The Gathering Storm - Summary

The Gathering Storm is the most intense book of The Wheel of Time so far, profiling the meteoric rise of Egwene and the chronicle of Rand’s disastrous shunning of emotion and love. As one rises, the other falls. Both live through memorable scenes of triumph even as they follow opposing trajectories.

Rand is subjected to the most personal and traumatic of tortures. He overcomes them by turning his back on the Light and his friends, coming to see everyone as a thing to be used to advance his quest, failing to see them as people at all. In this distant emotional state, he has the power to do anything, but lacks the imperative to do anything at all. He follows the prophecies as though it were a script, playing his part with no care for how he interacts with the other players.

Egwene’s subtle resistance to Elaida’s physical and personal humiliation of her wins allies of ever-increasing rank. Novices, Aes Sedai, and Sitters all come to respect her, culminating in Verin entrusting her with her life’s work. The support she has built allows her to take on power during a Seanchan raid in which she singlehandedly hands the raiders a defeat. Egwene has demonstrated she embodies the best traits of all Ajahs, and reunites the factions of the White Tower under her rule.  

These two heroes stand at counterpoint to each other, Egwene demonstrating how to gain followers, and Rand demonstrating how to lose them. Egwene unites feuding factions while Rand can’t reach simple temporary agreement with the Seanchan nipping at him. Many dueling forces stand between Rand and victory: the Seanchan against the mainland nations, the male channelers against female channelers, Lews Therin against his own soul, Moridin’s nihilistic philosophy against the hopes espoused by Cadsuane and Nynaeve. All of these opposing forces must be reconciled, demanding sacrifice in the form of discomfort, concession, and acceptance.

Since the book is co-authored by Brandon Sanderson, the question of who wrote individual scenes in The Gathering Storm is inevitable. In the early part of the book, the difference in writing style from Robert Jordan’s earlier work is jarring, yet before long, the story takes hold of the reader, and the fate of Rand, Egwene, Verin, and other favourite characters overrides any apparent dissonance. By the time Rand finds himself in Semirhage’s clutches, the pace of the story carries the reader forward.

If Brandon has committed any sin in his handling of the story, it is one he could never overcome: he is not Robert Jordan.

Robert Jordan was facing his own mortality as he wrote this book, and must have found himself uncomfortably in the shoes of several of his characters. In the legend of Manetheren, in Seanchan imperial culture, in the Malkieri vows, in the historical truth shown in the glass columns of Rhuidean, there have been trans-generational commitments; tasks so vast, so important, that each generation must pick up the duty from their forefathers, and carry the burden onward. Best summarized in this passage from The Shadow Rising:

“I mean to save something here, and that something is you.”

“As you say,” he said reluctantly. “We will care for what you have given into our charge until you want them again.”

“Of course. The things we gave you.” She smiled at him and loosened her grip, smoothing his hair once more before folding her hands.

Like Verin in this book, Robert Jordan entrusted his work to loved ones who understood and could finish what he set out to accomplish. The words of the story and the order they appear in are merely things, unimportant compared to the messages they contain, the resolution of the characters’ quests, or the battle against the Shadow which permeates the story. Fighting the Shadow is more than one man can do alone. Rand tried that in this very story, and failed. Working together, the keepers of Robert Jordan’s legacy forged ahead with the story as he wished, knowing the criticisms that would be leveled, cognizant of the difficulties in living up to the level of his work, understanding that hesitation might cost the opportunity to ever complete it.

“So many decisions you must make, for one so young.” She yawned, then grimaced as a pain stabbed her.

Egwene rose, walking to Verin’s side. “Thank you, Verin. Thank you for choosing me to carry this burden.”

My thanks also.

Writing Lessons:

You are a writer. Never quit, never give up.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 2-4

In this section, the villains get a leg up on the heroes.

Keeping with the theme identified in the prologue, more characters are facing the consequences of an earlier choice.

Beonin saw an opportunity for gain by returning to Elaida. She is convinced the rebels are finished and wastes no time securing a spot on the lifeboat. It was never clear that anyone on the Rebels’ original ruling council was secretly affiliated with Elaida, so her actions come as quite a shock. Importantly, her point of view focuses on her as the star of her own story, with Rand as a faraway incidental player. Sometimes authors succeed wildly at this and a character rises to become a favourite. This doesn’t quite happen here, but the unexpected actions combined with a distinct point of view unlikely to ever be confused with anyone else’s solidifies the readers’ understanding of this ambitious, distasteful, smart, and good woman.

Beonin gives a clue that may lead to unmasking Aran’gar, but as previously mentioned, she needn’t have worried about being exposed by Kairen or Anaiya through their friendship with Cabriana. Had she just murdered a random Aes Sedai instead of either of them, her goals would have been achieved at little risk of the trail leading back to her.

There have been many examples to date of the Dark One’s touch affecting the world and the White Tower. Beonin sees the dead walking, and ate some weevils in her bread. Elaida will hear of rats in the White Tower. Occurrences of the dead walking have been forced into the story as truly random events, like the bubbles of evil, while failing wards and pest-laden food can fit in seamlessly with the narrative.

From out of nowhere, we learn the former King of Illian is a captive of Elaida’s. His appearance here seems primarily aimed at demonstrating Elaida’s puissance and management style. The first report she dealt with was for garbage clean-up: “I want to hear that a start was made today. Today!” The second was for sewers: “she scrawled I WANT THESE CLEARED BY TOMORROW.” The third and most important report about rats in the Tower gets a mild “have someone check the wards.”

Beonin may have been able to end the rebellion until Sitters from other Ajahs began showing up. Her failure is forgotten in light of the secret knowledge she brings to Elaida. Egwene is a Dreamer, and the rebels have dream ter’angreal. They can weave disguises, hide their ability to channel, invert weaves, Heal with an improved weave, make cuendillar, and Travel. Egwene’s discoveries and abilities are the main reason her life was spared, but it is Beonin who pays the ‘bribe’ by teaching these weaves to Elaida. The rebel ferrets are exposed, establishing links between each of the storylines set in the White Tower. An effective way to create anticipation and excitement is with a web of possibilities, such that the reader doesn’t know which plot will interfere or aid any other plot. Too few plots makes the resolution more predictable.

The Forsaken learn someone is impersonating Sammael. There is some question as to whether he may be alive. Only two Forsaken have died by balefire so far, which means that there could be eleven left standing. There were eleven chairs waiting for the Forsaken when they arrived, but devious Graendal got to choose the setting. Did she purposefully choose the number of chairs as well to confuse the Forsaken or hide that she has been impersonating Sammael? Only eight of the Forsaken showed up for the meeting, Asmodean, Sammael and Osan’gar being the missing ones, and readers know those three have all died. But when the Dark One resurrects a minion, he also gives them a new name, so even an author quote saying that Sammael is dead may not mean as much as it seems. Hiding the simple detail of a Forsaken’s whereabouts has proven to be one of the mysteries that has engaged fans the most. These larger than life villains create excitement whenever they are on the page simply by being who they are: mysterious, powerful, with hidden motives and ruthless plots against one another. Aran’gar admits she has been impersonating another Forsaken, but which one and when she did so remain a mystery.

Lanfear and Ishamael had been the only Forsaken to take an interest in Mat and Perrin in the early books; they were beneath the attention of all the others. Now Moridin orders their deaths, and Semirhage recognizes one of them, giving a clue as to her whereabouts.

The images of Mat and Perrin conjured by Moridin in Tel’aran’rhiod move stiffly and have expressions that never alter, which is typical of such creations. This confirms that the room they are in is in fact in Tel’aran’rhiod or some aspect of it, but it also calls into question some of the theories about creating images of a specific person using Tel’aran’rhiod. A nightmare may be able to express emotion, and a created horse will act like a horse, but can a person created express emotion and speak? Not according to this scene.

Perrin meets the Seanchan, makes a display of power, and then offers to give up his claim to Manetheren in exchange for their help in rescuing Faile. When Berelain gets testy, he calms her and reveals his plan to dose the Shaido wise Ones with Forkroot. He produces a letter from Suroth that will let him carry off every bit of Forkroot the Seanchan have. The Seanchan banner-general is continually surprised by what Perrin is able to do.  A deal is made.

An odd occurrence takes place just after Perrin offers up the claim to Manetheren. A foul wind blows through, raising clouds of grit. It may be a bubble of evil, or it may be the same wind as in Chapter 1, allowing the reader to understand these events take place the same day as Egwene’s capture. It could be one of those signs of the Pattern breaking down, like the dead people sightings. More outlandishly, it could be the Wild Hunt, coursing through at high speed, taking word of Perrin’s location back to Semirhage. Whatever it is, it clumsily represents Perrin’s distaste at making a deal with the Seanchan. Throwing in odd events like this with no explanation and no reason, then having the characters decide to ignore it altogether leaves the reader wondering why the author even bothered adding it. Just another bubble of evil, same as the last.

Writing Lessons:

Multiple plots make the reader uncertain how they will interact or how events will resolve, creating anticipation and excitement.

The Eye of the World - Summary

First, a quick thanks to all who are reading this blog! The daily pace is grueling, but I swear I am still good for 6-7 posts a week.

I am writing it for several reasons:

- I want to reread the entire Wheel of Time before A Memory of Light comes out.

- I am an aspiring writer, and want to dissect the writing of one of my favorite authors to learn whatever I can.

- I want to ingrain habits that make me sit at the keyboard and write every day.

- I want to create, review, and reject many of the theories I’ve discussed with other fans over the last decade.

I hope it also serves your needs, whatever they may be. Feel free to comment, disagree, say ‘me too’, take the discussion to other forums, whatever.

A very brief summary of The Eye of the World:

The Eye of the World is a highly entertaining adventure story. The bits with channeling the One Power and the clues dropped that come into play several books later can all be happily ignored in favour of the immediate adventure. The thematic story consists largely of learning how you stand up to an evil that seems greater than you are. The answer is by finding your roots, sticking to your ideals, and overcoming doubt through sheer determination, perseverance and force of will. I can’t think of a much more human or more universal message than that.

I first read the Eye of the World in 1991, in college. The theme resonated with me, and I’ve often overcome obstacles in life by drawing inspiration from favorite characters such as Rand or Egwene.

In the Eye of the World, perhaps the most pivotal element of the novel is found in the story of the fall of Manetheren. Moiraine tells this story to disperse an angry mob. The story reveals the character of the Two Rivers Folk, but also serves as their inspiration through the trails they face. When things get hard, they march on like the armies striving to get back to Manetheren. The compassion they feel for each other stems from the blood price paid long ago by Manetheren. The reassurance that their steadfastness will be rewarded with freedom from the Shadow comes from learning how that was the origin of their own people and village. Lan is a child of Manetheren too, his own home of Malkier having succumbed in much the same way. Shienar seems poised for an equally devastating fall, and the flight of its people mirrors the Fall of Manetheren. To overcome doubt, to control the Power he wields, to confront evil, Rand finds resolve in the unyielding pitiless stone of Manetheren. Like the men and women of Manetheren, they do what they must then pay the price. So should we.

Tai’shar Manetheren!

I’ve abbreviated my summary descriptions for each 50 page block, and listed them below as a means of looking at the structure of the novel. These descriptions were done blindly, on the fly, so they could have been described otherwise, but I’ll work with what I’ve got. You can get a sense of the pacing of the book, the slow spots and tense spots, and exciting spots, and boring spots, even from such a short and undetailed overview. I look forward to seeing how closely it matches the structure of the series as a whole.

-The setting is established, the characters are well introduced, the idea of the set of mysterious strangers with unknown motives is placed, now the adventure can begin.

-The threat to the characters is revealed.

-The heroes act on the information they have.

-The heroes get their first chance to interact with the outside world.

-The heroes learn about the evil in the idea of the end justifying the means.

-For the first time, we get new points of view.

-The heroes begin to make their separate ways, gaining and losing allies

-The Heroes evade capture or death by keeping a low profile.

-The heroes evade enemies galore as they flee.

-The heroes score some victories, and things are finally looking up!

-The quest is tossed aside in favour of a new quest.

-Revelations, and a slight pause before the final battle!

-Enemies more powerful and numerous than any seen before are faced and defeated.

Writing Lessons:

Examine the structure of your novel, either in the planning, or after the 1^st draft. When you have writer’s block, draw on Tai’shar Manetheren!

The Eye of the World - Chapters 9-12

In this section, the heroes act on the information they have, and flee the Two Rivers. The party is rounded out by an adventurous Egwene and a potentially insidious and troublemaking Thom. They both have good reason for wanting to join, and Moiraine has good reasons for allowing them to. Her argument is one of necessity. She wants to leave as soon as possible, and with as little notice as possible. She’s eager to have dibs on Egwene, and figures she can deal with Thom later if he proves troublesome. Thom knows it too, but he’s in a mood to undermine an Aes Sedai despite the possible consequences. He’s the first of many who will purposefully do what they must, then pay the price.

We don’t need to know Moiraine and Lan’s and Thom’s backstory to understand what they are doing, and that they are highly motivated to do it. The motivations can be made clear in time. If you read New Spring, then you might have a slightly more trusting attitude towards Moiraine and Aes Sedai. We don’t know how Tam knows what he knows, but he tells Rand to watch the ‘tricksome’ Aes Sedai. It’s an effective way to build tension, when you have two or more mentor-type characters who are offering opposing advice, and the hero must make a decision lacking crucial information. Because of the openness and honesty of the relationships each of them fosters, Rand’s trust will quickly fall in the order: Tam, Thom, Moiraine.

Moiraine will get a strong last place finish due to her interest in getting Egwene to the White Tower for Aes Sedai training. Egwene would be a prize to attract Moiraine even if the Trollocs had not attacked. Making sure Rand knows she’s going to Tar Valon creates an extra motivation for Rand to complete the journey, but Moiraine does not realize it will come at the cost of her trustworthiness and credibility.

It’s practically inevitable that Rand would mistrust Aes Sedai. Even if he hadn’t been mistrustful of the legends in the first place, even if he wasn’t resentful of Moiraine dragging Egwene along, the very first thing the bad guys do after they’ve been routed by the Aes Sedai is to attack the boys in their dreams. It’s not a face-to-face attack, just an immediate attempt to discredit the Aes Sedai by showing Tar Valon as a place of danger. An attempt to separate the boys from their protector. Given the role that the World of Dreams plays in the series, I can’t accept that this is just some random nightmare, or that Rand would accidentally dream himself to Shayol Ghul.

The standout writing is in Moiraine’s telling of the Fall of Manetheren. Not just an info-dump, not just a means to escape an angry mob, Moiraine’s tale reveals the character of the Two Rivers folk, and situates them in a much larger world, historically and philosophically. Manetheren’s opposition to the Dark One is renewed by Moiraine’s tale, proving that you can’t kill an idea. Drawing on the tale of the Fall of Manetheren, the boys will find their own resolve to endure later perils.

Writing lessons:

Stories told by your characters are not only an effective way to reveal backstory, but to form other characters as they respond to the stories they hear. Make your stories reveal more than just past events.