A Memory of Light Summary

A Memory of Light brings Rand's epic journey to a cataclysmic end in near perfect harmony with the rest of The Wheel of Time books.

The majority of A Memory of Light is taken up by battle. A few early moments of respite allow the heroes to make their goodbyes before the final confrontation takes their attention, and in many cases, their lives. The clever placement of a scene where Rand crafts a treaty to guide the nations after his death informs readers what the world will be like after the series ends, leaving the remainder of the story free to concentrate almost exclusively on the struggle against overwhelming odds. It makes it possible to end the story at the exact moment of Rand’s final victory.

The buildup to the Last Battle is itself monumental, as capitals are torched and entire nations laid to waste by innumerable hordes of Trollocs. The defense of human lands quickly degrades into a struggle to survive as humanity's leaders are undercut by the hidden influence of the Forsaken. Each of the principal heroes from the early parts of The Wheel of Time has a time to shine, bringing the story full circle, and one new addition has a significant number of pages dedicated to the struggle faced by Rand's successors at the Black Tower.

With reluctance and the haste of necessity, the forces of the Light make allegiance with the enigmatic Seanchan, whose very way of life is an affront to the White Tower. All of humanity sets aside its differences to make a final stand upon the Field of Merrilor.

Unlike the precision with which earlier books carefully followed travel times and offered cues which allowed the timing of events in one locale to be compared to the next, the author uses a convenient explanation of time dilation radiating outward from Shayol Ghul to cause the final confrontations in all locales to take place simultaneously, but at different rates of progression. The battles leading to Merrilor last weeks, while Rand’s confrontation lasts less than a day. This effect is mostly due to the Dark One's touch on the world, yet it could be argued that as Tel'aran'rhiod disintegrates, its relativistic temporal properties are transferring in some fashion to the waking world. It offers the author immense freedom to allow events in any locale to unfold as needed with as much or as little detail as seen fit to include. In particular, it allows three key events to occur at precisely the same time, forming the cornerstone moment around which the rest of the book is centred. The rapid changes in point of view are essential to the build up to that key moment, and are more appropriate here than in the preceding novels. The result is a magnificent and emotional resolution to several pivotal characters’ story arcs, and offers an unforgettable climax to a gruelling build up of tension.

Rand battles the Dark One on a previously unimaginable scale, wielding the force of creation itself, literally able to remake the world as he sees fit. His conflict is not only against the Dark One, but against himself, as even at this late stage he has yet to fully embrace the lessons others have tried to impart upon him. Matching the reality-altering consequences of Rand’s choices to aspects of his character keeps the scale grand even as his battle is personal and intimate. The Last Battle is truly about Rand choosing what kind of man he will be.

The central tenet of the series is well represented in Rand’s reluctant allegiance with the hated Seanchan, his late realization that destroying the Dark One is as bad as letting him win, and in several characters defeating the potential hate and mistrust in their hearts by compromising and accepting alternate points of view.  The absolutism represented by Padan Fain is thus defeated, and so he is dispatched just as simply as each character in turn chooses not to win at any cost, even preferring to lose than change who they are and what they stand for.

Keeping with my ongoing comparison of the series to American history, Fain is akin to the nuclear era, the scorched earth doctrine, the possibility of wielding power enough to destroy oneself along with the enemy just for the sake of defeating them at any cost. Embracing Fain’s philosophy carries heavy consequences.

The concluding pages offer a couple of unexplained mysteries regarding a mysterious woman and Rand’s new ability. For these I offer my suggestion that his mother spoke with him one last time before he entered adulthood, and that Rand’s ability is a literal representation that a man guided by his conscience and his duty can accomplish anything. This new power is the story’s final message, in line with the themes expressed in both this book and the earlier books in the story, and as with many of the story elements readers have grappled with over the years, it is subtle enough to invoke much debate.

A Memory of Light is fulfilling in every way I hoped, surprising me, delivering on promises, shining with heroism and dripping with sacrifice. It has taken me a year to read and reread it and comprehend its magnitude, and its deep personal meaning to me. I don’t want it to be over. Of course, there are no endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time…

Writing Lessons:

End your story right after the critical moment by foreshadowing less important epilogue elements earlier in the story.

A Memory of Light - Epilogue

In this final section, glimmers of the future are shown and loose threads are tied up.

Rand’s quest ended on exactly the last page of the story, and the epilogue has a scant sixteen pages to wrap up many loose ends, which it does quite successfully.

Rand is blind and burdened with weight. After escaping the Pit of Doom, Rand realizes an unfamiliar woman is kneeling next to him, guiding him on what to do. The major clue to her identity comes in the following paragraph with the juxtaposition of two ideas in successive sentences: He blinked, his vision fuzzy. Was that Aiel clothing? An old woman with gray hair? Her form retreated, and Rand reached toward her, not wanting to be alone. Wanting to explain himself. Rand not wanting to be alone refers to his attaining adulthood, which firms up the link with his mother, Shaiel. She is offering him final words of encouragement as he enters the world alone, and he is expressing his final regrets about leaving the dependence of childhood behind. It is reasonable that the last to let go of a child who grows into a man is his mother, and since there has been much ado over Rand’s father figures, it is appropriate for his mother to have her brief time on the page as well.

Shaiel’s death was only ever confirmed by Tam, and that came in a fever-dream. If she somehow survived Rand’s birth, it seems implausible that a woman of her renown could have returned to Aiel society without being recognized. She might have intentionally lived alone in the wilderness for two decades, if so motivated by Gitara’s original Foretelling. More likely is that she is a Hero of the Horn, which explains her appearance in Aiel garb and her apparent knowledge about what Rand should do. It does not however explain her appearance at Aviendha’s side when she was tested at Rhuidean, if she is the same woman, as seems likely.

Rand ambiguously reveals what he asked the Aelfinn. Rand had asked the Aelfinn how to win the Last Battle and survive, and the answer had been “The north and the east must be as one. The south and west must be as one. The two must be as one. To live you must die.” Given that this is the moment where Rand is dying, his newfound understanding of how to live and die could be what he is explaining to the Aiel woman, but the link is tenuous. His second question on how to cleanse the taint from saidin has been resolved. Was Rand’s third question to ask what his fate was and receive the answer ‘to choose’?

 “I see the answer now,” he whispered. “I asked the Aelfinn the wrong question. To choose is our fate. If you have no choice, then you aren’t a man at all. You’re a puppet…” 

The concept of free will has been present since the beginning of the series, and the revelation of Rand’s third answer from the Aelfinn at this late point in the story infuses the concept with even more importance. While the Wheel forces Rand to come to a certain place at a certain time, it cannot force him to do anything; it can present him with choices, but can’t compel him to choose one path over another. Even when the choice is to die or take another action, it remains a choice.

In the same Mat paragraph, the pleasantness of the sun is contrasted with the stinking blackness of Fain’s body. Mat wins every gamble he takes, yet even he won’t touch the cursed Shadar Logoth dagger. As the most reckless character, Mat is associated with the most instinctual behaviour, and he clearly rejects the path set out by Fain. Believing that the end justifies the means is the gamble that can’t be won; there is no way to preserve yourself when you start down that line of reasoning. The final phrase’s use of mess carries psychologically symbolic meaning: Behind, the dagger, ruby and all, melted away into the mess that had been Padan Fain. Again, this idea that absolutism is bad has been incorporated into the series from a very early point, and is reinforced by its placement here at the end of the story.

Perrin surveys the losses and celebration of victory in the camp, still worrying about his duty to protect Rand. He sees Rand dying in the tent, with the two best healers unable to prevent him dying. Perrin stands equal with Nynaeve: “Dogs obey that command, Nynaeve,” Perrin said, “not wolves.” He consoles her over Egwene’s death. Moridin is also in the tent, dying. Lan also sees Perrin as an equal. No one has seen Faile.

Loial’s walk through the camp, like Perrin’s, allows a couple of small plots to be resolved, including succession to a throne, naming surviving Aes Sedai, and planting straightforward clues to something odd: None of Rand’s loves seems to care that Rand is dying. Amusingly, Loial frets over the correct way to record dates after the Last Battle, an indication that with the Last Battle done, concerns are swiftly turning back to the everyday and mundane.

Mat is renowned amongst the Sharans, but when he calls the fireworks display the best in the history of “my land or yours”, he reveals that he does not see himself as one of his wife’s people. For Mat, being off the hook seems to imply he is free to leave. Tuon’s threat makes it clear that Mat can choose to do whatever he wants, but there will be consequences if he angers his wife. It is a ridiculous and funny predicament to leave him in at the close of the story.

Perrin faces the insurmountable task of finding Faile’s body amongst the hundreds of thousands of dead. Exhausted, he falls into sleep.

Moghedien has survived the Last Battle and no one knows that she lives. She too is free to act as she chooses with the Dark One imprisoned again, and she begins by strangling a worker and assuming her appearance. She thinks she can rule the world within a few years. Her own subterfuge works against her as a sul’dam captures her and deduces from her skulking that Moghedien will not be missed after she is dragged back to serve the Seanchan. Her poor selfish choices dictated her fate.

Nynaeve announces Rand’s death. She tries to corner Aviendha and bully her into revealing why she doesn’t seem upset, but Aviendha deflects her question. Aviendha, always representing Rand’s past, has been wounded and will never fight again, another metaphor of his having grown into adulthood. The fate of the Aiel, and of a couple of kings is revealed in passing.

When Perrin was last in Tel’aran’rhiod, Dragonmount was drawing near Shayol Ghul as the world shrank and large portions of it were destroyed and pulled up into the sky. That damage has seemingly been repaired with Rand’s victory. Perrin travels easily across the countryside as a wolf, lamenting his loss, struggling to understand why he has lost Faile when he did everything his duty compelled him to do. A clue draws him to Faile, whose wounds are healed in moments with Perrin’s creative use of the Wolf Dream to bring her back to the camp quickly. Their reunion is immensely rewarding despite its brevity, and also shows that Perrin’s decision to follow duty was well made.  Perhaps brevity is what makes this scene work; after having tormented the reader with doubt that Faile survived, once she is healed what further point is there in saying anything beyond ‘they lived happily ever after’?

Birgitte asks Elayne a blunt question in the same vein as that which Nynaeve posed to Aviendha, and gets a noncommittal response. She tweaks Elayne’s nose by telling her Olver and the Horn have been sent away, which Elayne recognizes was the best outcome for all. With a mature outlook, she agrees that there is little need to keep a powerful instrument of war such as the Horn as a deterrent. Birgitte is being reborn, and it turns out her interpretation of Gaidal as a young child somewhere out there was correct. Birgitte too gets her reward of being with the one she loves.

Tam notes signs of life in Shayol Ghul, a place that was once feared above all others. He reflects on what all humanity has been given by his son, how all men stand equal: In the evening, even with his light, it was hard to tell Aiel from Aes Sedai, Two Rivers man from Tairen king. All were shapes in the night, saluting the body of the Dragon Reborn. Tam stands next to Moiraine and Thom, pride and reverence in his heart.

Min stands with her two friends watching Rand’s body burn. Her Viewing fulfilled, they discuss the future and she nods agreement to the idea that they will make sure that the world believes Rand is gone. Leading toward the final revelation, she senses her bond pulsing stronger each moment.

Rand awakens alone, rested, healthy, and whole. The mirror shows Moridin's face, with a single saa held motionless in his eye, representing that Rand will always be able to see things with a bit of the Shadow's nihilistic or selfish point of view. But that dark viewpoint is held motionless; Rand will know it, but it will not drive him or affect him, he is in control. In effect, he now has a mature outlook on life, no longer carefree or innocent, one which acknowledges a wider array of possibilities, both good and bad.

Alivia has left him clothing and money, and a horse as means of transportation. He has Laman's sword. Shayol Ghul is blooming and full of life. From a distance he watches as his old body - Moridin's body now - is cremated. He leaves as the onlookers watch his funeral pyre. All but one whom he acknowledges with a nod of his head before heeling the horse away.

From that, Cadsuane deduces that inexplicably, Rand is in Moridin's body. She thinks she may be able to use this information in some unexplained fashion, but then is ambushed by four Sitters. They have decided that Cadsuane will be the new Amyrlin. This is quite appropriate, as Cadsuane has closely represented the Light itself, and now the Light is being forced to take up the responsibility of caring for humanity, the logical outcome of Rand choosing Light over Shadow. It is also the logical outcome of filling the void left by Rand’s death, for he would have been the obvious choice to lead the world under the Light. There will be no further abdication of leadership by the Light, no further manipulation of Rand, for Cadsuane and the Light have a more direct role to play in shepherding humanity.

Rand sees the world with a hint of Shadow, but has acknowledged the Light, and no one has impeded his departure. He has everything he needs, and is now completely free, with no restrictions over him from any person or agent.

Representing this ultimate freedom, he lights his pipe by thought alone, a matter of willing it to be so, just as if he were in Tel'aran'rhiod. The choice of a pipe in this symbolic act is appropriate, since smoking is often portrayed as a deliberate act of defiance and freedom in today's world. He inspected it for a moment in the darkness, then thought of the pipe being lit. And it was. This scene potently completes Rand's evolution from an uncertain youth into a grown man who can now literally do anything he puts his mind to.

While Rand embodies this new Power, and may be unique in using it, the story in its entirety implies that with the right driving forces and moral bearings to guide someone, they too can manipulate reality and get what they want. For physical explanation, the most logical is that some characteristics of Tel’aran’rhiod now exist in the waking world, and Rand is the first, perhaps only one, to have unlocked the secret of using them. Or perhaps Rand unlocked the secret for everyone, and the ultimate choice of what each person will do with it comprises their own eventual personal Last Battle.

Rand wonders which of his three lovers will follow, and which he might pick. As his past, present, and future, he is completely unable to pick one over the others; they are all a part of him. He can't leave his past behind (Aviendha), he can't simply live for the moment (Elayne) and he can't only dream about the future (Min).

With his newfound freedom, Rand is pleased to have the leisure to explore and experience the world as he sees fit. Funnily, he sees the royal trappings of powerful rulers he has seen as just one thing out of many to experience, not as the end point that many of the Forsaken sought. The final wind that rises showcases the duality that pervades Rand’s mental state and so much of the story: The wind rose high and free, to soar in an open sky with no clouds. It passed over a broken landscape scattered with corpses not yet buried. A landscape covered, at the same time, with celebrations. It tickled the branches of trees that had finally begun to put forth buds. The wind blew southward, through knotted forests, over shimmering plains and towards lands unexplored.

Writing Lessons:

Keep the story alive in your reader’s mind by inciting them to imagine what happens next.

A Memory of Light - Chapters 38-43

In this section, in the most critical scene of the book, Rand can’t win by himself

Rand sees Lan fall, reinforcing the fact of his apparent death. Through Egwene’s voice, he is reminded that the responsibility was not his, it belonged to Lan himself. Rand could easily have imagined Egwene’s voice in his head, but her recent death adds some doubt as to its nature. Rand changes the purpose of his list of names, from one of victims, to one of heroes, who died for causes they believed to be noble. Relieved of guilt, he finds his strength returned.

Just as Rand is no longer pridefully taking responsibility for the actions of others, the author flips back to the battlefield as the Sharan princess shrieks that Bao the Wyld is dead. The six line interjection reveals little, its main purpose is in the symbolism of Rand’s pride being removed, since Demandred embodied pride. 

Refusing to give in, ever, Rand begins to see the Dark One for what he really is. The Dark One’s attacks lost meaning. If they could not make him yield, if they could not make him relent, then what were they? The author breaks Rand’s confrontation into very short sections, shuffling them between other perspectives which ever so slowly reveal what is happening. Rapid flashes between characters works well to slow down the action at this critical juncture, and may not have worked so well with the traditional Robert Jordan long section in a single point of view. Could the traditional Robert Jordan long section approach even have been used for the Last Battle? Or would he have opted for breaks as shown here, mimicking the breakdown of the Pattern itself?

With Demandred dead, Mat raises a cheer for Malkier, which the soldiers eagerly take up. The Sharans are stunned by the news, and the heroes have a resurgence of hope.

Rand’s voice switches to all caps, an indication that he is now on even footing with the Dark One. Adding in a few explanatory details to tie up loose ends, he states that even though the story has centered on him, it is really about all of his friends and acquaintances, about everyone. It is about their common desire to fight on no matter the circumstances, to stand when they should be broken. The Dark One taunts Rand with Lan’s death. Rand holds the whole world in his hands as his conflict magnifies its focus on Merrilor.

Mat strains to gain an upper hand, and hears the Dark One in his head. The Dark One’s titles for the heroes attempt to diminish them, and continue to show the overriding pessimism in his every thought and action. Arganda mirrors that pessimism with his perpetual negative outlook. Mat has never had a better chance to win this, he just needs an opening to give him some momentum.

Rand tells the Dark One he is wrong…

Olver raises the Horn to his lips…

Mat hears Rand’s voice now too. Everyone can hear it. Three critical and emotionally resounding elements combine: Rand shouts “That man still fights!”, Lan rises with Demandred’s severed head, and  the Horn Of Valere resounds across the battlefield. It is a potent combination and is likely the core scene that everything else was built to support during the writing of the book.

For a brief moment, Elayne remains in peril, until Birgitte returns to save her. Her perfectly timed arrival is heralded by an arrow to Mellar’s chest followed by another to the head. She announces the arrival of the Heroes, and it feels awesome.

Mat takes advantage of any superstitious or cowardly hesitation on the part of the Shadow to lead a charge. The contrast between humanity’s desire to fight even unto death and the Trollocs’ instinctive desire to avoid death helps explain away much of the battle’s details. Any parts which get skipped over can be explained by a stereotyping statement which the reader is all too eager to embrace, as they are riding high on a wave of relief and excitement. Mat meets Hawkwing, swears at him, laments women like Nynaeve, and leers at a female Hero, all in keeping with his character even as the inner workings of Horn sounding are explained.

Noal comes back for Olver, providing a warm response to all the loss and death. He had lost so many people, but one of them… one… had come back for him. This links directly back to the idea that when both Manetheren and Malkier fell, no one had come to their aid. Olver’s salvation shows that this time, help came, and that made all the difference.

Elayne joins the fight against the Darkfriends, and following a brief attempt to keep her out of the larger battle, she and Birgitte go to battle, together. Birgitte is overjoyed her memories have returned.

Aviendha meets Elyas as the Wild Hunt streams into the valley. Before she can gather channelers to repel the Darkhounds, she senses Graendal and summons Cadsuane and Amys. Outnumbered and outmatched by Graendal’s circle, it is Aviendha’s original ability to stalk silently that protects her until her allies arrive.

Elayne joins the fight waving a sword to little effect other than the inspiration it offers her soldiers. By putting herself in danger and taking up the battle directly, as one of them, her soldiers feel they have no choice but to return to the fray.

Demandred’s death is the card upon which Mat is ready to bet everything. He still faces ten to one odds in numbers, but the enemy is in disarray. Mat faces a desperate fight to push the Sharans off the heights into the Trollocs below, and just as he most needs them, the Seanchan join the fight, flying through Gateways in the air to assault the Shadow below and marching in rhythm onto the Heights. Having Mat imagine and predict the Seanchan movements once gain saves the author from having to explain or show it in any detail.  A mysterious detail is presented, leaving the reader to wonder what other trick Mat has in store.

Grady follows Mat’s orders without understanding them. His Gateway to Hinderstap allows the same people, cursed by a bubble of evil, to make use of that very curse to surprise their foes. With the Dreadlords down, Grady bursts the dam, releasing the river Mora.

Androl wants to hunt the Dreadlords instead of pursuing Logain’s quest for sa’angreal. He and Pevara concoct a plan.

Moghedien impersonates Demandred to rally the Sharans, having apparently practiced impersonating each of the other Forsaken, which explains several peculiar orders from Forsaken throughout the series. Moghedien now has full access to the True Power, and uses her advantage by ordering the death of the meekest and weakest on the field of battle.  A gateway opens and Dragons fire on her.

Talmanes enjoys firing dragons to kill the Trollocs from a hidden location.

At Shayol Ghul, the storm is out of control, unleashing lightning on friend and foe alike. The fabric of reality is breaking down as a grand bubble of evil envelops the valley. Aviendha notices Trollocs fighting each other and an odd mist which heralds Padan Fain. The clouds above form the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai, and other impossible signs portend Rand’s conquest of his foe. As she creeps towards Graendal, she is attacked and kills her foe Rhuarc, seeming to contradict her earlier belief that any of her former allies would rather die than be used by the Shadow.

Dreadlords bicker amongst themselves and are tricked into following Androl’s imitation of Rand into a stedding. Mishraile expresses the only overt sexism that I can recall in the series, scoffing at the notion that a woman could be placed above him when the entire world is rife with examples of women leading men.

The Ogier will attempt a few decades of stedding-derived therapy to rehabilitate their new captives. Returning to the battlefield,  Androl and his friends find Trollocs slaughtering refugees and wounded.

Aviendha recovers from the shock of killing her former clan chief. Aviendha is wounded as she leaps into the air and plunges her spear into Graendal’s side, disappearing along with her as she Travels.

Logain feels threatened and seeks a sa’angreal to keep him powerful, and feels intense paranoia that others are trying to tear him down. Androl tells him of the Trollocs slaughtering the weak. Logain must choose between gaining strength or protecting the weak.

Mat watches the Trolloc horde get split by the river, then decimated by Seanchan and resurgent armies, as he battles alongside the Heroes of the Horn. For about a page, the text feels like an omniscient narrator describing the entire field of battle, no matter where Mat was standing at the moment. Because the focus is exclusively on military matters and takes place in a Mat perspective, it is a little easier to accept. Had it been written from any other perspective than Mat’s or Rand’s, it would stand out even more as a large deviation from the accepted form of third person limited narrator.

Mat asks Artur Hawkwing to speak with Tuon on his behalf while he goes to Rand’s aid. Perfectly placed punchline at the end of the section.

Rand speaks in all caps, like the Dark One, and reveals that nobility will always beat him, that death is no threat, and that he has never inspired love in any one. The Dark One sputters in response. Rand hurls himself into the blackness to bring Shai’tan’s death.

Aviendha can barely fend off Graendal. Isolated from her allies, she is able to open a Gateway before Graendal takes control of the situation, cutting off Aviendha’s possible attempt to kill herself before being enthralled by Compulsion. Graendal isn’t in great shape, but Aviendha can’t even keep hold of her belt knife.

Writing Lessons:

Design your story around the most important scenes.

Crossroads of Twilight - Chapters 29-30

In this section, Mat and Egwene are the last characters to commit to their chosen path at a symbolic crossroads.

Mat promised never to kill a woman again. In the first chapter, and again in the last chapter, Mat reflected on having killed a woman. “He had killed one woman in his life, and left another to be butchered. He was not going to add a third to his soul.” Melindhra attacked him and was killed before he even realized he had thrown the dagger. Tylin was murdered by the gholam. Now Renna has fled the circus, and is riding hell-bent for the Seanchan army in the last town they passed. Mat means to stop her and bring her back, if he can.

This standing promise not to kill women is tested after Mat makes good on another promise to let Tuon do some shopping in the town of Jurador. Mat’s progress wooing Tuon is based on keeping promises. She believed his promise to release her unharmed enough to promise not to escape. She rode up front of the wagons in front of Seanchan soldiers that she could have called out to, but didn’t, upholding her promise.  He trusts her enough to take her into town, and when she evades him while he is distracted, he manages to find her and not be angry at her, beyond the price he pays for the silk she bought. The premise that Mat keeps his promises is well proven by these examples.

Faced with a split-second decision, Mat orders his men to shoot Renna in the back. Even with the sun blazing in their eyes, there was no question of either of them missing. Something flickered and died in Mat as he gave the order. He swears, “never again, if I have to die for it, never again.” That is a strong promise, but this was never a question of Mat’s life being on the line, but those of the circus folk, and his followers, and Tuon.

Upon his return to the circus Mat finds Tuon has written a warrant placing the circus under Tuon’s personal protection. Tuon had anticipated that Mat might fail, and seeing how Mat did his utmost to preserve their safety, Tuon took actions to ensure they would not pay for their role in Tuon’s abduction and captivity. She shared Mat’s goal, and absolves him of guilt for his actions, proclaiming them just. As a symbol of her growing respect for Mat, she is wearing the gift he gave her pinned to her shoulder. Mat is never what he seems, which is what a Seanchan noble should be.

Egwene’s decision is whether to send a novice from her home village to perform a dangerous task. Bode’s participation is necessary now that a second Aes Sedai has been murdered using saidin. The camp grows more and more afraid about the unknown assailant in their midst but the planned talks with the Black Tower still haven’t been derailed.

Egwene and Siuan run through a number of comparisons with former Amyrlins. Their names or roles aren’t as important as the fact that they are remembered for something. Egwene isn’t yet concerned about what history will say about her, but she already has rumours about her severity being told. Sheriam offers her a chance to spare her best childhood friend from a severe punishment, and she easily chooses not to save Larine from her own mistakes. She further convinces herself that even novices serve the White Tower, rationalizing Bode’s upcoming role in the siege. Then, she realizes that what applies to novices, applies to Amyrlins as well. She decides to take Bode’s place.

The direct explanation for Egwene’s decision is not well explained. The reasoning starts with “Bode must do what needed doing… Aes Sedai, and those who would become Aes Sedai, served the Tower.” And becomes “The White Tower was good at teaching both things, but the first always came first. Bode’s future would be brilliant. Her potential almost equaled Egwene’s. But Aes Sedai, Accepted or novice, the Tower required you to do what was needed for the Tower. Aes Sedai, Accepted, novice or Amyrlin.” It’s logical for Egwene to do the task given her talent for making cuendillar, and the proclamation of war provides the loophole that allows Egwene to put herself in danger, but the magnitude of the decision is lacking. It seems a rather small decision compared to some of the others she has made, but it is as fateful as the other turning points each of the main characters has come to.

Egwene’s explanation to Bode is also weak, lacking a firm foundation for the reader to grasp the idea: ““Some things I shouldn’t ask a novice to do when I can do them better.” Perhaps that was not a great deal milder, but she could not explain about Larine and Nicola, or the price the White Tower demanded of all its daughters. The Amyrlin could not explain the one to a novice, and a novice was not ready to learn about the other.” If not to Bode, it could have been explained to the reader, at least. All that is understood is that Egwene decided to do it herself because she is better at it, and the rationale she provides is gobbledygook which probably requires flipping back a few pages to see what she had said about Larine and Nicola, and getting a similarly unclear paragraph as explanation.

The book ends with a cliffhanger: Egwene has been captured by the Tower Aes Sedai. It is most surprising because every other plotline ended like a television show, with everyone finishing in almost exactly the same situation they were in at the beginning of the story. Only Egwene achieved a change in the status quo. It’s a big difference from all of the preceding books.

Writing Lessons:

When your characters do something odd, or decisive, a clear rationale helps the reader accept it.

The Path of Daggers - Summary

The Path of Daggers ends on such a weak note, it’s hard to think of it as a complete book. The Hero gets ambushed in dramatic fashion, and survives, but is unable to deliver any retribution. A similar attack on an Aes Sedai is treated without emotion or build-up. And the final chapter covers a handful of plotlines from other characters that haven’t been seen for the last half of the book, only one of which involves any action or genuine excitement.

While the book moved rapidly and had several rewarding moments, the failure to deliver a strong conclusion can’t help but wear down a long-time reader.  As with the previous two books, which read better as a pair because of the lack of resolution, I expect the most satisfaction will come from treating The Path of Daggers as the first half of Winter’s Heart, instead of a complete book in its own right. As with Lord of Chaos, the other half-book, this book uses a sudden plot twist near the end to try provide some excitement, hoping to make up for the lack of resolution of the main plots. It was much less successful here because the threat to Rand was much more physical than character-driven, and it involved foreseeable events instead of something never before seen let alone imagined.

The layout of the chapters has each character’s point of view chapters clumped together, mimicking the most successful pacing of the earlier books in the series. This layout delivers strong results once again, allowing a situation to be introduced, built upon, and if necessary to come back and complete the resolution in a later set of chapters.

The centerpiece of the book and the high point of the story is Rand’s epic war against the Seanchan. Rand knows the war was waged at a great cost to his own forces, with most of the losses coming at his own hands when he mishandles Callandor. He learns Callandor is flawed, but it is the war itself which was flawed. Rand is learning firsthand that the Tuatha’an saying is right; doing violence damages him and his people as well as the people he strikes.

In a similar vein, when the tools and people he relies on begin to let him down, whether Maidens rebelling or Asha’man going mad or trying to assassinate him, Rand builds up walls. Even if he can’t trust, he still intends to carry on as before.

Up until now, Rand had been presented simple solutions to all the problems: raise an army, and his opponents will surrender; kill a Forsaken and he can take over a nation. But his early successes are beginning to drag him down. He is learning through difficult experience that his tactics aren’t working any more, but he insists on pushing harder instead of examining whether other tools may produce better results. Rand has only recently achieved manhood and begun to take his responsibilities seriously, but he is fumbling with how to do it.

The metaphor of the sha’rah game in the prologue best depicts the book’s central theme. It can be more dangerous to have control than to give it up, the tool you hold can work against you, and the unseen pitfalls are many and hazardous.

Writing Lessons:

A book’s conclusion demands resolution and reader satisfaction. Failing to deliver it will cost you.

The Shadow Rising - Chapters 24-28

In this section, the three ta’veren find mysteries and revelations.

The Rhuidean sequence carries a strange sense of dread and destiny, slowly revealed to the reader. First is the city that no one will speak of. Second is the secret about it that is held by clan chiefs and Wise Ones. Third is that the city should not be there, the Aiel do not live in cities. Fourth is that Rhuidean cannot even be visited in tel’aran’rhiod. Fifth is the strange fog that envelops Rhuidean, hiding its secrets in the waking world. Sixth is its architecture, designed for grandeur and not the practical aspects of city living. Seventh is the plaza filled with objects of the One Power, each one unknowable and lost. Eighth is the Tree of Life, and the glass columns. Up until this moment, everything about Rhuidean is couched in mystery, little of it making sense, all of it ominous. Memories of the ruins of Shadar Logoth come to mind, even in the absence of a stated comparison. Many details have been revealed, but there are precious few links to enable readers to make sense of them.

Mat’s discovery of the second redstone ter’angreal is climatic. This is why he has come to Rhuidean. Mat has unfinished business with the Aelfinn, and now he can resolve it. The moment when the unexpected result is revealed drives the reader eagerly onward: “Wherever this was, it was not where he had been.” The use of simple words, lacking detail and vague in meaning, draws out the surprise. The Eelfinn says “a very long time”, establishing the first link to Mat’s earlier experience even as the new locale and different species makes clear that this experience will be different. In sequences where strange or alien experiences take place, some links or reference points to the familiar are required. The selection of these signposts and whether they are placed early or late will affect whether the sequence is mysterious, horrific, humourous, or some other outcome.

Rand’s experiences in the glass columns are my favorite of any fiction. Each short sequence shown stands on its own yet is linked to the others and to the main story in a well-crafted chain. The first link to the familiar and the main story in the present is the sight of Muradin several steps ahead of him. The strangeness is in Muradin’s angry reaction to what he is seeing. Readers may be reminded of the testing for Accepted since that is what was described to Aviendha.

Rand is first shown inside, but not controlling a body. The owner of the body is someone else. Rand eventually merges with the body’s owner, separateness fading. He becomes Mandein, strengthening the reader’s interest in this new character’s fate. It is established that this character is a sept chief, a link to the familiar. Further drawing the reader in, immediately a need is established. He must agree. The sequence would not work as well if these elements were presented later, or if they were not linked to Rand. A story about the newcomer Mandein is not as interesting as a story about Rand reliving a vital part of Mandein’s life, even if it does reveal interesting facts about the past. To further maintain the empathy with each new character presented, a reminder that each one is linked to Rand comes from the short interludes when Rand reflects on what he has seen. Eventually the reader understands that the visions of the past follow bloodlines from father to son over several centuries, and logically, since Rand and his father are Aiel, this is not only Aiel history, but family history. Each vision thus helps Rand anchor his identity, which has been cut loose from his links to Tam al’Thor. The moment when the reader understands the bloodlines, and later their link to Rand, is one of several climatic revelations in this sequence.

Each story is linked to the one before it by several elements.

The very next paragraph throws out a lot of information designed to draw the reader in. I categorize it below, because these components will show up in each of the visions in the glass columns.

Revelation: The Jenn built Rhuidean

Mystery: Why do the Aiel avoid the Jenn? Who are the Jenn? Why did they build an indefensible city?

Link to present day: Rhuidean is being built. The accursed Lost Ones search for their songs. Astute readers know these are the Tinkers.

Link to familiar: Aiel have militaristic thinking, hatred of Tinkers.

There are even more revelations, links and mysteries as the Mandein scene progresses. Each vision establishes how it fits with the others, reveals intimate information about the Aiel that has links to present-day Aiel, exposes new mysteries that will be solved in the next visions, and contains clues relating to other cultures, characters, and objects that are important in the series.

This first vision scene tells readers that the upcoming scenes will reveal why Aiel do not use swords, why the Jenn and Aes Sedai put so much effort into ensuring they learn and remember the Aiel. Each of the visions only takes readers a little way towards the final revelations. It reminds me of a word game in which you make one word become another but are only allowed to change one letter at a time.

The next scene establishes the timing of the visions by discussing the founding of Tar Valon. Later visions confirm the setting to be during the Breaking of the World. Eventually every cultural belief of the Aiel is shown to be a misinterpretation of what has come before, from sword-wielding, to veiling before battle, to their short hair, to refusal to ride horses. The Aiel truly forgot where they came from, largely as a result of some very humiliating personal failures that resulted from justifiable actions. By Jenn Aiel standards they were not justifiable, they were rationalized. The visions move gradually from stories that touch on several aspects of Aiel cultural life to Lewin’s, one that is intensely personal but almost devoid of Aiel culture since it is the true origin of Aiel.

Before there were Aiel, there were the Da’shain, who traveled the world in wagons, looking for a place of shelter. They also had a duty so important that it would lead to Lewin being cast out of the Da’shain wagons. Several generations believed that duty was to protect the ter’angreal in the wagons, but above all else, the Aes Sedai hoped to preserve the peaceful ways of the Da’shain, their belief being the last remnant of the Age of Legends. Even Rand sees the modern Aiel for what they are, not what they were. Those Aiel who will follow Rand will do so out of desire to fulfill their destiny, to atone for their sin and their failure to keep to the Way of the Leaf. But they will not be able to follow it themselves, both they and Rand see them as weapons to be used. The one who must follow the Way of the Leaf in their place is Rand, and to follow the Jesus myth, he will have to embrace non-violence against the Shadow and die.

Telling the collection of short stories that make up the visions in reverse chronological order works very effectively. An alternative would have been to start at the beginning, and leave the reader wondering how this would lead to the Aiel they know, but this approach would not have displayed the same keen sense of loss and failure felt when readers discover that each generation tried so hard, but ultimately failed at what they were supposed to do. Highlighting that knowledge puts the emphasis back on Rand and his duty to correct the mistakes and atone for the sins. The final scene of the visions shows the Dark One being freed, and is the origin of the entire story. The origin of the end of the Aiel, of their sin and their duty, and Rand’s origin as well, which will lead to his conclusive battle against the Dark One.

Dreaming was a somewhat common power through all the generations of Aiel. When the Tuatha’an splintered off from the Da’shain, did they lose the Dreamwalking ability? Does having Dreamwalkers in your midst keep you on the right path, while those without Dreamwalkers split off and wander away?

Mat is the only one who makes blunt assessments of Rand’s madness. His rash words are so often wrong they are overlooked, which makes his notice of something a perfect place to hide something in plain sight. As the reader and other characters dismiss Mat’s insight, it still serves to remind readers that madness will overtake Rand. They will clearly not believe it has begun already.

Perrin learns the hazards of dealing with Eelfinn AFTER it’s too late for Mat, a fun way of revealing more about the redstone doorway worlds that might have taken away some of the mystery had it been told to Perrin before Mat’s encounters. Slayer did not enter the Tower of Ghenjei, but making Perrin believe he did was an excellent trap. With dead wolves and Faile to concern him, Perrin now has enough reason to live to avoid immediately giving himself up to the Whitecloaks.

Writing Lessons:

Keep plots and events personal, keep your character’s identity mired in the events that transpire around him, and even when it all seems so obvious already, make it about your character again.