SPOILERS: The Gathering Storm by Jordan and Sanderson

[kcf]

Ok, the book is out. More than just a few have read it. It's time for a no-holds-barred, spoiler thread.

Enjoy!

[gentleman_bastard]

Just finished it after en epic twelve hour day-off-work read. Pack of cigerttes beside me and coffee on constant tap. And I....

...actually really enjoyed it. Rand hits rock bottom here and I really thought he was going to kill Min. But he only saved her by channeling the True Power. Totally unexpected.

Egwene was never a favourite of mine buts she is awesome in this book, slaying Seanchan left right and centre. She deserved the screen time.

As to the whole Brandon Sanderson thing I thought he got it spot on, except, maybe for Mat. He was a bit too funny and there were a few phrases that jarred. This in no way detracted from my enjoyment of his charector though, I'm putting it down to the new narrator thing. Just someone elses viewing angle on the same person.

I should say that I'm a total fanboy, but I really really did enjoy this book. 9/10.

[Caligula_K]

Would you guys mind putting SPOILERS right at the beginning of the title? I came into this thread from the forum index where it's just titled "The Gathering Storm" and read a line or two before I realized that this was a spoiler thread. It will just save you some grief from other peeps like myself.

[Lord Biff]

As I said in the other thread, FINALLY.

We get to see reintegration, and the resulting laughter and tears. I've been waiting for that for over a decade.

[Tsavong Lah]

Well I probably won't be getting this for over a week (and even then won't be able to work through it very fast). So someone mind listing some of the major things that happen in the book? Anybody of significance die?

[kcf]

-Lord Biff,

Yes the final prophesy given at the end is very appropriate.

At the end of time,

when the many become one,

the last storm shall gather its angry winds

to destroy a land already dying.

And at its center,

the blind man shall stand

upon his own grave.

There he shall see again,

and weep for what has been wrought.

- from The Prophecies of the Dragon,

Essanik Cycle. Malhavish's

Official Translation, Imperial

Record House of Seandar,

Fourth Circle of Elevation.

[Lord Biff]

-Lord Biff,

Yes the final prophesy given at the end is very appropriate.

I'm ecstatic to see that all the stuff about Rand being a blind man seem to lead up to this, namely, that he is blind about what has been going on, as the prophecy suggested.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Woah woah...I just finished the book and I'm freaking out. I don't know if its because I just read for a good solid 12 hours straight or if I'm crazy....

But at the end did Rand...

SPOILER: TGS

Cure himself of his madness finally by merging with Lews Therin and realizing that yes, they are the same person?

[Lord Biff]

Woah woah...I just finished the book and I'm freaking out. I don't know if its because I just read for a good solid 12 hours straight or if I'm crazy....

But at the end did Rand...

SPOILER: TGS

Cure himself of his madness finally by merging with Lews Therin and realizing that yes, they are the same person?

Yes.

And by the way, Tyrone, when I got to the bookstore this morning and saw the mouth-watering stack of TGS, I had to ask myself, was this, indeed, the Five O'clock Free Crack Giveaway?

[Tyrone Biggums]

Hahaha, yeah. I ordered mine in the mail...I'm not going to lie I checked the box 3 times before it was there.

So then he is effectively...

SPOILER: Rand End

Sane?

PS. This book was awesome.

[lylii]

Spoiler:

SPOILER: Rand-End

From the way I understood the ending. Yes, Rand is finally... completely sane.

I am really pleased with this book. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Brandon did an incredible job undertaking this vast epic and I believe that Harriet chose an excellent author to finish the series. I am, however, really sad -.-; I want more T_T! 365 days to go :cheers:

-lylii

[kcf]

Spoiler tags not needed.

but my understanding is that it remains to be seen just how sane he really is. Yes, he is vastly improved, but I'm sure there will still be some issues.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Well from what I recall he always had anger issues, but the "insanity" didn't really start until LoC when he started hearing Lews Therins voice.

With that gone, shouldn't he just revert back to his old self? Well...his old self that has to deal with all the shit he's done.

[lylii]

Anything has got to be better than what he was turning into. Remember he is still supposed to father four babies with Aviendha which means what he was turning into had to change sometime. Without emotion....without love.... how could he really father children?

I believe he's completely sane because of the chapter after Veins of Gold. In the chapter: Bathed in Light when Egwene sees the light and to her it seemed to say, "I am here." Perhaps this is just wishful thinking but to me the Creator had a hand in Rand seeing the truth and in a way healing himself. To me the last passage in the book completely confirms this with the prophecy, but who's to say!!?!

Overall, I do believe he'll still have shortcomings, specifically with everything he has to deal with. I don't disagree he'll have issues, after all he is only human. He was acting inhuman and more alien and if you look at it a certain way -selfish. I can't remember right now because my head is spinning (read straight for 9 1/2 hours!) but I think it was when Verin was explaining to Egwene about the Chosen and selfishness. I think this story was apt because, at least for me, it helped me understand what Rand was becoming.

[Guest Ro_]

I suck at avoiding spoilers. Gonna go to BN tomorrow and get a copy then donate it to the library or something.

My crackpot theory is that Avienda has twins, but also raises Elayne's twins, as her sisterwife because Elayne dies (Min's viewing said there was something strange about the four kids, and I think its because they are Aviendha's by custom, but not by birth). Elayne is logical to die since she has the same colour hair as Ilennya and similar sounding names etc.

[lylii]

This isn't exactly a bad idea, Ro.... but I don't want to spoil it for you ;;. You could very well be right but Veins of Gold... you gotta read it =P.

Well I probably won't be getting this for over a week (and even then won't be able to work through it very fast). So someone mind listing some of the major things that happen in the book? Anybody of significance die?

Major Points (not really in any order):

1.) Egwene Reunites the White Tower

2.) Verin was Black Ajah

3.) Tuon Dies

4.) Rand is beginning to become wise (Not sure how else to put that)

5.) Some Forsaken die, some could be friends? (I don't know what to think about Rand and Moirdin)

6.)Casudane's main goal is brought to its head

I can't just spill everything but that should be a decent list. I was reading spoilers before I read the book. To me the spoilers didn't bother me much at all, in fact it enhanced the reading of it. I didn't want to just tell everything though.

Well from what I recall he always had anger issues, but the "insanity" didn't really start until LoC when he started hearing Lews Therins voice.

With that gone, shouldn't he just revert back to his old self? Well...his old self that has to deal with all the shit he's done.

I somewhat took that part, as he is Lews Therin.... they already are the same man. He won't hear his voice anymore but all of the experiences will be there. I guess somewhat like Mat with all the holes filled in his head. In The Great Hunt Arthur Hawking referred to him as Lews Therin. Therefore, I think he is Lews Therin reborn and now he has all the memories without the insanity? I'm guessing of course but this is how I have understood the relationship.

[Lord Biff]

Yes, he has the memories (RJ has explicitly said that he has said memories and that they are real), but it appears that, as Leigh Butler theorized, LTT is a construct and byproduct of Rand's insanity that arises from those memories.

[Poobah]

General comments, massive spoilers, rantings and etc:

Number two is kinda... wrong. Verin was Black Ajah but she was working from within to identify its members and found a way around their oaths so that she could deliver the names before dying.

I was kinda... vexed about how quickly Semi and Graendal are both dealt with. Especially given how long some other things are drawn out.

Most of the Gawyn chapters were pointless, as were most of Perrin and Mat's.

The battle at the end was good shit though.

The whole message thing that Verin gives to mat is such an annoying, deliberate and terrible cliffhanger just for the sake of keeping you/us all busy cracking pots and speculating rather than bitching at Tor/Brandon/Whoever for charging us twenty-fucking-pounds for a book which contains so much bloat and setting up to sell us another two. It's exactly what George Martin did with A Feast For Cliffhangers, though Brandon managed to stick with just the one or two overt ones.

Why the hell don't we know who Mesaana is yet! I'm guessing either she got around revealing herself by saying she wasn't Black Ajah because she's a chosen and not one, but it'd be very careless of Egwene to not demand that people swear they aren't darkfriends instead because that's much closer to impossible to wriggle out of.

What the hell is happening/happened at the Black Tower? Everyone who went there has disappeared. Mr Taim, I'm looking at you.

Holy Balefire Batman!

Mm Beheadings though I wish we'd seen some heads on spikes, they never go out of fashion.

Did Tuon resist his Ta'veren influence, or was he entrancing/compelling her somehow?

And the True Power, being used by Rand, presumably through his connection to Moridin... and sitting down and having a nice chit chat with him too. Elan Morin is a fascinating character.

Anyone else think the rings worn by those Seanchan suicide-assassins are going to be significant? Why bother mentioning them now, if not. I read that passage and thought one thing - Hello black stone that blood goes on. It might be a bit crackpot but hey what the hell.

I'm really fucking annoyed that this is going to take another two frikken books to finish; I posted this in the other thread but I figure everyone will be here. I have finished since writing that and feel the final segment was rather tighter than the rest.

I'm not done with the book yet, but I'm getting there. I'm enjoying it but I am reading it as a fan and not looking at it as a critic; I'm still going "yay things that are happening that I hadn't read happen before" or "ffs Gawyn go die in a fire or something" and not looking at more important things.

Even so I'm becoming increasingly convinced that it was a bad idea to pick Brandon Sanderson to write this. He's a fan. That's the problem. It's just as Sword of the Morning said, to him "there are no secondary characters, no plotlines of lesser importance, no detail to small or drab or boring" and that's a major problem. As a writer you can murder your own 'little darlings' although I'd guess Robert Jordan never did. But as a fan... And I suspect there was little in the way of editing going on with this book with regards to cutting anything, especially given the in-fucking-sane £20 RRP which more-or-less destroys any claims Tor, Harriet, Brandon or any other apologist for the three books thing had going. Brandon won't cut anything because he's a huge fan and he loves every single little minutia and Tor don't give a shit because if he writes loads of grade-A bloat they can make sure they're getting 3 nice solid door-stoppers to milk for every last penny.

Even reading with a fan's eyes I can see so much in this book I'd cut, maybe it's my inner editor, or the distant echoes of my favourite old history teacher telling me to be more concise and get to the damn point instead of rambling unnecessarily as even now I still do. Regardless even though I like this book as a fan and stuff which interests me as a fan is happening... well, I can still see bloat everywhere, scenes I'd cut or cut down, chapters I'd merge to move things along. The kind of stuff which would have made this a two book finale.

Gareth and Suian bonding was nice.

I'm kinda annoyed that we get to see Semi humiliated with clearly sexual overtones (oh come on, don't deny it, Jordan clearly had a kinky streak, and I've no problem with that, but...) but we still get overtly PG references to actual sex.

...And (begin rant) Semi seemed way too much like a bad cartoon villain than the scary person she should have been. I mean I see the point is that she's no better than anyone else and etc. but that makes no sense. She shouldn't be some cackling wacko villain melogdramatically boasting about random crazy shit she did. Either she is just that or she's one of the shadow's strongest generals, rulers and one of top thirteen of the Dark One's inner circle of commanders. That implies rather more competence, survival ability and all-around general Machiavellian evil than someone that comes off as a B-Movie mad doctor at best. I thought Semi's characterisation was the worst in this book, by about a million miles and sorely disappointed me. I didn't know what I was expecting from her but I wasn't expecting something that boarded on the ridiculous; they should have called in Carey to copy/paste Melisande in, with some liberally added capitol E Evil once they realised Sanderson had screwed her up.

Rand's absolute batshit insanity was scary and mesmerising to behold.

Way too much time is spent on meaningless shit and way too little on IMPORTANT PLOT RESOLUTIONS. Rand meeting Rodel thingeymajig - over in half a chapter. Gawyn fucking around as per usual - three or four chapters. Perrin doing screw all that couldn't be shown through a few of Rand's visions of him - loads of chapters. Rand Balefiring Graendal's ass off - done in a few pages, ditto Rand Balefiring Semi's ass off with the True Power. Random Aes Sedai tomfoolery from all sides, camps, groups and so fourth - all fucking book. Rand meeting Tuon - a chapter (although they manage to say nothing that's remotely helpful because Rand is as above batshit insane and Tuon is still fanatically unwavering in her beliefs). *sigh* BLOAT BLOAT BLOAT.

Edit : I saw you said Tuon dies, that's massively and deliberately misleading; s/he asked for massive spoilers and is in the massive spoilers thread so I don't see the need for that kind of evasion.

[lylii]

I saw you said Tuon dies, that's massively and deliberately misleading; s/he asked for massive spoilers and is in the massive spoilers thread so I don't see the need for that kind of evasion.

Very well, Tuon becomes Empress as the book pretty much says... She is dead (in other words she takes on a new name and begins her new life as Empress). She takes on a new name Fortuano (or something like that) and attacks the White Tower.

Happy now?

[Poobah]

Happiness? Never! Not while the wheel continues it's cynical cycle...