A Memory of Light Spoiler Reactions

For whatever reason, I’m going even further afield than usual with my ‘review’ of A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (my ‘non-spoiler’ review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon). This post (below the cut) is basically a point-by-point reaction to some of the events of AMOL. It’s full of spoilers and if you read them, it will tell you how the book ends and many of the happenings along the way. It’s very colloquial and informal, so comment in kind. Beware, the book is spoiled here and I’ll make no apologies to anyone who gets upset reading this post and whatever discussion follows because some spoiler is revealed. So, take a look and then share what you think. If you prefer, my non-spoiler review is here.

 

Now, let’s get to it…. 

 

1. As I’ve watched the reactions to the ‘Memories of Time’ released by Tor, I’ve had my own little version of how Team Jordan must experience the world. Yes, sometimes the reactions are spot on. But more often than not, they go way wrong. Crazy. It’s amazing to see how things go when I’m thinking the answer was so clearly obvious, but then people take it opposite direction.  
2. Talmanes in the prologue is awesome. Many have issues with what Sanderson has done with The Wheel of Time since taking on the near-impossible task of finishing the series in a way that fans can love, and some of those issues are very real, but sometimes Sanderson has improved things. Talmanes is one area. He takes a character who was cardboard and barely worth mentioning and grows him into someone likeable, humorous, subtle and heroic. It was fun reading his leading the battle of Caemlyn. Though he should have died. He should not have been healed to fight again. And I tire of the new titles that seemingly come out of nowhere – Dreadbane. Seriously, that’s terrible.
3. Androl – I like him and Pevara more and more. Obviously Sanderson does as well. I wonder how much of Androl is a reaction to reading what fans have written. The potential tactical use of gateways – we see it. Opening a gateway into a volcano to destroy trollocs, opening a gateway in front of an attacker to behind the attacker so they kill themselves. Precise use of gateways as weapons. These are cool. I wanted more. But he was ultimately mishandled. He just sort of fades away in the Last Battle. He either should have gone out with a real bang…or something. By the end he just sort of hangs on.
4. Moiraine. So, he needed her to convince Egwene to sign the Dragon’s Peace. And then again as a link with callandor. She still felt strangely absent toward the end. And why didn’t we get a Moiraine vs. Cadsuane scene.
5. Demandred. I love that he wasn’t Roedran like so many thought. I loathed the lack of subtly with which Sanderson handled it. Too much of a nod to theorists, too much of a breaking of the 4^th wall. But Shara? The set up for that could have been handled much better. Perhaps another example of Jordan being too subtle in earlier books. Perhaps an attempt for readers to be as surprised as those fighting the battles. While I like that it gave the forces of the dark an edge, it was ultimately mishandled.
6. More Demandred. He plays the big role in The Last Battle. But I’d have liked to know more earlier. What we see earlier was either wrong or painfully incomplete. Who knew that Demandred was bat-shit insane? As insane as Rand in his own way. He was always supposed to be the cold, calculating bad guy. Another place things didn’t go as well as they should have.
7. Mat. Everyone’s favorite. This won’t change. His leading of the last battle was awesome! I like how all the great captains were taken out, how the forces of the dark manipulated them. I like how it took some doing to get Mat into the leadership place he was. Only Mat could have won the battle.
8. Really, Mat and Rand in a bragging battle? As amusing as it was, it didn’t work for me. Another too big of a nod to the fans.
9. Horn of Valere. Excellent – most everyone thought Mat needed to blow it. Everyone was wrong. His ties were broken. Olver has a place. I love that Noal was a hero. That Birgitte comes back just after her death. Hawkwing and Matt don’t get along. Good stuff. Hero wolves? Oh well, don’t feel strongly one way or another.
10. Lanfear – I love that she helps Perrin. I love that she’s a wildcard. We don’t know what’s going on with her…until the very end.
11. Perrin. Good fighting, continues his growth. Awesome to see him finally let go. But really…he couldn’t kill Graendal because she’s a woman. Please. I thought we were past this. This must have been an RJ plot piece, one that should have been fixed. Though I suppose you had to have some good forsaken fighting going on.
12. Fain. Thank god he didn’t end up as the Gollum of WOT. I love that every theory I ever read on his place in the Last Battle was wrong. I actually love that all of the build-up, all of the hints of bad things, go nowhere. That Mat walks right into the mist, and kills him. Easy as pie. How wrong we all were, but so obvious in retrospect. The series needed a nice little Red Herring and Fain served well. Now, was Mat’s luck tied to the evil of Fain? The dice stopped.
13. Along those lines – it’s all over. Our three ta’veren are probably not ta’veren anymore. Does Mat still have is luck? What about everyone always falling in line with Perrin? Of course we have no answers, but it’s something to think about.
14. So many hate Egwene, even more so since Sanderson has taken the helm. While I can’t say that I always like her, I don’t agree with the hatred. The accusations of Mary Sue. Etc. She dies, she dies as she creates. The Amyrlin dies as she kills the M’hael. Nice balance. 
15. Cadsuane. I would have like to see more of her during the Last Battle. A good fight scene or two during the battle. Opportunity lost with all those wonderful toys. I did not expect her to survive. Neither did she. Amyrlin? I laughed.
16. Logain. Not the lovable leader many have made him out to be. Of course he was very nearly turned and there were consequences. But, is it a surprise that he did the right thing in the end? Cadsuane and Logain, White Tower and Black Tower. I think I’d like to see that.
17. Thank the lord that Nynaeve didn’t heal death. I was very surprised that she never got time with Lan prior to the end. That was proof enough for me that Lan wouldn’t die. Though him killing Demandred…man, Niagara Falls baby. When he stood up with Demandred’s head I thought for sure he was a hero of the horn returned. He was always one I expected to die, but thought would live (if that makes any sense).
18. Siuan dead. Expected. Actually not too saddened as it was appropriate. But I would have liked to have seen a POV from Bryne at that moment. I would have liked that decent into madness and death charge. Really, it could have been done in half a page – why not?
19. Gawyn dead, Galad almost dead. Well, Gawyn should have died a long time ago. Not sad about it. He was incredibly stupid and flawed all the way to the end. Galad – I don’t think I’m upset we never got the Rand-Galad reunion. But I sort of wish he had died as well. For a minute I was waiting for a Tam takes on Demandred moment, where Tam succeeds. It would have been a nice thematic arc to the book and appropriate end to Demandred and Tam. But Lan did fine.
20. Ituralde. I always like that guy. In my mind, clearly the best of the great captains. I wish we would have had more of him. I would have loved to see him and Matt in command together. I’m glad he lived though.
21. So, two forsaken survive. Graendal and Moghedien. What will Avi do with a forsaken lapdog. What with Seanchan do with a forsaken and damane – and one from Shara as well? Oh, those outrigger novels would have been so much fun.
22. So, just who is this old Aiel woman who has appeared twice now? She visited Aviendha in the waste and now Rand just after he seals up the DO. It appears that TAR is involved, but that’s not necessarily the case. Is this the creator?
23. Oh the ending. First, the last word was not ‘time’, but ‘ending’. I can see how that scene began it all, though it’s certainly an odd one if you step back from WOT. The hero of the world steals a horse and runs away from his 3 wives and all the other forces of good. Oh, and he has a new body – that of the bad guy. That actually sounds pretty terrible when put that way. But, it fits. It’s beautifully written and I was bawling. In retrospect I can’t help but hear the Randland stories of Elvis/Jesus/Mary/Jim Morrison/Johnny Appleseed being spotted around the world. Or, maybe he’s Tom Bombadil, traveling the world in song and making the green things greener and everyone happy and gay. That’s it, Rand was always Tom Bombadil. Yes, my sense of humor is terrible.
24. Now that I’ve read it all and finally know how it turns out. I’m incredibly torn. I want more. I want the prequels. I want those auxiliary novels with Mat and Tuon returning to Seanchan. I want more short stories and novellas. I want to read more. I don’t want it to be over. But, the end was perfect and appropriate. As much as I want all those things, I want all of The Wheel of Time to end as it did.

EDIT: Thanks to the folks over at Macmillan Audio I have an audio sample from Chapter 3 to share with (no big spoilers). I love the audiobooks and have been using them as 're-reads' for years, so give it a shot.