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The Gathering Storm cover art

The Gathering Storm

By: Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
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Summary

Now an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers and listeners around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind.

In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken?

In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn.

In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland.

In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve.

Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn....

The Wheel of Time®
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

By Robert Jordan
Warrior of the Altaii

By Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons
The Wheel of Time Companion

By Robert Jordan and Amy Romanczuk
Patterns of the Wheel: Coloring Art Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

Listen to more books in The Wheel of Time series.
©2009 The Bandersnatch Group, Inc. (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The Wheel of Time...is a fantasy tale seldom equaled and still less often surpassed in English." ( Chicago Sun-Times)
"Jordan has a powerful vision of good and evil - but what strikes me as most pleasurable...is all the fascinating people moving through a rich and interesting world." (Orson Scott Card on The Wheel of Time)

What listeners say about The Gathering Storm

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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A Fine Return to the Wheel of Time

I quit the Wheel of Time in 2004 after "Crossroads of Twilight". The frustration at the slow pace and long gaps between books was too much for me, I decided not to continue with WoT until the series was complete. Ten years later it's finally done and after a refresher with Leigh Butler's re-read of the first 11 books on the Tor.com website (and lots of referencing on the WoT Wiki) I got up to speed and re-read "Crossroads of Twilight" and then"Knife of Dreams". The horrendous pacing issues reminded me of why I gave up reading these but I was still eager to see what Brandon Sanderson had done with the story so persevered, and I'm very pleased indeed.

Sanderson did say that he would not copy Jordan's style but that he would use a style appropriate to the Wheel of Time, which he has done admirably well and he has captured the feel of the Wheel of Time perfectly. What is immediately apparent however, is much tighter writing and a seriously improved pace; a lot less time spent on describing every boot buckle and bit of lace, far less finger wagging, shawl adjusting and braid tugging. Whole chapters moving the plot forward and some great character development. Joy!

The Gathering Storm concentrates mainly on the story arcs of Rand and Egwene, balancing hopelessness with hope. Rand's descent into darkness and madness is depressing, agonizing and nearly hopeless as he reaches the lowest point of his struggle. Balancing that is Egwene's struggle to reunite the White Tower, however where we agonize about Rand, we are fuelled with Egwene's passion and fire, her fight for the White Tower leaves us full of hope and we see what a truly awesome character Egwene is becoming. The plot drives forward to both Rand's and Egwene's determining moments, which is immensely satisfying. We also see more of Matt, who has some awesome moments of his own, however Perrin's arc still remains very ho-hum, though I believe he finally comes into his own in the next installment.

The Gathering Storm has rekindled my original love for these characters and brought back that sense of excitement I felt while reading those first books way back in the 90's. Sanderson was without doubt the best choice to bring The Wheel of Time back on track and I can't wait to begin with "The Towers of Midnight

Whilst there was nothing wrong with the narration, i always find fantasy narrated with American accents a bit odd. The story would have been awesome If we had the likes of Rupert Degas narrating!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Carrys on the story in true Robert Jordan style.
Brandon Sanderson has done a great job.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brandon Shines

From listening to the interview with Brandon Sanderson which is included with books 12-14 (assuming 14 as not out until April, I understand), it is apparent that before the Lengend Robert Jordan passed away, he had written much (as much as 2100+ pages) on the final installment of this wonderful saga. So how much does Brandon put into this? The fact that it is actually difficult to figure out is, in my mind, a testament to Sanderson's ability, and I believe he deserves accolade for his work here and with book 13 at least. If you are out there, Brandon, high-five!
This book really takes the saga to new levels, as Rand struggles with Lews Therin for posession of his body and mind. The shining, personal battle at the end of the book, marks the beginning of Tarmon Gai'don, and as we progress through book 13, the pace really picks up. Not to take away from this book, however, as the storylines meld and Perrin Aybara, Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers really pulls his character to new levels, reaching to lofty heights, as he must, to stand beside Rand at the last battle. Having read this book once (I read each before listening), and listened to 3 times now, I will listen once more before book 14 is released. If you were to only read 3 books in the series, I would say 11, 12 and 13 are the ones you should choose, though of course that's just nonsense as you need context! ;) Listen to them all! Brilliant with a capital B.
As a side note, I am reading George RR Martin on the side, and I am finding it very exciting, having already watched the first book in series format on TV, A Game of Thrones. Like finishing with a girlfriend or boyfriend who was like no other, and you compare everyone in the future to them... that is how I am with every book since Wheel of Time. Does Game of Thrones compare to this? Surely, in many ways, not least of which excellent POV handling. And Kate Redding and Michael Kramer as male or female POVs on the audio works better than any other audiobook!!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Love, love, love it

I was gutted when I heard Robert Jordan had passed, and sceptical about the appointment of Brandon Sanderson to complete The Wheel of Time. But I worried unnecessarily. All my favourite characters are here, as I have come to know them and I was delighted when Rand, who has always been among my least favourite lead characters and frequently makes me agree with Cadsuane's and Nyneve's assessments, gave up his frustrating outlook; I like him a little more now.

Sanderson really does do Jordan's legacy justice. If you're worried about the story being told by someone other than Jordan, let me put your mind at ease - take this journey

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

What's to say?

If you're looking at Book 12, you're already hooked. If you've read the books and want to know whether it's worth listening to the audios then YES. For me, it meant I could engage with the story in a completely new way. I was able to continue with the humdrum routines while plugged into the world of Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, Nyneave...



The books are heavy - it's really hard hoovering while holding one!

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Simply amazing

I was dubious about another author picking up Robert Jordan’s work but I was pleasantly surprised to be utterly wrong in my initial prejudgment. All I can say is well done to both Jordan’s editors and Sanderson for taking this course to finish the saga.

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Sanderson carries the baton masterfully

Sanderson continues the series brilliantly, and I say that as someone that isn't a big fan of Sanderson's work overall- Mistborn took a nosedive after the first book, Arcanum unbounded has 2 great short stories and an awful novella, The stormllight archive is great. Anyway, this is probably Sanderson's best work. His love for the characters and the series shine through and the differences in his writing style from Jordan's are a welcome change if anything. He describes characters better, and presents the cast and scenes maybe more adeptly than Jordan did. All in all a great addition and as good as any book in the series. As for the Recording: Reading is still vastly superior to the woefully stolid Kramer. He's better in this than previous books but its still jarring to go from Reading's rich performance to Kramer's dead 50's newsreader drone whenever a chapter ends.

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wowwzers

what a book! best one yet in my opinion. they just get better and better

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So satisfying

A lot of story lines that have been building for the last 11 books come to a close in some epic ways. By far the most enjoyable of the series so far. If the remaining two are as good as this I'll be happy.

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Pivotal!

My favourite book in the series. Pivotal in the series as a whole and the last half of the book is fantastic

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