The Gathering Storm

I just finished, almost 20 minutes ago, the first book out of Robert Jordan's books, that he himself did not write. The Gathering Storm is a largely complex mishmash of several character trying to get places where everyone else is in as little time as possible. I have to say, when I began reading it, I could tell that the writing style was different, almost even in the way things were discribed, the way that people reacted and even responded to others was rather different as well. It was fascinating to say the least. You could tell that Jordan's style was different, missing even, that crucial element that was there was... gone.

I liked it.

I have to say that even though there was nothing there to make teh story any less fast paced, this new way of looking at things is actually pretty fascinating. I will admit, Fires of Heaven is still one of my favorite books in the series, however, even before that, it seemed like the books were stagnating inhow they moved forwards. It seemed that with every breath Rand, Perrin, and Mat took, the world was slowing down. Being ta'verren didn't seem to do anything at all. Now with this new instalment, I feel that the Pattern in the books is not only freying, but trying to tear itself appart by the seams. It really shows how far the Dark One's taint is spreading through the world.

Yes, there is still the same amount of politicking that is going through the world, and the war with teh Seanchan seems to take forever, but now, we have a new vision of teh world. The world is dirtier, and more nitty-gritty. The characters, seem a little less polished, but Jordan really pushed them for a mile and a half with all of that. Sometimes, I could swear that one was only reading about the carpets from other places in the world that were in Caemlyn. Even still, with the amount of detail that Jordan placed in his books (and one cannot fault his eye for detail), the new novels which Brian Sanderson is now writing in order to complete the series, are different.

I know I said they were faster paced, and I men it. Long gone are the chapters that are hundreds of pages long for what appears to be no more reason than to describe a bubble of Evil and perhaps one other thing happening. Now, it's hard paced facts and what is happening in teh world and what the others are doing to stop it. Gone are the "sets" of chapters as I called them, where you would hear about one or two of the main characters of the central three, but never hear or know what happened to the others while reading. I of course, speak of Rand, Perrin, and Mat, whom it sometimes seemed were missing from entire books. All of them are there. Mat, Perrin, Rand, Min, Elayne, Egwene, Nynaeve, even Lan makes his appearance after being relegated to teh back pages for a very long time. A fantastic thing though, answers about many things are also answered, Especially the questions we all had about the Black Ajah. Want to know who it was all along, even though you may only suspect. In grand theory and formation, it is all revieled.

I will say this though, the book does seem a little mashed together at first, but it ends rather spectacularly. The fight scenes are epic in a way that Jordan himself would aprove of if her were still alive, if perhaps, a little more comprehensable. I will always say that when Rand fought with Sammael, that chapter was almost as long as the proulogue in Fires of Heaven.

Still, all in all, I cannot wait to read Towers of Midnight.