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4.59 AVERAGE
4.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Satisfying ending to the series. Not perfect, but mostly hits all the right notes.
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Happy to finish this long series, liked the ending it was somewhat cliche, but i think it's the best way to end it...
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't rate this book, because my emotions are about the series as a whole, and those emotions are complicated. Honestly, this is one of my all-time favorite series. But it doesn't come without a lot of caveats and a lot of criticism. I spent well over 2 years talking my way through my first-time read with a group of long-time readers, and it was one of the best reader experiences I've had - that will also stick with me and has a lot to do with my feelings towards this series.
So while I'll wholeheartedly say that this is one of my absolute favorite series, and I'll always love it, I will also absolutely eviscerate it for its flaws. It does have flaws - a fair number of them. And they can't all be laid at Robert Jordan's feet. Brandon Sanderson has some things to answer for as well.
All that being said, I mostly stopped reading cis-het white men a number of years ago, and yet - I think this series is worth it. If you go in with some warnings, some hand-holding maybe, some good friends to stand by and listen (and validate) your complaints and facepalms (and the 'Oh Mat' reactions), a few chapter content warnings, and the ability to read between the lines for everything this series was *trying* to be. Because it really did so many things so amazingly well, and it came so close on so many others, and I can see it in the margins, when I look.
Anyway. I love it, and I'll defend that love. But I'll also do a healthy bitch session if that's what you want to do (I've got plenty of topics to start us off) - let me know. ;)
So while I'll wholeheartedly say that this is one of my absolute favorite series, and I'll always love it, I will also absolutely eviscerate it for its flaws. It does have flaws - a fair number of them. And they can't all be laid at Robert Jordan's feet. Brandon Sanderson has some things to answer for as well.
All that being said, I mostly stopped reading cis-het white men a number of years ago, and yet - I think this series is worth it. If you go in with some warnings, some hand-holding maybe, some good friends to stand by and listen (and validate) your complaints and facepalms (and the 'Oh Mat' reactions), a few chapter content warnings, and the ability to read between the lines for everything this series was *trying* to be. Because it really did so many things so amazingly well, and it came so close on so many others, and I can see it in the margins, when I look.
Anyway. I love it, and I'll defend that love. But I'll also do a healthy bitch session if that's what you want to do (I've got plenty of topics to start us off) - let me know. ;)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First, a confession. I have drunk the Wheel of Time Kool-Aid. I know this because when I started reading this book, I began thinking of an eventual re-read of the whole series. To say I was surprised by this desire is a bit of an understatement. Halfway through my Wheel of Time journey, if you would have asked me about the possibility of re-reading this series sometime in the future, my reply would have been along the lines of, "Um, whyyyyyy." But now it's, "Maybe?" And that right there should be enough to tell you how much I appreciated this last book not only as a book in and of itself but as an end to a saga millions of words long. Part of me has been holding back judgment until this last book because I wanted to see if Jordan (and Sanderson by proxy, though he was by most reports, including his own, as faithful as possible to Jordan's plans for all the characters and storylines) would do something that made me see the series in a new light. And they/he did.
I am so glad I pushed through to these last three books (which are really one book split up into three volumes). They retroactively make me think more fondly of the others, even the sloggiest of the bunch.
I wasn't fully satisfied with the way some stories wrapped up. (Mostly the stuff with Tuon and the Seanchan; it really pisses me off that they got to leave this series without their culture having a massive upheaval due to some sort of slavery-related reckoning. I get SO angry when I think about this. The only saving grace is that Mat (and Min?) seem to have influence with Tuon and therefore things might change in the future. Also, I didn't end up liking Tuon that much. All that entitlement she and her culture possess enrages me.)
But the rest of it: Yes.
This book was non-stop from beginning to end. Thread after thread came to a close. Characters died, but in ways that left me satisfied narratively (though one in particular, which I had been spoiled for, still made me very sad). Stuff that happened all the way back at the beginning of the series had greater resonance.
I'd also been spoiled in regards to Rand's fate, and wondered how it was going to be executed (answer: pretty great!). And really, I didn't mind being spoiled in the end because OH MY GOD this book was so stressful. I liked having some knowledge of what was coming so I could prepare myself emotionally. The final confrontation comes in a three hundred page chapter, and it was nearly perfect. The epilogue was written by Mr. Jordan himself, and I'm glad he had a chance to close out the series with his own words. But ultimately, Sanderson more than did justice to this series. He brought everything together in a feat of writing and organization and character redemption that gives me a headache just thinking about how much work he must have put into it. And I think he succeeded admirably. These last three books have been my favorites by far (my favorite of Jordan's books, if you're curious, is The Shadow Rising).
[4.5 stars rounded up]
Read Harder Challenge 2018: A book published posthumously.
I am so glad I pushed through to these last three books (which are really one book split up into three volumes). They retroactively make me think more fondly of the others, even the sloggiest of the bunch.
I wasn't fully satisfied with the way some stories wrapped up. (Mostly the stuff with Tuon and the Seanchan; it really pisses me off that they got to leave this series without their culture having a massive upheaval due to some sort of slavery-related reckoning. I get SO angry when I think about this. The only saving grace is that Mat (and Min?) seem to have influence with Tuon and therefore things might change in the future. Also, I didn't end up liking Tuon that much. All that entitlement she and her culture possess enrages me.)
But the rest of it: Yes.
This book was non-stop from beginning to end. Thread after thread came to a close. Characters died, but in ways that left me satisfied narratively (though one in particular, which I had been spoiled for, still made me very sad). Stuff that happened all the way back at the beginning of the series had greater resonance.
I'd also been spoiled in regards to Rand's fate, and wondered how it was going to be executed (answer: pretty great!). And really, I didn't mind being spoiled in the end because OH MY GOD this book was so stressful. I liked having some knowledge of what was coming so I could prepare myself emotionally. The final confrontation comes in a three hundred page chapter, and it was nearly perfect. The epilogue was written by Mr. Jordan himself, and I'm glad he had a chance to close out the series with his own words. But ultimately, Sanderson more than did justice to this series. He brought everything together in a feat of writing and organization and character redemption that gives me a headache just thinking about how much work he must have put into it. And I think he succeeded admirably. These last three books have been my favorites by far (my favorite of Jordan's books, if you're curious, is The Shadow Rising).
[4.5 stars rounded up]
Read Harder Challenge 2018: A book published posthumously.