Review: A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Blurb:

With Robert Jordan’s untimely passing in 2007, Brandon Sanderson, the New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn novels and the Stormlight Archive, was chosen by Jordan’s editor―his wife, Harriet McDougal―to complete the final volume in The Wheel of Time®, later expanded to three books.

In A Memory of Light, the fourteenth and concluding novel in Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, the armies of Light gather to fight in Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, to save the Westland nations from the shadow forces of the Dark One.

Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, is ready to fulfill his destiny. To defeat the enemy that threatens them all, he must convince his reluctant allies that his plan―as foolhardy and dangerous as it appears―is their only chance to stop the Dark One’s ascension and secure a lasting peace. But if Rand’s course of action fails, the world will be engulfed in shadow.

Across the land, Mat, Perrin, and Egwene engage in battle with Shadowspawn, Trollocs, Darkfriends, and other creatures of the Blight. Sacrifices are made, lives are lost, but victory is unassured. For when Rand confronts the Dark One in Shayol Ghul, he is bombarded with conflicting visions of the future that reveal there is more at stake for humanity than winning the war.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.

"My arm will be the sword. My breast itself a shield. To defend the Seven Towers. To hold back the darkness. I will stand when all others fall. Al Chalidholara Malkier!"

Review:

From the beginning of this review, I’m going to assume that you understand that this is a completely spoiler filled discussion, not only for A Memory of Light but for the rest of the Wheel of Time series. There’s no real way to talk about the 14th book in a 4.4 million word series without spoilers.

A Memory of Light is the crowning jewel of the Wheel of Time series, demonstrating Sanderson’s masterful ability to craft an extremely satisfying end to one of the most epic fantasy stories of modern fiction. This review is going to be a little meandering because it is near impossible to find the perfect outline for talking about a book as epic and complex as this. So, bear with me and hang on for the ride.

To begin, I get the sense that there’s not a ton of love for Pevara and Androl in the Wheel of Time community. I thought their story was so interesting and a perfect way to dive into this last book. At one point, Androl and Pevara link, with Androl holding control of the One Power. In an act of desperation to re-gain control, Pevara bonds Androl once he has released her from the link. In defiance, Androl bonds her back, making the first double bond we’ve seen in the series, ultimately giving them multiple unique features that they utilize throughout the book, including the ability to speak to each other telepathically as well as each channel while they are linked. This extra power isn’t explored much in the novel but, at least for me, it speaks to the importance of the combination of saidar and saidin to reach the full potential of the One Power. I imagine that this was potentially a more common occurrence in the Age of Legends and it is one of the reasons they had so many advances that weren’t seen in this Age.

Before moving on from the Black Tower, I loved the fact that we finally got to see people getting forcibly turned to the Shadow. This idea of 13 Dreadlords in combination with 13 myrddraal having the power to forcibly change anyone to the Shadows has been a concept that has been dangling in front of us since The Eye of the World or The Great Hunt without anyone attempting to utilize the horrible act. It was awesome seeing this in action and Logain’s heroic refusal to allow Taim to change him. I’ve been a Logain fan since the very beginning when we saw him laughing crazily at Rand in Caemlyn in The Eye of the World. He’s had so many ups and downs throughout the series. His stand again Taim was great. 

Since we’re discussing Logain, to finish off his arc, I really did enjoy where his arc ended. I wish he had had a bigger role in the actual Last Battle. His fight against Demandred was great and I loved how well it further emphasized how incredibly strong and powerful Demandred was as a Forsaken. But because of Min’s viewings, I had anticipated that Logain would play a more prominent role in the Last Battle. That being said, Logain’s final scene where we see that Logain has gone to protect the refugees instead of finding Demandred’s sa’angreal and he says, “The Black Tower protects. Always,” was so powerful for me. “The talent. Not the curse. The talent.” And then when his bonded Aes Sedai says, “Do it. Do it, Sealbreaker.” This scene just gave me the chills so bad. Even now, re-reading it to make sure I have the wording right, I feel a shiver in my spine. So perfect and such a wonderful conclusion for Logain.

Okay, let’s take a step back. So much of this book focuses on the Last Battle. We begin the book with four epic battle fronts: Caemlyn, Tarwin’s Gap, Kandor, and Shayol Ghul. I thought Sanderson did a good job of helping us keep track of all the different battle fronts, maintaining a sense of urgency and pacing that impressed me. I absolutely loved that Graendal was moving behind the scenes and using Compulsion on each of the Great Captains to subtly begin losing each of their battles. It worked for me and I felt like it was a great twist, demonstrating why Graendal was a Forsaken and as powerful as everyone had claimed that she was. 

Mat’s orchestration of the Last Battle was beautiful to watch. Like a classically trained maestro, he fully settles into his role and leads the combined forces of Light in such an effective way that he even had Demandred second guessing who he actually was.

Demandred was a clear winner for me. From the very beginning of the series, I didn’t ever feel a ton of fear or danger coming from the Forsaken. Demandred in this battle is in full form, slaying swaths of soldiers with balefire and generally turning the tide of the entire battle away from the Light. He was a force to be reckoned with and was everything I had wanted from the Forsaken since the first book. While Gawyn and Galad weren’t necessarily my favorite characters throughout the series, I didn’t have a deep hatred for them that it seems some members of the fandom had. I was moved by each of their attempts to face Demandred. Particularly, Gawyn’s death got me choked up. Both of those duals were so well done. I loved this quote from Galad: “I will do what needs to be done. I will bring Light to the Shadow. I will bring justice to the Forsaken.”

And then Lan. Lan has been a fantastic character for the whole series. He got put in the background for a handful of the middle books, but he came out blazing in The Gathering Storm and kept up that momentum through to the end. His confrontation with Demandred is one of the best duals in the series, in my opinion. So many great lines. After Lan initially bloodies Demandred and Demandred looks at him, stunned, and asks, “Who are you?” and Lan just looks at him and says, “The man who will kill you.” At this point, we’ve seen two master swordsmen fall to Demandred. And then: “I did not come here to win. I came here to kill you. Death is lighter than a feather.” Man! So powerful. I’ll be honest, I think the story as a whole would have been a little stronger if Sanderson had let that be the ultimate sacrifice, rather than keeping Lan alive. But that’s a minor point for me. 

Egwene had some amazing moments, particularly in her face off against Taim. 

But at this point, I want to talk about Rand.

"The Dark One pressed upon the land, seeking to smother it. The Pattern needed equalization. It needed balance. It needed the Dragon."

"You are darkness. Darkness cannot push back Light. Darkness exists only when Light fails, when it flees. I will not fail. I will not flee."

Personally, I thought this battle of wills between Rand and the Dark One was the perfect way for this battle to occur. I wasn’t sure how Sanderson/Jordan were envisioning this battle going forward. Was the Dark One going to use some physical representation of himself to fight Rand? I wasn’t sure but I was nervous it was going to be hokey. But the battle of wills worked so well for me. I loved the philosophical take about what the world would be like if Rand decided to kill the Dark One. It resonated with some deep held beliefs of mine. There were so many great moments. 

When Rand pulls him into the Pattern and holds him in his hand and realizes how insignificant he really is. He’s nothing. He’s just darkness.

When Rand uses a weave of saidar and saidin, coated in the True Power to seal the Bore. For me, it was the perfect conclusion for a story as huge and epic as this.

Ok, a few things I didn’t like.

Padan Fain? I mean, come on. Padan Fain was set up to be one of the most interesting villains in the entire series. And then he was almost completely sidelined for the last handful of books and was killed in less than a full page? I’ll be honest, when that happened, I was completely thrown out of the book and got legitimately mad. I had anticipated that Fain was going to play a much larger, more interesting part in the book and was going to be woven throughout. Still really disappoints me.

Similar feelings with Shaidar Haran. He had so much potential. He was so interesting and then he just disappeared for multiple books and we just see his husk in Shayol Ghul and the Dark One saying, “didn’t need that anymore?” I just felt like both of these villains should have been wrapped up so much better.

Also, I didn’t get why Moiraine had to be saved from the Tower of Ghenjei. Nynaeve had a very specific, unique reason to be in the Pit of Doom with Rand. She was able to work on healing Alanna in a way no other Aes Sedai could have done with herbs while she was unable to channel. But Moiraine never really played a purpose. She kind of had a nice reunion with Rand before the Last Battle started, but she seemed like a wasted thread in the story. 

At the end of the day, Sanderson was given an enormous task to complete one of the largest, most sprawling epic fantasy stories every written and, in my opinion, he did a herculean job wrapping almost everything up in the best way I think he could have. Did he make some mistakes and did some things land poorly for me? Yes. But overall, A Memory of Light was a fitting and worthy tribute to the beautiful story that Jordan began.