Fantasy

The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm

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  • Create Date：2022-02-15 08:54:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert Jordan
  • ISBN：035651711X
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Summary

Tarmon Gai'don， the Last Battle， looms。 And mankind is not ready。

Rand al'Thor struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle， as his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself。

Egwene al'Vere is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader。 She works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai， as the days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent。 Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai， and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower - and possibly the world itself。

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Reviews

nico ，

better than the last couple but it still makes me wanna die

Habitual Blood ，

Sanderson， for a lot of this book， continues Robert Jordan's style and pace。 It is dull， dreary， and uneventful。 The same repetitions， patterns， behaviours， thoughts， and general bullsh*t plagues its pages。 But in the second half， this starts to get addressed。 In the final quarter， we really start to see characters finally shedding a lot of the baggage that has weighed them down for about six whole books at this point。 We see confrontations， decisions， and actual progress being made。 And I'll be Sanderson， for a lot of this book， continues Robert Jordan's style and pace。 It is dull， dreary， and uneventful。 The same repetitions， patterns， behaviours， thoughts， and general bullsh*t plagues its pages。 But in the second half， this starts to get addressed。 In the final quarter， we really start to see characters finally shedding a lot of the baggage that has weighed them down for about six whole books at this point。 We see confrontations， decisions， and actual progress being made。 And I'll be damned if that doesn't actually make me interested in the final two entries of The Wheel of Time。This， for the most part， isn't a good book。 The series， I would argue， shed most of its best elements all the way back during books four and five， finally plummeting in book six。 This novel， at the very least， started to take back some of what made those very early novels fun。 We finally see progress。 We finally see characters evolving from the caricatures and pitfalls they've been stuck in for over half of the series。 Some are still bad， I think some may never get over their bad characterisation。 But some development exists。 That's a little bit exciting。 To see actual character change twelve books in。 But it's also incredibly depressing that this series stagnated for as long as it did。 。。。more

Brandon Daniels ，

12 books in and this one is my favorite so far！Sanderson brought such a breath of fresh air to this series。 Famously， Sanderson expanded what was planned for the last book into three books。 Now comparing their writing styles， I can only imagine how long and drawn out Jordan’s plot would have actually been。 We’d probably have another 6-8 books to go！ This book moves really quickly， and is packed to the brim with jaw dropping moments。 I loved it cover to cover。

Riley Schlosser ，

I was skeptical about Sanderson’s run with the series， I must admit （I like him but I just wasn’t sure his style would fit）， but he delivered。 The Gathering Storm is probably in my top three WoT books。Rand and Egwene really shine in this one， and so many plot threads are being pulled in satisfying band intriguing ways。If you’ve gotten this far， certainly don’t stop now。 5/5

João Soares ，

I'm coming for you， Lucas。 I'm coming for you， Lucas。 。。。more

Jim Santos ，

sorry to say …… but Brandon Sanderson is a much better writer than the creator of the series， Robert Jordan。 Enjoyed this volume much more than the 11 that came before it。

Kaminsod ，

Well， it looks like the payoff is here。The Gathering Storm is probably my favorite WoT book so far， or second favorite after Lord of Chaos。 While I think Lord of Chaos still has the "highest hights" of the series so far， it also had some pretty weak parts。 On the other hand， The Gathering Storm was just very balanced book。I liked that things got pretty dark， especially around Rand， and everything finally started to feel like it is going towards the final arc。 There was very little fluff， lot of Well， it looks like the payoff is here。The Gathering Storm is probably my favorite WoT book so far， or second favorite after Lord of Chaos。 While I think Lord of Chaos still has the "highest hights" of the series so far， it also had some pretty weak parts。 On the other hand， The Gathering Storm was just very balanced book。I liked that things got pretty dark， especially around Rand， and everything finally started to feel like it is going towards the final arc。 There was very little fluff， lot of amazing parts and ending that almost made me wonder: "Well， what is there left to do before the final battle？"In my Knife of Dreams review I wrote， that I felt like Jordan rekindled the energy of series。 And I stand by that。 But this took it to another level in my opinion。 This is a book I have been waiting for since Lord of Chaos and it made me actually exited for the series again。 I hope last two books will have the same quality。 8/10。 。。。more

Andi ，

Book 12/14 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time adult fantasy series， taken over now by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's passing - while Sanderson lends some much-needed focus to the writing， the pacing is the same old slog， and without a significant improvement in the writing， the last several books have damaged my patience for the story and my ability to care about the characters。 3/5Trigger warnings for abuse， beatings， starvation， and domestic violence。It took me FOREVER to get through this book Book 12/14 of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time adult fantasy series， taken over now by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's passing - while Sanderson lends some much-needed focus to the writing， the pacing is the same old slog， and without a significant improvement in the writing， the last several books have damaged my patience for the story and my ability to care about the characters。 3/5Trigger warnings for abuse， beatings， starvation， and domestic violence。It took me FOREVER to get through this book。 I think I was hoping that the series would be revolutionized with Sanderson taking the reins， but the only thing that's changed is that the series has returned to achieving at least the bare minimum - moving the plot forward。 It's a nice change from the last few books， but once again， I'm not gonna give out gold stars for doing the minimum。I really liked Egwene's storyline。 While I had hoped in past books that retaking the White Tower would go differently - more cleverly， was my main hope - I liked Egwene's struggle against Elaida and the various small ways she seized power even in her captivity。 However， it was tarnished by Sanderson trying again and again to lessen her sufferings by having Egwene tell herself that Rand has always had it worse。Rand being a mad robot of a person was a pall cast over this entire book。 While I liked that he was scary and powerful， I also couldn't fully respect it because I have only had the briefest of stints of liking Rand at all in the past， and it was always when he was being funny and hanging out with his friends。 Those days are long gone for this character， which is to be expected， but now I'm supposed to believe that everyone thinks Rand is the best most powerful person ever， and I can kind of see it with the threat of balefire and the like， but I do not see it at all with his personality as a leader。 I feel like he should've been overthrown books ago。 Worse is how Sanderson tries to push all the terrible ways that his friends have treated him， to try and make us feel as bad for Rand as possible， but I don't feel bad at all。Plus， how am I supposed to feel anything for Rand and his love interests， let alone his friendships， when they all act unsure and scared around him all the time？ All his relationships are humorless and stale， and there wasn't much strong character work in past books to back up this change in emotions and make me care about it。But yeah， Rand's whole character arc in this book is that due to his trauma over killing women and being trapped in that box several books ago， he's decided to drive away all his emotions， and that of course makes things worse instead of better。 It's a fine enough arc， just not great， and tainted by my frustrations。 However， I liked the emotion that went into Rand's final chapter， and how it tied into the lore of the Wheel itself。 You can always trust endings in Sanderson's hands。I found Perrin to be forgettable in this book， and Mat gets to see some crazy stuff， but his character， here in the 11th hour， somehow manages to rewind itself， to my frustration。 Though it was fun to have Nynaeve defend him to Tuon。 Man I really do not care about Tuon at all。 Hers and Mat's relationship was so ill-conceived。I found myself much more interested in bit characters than in any of the main characters this time around。 I loved the twist with Verin and found myself wishing she'd been a more major character in order for this twist to hit harder， and make it seem like more than just the bare minimum of foreshadowing had been done to pull it off。I'll never quite get past the simplistic telling-heavy writing that has no trust in the audience， nor how more interesting character interactions and plotlines are avoided in favor of basic bitch writing instead。 I'm looking forward to finally finishing this series， and I think I'm understanding better how and why the fantasy genre took the turns it did in the last 30 years。 I honestly wish I liked these books more。 。。。more

Lauren Kennedy ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was very good just in general and I would normally only give it 4 stars。 BUT the payoff with Verin bumps it up for me， I loved that scene so much。

Devin ，

3。5 / 5

Brian Kent ，

One of the best books in the series so far。 At this point in the series， you are really reaping the benefits of reading through some of the slower books as well as the genius threads and patterns that Robert Jordan has been working for so long。

Carl Alves ，

I had really soured on the most recent books in The Wheel of Time series。 The books had gotten long winded。 They meandered aimlessly and seem to be leading nowhere。 There were a million characters that I could no longer keep track of， let alone care about。 I strongly considered giving up on the series even though I was so far into it， but I had heard to stick with it because the series got better after Brandon Sanderson took over， and I definitely concur with that sentiment。 Sanderson has given I had really soured on the most recent books in The Wheel of Time series。 The books had gotten long winded。 They meandered aimlessly and seem to be leading nowhere。 There were a million characters that I could no longer keep track of， let alone care about。 I strongly considered giving up on the series even though I was so far into it， but I had heard to stick with it because the series got better after Brandon Sanderson took over， and I definitely concur with that sentiment。 Sanderson has given this series the shot in the arm that it badly needed。Although the novel was long， and there were storylines that seemed to be going nowhere， the writing was vastly improved， and， by the end of the novel， those wandering storylines came together more cohesively。 The Egwene storyline was an example of one that had been really dragging but came together strongly at the end of this book and was a real highlight。 I also liked the villain turn of the Daughter of the Nine Moons。 The writing was tighter。 The plot and progression was more focused。There were still some issues with the novel。 The biggest problem that I see is that Rand Al’Thor has become a completely unlikeable character。 He started off the series as a character that you could root for， but now it’s like， yeah I suppose the world needs him to defeat the Dark One in the final battle， but he has become a complete bore。 He barely even feels like a real person any more。 I am hoping in the last couple of novels they fix his character， because it’s hard to truly enjoy a novel when you don’t like the main protagonist。Overall， I enjoyed this novel and remain optimistic for the final two。Carl Alves - author of Beyond Ragnarok 。。。more

Zach Olsen ，

This is when everything really starts to come together。 I love the interplay between dark and light in this book。 I really loved the humanistic elements as well。 Highly recommend。

Brendan Steeg ，

This one was really enjoyable throughout。 Egwene was a boss。 I loved her story for the first time in what seems like forever， she was actually interesting again。 Rand’s character went in a direction I hadn’t anticipated and kept me wondering what was coming next for my -most of the time- favourite character。 The ending of the book made me quite emotional but I won’t comment further on that…It was interesting to note the differences between Jordan and Sanderson’s writing。 I could certainly see a This one was really enjoyable throughout。 Egwene was a boss。 I loved her story for the first time in what seems like forever， she was actually interesting again。 Rand’s character went in a direction I hadn’t anticipated and kept me wondering what was coming next for my -most of the time- favourite character。 The ending of the book made me quite emotional but I won’t comment further on that…It was interesting to note the differences between Jordan and Sanderson’s writing。 I could certainly see a difference in small but noticeable ways， but he did an amazing job picking up where Jordan left off。 I’m starting to feel sad that I only have a few books left in the series！ Who would have thought that I wouldn’t want such a giant series to ever come to an end。 That being said I can’t wait to see what happens next in Towers of Midnight。 。。。more

Emma ，

Goosebumps。

AnderWer ，

:）（3，5）

Shiv kp ，

I can see the change in narration of book now And I think I became used to Robert Jordan's way of telling the story where one character is going continuously for 50-80 pages But after Sanderson taking the wheels ， it's better now。 The character keep appearing frequently now and don't run for pages。 And ， over-description is now only description 。🤭But sometimes I think it could have been better if Robert had finished it。And I think ， Sanderson did a pretty good job。 Any other person could have so I can see the change in narration of book now And I think I became used to Robert Jordan's way of telling the story where one character is going continuously for 50-80 pages But after Sanderson taking the wheels ， it's better now。 The character keep appearing frequently now and don't run for pages。 And ， over-description is now only description 。🤭But sometimes I think it could have been better if Robert had finished it。And I think ， Sanderson did a pretty good job。 Any other person could have soured the taste of it 。 。。。more

Hilda ，

I couldn't wait to see how Sanderson took on Jordan's masterpiece and I was not disappointed！！ I couldn't wait to see how Sanderson took on Jordan's masterpiece and I was not disappointed！！ 。。。more

Tricia ，

Best one in a long time。 Thank you Mr Sanderson！

Jerry Binder ，

Brandon Sanderson fills Robert Jordan's shoes every bit as well as I'd hoped。 I've read most of his Cosmere series， so I'm very familiar with the way he approaches a lot of the elements that are core to The Wheel of Time: intense （and often painful） character growth， deep dives into magic systems， and battles against nearly omnipotent enemies。 In The Gathering Storm， he handles all of that and more with the expertise I've come to expect from the man responsible for The Stormlight Archive。His wri Brandon Sanderson fills Robert Jordan's shoes every bit as well as I'd hoped。 I've read most of his Cosmere series， so I'm very familiar with the way he approaches a lot of the elements that are core to The Wheel of Time: intense （and often painful） character growth， deep dives into magic systems， and battles against nearly omnipotent enemies。 In The Gathering Storm， he handles all of that and more with the expertise I've come to expect from the man responsible for The Stormlight Archive。His writing is very different from Jordan's， and oftentimes it feels a bit more plain。 It does help to trim a lot of the fat， though。 Characters are less caught up with their braid-tugging and skirt-smoothing tics， and far fewer words are committed to describing every single outfit that appears in every single scene。 That word count is instead used to blow through many， many unresolved plotlines in a pretty satisfying way。SPOILERS:（view spoiler）[It also helps that this book focuses primarily on Rand and Egwene。 Rand's arc sees his horrible coping mechanisms finally spiral out of control， leaving his madness and trauma to rule him entirely。 At times it was grueling to read， but I mean that in the best sort of way。 Everyone talks about how incredible the final chapter is for bringing his character growth to its conclusion， and。。。 well， now I get it。 I have to give a shoutout to some of his other chapters， though。 Especially "The Last That Could Be Done"， which sees him snap under torture and experience one of the most intense PTSD episodes I've read in fantasy。 A lesser author would not have made it as consequential as it is here - it feels like as much of a pivotal moment for him as the dreaded box in Lord of Chaos。 All in all， I think I can safely say that he has the best chosen one arc I've ever seen in fiction。As for Egwene， it was this book that really solidified her as one of my favorites。 Throughout the series， the Aes Sedai have proven many of their worst stereotypes to be true。 They are selfish， self-righteous， domineering bullies， who command way too much power for their own good or anyone else's。 On top of that， an astounding number of them are downright evil。 But Egwene has fallen deeply in love with the institution， and she's fully taken it upon herself to reshape it into something better。 In this book， she proves to The White Tower what she's already proven to the Salidar Aes Sedai: that she's the best person to trust with their future。 She has become a wise and intelligent leader in a remarkably short time。 She holds to her principles no matter what anyone throws at her， and by doing so she puts most of the older， more experienced Aes Sedai to shame。 I can no longer question why such a young person is being entrusted with so much power。 She might be the only one fit for it。 （hide spoiler）]FINAL THOUGHTS:The Wheel of Time is in good hands。 I'm very， very excited to see how this all comes together in the end， and once it's over it's going to be hard to find something that makes me feel like this。 Also， the split tower plotline aged like wine in this post-Trump era。 Except for the part where Elaida's supporters feel any degree of shame。 。。。more

Ari ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 egwene vs the seanchan & unifying the tower， rand reaching his lowest point and then his epiphany， the way rand and egwene have parallel arcs that play off each other SO well， seeing rand fall apart through nynaeve’s eyes… the rand and tam scene… yeah this shit was fucking flawless

Chris ，

I jumped out of the series at book 7， as I just couldn't take Jordan's ramblings and terrible characterisations anymore。 Can Sanderson do any better？ Yes yes yes， he can！ Almost every character had emotional charge。 The pacing is actually enjoyable！ There were few annoying OCD mannerisms， although there was still lots of sniffing and teeth grinding/gritting。 I suspect this is Sanderson trying to maintain a semblance of Jordan's original characterisations。 Best of all， you're not pepper-blasted w I jumped out of the series at book 7， as I just couldn't take Jordan's ramblings and terrible characterisations anymore。 Can Sanderson do any better？ Yes yes yes， he can！ Almost every character had emotional charge。 The pacing is actually enjoyable！ There were few annoying OCD mannerisms， although there was still lots of sniffing and teeth grinding/gritting。 I suspect this is Sanderson trying to maintain a semblance of Jordan's original characterisations。 Best of all， you're not pepper-blasted with hundreds of new characters， leaving you dizzy and having to Google who the heck this one is。 There were also no pointless sub-plots （apart from Mat's zombie Hinderstap stopover， which took up two chapters and went nowhere at all）。 The technical descriptions of fabrics and necklines were absent！ The dialogues were decent and suitable for the characters， making them likeable！ The characters spoke with depth。 Perhaps the depth that Jordan intended but was incapable of writing。 This is everything this series should have been， less the sniffing and teeth grinding; that could have been left out。Even Nayneave， who I've hated from the first book， was made to sound reasonable， rather than a petty， hateful， angry， racist/sexist， pubescent teenager！ For example， she addresses the ridiculousness of resenting Moiraine for taking them from their village， acknowledging that she saved Rand's life and their entire village for doing so。 She even uses the word "woolheaded" differently， shifting its meaning from one of sexist superiority （"men are incapable of thinking clearly because they are men"） to one of endearing concern （"that individual is distracted"）。 Although she's still hopelessly narcissistic。 So was Cadsuane， which is strange considering she's lived for almost 3 centuries！Sanderson's Rand has such gravity！ He speaks with power and authority and you almost shiver at his dialogues。 Chapter 33 had me in tears with its power！ The only "that's probably taking it too far" moment was Rand's abandonment of Bandar Eban to starvation。 But I suspect we were supposed to feel that way。 Rand has to hit his bottom。 Perrin is also more responsible， although his 'screen time' was scant in this book。 But he was presented as a leader you trusted and respected。 Egwene， too。 She has been transformed into an Amyrlin you feel is capable and even great。 Her handling of the Seanchan invasion was as satisfying as it was inspiring！The only character with poor dialogues and strangely inappropriate behaviours was Mat。 He was even more of a sexist， over-generalising brute in this one。 He's always been unsophisticated， and that's fine， but I want to feel some of the wisdom of those generals living within him。 Jordan could barely manage it， more often failing than succeeding， but Sanderson's Mat doesn't do any better and even strips him of his rebellious charm。 Let's see if he improves in the later books。However， rather than it being an uphill marathon to force myself to the next chapter with eye rolls that threaten my ability to read， this was mostly a struggle to put down， although there were still a few eye-roll moments！ 4。5 stars， rounded to 5。 。。。more

Will Bloom ，

Absolutely amazing book。 Loved every minute of it。 I think this only is （barely） beaten by the Shadow Rising as my favourite Wheel of Time book。 I feel like， in some way， this is the beginning of the end for our journey， and I’ve fallen in love with every aspect of this world。

Jacob ，

Oh man It's all coming together！ This was fantastic， one of the best of the series。 Oh man It's all coming together！ This was fantastic， one of the best of the series。 。。。more

Tony ，

Griping。

Mason ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The beginning of the end began very， very well。 It truly is a tragedy that Jordan didn't get to write these last three books。 Knife of Dreams was a great return to form after Crossroads of Twilight， but The Gathering Storm really starts to fit all of the pieces together。 Sanderson's authorship is noticeable， but it is not bad （I say that as a huge Sanderson fan）。 His prose will never match up， but he's always excelled at writing endings， and this book very much is the beginning of the end。 Stand The beginning of the end began very， very well。 It truly is a tragedy that Jordan didn't get to write these last three books。 Knife of Dreams was a great return to form after Crossroads of Twilight， but The Gathering Storm really starts to fit all of the pieces together。 Sanderson's authorship is noticeable， but it is not bad （I say that as a huge Sanderson fan）。 His prose will never match up， but he's always excelled at writing endings， and this book very much is the beginning of the end。 Standout Moments:-Rand being controlled by Semirhage and nearly killing Min was terrifying。 -Rand using balefire to kill Graendal was both clever and terrifying-Rand nearly killing his father was terrifying-Rand's entire character arc this book is just great and really develops him into very interesting places by the end of the book。 It's crazy to have a chosen one type character that is the encapsulation of all that is good and holy with the world and who is genuinely scary。-Verin is da real MVP-Egwene's arc over the last few books has been so well-done， and it culminating in her properly restoring the Tower was terrific。 。。。more

Juli ，

This book gave me mad anxiety and emotional whiplash。 Five stars。

Gene ，

I've realized this series as a whole is extremely flawed。 I never liked all the gender politics stuff， but all these fates/prophesies/visions/dreams etc。 are really stretching my deus ex machina limit。 The books are still fun to read， but it knocks the series out of contention for truly great series for me。 I've realized this series as a whole is extremely flawed。 I never liked all the gender politics stuff， but all these fates/prophesies/visions/dreams etc。 are really stretching my deus ex machina limit。 The books are still fun to read， but it knocks the series out of contention for truly great series for me。 。。。more

Pyramids Ubiquitous ，

Brandon Sanderson taking over is the best thing that ever happened to The Wheel of Time。 He's pretty faithful to Jordan's vision of the world and even with Jordan's ridiculous tendencies in his prose （women folding arms under their breasts， women being introduced via their cup size， tugging braids， sniffing， using martial “forms” instead of writing action scenes， one-dimensional and singularly motivated characters （you're really going to tell me that this whole time Gawyn has been non-stop think Brandon Sanderson taking over is the best thing that ever happened to The Wheel of Time。 He's pretty faithful to Jordan's vision of the world and even with Jordan's ridiculous tendencies in his prose （women folding arms under their breasts， women being introduced via their cup size， tugging braids， sniffing， using martial “forms” instead of writing action scenes， one-dimensional and singularly motivated characters （you're really going to tell me that this whole time Gawyn has been non-stop thinking about Egwene。。。？）， etc。）。 What's different with Sanderson's reign is the energy。The story of The Wheel of Time has always felt like it's in complete paralysis， even at the most eventful of times。 It doesn't feel that way here simply because a lot is happening， it's because Sanderson is actually writing in a way that makes the characters memorable and gives the scenes life。 The action is actually written， instead of a single paragraph of randomness。 Even when I read scenes from past books， I envisioned the characters to be perpetually motionless。 The story really only follows two characters – everyone else is pretty much hanging around for The Last Battle。 12 > 2 > 4 > 5 > 1 > 9 > 6 > 8 > 3 > 7 > 11 > 0 > 10 。。。more

Carissa ，

It was more like a 4。5 for me。 More exciting than some of the previous。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Gathering Storm

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Gathering Storm&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Gathering Storm&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0