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Without doubt this is a great tale with our main
characters,
Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon (my favourite), Perrin Aybara, Egwene al'Vere and
Nynaeve al'Meara embarking on a quest that takes them to the four-corners of
their mythical world. They encounter on their quest many colourful, or dark, or
mysterious characters who play a greater or lesser role in the storyline. The
story begins in a small, backwater village and expands to take in
different kingdoms, great cities, different cultures and people, both good and
evil, and covers a period of several years.
Yes, it is a classic good verses
evil story involving magic and mythology and leading towards a great
battle against an evil
force looking to enslave mankind and destroy civilisation as they know it. But
man, it is such a brilliantly told story. The characters come alive as we see
them struggle to come to terms with the life that has been thrust upon them.
This is also a tale of political intrigue and
power as games are played out between nations and major power groups in
the land as they fight to control or destroy the side of good in the coming
Last Battle. The political
aspects of the book are, at times, convoluted and do get a bit heavy and tend to
weigh down the story line.
Another difficulty for me has been trying to tie
together
all the diverse and varied plots, sub-plots and sub-sub-plots. In the early
days, when a new volume hit the bookshops, I would re-read earlier volumes to
refresh myself before tackling the latest book. Unfortunately, this became
somewhat time consuming, however, given there is only one book left in the
series this shouldn't be a problem to a new reader to the series.
With each book it seemed more plots and characters were introduced and I
wondered how all this would finally converge into a coherent conclusion with no
loose threads and hanging story-lines. It seems I had nothing to worry about as
these last couple of volumes have begun to bring all plots together leaving the
reader, in this penultimate volume, on the cusp of the Last Battle.
Over the years, as I waited anxiously for the
next volume to appear, I would dread the thought of something happening to the
author and hence, the The Wheel of Time story not being completed.
Sadly, in September, 2007, after a protracted illness, James Oliver Rigney, Jr.
passed away. We knew him a Robert Jordan. Later that year it was announced that
fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, long time fan of the series, would be engaged
to finish the series from the copious notes left by Jordan.
After over 11,000 pages comprising over four
million words all the threads of this wide and diverse plot are being drawn
together the prepare the reader for the cataclysmic concluding volume, A
Memory of Light. This book is due for release in early 2012. After
finishing this volume and later in 2012 I plan to start again at volume one and
work my way through the whole story in its entirety.
A great story and highly enjoyable read but does require a dedicated
commitment by the reader.
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