A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time, #14; A Memory of Light, #3)

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A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time #14)

by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

4.52 of 5 stars 4.52 · rating details · 14,920 ratings · 2,677 reviews

Since 1990, when Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time® burst on the world with its first book, The Eye of the World, readers have been anticipating the final scenes of this extraordinary saga, which has sold over forty million copiesin over thirty languages.

When Robert Jordan died in 2007, all feared that these concluding scenes would never be written. But working from notes...more

Hardcover, 909 pages

Published January 8th 2013 by Tor Books

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Jan 17, 2013 Eric Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Memory of Light
Book 14 of the Wheel of Time
By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

A Review by Eric Allen

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Seak (Bryce L.) marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2013-goals

Why I believe 2012 is actually the end...

I'll apologize up front, this may be a little insensitive, but it's all in the name of entertainment so that makes everything okay. At least that's what the television show, Family Guy, tells me.

You may have heard that according to the Mayans' (among others) long count calendar, 2012 is the end date - more specifically December 21, 2012. Many have interpreted this to mean that this is the end of the world that's been predicted. I never put much weight on...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Eric Edstrom rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was criticized for giving this five stars before it came out :) Which I suppose I can understand since it slightly affects the average score.

Well, I've read it now and Sanderson did not disappoint. I loved the final volume of this super-epic, even though getting to the end was bittersweet.

To review this book is to review the entire series. The bottom line is that while it has some low points (Crossroads of Twilight), even those have some pretty neat moments. I always cheered when I heard the b...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Natasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-wheel-of-time, epic-fantasy

No matter how long this series took to come to an end I have loved it since the first book when I picked it up in 1996. I have read it countless times and also have listened to the audio versions as well. Some may find that it took way too long, but in my case it really didn't bother me I enjoyed waiting for each book to come and anticipating about what was going to happen. I loved the details in the books, and have never really found another author who could write like Mr. Jordan, although Mr....more
No matter how long this series took to come to an end I have loved it since the first book when I picked it up in 1996. I have read it countless times and also have listened to the audio versions as well. Some may find that it took way too long, but in my case it really didn't bother me I enjoyed waiting for each book to come and anticipating about what was going to happen. I loved the details in the books, and have never really found another author who could write like Mr. Jordan, although Mr. Sanderson is doing an exceptional job. I can't wait for the end, but I can also say that I will be sad that this is the end.

January 22, 2012 UPDATED REVIEW AFTER READING A MEMORY OF LIGHT!!!!!
While I was reading A Memory of Light I felt I really didn't want this series to end. I felt like they should or could continue on. I mean there are some many things they could write about all of this. As I reached the end of the book, something inside of me changed and all I have to say is WOW!!! This was a perfect ending to a perfect and well written series. It ended with so much feeling and emotion. Rand Al'Thore you are the best!!!!!!!!! Egwene I love you Wow.... I knew that you were strong but Wow I hadn't envisioned it to be like that!!!! Mat Cauthon.... I Have to say you were just awesome in the Last Battle really and truley Awesome!!!! Perrin, Perrin, Perrin... for me you have been my least favourite charachter during this whole series, but let me tell you that you are no longer..... you killed it this time and I am truley in awe of you. To all the rest you all had amazing roles such as the Aiel, Aes Sedai, the band, the dragonsworn.... Wow!!! The battles were awesome.... Oh I must not forget Logain, he came a long way during the series and at the end my heart felt for him. I loved seeing all the people giving him thanks for what he did. Androl Kicked ass big time and I loved the determination he had. Where was he during the whole series. Lan you were totally awesome as well and when you took care of buisness (people who read the book with understand) that was just amazing you are badass!!! Thank you so much Robert Jordan for writting this series it has been a beacon of light in my life and thank you Brandon Sanderson for contiuing this series in and exceptional way.

(less)

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Jan 09, 2013 Omar rated it 5 of 5 stars

I started reading this series when I was 11.

Today, at 23, I managed to get a copy off my friend a day early. I got it just after work, and I've had a few hours to myself. It's midnight, and I haven't stopped reading. I'm sure I'll have to blog about the immensity of this series, and what it's meant to me, once I'm done, but for now, I just wanted to give a quick, spoiler-free update: this book is essentially a 900 page battle sequence involving dozens of characters, and spanning an entire world....more I started reading this series when I was 11.

Today, at 23, I managed to get a copy off my friend a day early. I got it just after work, and I've had a few hours to myself. It's midnight, and I haven't stopped reading. I'm sure I'll have to blog about the immensity of this series, and what it's meant to me, once I'm done, but for now, I just wanted to give a quick, spoiler-free update: this book is essentially a 900 page battle sequence involving dozens of characters, and spanning an entire world.

I have two main reactions to this (though I'm only halfway through). The first is courtesy of 11-year-old me reaching through time and space to say: HOLY SHIT, THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME. FUCK. YEAH.

The second is the slightly more measured, 23-year-old student of writing, who is quite simply in awe of this staggering achievement, this colossal work of art, woven of so many delicate strands. The level of detail, the timing, the pacing, to bring it to this point...HOLY SHIT, THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME.

Robert Jordan, you magnificent bastard, I love you.

EDIT: I finished the book a few hours ago. I'm so very glad that I was able to use work as a means to extend the reading experience beyond one burned-out marathon. This way, over two and a half days, I was able to space it out and luxuriate in it. If ever there was a book to be savoured, it is this one. It was, for me, the greatest storytelling experience I've ever had, and likely will ever have. Three decades in the making, twelve years in the reading, such an astonishing journey. It defies belief. How, with such astronomical expectations, was it pulled off?

I don't know. Likely, I never will, and I'm not sure I even want to - some mysteries are necessary. My reactions, in case you're wondering, are the same at the end as they were midway through. And okay, yes, there were some tears, it wasn't all manly exclamations but so what? Lastly, 'A Silence Like Screaming' remains my favourite chapter title ever. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.(less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Lloyd rated it 4 of 5 stars

Immersion is the state of consciousness where your awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment, or story such as this WHEEL of TIME series. I printed the maps, and other information like: the personality of the main characters, the Black Tower people, White Tower, animals and many things. I have all of Min's visions, all of the chosen, a lists of who is what and it has captured me. It is a great work by Jordan, and carried on by Sanders...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, epic-high-fantasy, favorites

Writing a review of Memory of Light without writing a critique of the entire WoT series is nigh impossible, so I'm not even going to try. Suffice to say, the best and worst of both Sanderson and Jordan are on display. And while AMOL has a few almost debilitating scenes as well as some truly exquisite moments, it bests the biggest obstacle in its way: ending a series that has been going for over two decades and survived it's own creator with aplomb.

None of this means that I believe A Memory of L...more Writing a review of Memory of Light without writing a critique of the entire WoT series is nigh impossible, so I'm not even going to try. Suffice to say, the best and worst of both Sanderson and Jordan are on display. And while AMOL has a few almost debilitating scenes as well as some truly exquisite moments, it bests the biggest obstacle in its way: ending a series that has been going for over two decades and survived it's own creator with aplomb.

None of this means that I believe A Memory of Light is a fantastic book, or that the Wheel of Time represents the pinnacle of high fantasy (neither are true); much like the series itself, much of AMOL is repetitive and certain chapters can be chores to read, even though they could be well written (how long can a reader follow characters that are exhausted from war without becoming exhausted themselves?). And where the series is fractured and tangential, AMOL is highly focused and driven, almost to a fault. But the Wheel of Time has always been a fatally flawed series that relied on the occasional iconic scene to lift the rest of an otherwise dull book focused around two dimensional characters, and AMOL isn't much different. Sanderson never rises to the heights that Jordan was capable of, but he has made Jordan's characters far more readable, though Sanderson still allots too much time hand-waving away irrelevant story-lines that were left to fester through 11 previous books by Jordan without any real gratification. But none of that matters. Not really.

The Wheel of Time is the raison d'etre of modern high fantasy and reading it is like looking through the dissolved history of the genre. It's a throwback to classic tales like the Belgariad and Dragonriders of Pern, while also serving as the foundation for the modern epics like Malazan and the more light-hearted tales like the Gentlemen Bastards. A Memory of Light is an immensely satisfying-if-flawed ending to the series, so it's hard to give it anything but 5 stars. (less)

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Apr 26, 2013 John Snyder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nook

I started reading The Wheel ofTime series when Jordan's first installment came out and I can't wait for the final book to come out. I'm rating it so high on the weight of Sanderson's other installments in finishing the series.

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2013 Gretchen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am so excited for this book to finally come out. This series has been a huge presence my life, since I started reading it almost 20 years ago.

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2013 ☆Jessie☆ (Ageless Pages Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, shame-shelf, owned-copy, worst-covers, 2013-reads, series-completed, super-sized-story

I'm still not sure how many of those stars are for sheer nostalgia - at least one? - but this was a hell of a wrap up for a 12 year journey. I started reading these books when I was 13, I am 25 now, and I can say there were times when I didn't see this ever ending. Through its ups (books 1-6), its downs (8-11), its not-bad-but-could-be-better (7, 12) this has remained a big force in my fantasy reading. Forgive me for this pun, but there will be a void where The Wheel of Time once stood.

Favorite...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Philip rated it 5 of 5 stars

I feel like I've been reading this series forever and it's been my favorite series forever and now it's over and I don't know how I feel about it.

On one hand, wow, a great conclusion to this powerful story; this book was full of wonderful wonderfulness which was necessary to make the story complete. On the other hand, I want more. There has never been another series that I started reading, impatient for each new installment which then had a definite end while I was still interested, so this is k...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Edward Champa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Wheel of Time Fans, High Fantasy Fans

Shelves: fantasy

Overall, I was very satisfied with "A Memory of Light", Sanderson's final installment to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Having grown up with these characters, spending hundreds of hours investing myself within their storylines, watching them transcend from naive village youths into the 'movers and shakers' of a richly detailed and fully conceived world, to finally see their destined paths collide among the chaos and bloodshed of Tarmon Gai'don was breathtaking, heartbreaking, gratifying....more Overall, I was very satisfied with "A Memory of Light", Sanderson's final installment to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Having grown up with these characters, spending hundreds of hours investing myself within their storylines, watching them transcend from naive village youths into the 'movers and shakers' of a richly detailed and fully conceived world, to finally see their destined paths collide among the chaos and bloodshed of Tarmon Gai'don was breathtaking, heartbreaking, gratifying. This was a somber journey, as I knew with every passing page that I was finishing a 23-year adventure unlike any other.

Many will speak of the differences of style between Jordan and Sanderson, and even though the narrative inconsistencies in diction are more prevalent in areas than others, I still found myself amazed that Sanderson was able to take thousands of pages of material, with over dozens of distinct characters and plotlines, and masterfully bring to close Jordan's legendary tale while maintaining an overall sense of familiarity.

That there is some ambiguity in the final chapters is fitting, I find on reflection, because life itself rarely finds closure in all concerns.

++Spoilers++

"A Memory of Light" is an exhausting read, not so much due to length, which is considerable nonetheless (weighing in at over 900 pages, it's a massive tome), but because you are witnessing multiple battlefronts towards the beginning of the story, which later converge into the Last Battle; Sanderson relishes writing these scenes, and is quite adept with his descriptions of what is happening, allowing you to easily visualize the larger context. PoVs change consistently, and this transforms the war into many 'snapshots', speeding along the narrative. The overall effect is well done.

The many ways Sanderson plays with the concepts of gateways was one of my favorite aspects of this novel. Implementing them as viewpoints above battlefields from which you can gaze down through to witness the movements of troops, using them to create a lava funnel of death, or simply to brew tea was exciting to read about.

Sanderson doesn't change the core mechanics of Jordan's magic system but expounds upon it in interesting ways. Creating a weave the opposite of Balefire, using Mask of Mirrors to lure enemies into elaborate traps, or using the regenerating villagers of a small town to 'return from the dead' at a critical point during a major campaign - these elements, along with many others, give fresh perspectives to Jordan's world.

Prophecies that fans have been waiting to see fulfilled finally come to light, and in ways you least expect. Logain's glory, in particular.

This isn't to say that I found everything perfect, to my tastes. I felt Fain/Mordeth's storyline was too inconsequential for all its buildup over multiple entries to the series. I'm not particularly a fan of Fain/Mordeth, but it felt rushed. However, it's a small qualm, and didn't truly detract from my reading experience.

Bittersweet was the way I felt as I finished the last chapter. For all the braid-tugs, sniffs, arm-under-breasts and many other quirks of Jordan's prose, the Wheel of Time has been a major influence on my life and a story which has stood apart from the usual fantasy fare. Even though the industry is moving into 'darker, deeper, more complex and thoughtful' fantasy, where the lines are blurred, there are no young farmboys who become heroes nor dark lords seeking utter destruction, sometimes you want the archetypes. And the Wheel of Time is the epitome of High Fantasy.

And "A Memory of Light" its swan song.(less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Alastair McDermott rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 22, 2013 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: high-fantasy, fantasy

The Wheel turns and ages pass. Some called this one the 3rd Age, but it may have been an Age from long ago or one yet to come. This wasn't the ending, for there are no endings on the Wheel of Time, but it is an ending.

(Sorry, couldn't help it)

But the review of the last book of such a sprawling epic deserves a bit more than the usual liked it/didn't like it and diving into the whys & wherefores immediately.

This really isn't an easy book to review. It's bloody book 14 (or 15 if you count the p...more The Wheel turns and ages pass. Some called this one the 3rd Age, but it may have been an Age from long ago or one yet to come. This wasn't the ending, for there are no endings on the Wheel of Time, but it is an ending.

(Sorry, couldn't help it)

But the review of the last book of such a sprawling epic deserves a bit more than the usual liked it/didn't like it and diving into the whys & wherefores immediately.

This really isn't an easy book to review. It's bloody book 14 (or 15 if you count the prequel, which started as a short story and grew beyond it) of a story that began in 1990 and the author died before completing it. 23 years later, we get the long awaited final volume, and it really is the end of the story.

So here are my questions:
1. is it satisfying as a chapter in the saga?
2. is it a good book in its own right?
3. does it bring the series to a close in a rewarding fashion?

1. It certainly feels like one. It has a lot of the same merits and flaws of the earlier books: there's definitely bloated filler. There's a lot of very cool intertwined plots reaching resolution. The characters are still people you root for, and the whole thing is appropriately epic in scale. There are some inconsistencies from previous books that is frustrating; one character undergoes another personality shift that seems out of place (in this case I suspect it may be the result of what may have been written by Jordan before his death and what was written by Sanderson to knit it all together. Considering the work was edited by Jordan's widow I'm guessing his words were rarely touched). A critical plot point is achieved by means that are seemingly contradicted by established abilities from earlier volumes, and even if possible the occurrence in at least one case shows a shocking lack of preparedness and planning on behalf of at least one character that would certainly know better.

2. This is a harder question, as it's nigh-impossible to separate it from the rest of the saga at this point. (someone who picked it up would be completely baffled and probably deeply bored) So you have to set a little of that aside when evaluating this one. But there are some definite problems. two critical character behave in ways that are simply not credible at this point; their opposition to Rand is a misguided attempt to ratchet up the conflict and heighten suspense, but by doing it with people that have been shown to be both intelligent and generally wise makes the whole thing ring hollow. Another character's destiny is finally realized...by throwing 4 other heroes essentially under the bus, at least 1 making an unbelievable mistake/oversight, leading to the entirely predictable next step. Considering what's gone before, leaving this character out of it at the start is fairly absurd. So it's not a great book. Too many frustrating things, but they are balanced out by the poignant moments, laugh out loud funny lines, and actually earned triumphs.

3. This is the toughest one of all. Closing out a series that's been going on for 23 years over this many books in a way that even a majority of the readers will find emotionally satisfying is incredibly hard. You also have to balance a logical evolution from where the books have built vs avoiding being utterly predictable. Who lives & who dies is one of those challenges: it's not badly done, I think, but several characters deserved a greater resolution to their story considering how much time we spent with them. Of the 10 or 12 major characters only a handful really get a wrap-up that feels satisfying (and several of them have to be presumed not seen). There's also a couple of resolutions to on-going mysteries that are solved by Rand/Min...off screen, which has never happened before. There's always at least been a hat-tip to the reader that the character has figured something out, even if they haven't clued us in as to their thinking. That'd be ok for smaller things, but for something that's been hanging over the series for half a dozen books or more? On the other hand, a number of other things are handled incredibly well, especially the final confrontation with the Dark One. More than anything else, that one felt earned and proper.

So where do we finally end? Appropriately, right about where most of the series lies. It's often brilliant, incredibly ambitious, often bloated and lazy, epic in scope but sometimes poorly managed, creative as hell, and a fully realized world. the attention to detail and care for creation of legends makes this far better than such bloated plotting would normally be. (seriously, having your wife as editor might not be a great plan, and it's more obvious that once an author reaches a certain point the publisher isn;t going to put the hammer down no matter how badly something needs a hardcore pruning. George R. R. Martin are your ears burning? They should be.) Jordan does do a rather impressive job in taking his core characters through their heroic evolution in interesting ways and building them into unique individuals who all played critical parts in the story without them turning into sidekicks or getting undeserved wins or credit. Jordan uses the pattern/thread metaphors liberally (and honestly he does it in ways that make sense for the world he's built, not as lazy writing or for cheap points) but a painting makes a better analogy for how his earliest, core group fits for this story: one character may be the brightest, most liberally used color, but they all are important to whole and the whole doesn't make sense or work without all of them blended into the final picture.

Man, I'm getting as long-winded as Jordan/Sanderson!

There's a lot to like here, but more frustrations than I'd like to see in the capstone, which is why I can't go any higher (although I do still wish for 1/2 stars here 3 1/2 is closer to where I am than 3). The earlier books were ones that I went back to fairly often (books 1, 3-6, & 11 with books 1 & 4 being especially good. book 4 is my personal favorite, I think) but as things drew out longer and longer the books have less and less to draw you back to revisit.(less)

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Celyn Great review Josh. Though I would have given it 2 stars. You missed out the bit where 600 pages of the book consist of tedious descriptions of battle...more
Jan 22, 2013 09:08am

Josh A fair point. Having read a lot of David Weber's military sci-fi over the years and Eric Flint's Ring of Fire stuff I may have gotten a little inured...more
Jan 23, 2013 10:12pm

Brian You nailed it. And I second Celyn's point. I think the book was good, but rushed over key things while sitting too long on battle field tactics. Addit...more
Feb 09, 2013 04:33pm

Jan 29, 2013 Mach rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass,
leaving memories that become legend.
Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten
when the Age that gave it birth comes again.
In one Age called the 21th century by some, a wind blew in through a teenager's window and ruffled some pages of a book. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings
nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of time.

But it was a beginning.

It is almost like a part of my life has ended, i have been re...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Femmy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I started reading this series almost twenty years ago. I fell in love with the characters. I was engrossed in the story. I marveled at the world that Robert Jordan built in the first few books. I slogged through the middle books like any loyal fan. I cheered when things started to pick up again. I was sad when Jordan passed away and was excited when to know that Brandon Sanderson was to continue the series. Book 12 and 13 were great so I had high expectations for this last book of the series.

I n...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Detailed breakdown of feelings to follow. I'm going to need a couple of days to sort myself out.

20 minutes later I'm still crying.

38 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, the-wheel-of-time

I discovered The Wheel of Time during my senior year of high school - fall of 2000, that was. The newest book at that time was The Path of Daggers. I am decidedly not the most old-school WOT fan out there, but nonetheless, I have been along for the ride for 12 years and six new book releases. So that's a pretty significant amount of time where I have been invested in these characters.

In some sense, I kind of dreaded this last book, because as I have seen in some television I have watched recentl...more I discovered The Wheel of Time during my senior year of high school - fall of 2000, that was. The newest book at that time was The Path of Daggers. I am decidedly not the most old-school WOT fan out there, but nonetheless, I have been along for the ride for 12 years and six new book releases. So that's a pretty significant amount of time where I have been invested in these characters.

In some sense, I kind of dreaded this last book, because as I have seen in some television I have watched recently (such as, say, LOST), a bad ending really leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. I worried about that happening with WOT, especially once Jordan got sick and it became apparent he would not be concluding his own series, and doubly especially when the book that Jordan swore would be one volume became, in the hands of Brandon Sanderson, three volumes. There was some trepidation for me to approach this, the final volume, for that reason. Would the pinch-hitter come through in the clutch or would he strike out?

That's what I was wondering, and then I was buffeted by 909 pages of pure, unbridled pathos. For those who have had the characters as a reason to read the series - the important ones, the ones you like even when they're tugging braids and calling everyone wool-headed or when they're still arguing over which of the three is better with girls - then there is nothing in the final volume that will disappoint you. Or little enough, anyway. This is a rolling, tumultuous and tense journey to the place which everything has been building since Rand and Tam came into Emond's Field so many books ago. There's about as much emotional payoff as you could hope to shake a stick at spilling from all over all of those pages. It's tense, and you have to appreciate Aviendha's vision in Rhuidean from Towers of Midnight because while the good guys were probably always going to beat the Shadow, one way or another, you didn't know what the world would look like after, or even who would live and who would die.

Is it perfect? Nah. But it's good, and it certainly met my expectations, given the whole of the situation. I have read some more of Brandon Sanderson's works since the previous WOT volume was released, and so many of the problems I come across are made more clear. This is just what he does. Sometimes, it's like he can't stop himself from having bizarrely modern-speaking characters. He can't keep out the slang or terminology. At one point in this book someone thinks about "a bloody burning punk" or something like this, and I would be fairly sure the word punk was never used in any Jordan-penned WOT volume. This is just what happens. It happens in Mistborn and it happens in The Way of Kings and it will probably always happen when he writes in a fantasy world.

Notably, it was an interesting contrast reading this when the last book I finished was Bakker. I thought battle sequences were a strength for Bakker, and then he is heavy with the insufferable philosophizing. Jordan/Sanderson deliver The Last Battle over nearly 200 pages, and this is a reminder that you can tell a battle as a series of personal stories and have it be very good indeed. It goes on forever, and you feel the characters' weariness as more and more of their men and friends die and a reduced and battered force continues to fight for the Light. Again, you don't know who will die. People do die, and if you haven't been spoiled then you won't know who or when, and you will be surprised. This is good, too.

(view spoiler)[It's interesting to me in comparing final volumes between this and, say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where virtually every character death of people you'd actually care about happened off-screen, and Rowling turned the body count up for even the friggin' owl (what'd Hedwig ever do to anyone?). Though Jordan/Sanderson do take out Bela, who had herself quite a journey. But then, so did Egwene, another casualty here, and the one that shocked me more than any other. Hallows didn't really pay you off emotionally for its deaths, but here, as humanity makes its last stand, those who die more or less get on-page action as they make their own personal last stand.

All are futilely heroic, at least one is out-and-out stupid, but the book - the whole WOT series - earns the emotional connection, I feel. I can't say that I ever particularly cared much about whether Androl or Pevara lived or what would happen with the Black Tower, and if that was Logain's destiny we probably could have stood to get in his head a little more before this book. Everyone else you like appears and they are in danger and it was good.

For all the emotions flying around, though, nothing got to me quite so much as young Olver sounding the Horn of Valere (who saw THAT coming?) and having Jain Farstrider ride to his rescue. Next closest was Lan getting bailed out at Tarwin's Gap. There were lots of little moments all throughout, though.

And as for the ending - not that there are beginnings or endings to the Wheel of Time, of course, but it was an ending - I can't say I saw that one coming either, but you know what, it fits. The world will go on, the Dragon's Peace will hopefully hold, the remnant of the remnant of the Aiel will hopefully endure with a purpose, and Rand is in Moridin's body doing whatever, and it doesn't even bother to let you know which of the women he will still have around. A very interesting choice, but not one I have a problem with. The hero has suffered much and he has laid down his burden. He did it better this time than did Lews Therin. He let go and let others choose to be heroes themselves. He won. The rest is up to everyone else. (hide spoiler)]

I've come a long way in my reading taste since I started The Wheel of Time. I am fully aware of its flaws through the years. But as far as this conclusion, it is good. Should A Song of Ice and Fire ever wind its way to a final volume, I can think of no better hope than for it to go at least as well as did A Memory of Light. Greatest book ever written? Of course not. It is, however, a very good ending to a good series of books that a lot of people have been reading for a long time.(less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Kaila rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fantasy, so-fucking-epic

As seen on Stumptown Books

This review is spoiler free.

First, a brief aside.

I'm a bigger fan of The Hobbit (the book) than a lot of my contemporaries. It was my introduction to fantasy when I was a wee one; my mom used to read it to me as a bed time story. Then she got sick of it, so my dad started to do it instead. Needless to say, it's probably up there as one of the books I've read the most in my lifetime, if not THE most reread book for me.

After being rather unimpressed by the Lord of the Rin...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Finally, we get to see The Last Battle, after 22 years of build up and hints. It's every bit as epic as it deserves, thank you Mr. Sanderson. The duel between Perrin and Slayer in the World of Dreams smacks of a Mistborn fight, in a very satisfying way.

Moments of levity are scattered about, rewarding setups decades in the making. All your friends from Randland are here, and most of your enemies. Many Moments of Awesome, many deaths, many instances of both at once, some of them fakeouts on the d...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Mitch Mills rated it 1 of 5 stars

I’d like to start off this review by saying that my one star-ing of this book is NOT simply a bashing on Sanderson. I have many problems with this book and they fall at the feet of both Sanderson and Jordan.

I have been an avid reader of the Wheel of Time novels for the last decade--as a thirteen year old I fell in love with the books. At the time Jordan was still writing what would be his last books, and I reveled in them. I am by no means an avid defender of Jordan’s writing, particularly his...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Brian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I really wanted to give this book five stars, and if I had stopped reading about halfway through, I might have. As I went on, though, some little things that I had glossed over as I devoured the book started to weigh heavier and heavier on me, and in the end, I can't give it more than 2 stars.

On ~~Taimandred~~Demandred: (view spoiler)...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Mel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-as-an-adult

I envy the people who feel this is a five star book. I wish I could love it the way they do, but ‘A Memory of Light’ is a mess.

It isn’t all Brandon Sanderson’s fault – the series had gone off the rails long before he began writing the final three books – but as the writer, some of the blame is definitely his.

I must, however, lay most of the blame at the feet of ‘team Jordan’. This book lacks continuity. The writing is choppy and there are far too many modern words and terms that don’t fit with t...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Ahimsa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ugh. What a bummer this book was. Sanderson proved he was not ready for the admittedly difficult task of finishing this series. Adding 3 more books is clearly not necessary, as he added nearly as much fluff as Jordan. His "happy ending" was as insulting as it was unnecessary. And the prose is all too often out-loud readably bad. People from every culture in the world, different as they are, blush when sex or nudity are even mentioned. And the plot holes!

Worst of all, in my eyes, is his habit of...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

At last we are here, the final installment in the EPIC Wheel of Time. I reserved this at the library so when it came in I rented a towmotor and went down to my local branch. Having used the towmotor to load the book into a truck and then unload it when I got home I got down to business.

It's all here folks. For those of you who have loved every second of reading, every comma, exclamation point, colon and semicolon of this massive undertaking you will lose nothing in this volume. AND for those of...more At last we are here, the final installment in the EPIC Wheel of Time. I reserved this at the library so when it came in I rented a towmotor and went down to my local branch. Having used the towmotor to load the book into a truck and then unload it when I got home I got down to business.

It's all here folks. For those of you who have loved every second of reading, every comma, exclamation point, colon and semicolon of this massive undertaking you will lose nothing in this volume. AND for those of you like me who mourn the excessive verbiage and repetitive story telling that turned one of the potentially best fantasy series of all time into an overblown soap-opera...it's all here also.

As I started...and for a long time after I started this book I was sure that the highest rating I'd be able to give it would be a 3 and that it possibly could force me into a 2. With the continuation of all the things that so annoyed me, the same events recounted ad nauseum, the constant, ridicules, never ending battle of the sexes (the use of the name wool-head) I did a lot of sighing and rolling my eyes. (view spoiler). I hung on. I will say this, Brandon Sanderson seems to have been "channeling" Robert Jordan. For the first (3/4) three quarters to four fifths (4/5) of this book there is an unimaginable amount of waffle. I skipped and skimmed but be careful to take a line from J.K.Rowling, "There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle." Unfortunately it's well buried.

That being said, the last quarter to a fifth of the book begins to recapture the magic of the first 5 or 6 volumes. Yes at the first I loved this series. I was one of those who praised it, who said "don't miss these books". What happened after the 6th or so volume I have speculated on before. I have no idea. It went from one of the best told most well crafted fantasy tales I've ever read to a rambling Frankensteinian monstrosity of a soap opera crawling along at a glacial pace. Through 14 enormous volumes (if you don't count the prequel New Spring). There are approximately 4,056,130 words to it (here I accept the total from Wikipedia, I didn't count) it slowly ground down it's fans to a hard core of you who love every letter. I sold all my own copies and read the last several out of the library. One 800+ page tome actually dropped back and covered events from the previous book... But the last fourth of this novel suddenly jumps back to the wonder of the first volumes. The end of the series is satisfying, well thought out and told in a fast moving tightly controlled way all the various threads (and there are now so many) pulled together.

I'll say a couple of things below under a spoiler warning but on the whole I can strongly recommend this one, especially if you have followed it all the way through and for you who love every punctuation mark I'd think you'd love this. So, I can't go 5 (the first part of the volume is still slow moving, over done and repetitive ) I can go 4. Recommended.

(view spoiler)

I do still wish that the family would take the entire series and turn it over to a great editor (or a group of great editors) and cut out all the "waffle" from every volume. I say again, this could have been one the all time great achievements in fantasy and literature of any genre (or none). I will always mourn what might have been. If I ever reread the series I may reread the first 5 or 6 and then jump to this one to tie it up. (view spoiler) It might be worth that. You know the events in the books didn't take as long to transpire as the publishing of the series took. 1990 to 2013, 23 years in the making.

And as I noted elsewhere I don't suppose there's any guarantee that we won't see more prequels and sequels and side quests and......

Oh well, enjoy. 4 stars and a recommended read, when you have time.(less)

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view all 11 comments

Jeffrey I could not agree more with you Mike. It was a great series then it was not. I have a couple of theories -- 1. There is the money. 2. Jordan just had...more
Feb 25, 2013 09:12am

Mike (the Paladin) I try to tread softly LOL but I have asked (rhetorically of course) if the fact that every volume became a best seller might have had something to do...more
Feb 25, 2013 10:15am

Jan 19, 2013 Bonnie_blu rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This series started out with a bang and was on its way to beconing one of the best epic fantasy series written. I'm not sure what happened, but around volume six, Robert Jordan lost his way and began delivering books that did not advance the story and were little more than padding. I stuck with the series hoping that Jordan would get back on track and once again create wondrous books like those of volumes one through five. My hopes were dashed when Jordan died, but were resurrected when it was a...more

13 likes · like · see review

May 05, 2013 Usame Kutlay added it

I just hope Brandon Sanderson awares that this book is the very ending of a legend. Due to mentioned factor, it should be real long. So he shouldn't be hasty for releasing the book.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 08, 2013 Mei rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-and-science-fiction

Given that this is the end of an era, I thought you might be interested in how my journey through AMOL went.

27/01/2013: Obtain book. Lug book home (no mean feat). Sit on sofa. Read first 6 pages. PoV is of some heroic character I can't quite remember, but it's clearly heroic because he does good things while dying. Feel tired, have a nap. Wake up an hour later, pick up book. It is Very Heavy and not condusive to slouchy reading on sofa. Read another 20 pages. Nyaeve purses her lips. Get distract...more Given that this is the end of an era, I thought you might be interested in how my journey through AMOL went.

27/01/2013: Obtain book. Lug book home (no mean feat). Sit on sofa. Read first 6 pages. PoV is of some heroic character I can't quite remember, but it's clearly heroic because he does good things while dying. Feel tired, have a nap. Wake up an hour later, pick up book. It is Very Heavy and not condusive to slouchy reading on sofa. Read another 20 pages. Nyaeve purses her lips. Get distracted by computer. Carry book upstairs, as it is bedtime. Book is definitely not condusive to bedtime reading. Go to bed instead.

28/01/2013: Make it to page 121. Many, many characters reappear. Rand describes himself as wool-headed, but none of the women use that phrase yet. For a change.

19/02/2013: Somehow I'm on page 469. I pretty much have no idea what is going on, who half these people are, but they are fighting. One amusing passage where Matt and Rand have a go at winning bragging rights. I think I like Tuon. Worse than the fact I don't remember half these characters is that half of them have changed names, physical appearance and what-not during the course of the last 13 books. Maybe there are only half as many characters as I think there are.

24/02/2013: Done, finally. I have to confess that most of the last 440 pages I had to skim read, and probably only took in about one tenth of what was happening. The impressions left on me were - a lot of explosions, a lot of shouting, THE DARK LORD SPEAKING IN CAPS, lots of characters I don't quite remember, lots of ominous sentences, a lot of dying and not-dying, a lot of horses being shot in their flanks, people with filed teeth, lots of gateways, lots of being overrun by Trollocs, more characters I don't remember, thinking that Sean Bean will play Lan in the movie, more explosions, shouting, RAND SPEAKING IN CAPS, heroics, treachery, more dying...

Having finished it, finally, all I can say is that I am exhausted. And (Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson fans will hate me for this, I know)...it just wasn't all that fun, you know? And I know not all books are fun (see Steven Erikson) but if they're not fun, then they should be breath-taking and immense and fill you with a sense of being something bigger than you are. And the WoT series just doesn't do that for me.(less)

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2013 Barbara Ghylin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-fiction, paranormal-fiction, action-adventure

I found this one at my local Wal-Mart. (Work really gets in the way of reading!) I have read the entire series since it came out in 1990. That is a long time to be caught up in a story. More on this one later.
I finshed it this one this morning. What a ending! I am glad it is over, but a little sad as well. I have been so caught up in the story of Rand Al'Thor for so many years, it will be hard to let this one go. I have all 14 books in hardback so I can read them again as needed.
Brandon Sanderso...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Megan is currently reading it

I've been waiting for 23 years. Now that's commitment!

2 likes · like · see review

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So it is really, really over? or is there more?	5	60	Jun 14, 2013 06:59am
Fantasy Book Club...: * A MEMORY of LIGHT - Planning to Read? First Impressions? NO SPOILERS	23	137	Jun 08, 2013 08:58am
why do we have to wait if we use an e-reader?	7	86	Jun 03, 2013 06:40am
What are your favorite complete fantasy or scifi trilogies or series?	16	168	May 24, 2013 12:52pm
Fantasy Book Club...: * A MEMORY of LIGHT - Finished SPOILERS	22	151	May 24, 2013 06:36am
Fantasy Book Club...: * A MEMORY of LIGHT - Prologure through Chapter 12 SPOILERS	14	33	May 20, 2013 05:37am
Fantasy Book Club...: * A MEMORY of LIGHT - Chapters 26 through 37 SPOILERS	2	19	May 17, 2013 11:41am

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About Robert Jordan

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week.[7] He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.
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More about Robert Jordan...

Books by Robert Jordan

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)

The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12; A Memory of Light, #1)

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Trivia About A Memory of Light

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Quotes from A Memory of Light

“What did you do to your hand, by the way?"
"What did you do to your eye?"
"A little accident with a corkscrew and thirteen angry innkeepers. The hand?"
"Lost it capturing one of the Forsaken."
"Capturing?" Mat said. "You're growing soft."
Rand snorted. "Tell me you've done better."
"I killed a gholam," Mat said.
"I freed Illian from Sammael."
"I married the Empress of the Seanchan."
"Mat," Rand said, "are you really trying to get into a bragging contest with the Dragon Reborn?" He paused for a moment. "Besides, I cleansed saidin. I win.” — 64 people liked it

“By the way, I saved Moiraine. Chew on that as you try to decide which of the two of us is winning."
-Mat” — 29 people liked it

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A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time #14)

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