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The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, Book 12) |  | Authors: Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Tor Books
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $6.71
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Rating:  509 reviews
Sales Rank: 1382
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 784
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.1 x 2.4
ISBN: 0765302306
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780765302304
ASIN: 0765302306
Publication Date: October 27, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.
The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor---his wife, Harriet McDougal---to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.
In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.
Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower---and possibly the world itself.
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 509
 Pricing issues. September 3, 2010
Brian Schkerke (St. Charles, MO USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can't get the Kindle edition until the paperback comes out, and the Kindle edition costs as much as the paperback? I own the hardback -- but wanted a more portable way to read it. At this point I'll haul the hardback around just to make a point.
Publishers claim that there are additional costs to publishing a book other than printing, binding, distributing, etc. I accept that. However, given a paperback and a digital version the publishers must admit that the digital copy has less cost involved when compared to the paperback. The prices for the two being set to the same amount is a clear sham. Worse, there is no risk to making a digital copy of a best seller available. There is no supply and demand - you make copies as they're purchased with no sitting inventory or cost per unit.
Publishers should never have been allowed to set the price for an ebook. Please note: I don't blame the authors for this situation. This is the same problem as exists with the MPAA. They're trying to hold onto the old way because they're afraid of the new. Both trades need to get a grip, analyze consumer demands, and move on. (Don't worry though. As soon as they realize our demands don't match up to their method of making money they'll press Congress to pass laws to make our demands illegal.)
 I had to speed up the audio September 3, 2010
Kat @ FantasyLiterature.com
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
First of all, I'm happy to report that THE WHEEL OF TIME is slowly getting somewhere. Though The Gathering Storm is excessively and needlessly lengthy (why do I, after all this time, still need the clothing styles of each country detailed?), a few things actually happen. And a few important things! Some storylines are mercifully wrapped up and it finally appears that the "storm" is truly "gathering" and that perhaps we might actually see some rain or lightning in the next volume.
Also importantly, the transition from Robert Jordan to Brandon Sanderson has been seamless. I have no idea how much of The Gathering Storm was written by Mr. Jordan before his death, but it all felt like Mr. Jordan. A couple of times I thought I detected Brandon Sanderson in the background during the Mat chapters, but this is a good thing because I like Sanderson's sense of humor. Good job, Mr. Sanderson!
The seamless transition is mainly a good thing, but it means that most of the issues I've had with THE WHEEL OF TIME are still there -- the pace is excruciatingly slow (for all the pages in this big book and all the traveling going on, there's not much overall plot movement), there are too many characters with similar names (I had to look up several of them at Encyclopedia WOT), and each of the cultures is unrealistically stereotyped (e.g., the Aiel still won't look at horses, the Domani women are seductive, etc). There are fewer braid pulls this time, though spanking is still the preferred method of punishment.
The Gathering Storm is very much like Knife of Dreams. The plot is moving toward resolution, but there's a lot of filler along the way. Bill reported that Sanderson had streamlined the prose, but honestly I couldn't detect that; it sounded the same to me. However, this may be because I was listening to The Gathering Storm on audio with the familiar voices of husband-and-wife team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.
And speaking of the audio, here's a confession: Listening to a WHEEL OF TIME novel on audio is a massive undertaking: 33 hours of life in this case. Not only is the pace of the novel too slow, but Kramer and Reading read it too slowly, also. But I have a trick for this: I speed up the audio to 1.4 times normal speed and then it's tolerable. In fact, it sounds like a normal reading rate at this speed. I recommend the audio version if you have the capability of speeding it up. If you don't, make sure you're up to 33 hours of leisurely listening or else get the print version.
 I'm sure glad R. Jordon didn't burn his desk! September 2, 2010
Edward Wilkinson (YNP, WY USA)
Years ago apparently Robert Jordon said that if his health began to take a turn for the worse before the WoT series was done he would burn his desk and all his notes so that no-one could finnish it. I'm glad he changed his mind.
I was alittle afraid when I heard that a mostly inexperienced fantacy writer would be taking over, but it seems to have been the right choice. While you can sometimes tell where the writting styles change, it's not extreamly obvious and so can mostly be overlooked. The story is great and I'm glad they desided to split the ending into three books instead of one massive book like R. Jordon had been hinting at before his death, God rest his soul.
So anyway, to sum up: A great continuation to the story and a good attempt at meshing the writting styles makes this a definite buy for any WoT fan who was worried like me that a new writer wouldn't be good for the series.
Kudos to Sanderson. It works! August 27, 2010
chao-wen liu (anaheim, ca USA)
In previous books, one of the few things I never liked that well about Robert Jordan's writing style was the lack of consistent in-depth verbose dialogue from many characters. Many scenes that depended heavily on dialogue felt incomplete, and the characters ended up seeming like social idiots at times, because of all of the things that were left unsaid, the scene relying on to many inferences and other subtleties. At times, I felt that the WOT world was a world where no-one really every communicated honestly with each other or said anything meaningful! And so, much of that dramatic element was lost from many scenes in previous books.
In this book, Brandon Sanderson fixes that problem. Every character in the book (which the exception of Mat) feels more alive and in-depth than they have in a long time. Not since very early in the series have we been privy to the feelings of the characters to this breadth and depth as in The Gathering Storm. Also many loose subplots, such as The Prophet, etc are tied up in this series. That was needed, as the number of never-ending subplots in the series was growing to epic proportions. So Bravo! to Brandon. This is the most enjoyable book in this series in a long time.
Note about Mat: Mat was one of the few characters in the book who didn't need to be more verbose, more forthcoming with the other characters, or more in-depth. Subtlety and trickery are main aspects of his character, and Brandon applying the same "coating" of verbosity and forthcoming-ness to Mat, makes him seem a little off-balance. Brandon had Mat say things and behave in ways that he wouldn't have done before. And so this was out of line with his character somewhat. The other characters however, still seem much the same as they did before, just more verbose and forthcoming in their dialogue. It could be argued that this is also a change in character, and it is, but it is an enjoyable and welcome change and makes a better book. Mat's change takes away from his character somewhat. However, I also recall that Mat's character, to me, seemed somewhat flat and boring early in the series, until it changed considerably after he more or less accepts his new found memories and knowledge. I feel that Jordan reworked Mat's character at that time, really for the first time, "filling it out". Let us hope that Brandon also is able to get more in tune with Mat's character in the next book.
Epic!!!!!!!!!!! August 26, 2010
Booklover
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wow, just wow. Jordan sucked me in and made me want more. I read his first 4 books in 4 weeks and the fifth in 2 weeks. I was devastated, weren't we all, when he died. I heard of the new author and I did not have high expectations. Brandon Sanderson, I must admit, is better then Jordan. I don't know why I like Brandon better, I am horrible at book analysis, but I liked #12 better than all the others. It seemed simpler and more direct I suppose. Basically what I am trying to say is that for all of you who have yet to read The Gathering Storm, you are in for a treat.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 509
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