This second-to-last volume in the Wheel of Time series was almost non-stop excitement. The last battle is coming, and the main characters are getting in place to deal with it. Perrin finally deals with his wolfish side (that was a bit long in coming, IMO). Rand, meanwhile, has embraced death. It’s an Aiel saying, but I really like how they put it.
I can’t write this review entirely without complaint. There was a lot of viewpoint shifting in this book, some of it coming suddenly and without apparent page breaks (I listen to it on audio, so that could have been the reader). The rapid shifting, however, was definitely an authorial issue. My biggest complaint, though, was chronology issues. Parts of this book happened before the big climax of book 12, parts happened after, and it was back and forth without any way of knowing for sure where we were in relation to any other events. Chronology has been a bit rough throughout the series, thanks in part to multiple shifting viewpoints, but never like this. Perrin’s story, in particular, happened largely before the end of book 12. It might even have worked to go back in time had the book focused on Perrin, caught up up to the present, then moved forward, but it didn’t. Time was truly random. Almost…hmmm….
Almost like the pattern unwavering….
Nah, it couldn’t have been intentional. Would be clever if it were, though. Still obnoxious and confusing, but clever.
One book left and I can put this series to rest…
Rating: 4.5/5
Title: Towers of Midnight
Authors: Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan
ISBN: 0765325942
Published November 2010