Review: Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

I’m a little bit embarrassed about how long it took me to start and then finish Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.  Really, the stall out began at Gathering Storm.  It was because I was having babies, mostly.  It took me awhile to engage in. And then someone rudely accidentally told me what happened at the end of the book and that is a motivation killer, ya know?  None of that changes the fact that I’m a diehard Wheel of Time fan though, and I loved this book. 

It’s hard to review, however, because this is the second to last installment in an epic series.  If you’ve read none of them, there is little I can say about this book that will make any sense to you.  Just know that if you are up for the undertaking, this series will take you to another world like no other book has been able to do.  When we say epic fantasy, we mean EPIC fantasy.

This book focuses heavily on the side kicks, Perrin and Mat.  I love them dearly (they are like family) and so I really enjoyed their growth, each getting prepared in his own way to face the Last Battle.  And Rand has, finally, become the man he needs to be to get the job done.  I’m so excited to see what happens next.  There is so much hanging by a thread: the meeting of the monarchs, the Black Tower, the Seanchan, the attack on Andor…  This book really picked up the pace for the plot,  but is also the epitome of cliff hanger.

A Memory of Light is set to release in January of 2013, and I can hardly wait.  But, also, I can’t believe it will be the end.  I’ve been reading these books since I was 20 (14 years ago, for those keeping count, and when I started there were 6 books written.  There are lots of fans who’ve invested way more years than I have) and I can’t imagine not waiting for the next Wheel of Time book.  It is made doubly sad by Robert Jordan’s death, because it will be the end of his opus.  I can’t tell you how glad I am that his wife and Brandon Sanderson worked together to get the series finished.  I plan to read more Brandon Sanderson, which will be great, but I don’t think any other series will be to me what this series is.

Read it, y’all.

You can read more reviews for Towers of Midnight HERE and HERE.

I give it: