strongest entries for some time - definitely since Winter's Heart and quite possibly since Lord of Chaos. And thankfully, about midway through the book, it becomes clear that Sanderson is as eager as any of us to Reach the End, meaning tying up various plot holes, answering long buried mysteries, and merrily moving the plot along. This is no Path of Daggers or Crossroads of Twilight; things happen, and finally, many of those dangling plot threads are closed.
This all happens, I think, because Sanderson approached this as a fan, which means that's he's also, in a way, responding to some of the major issues that I, as a fan, had with the last few WOT books. (And I wasn't alone.) Considerably less digression about maids. (Chesa appears, but in one easily dismissed paragraph. And that mostly ends the maids.) Considerably less obsession over everyone's dresses. Less tugging on braids. (It happens - I suppose it couldn't be a Wheel of Time book without braid tugging - but it's not as invasive as in earlier books.) Fewer long digressions from tertiary characters. Prophecies fulfilled.
It's not perfect. I have to join the chorus of reviewers noting that Mat's voice feels way off here, as does his dialogue. (Unlike the others, though, I actually liked the zombie stuff - I felt it fit in well with the overall theme of the book, which is "things are getting incredibly bad incredibly fast.) But, since Matt is not as desperately needed for comic relief/oh, good, something I actually want to read about as he was in previous books, this is not as much of a flaw as it could have been. A few jarring word choices, and lots of exclamation points. Like, LOTS and LOTS of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! And one scene - Egwene's second dinner with Elaida - that reads very much like fan wish-fulfillment rather than a natural flow in the plot.
And Sanderson does not quite have Jordan's gift for epic yet contemporary sounding dialogue. This is probably what makes the portrayal of Mat, in particular, so off, and some of the dialogue feels downright clunky. On the other hand - and I say this with trepidation and fear of getting nailed by Jordan fans - I think Sanderson may actually be a better stylist. His writing is cleaner, more concise. (Or maybe I'm just thinking of the previous four WOT books.) If I missed a little of the epic feel, especially in the final scene, I appreciated the smoothness of the rest of the book. (I don't think his writing "sounds like Jordan," which is a major plus - I don't think Jordan's style can be copied. Or if it can, the series would have taken EVEN LONGER to finish.)
Some of the problems seem to stem from previous books or from the outline. It's not Sanderson's fault, for instance, that I found myself literally flinching every time Perrin and Faile showed up on the page - that's entirely from negative memories of the Longest Dragging Plotline Ever. (I love slowly told stories, but that was too much.) And it is most definitely to Sanderson's credit that he works overtime to try to make Faile more likeable, going so far as to include a statement meant to justify all of that tedious jealousy we had to deal with for so long. The awkwardness of having Rand and Aviendha finally meet again, but not talk, or barely talk - something that I think may have been required by a plot outline, since it makes very little sense here and is barely papered over by some editorial intervention of Aviendha needing to meet him in honor. An issue that was not even mentioned in previous books; their relationship problems centered around the now-vanished concerns of "what would Elayne think/you belong to Elayne" and "you don't actually love me," (gone post the whole bond). It's just...kinda mindboggling, although I liked the conversation between Min and Aviendha.
But overall, as said, pleasant surprise. And good to know I was right about Verin all along.
The book was a pleasant surprise. Given how these things usually go, I was not expecting much. Instead, this turned out to be one of the strongest entries for some time - definitely since Winter's Heart and quite possibly since Lord of Chaos. And thankfully, about midway through the book, it becomes clear that Sanderson is as eager as any of us to Reach the End, meaning tying up various plot holes, answering long buried mysteries, and merrily moving the plot along. This is no Path of Daggers or Crossroads of Twilight; things happen, and finally, many of those dangling plot threads are closed.
This all happens, I think, because Sanderson approached this as a fan, which means that's he's also, in a way, responding to some of the major issues that I, as a fan, had with the last few WOT books. (And I wasn't alone.) Considerably less digression about maids. (Chesa appears, but in one easily dismissed paragraph. And that mostly ends the maids.) Considerably less obsession over everyone's dresses. Less tugging on braids. (It happens - I suppose it couldn't be a Wheel of Time book without braid tugging - but it's not as invasive as in earlier books.) Fewer long digressions from tertiary characters. Prophecies fulfilled.
It's not perfect. I have to join the chorus of reviewers noting that Mat's voice feels way off here, as does his dialogue. (Unlike the others, though, I actually liked the zombie stuff - I felt it fit in well with the overall theme of the book, which is "things are getting incredibly bad incredibly fast.) But, since Matt is not as desperately needed for comic relief/oh, good, something I actually want to read about as he was in previous books, this is not as much of a flaw as it could have been. A few jarring word choices, and lots of exclamation points. Like, LOTS and LOTS of EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! And one scene - Egwene's second dinner with Elaida - that reads very much like fan wish-fulfillment rather than a natural flow in the plot.
And Sanderson does not quite have Jordan's gift for epic yet contemporary sounding dialogue. This is probably what makes the portrayal of Mat, in particular, so off, and some of the dialogue feels downright clunky. On the other hand - and I say this with trepidation and fear of getting nailed by Jordan fans - I think Sanderson may actually be a better stylist. His writing is cleaner, more concise. (Or maybe I'm just thinking of the previous four WOT books.) If I missed a little of the epic feel, especially in the final scene, I appreciated the smoothness of the rest of the book. (I don't think his writing "sounds like Jordan," which is a major plus - I don't think Jordan's style can be copied. Or if it can, the series would have taken EVEN LONGER to finish.)
Some of the problems seem to stem from previous books or from the outline. It's not Sanderson's fault, for instance, that I found myself literally flinching every time Perrin and Faile showed up on the page - that's entirely from negative memories of the Longest Dragging Plotline Ever. (I love slowly told stories, but that was too much.) And it is most definitely to Sanderson's credit that he works overtime to try to make Faile more likeable, going so far as to include a statement meant to justify all of that tedious jealousy we had to deal with for so long. The awkwardness of having Rand and Aviendha finally meet again, but not talk, or barely talk - something that I think may have been required by a plot outline, since it makes very little sense here and is barely papered over by some editorial intervention of Aviendha needing to meet him in honor. An issue that was not even mentioned in previous books; their relationship problems centered around the now-vanished concerns of "what would Elayne think/you belong to Elayne" and "you don't actually love me," (gone post the whole bond). It's just...kinda mindboggling, although I liked the conversation between Min and Aviendha.
But overall, as said, pleasant surprise. And good to know I was right about Verin all along.