The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hallelujah! Finally, in just a short 700 pages Brandon Sanderson packed up the car and got this party back on the road. Several of my takeaways/comments:
-There were times in the previous books that the story seemed to drag, even when things were happening. In this book I finally clued into one of the factors to this: many of the characters had stopped growing. I think there were so many characters and plot lines, that it was impossible to continue to show growth in all of them and move the story along. In this book, as more plot lines and characters get wrapped up, there is more time and space to address real issues, and the characters benefit from that.
-Readers demand justice. Case Study: Elaida. She committed crimes against main characters that were so serious that I didn't think that I would be ok with any punishment doled out. Death seemed too easy. Lets just say that Sanderson gets a gold star for his work on this one. While there is a chance that her situation could take a left turn in the next book, for now I feel that justice has been served.
-I am not OK with the Seanchan becoming accepted, even as administrators. I am OK with cultural differences, but I'm not OK with certain practices in cultures. The omens and hierarchy I'm OK with. The slave culture I am not. Treating people as property is a no go. Dehumanizing women for being able to channel, a characteristic they have no control over, is not acceptable. Sanderson has to fix this. This is one of the few things that might ruin the whole series for me if it isn't addressed.
So I am really excited for the next book, and even more I'm excited to be excited again. This has been a test of will power for the last 4 or 5 books, and the reward so far has been worth it!
Monday, January 23, 2017
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