Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, Book #5 of the Stormlight Archive.
Introduction
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson is Book #5 of the Stormlight Archive. The featured character of this novel is Szeth, the Assassin in White, containing various flashbacks to give context to his actions that set off the plot of the series. Szeth goes to Shinovar with Kaladin on an important mission. The novel has six more viewpoint character groups in different locations and on different important missions. The book wraps up the main arcs for the first five novel sequence of the archive.
Summary
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Recommendation
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Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson.
My review of Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. Wax and Wayne must foil a plot started by the terrorist group called the Set to destroy their home and people.
My review of Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson. In book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive, Rysn and Lopen must uncover the secrets of the lost island of Akinah, or it will doom Roshar.
My review of Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, a collection with nine stories that are part of the cosmere universe. An overarching plot, which he calls the cosmere, interrelates many of the author’s works. He set the stories of the cosmere on a group of worlds that are connected through magical means. He set six stories in the worlds of his published novels, and three stories are about worlds that have not had a novel-length story treatment. All the stories in this collection are excellent.
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #13 of the Vorkosigan saga.
Introduction
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold is the thirteenth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Miles and Ekaterine are racing back from their honeymoon to witness the birth of their children, but a mystery brews for Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan. An issue arises in Quaddiespace involving Komarr, Cetaganda, and the triumphant return of Bel Thorne. Will Miles solve the mystery before an environmental disaster is released in the universe.
Summary
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Recommendation
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Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles’s latest mission is his most difficult yet. He’s in love and wants to court the next Lady Vorkosigan, but everyone conspires against him, including her.Â
In Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, death will not stop Miles Vorkosigan, but his boss Simon Illyan has an illness that might end Miles’s career. Can Miles figure out what happened to Illyan and what he should do about it before it’s too late?
In Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Dr. Ethan Urquhart must discover what happened to unusable ovarian samples. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
In Gerald’s Game by Stephen King, Jessie has a problem. Her husband, Gerald, likes to play games, the ones that end up with her handcuffed to the bedpost. What happens when they are at their isolated lake house, Gerald cuffs Jessie to the bed, and Gerald becomes incapacitated? Will Jessie escape before she goes crazy, or will she die of dehydration?
Summary
Jessie and Gerald play sexual games involving Jessie being restrained. She doesn’t always like his games, but Gerald has reasons he likes them, and Jessie has reasons that she complies. They go to their isolated lake house in the off-season for a special getaway. Gerald handcuffs her to the bed and gets ready for a session. Jessie is not feeling it and wants him to let her go. He pretends her protests are part of the games. Gerald is incapacitated, and it might have been partially Jessie’s fault. She is trapped.
As time passes, she hears the voices of her split personality and those of other people she has known in her life. She also has flashbacks with her father when they witnessed an eclipse when she was young. It was a pivotal point in her life. Then she sees or imagines a man staring at her in the corner.
An abandoned dog provides an alternate point of view. It is a companion and adversary for Jessie.
Recommendation
Gerald’s Game by Stephen King is an intense psychological thriller. Jessie is stressed to the point of finally facing the psychological trauma she experienced as a child. Her escape attempts were described well. I also watched the Netflix movie based on the book. I thought the filmmaker made interesting choices in portraying Jessie’s inner voices and utilizing the dog. Carla Gugino playing Jessie was fabulous. Something about the ending in the book and the movie felt tacked on to me. Was this a thriller, horror, or something else?
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Gerald’s Game by Stephen King.
In Thinner by Stephen King, Billy accidentally kills an old gypsy woman. Her father curses him to lose weight until he dies. Can Billy reverse the curse, or will he wither and die?
In The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother is dying. He must find the mythical Talisman, found in a parallel world named the Territories, to save her. He must pass many challenges to obtain his goal. Will Jack find the Talisman in time to save his mother from death?
It is by Stephen King and has seven kids who face horror. As adults, they face it again. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?
In The Waste Lands by Stephen King, Roland and his group search for a way to the Dark Tower. They find the city of Lud and the way forward. Will Roland and his gunslingers continue their path to the Dark Tower, or will they fail?
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham (Book #3 of The Long Price Quartet)
Introduction
An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham is the third book in the Long Price Quartet. The cities of Khaiem are protected by the magic of the beings called the andat. Their Empire and their magic have receded, so the non-magical Empire of Galt plots to overthrow them. Otah is the Khai Machi, the ruler of the city of Machi, one of the cities of Khaiem The best Galt general learns how to take away their andat. Will Otah win an autumn war against the Galts, or will they destroy him and all the cities of Khaiem?
Summary – Background
The cities of the Khaiem are connected by the use of sentient magical creatures called the andat. Each city has one andat controlled by a person called a poet who binds them with a series of words. They name andat by the special task they can perform. Seedless, the andat of the city Saraykeht can magically pick seeds from cotton functioning just like a magical cotton gin. The andat of the city of Machi called Stone-Made-Soft can help with the mining of ores. The andat also protect the cities by having the power to destroy enemies of the Khaiem. No one has defeated the cities since they obtained their andats. The Old Empire before them used the andat but was destroyed, serving as a warning to them of what could go wrong.
Summary – Characters
The Empire of Galt wants to defeat the Khaiem. Balasar Gice is their best general. He searched the ruins of the Old Empire to find the secret to release the andat. He wants to destroy the Khaiem, not just defeat them.
Maati Vaupathai is a scholar, an appentice poet who missed his chance to control the andat called Seedless. The Dai-kvo rules the poets and tells Maati to go see what is going on at the city of Machi and report back to him.
Otah Machi is the sixth son of the Khai Machi. He became the ruler of the city of Machi after his father died. He was appenticed to the poets, where he met Maati, and later Otah was exiled as a laborer. Maati is his old friend but they have a complicated relationship.
Cehmai holds the binding on the andat name Stone-Made-Soft. He wasn’t the originator of the binding, but he holds it now. He considers Maati a mentor.
Liat Chokavi is the former lover of Maati. Liat and Maati are separated but have told everyone that her son Nayiit is his. Nayiit is actuallty Otah’s older son and that makes the succession difficult because only one son can inherit and any others must die or become poets.
Kiyan is Otah’s wife and the mother of their daughter Eiah and their son Danat. Danat is Otah’s heir but he is sickly.
Sinja Ajutani is a mercanary captain from Machi. He is the former lover of Kiyan. He serves as a double agent by hiring his company to the Galtish general Balasar Gice and reporting back to Otah about his movements.
Recommendation
An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham is a great third book in this fantasy series. The fantasy elements in the series are subtle, focusing more on the political and business sphere. The plot is faster than the first two novels and there is more action due to the Galtish general’s purpose driving the plot. There is an Asian/formal feel through the characters use of poses and their choice of honorifics. Otah is the protagonist in this novel. The ending worked well. It was surprising, but inevitable, to set up the concluding novel.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham
In A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham, The Khai Machi is dying, and his sons must fight to the death to follow him. They exiled his youngest son Otah and presumed him dead. Otah wants to remain hidden but he enters their conflict. If he doesn’t win, the Galts will sack his city.
In A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham, the poet-magician Heshai must keep control of the magical creature Seedless, or the Summer Cities will fall to the Empire of Galt.
This is the link to my review of Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey. (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck write together as James S. A. Corey in this Science Fiction series called The Expanse.)
The Waste Lands by Stephen King, book #3 of The Dark Tower series.
Introduction
In The Waste Lands by Stephen King book #3 of the Dark Tower series, Roland and his group search for the way to the Dark Tower. They find a beam that travels through the ancient city of Lud pointing toward the Dark Tower. They must fight the degenerate citizens of Lud and find a sentient monorail train to take them farther. Will Roland and his gunslingers continue their path to the Dark Tower, or will they fail before they even get started?
Summary
The Gunslinger, book #1 of the Dark Tower Series, establishes the constants for the series. Roland is the gunslinger travels a desert looking for the Man in Black who did terrible things to him in the past that he does not remember. This world was damaged by a nuclear event and, in Roland’s words, hasn’t moved on yet. He meets Jake Chambers, a young boy.
The Drawing of the Three, book #2 of the Dark Tower Series continues Roland’s search for the Dark Tower. Roland finds himself on the shore of the Western Sea. He finds a portal to New York City in 1987 where he retrieves Eddie Dean, a heroin addict. The second portal brings Odetta Holmes from 1964 New York City. The third portal goes to New York City in 1977 where Jack Chambers was from. This sets up the third novel.
The Waste Lands, book #3 of the Dark Tower series has Roland teaching Eddie Dean and Susannah Dean (an alternate personality of Odetta Holmes) to become gunslingers. They go into the woods east of the beach and find a portal and a Guardian. Roland remembers that there are twelve guardians arranged in a circle. Each set of two guardians have a beam between each other. Where the six beams intersect, they can find the Dark Tower. They follow the beam to the ancient city of Lud which is an alternate version of New York City. Roland knows he needs Jake Chambers to complete their group and continue their journey to the Dark Tower.
Recommendation
The Waste Lands by Stephen King was an interesting book. There was some action and movement. In the first two novels the reader doesn’t know how Roland will find the Dark Tower. This novel gives us a plan. They must follow the beam to the center and find the Dark Tower, The Man in Black, and answers.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Waste Lands by Stephen King, book #3 of The Dark Tower series.
In Thinner by Stephen King, Billy accidentally kills an old gypsy woman. Her father curses him to lose weight until he dies. Can Billy reverse the curse, or will he wither and die?
In The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother is dying. The only way for him to save her is to find the mythical Talisman which is in a parallel world called the Territories. He must pass many challenges to obtain his goal. Will Jack find the Talisman in time to save his mother from death?
It is by Stephen King and has seven kids who face horror. As adults, they face It again. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie, Book #1 of The Devils Series
Introduction
In The Devils by Joe Abercrombie, the adolescent girl Pope assigns the task of installing Alex the long-lost heir to the Empire of Troy to the Throne in this alternate history fantasy. Alex was an orphaned thief in the Holy City of the Pope until Alex’s Uncle Michael discovers her. The Pope sends a group of her vilest criminals nicknamed the Devils to help Alex gain the Throne and unite the Western and Eastern Churches to face the threat of the elves together. Will The Devils overcome their despicable nature to help Alex in her quest, or will they fail?
Summary
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie is an alternate history fantasy. Two important events change the history of Europe. In the novel Troy defeats the Greeks and Carthage defeats the Romans which makes Troy and the Holy City the two most powerful cities in the Mediterranean. Magic exists in this story. Magicians and magical beasts are real. The elves have taken the Far East and have tried to take Troy many times but have failed so far. The Savior was a woman, the daughter of God. The Church of the savior is split with the Pope leading the Western Church and the Patriarch leading the Eastern Church. Crusades were waged against the elves and the Churches fear another elf attack. The Pope wants her group of Devils to deliver Alex to Troy so Alex can take the Throne and unite the two Churches to defeat the elves.
The Devils are presented in groups of two.
Vigga, the werewolf from Norway, and Brother Diaz, the reluctant monk. One is faithless and one is faithful, but they are attracted to each other like magnets.
Balthazar Sham Ivam Draxi, the necromancer, and Baptiste, the jack of all trades pirate. Both are fighting a mutual attraction and hatred for each other.
Jakob of Thorn, the ancient crusader cursed to never die, and Baron Rikard, the undead vampire cursed to requiring the blood of others. Both are searching for the end.
Sunny, the elf, and Alex the thief, the heir to the throne of Troy. Both outsiders and attracted to each other.
Recommendation
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie is a fun bloody humorous quest. Every Devil has an inner turmoil to conquer, and they are greater together than apart. Every Devil has their own point of view sections, so the reader sees their unique circumstances. The end of this novel sets up the next adventure of the Devils. I’m looking forward to reading the next two volumes of this proposed trilogy.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Devils by Joe Abercrombie, Book #1 of The Devils Series.
This is the link to my Book Review of Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie, an anthology. Will the protagonists in these thirteen fantasy action stories prevail or fail in their efforts?
This is the link to my Book Review of the Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie, Age of Madness Series Book #3. They defeated the rebellion, but all is not well in the Union. Will the wisdom of crowds start a revolution and bring down the Union once and for all?
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi is a reimagining of the novel Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Scalzi updates the story to contemporary sensibilities. Jack Holloway discovers a new species he calls Fuzzies. If they are determined to be sentient, then he and Zara Corp lose the right to exploit the planet. Will Jack choose to get filthy rich or protect the new species?
Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi is the fourth book in the Old Man’s War series. This novel tells the events from the previous story, The Last Colony, from the point of view of Zoe Boutin Perry.
Last Colony by John Scalzi is the third book in the Old Man’s War series. John Perry and his family colonized a new planet. Can he protect the colony, or will the colony perish leading to the extermination of humanity?
Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi is the second book in the Old Man’s War series. Jared Dirac is a clone with another man’s memories. He must save humanity from three allied alien races determined to destroy humanity.
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #12 of the Vorkosigan saga.
Introduction
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold is the twelfth novel of the Vorkosigan saga. Miles returns to Barrayar before the royal wedding of Gregor. Miles is caught up in the political situation in capital. He is also trying to help his brother out of a tricky situation. He is also pursuing a relationship with Lady Ekaterin and fending off others interested in courting her. Can Miles juggle his conflicting objectives in Barrayar or will he fail in his Civil Campaign?
Summary
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold has four different main viewpoints.
Miles faces political upheaval in Barrayar and attempts maintaining a relationship with Lady Ekaterina before he can reveal his intentions to court her. Miles returned home after his last adventure in Komarr. Lady Ekaterin Vorssoison and her son have come to Barrayar. She had helped him in Komarr, he wants to pursue a romantic relationship with her, but she is in her mourning year after her husband’s death, though that doesn’t stop all the eligible bachelors attempting to court her. He’s also pulled in other directions by his brother Mark and his cousin Ivan.
Lady Ekaterin wants the best for her son and herself. She stays with her uncle and Aunt as she tries to recover from her husband’s sudden death. Miles helps her and she is attracted to him but doesn’t know if the feeling is mutual. She is stressed by all the eligible bachelors in the capital attempting to court her even though she is in her mourning year.
Mark Vorkosigan, Miles’s brother, has returned from a year in Beta Colony. He has a secret relationship with Kareen Koudelka. They are not sure if her parents will approve of the relationship. He brought Enrique from Escobar because they are in a scheme together to monetize the butter bugs Enrique developed. Mark, Enrique, Kareen, and Kareen’s sister Martya are involved with the scheme.
Miles’s cousin Ivan Vorpatril gets involved with a succession issue in the council of the counts. He thinks about rekindling a relationship with a former lover but their more concerned with securing the countship. He is pressed because of a plot to injure the prospective count and must overcome his objections to succeed.
Recommendation
Miles’s latest mission is his most difficult yet in A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. He’s in love and wants to court the next Lady Vorkosigan, but everyone conspires against him, including her. I liked the novel’s mix of regency romance, butter bug shenanigans, and political intrigue. It was all interconnected and earns its happy ending.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold, death will not stop Miles Vorkosigan, but his boss Simon Illyan has an illness that might end Miles’s career. Can Miles figure out what happened to Illyan and what he should do about it before it’s too late?
In Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Dr. Ethan Urquhart must discover what happened to unusable ovarian samples. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham (Book #2 of The Long Price Quartet)
Introduction
Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham is the second book in the Long Price Quartet. The cities of Khaiem were part of a great Empire having great magic. Their Empire and their magic have receded, so the Empire of Galt plots to overthrow them. The Khai Machi, the leader of the city of Machi, is dying. When he dies his sons must fight each other to the death until one rules as the next Khai Machi. The Khai’s youngest son, Otah was exiled and presumed dead. Otah wants to still be hidden, but history intervenes, and he must try to survive A Betrayal in Winter or die like his father.
Summary – Background
The cities of the Khaiem are connected by the use of sentient magical creatures called the andat. Each city has one andat controlled by a person called a poet who binds them with words. They name andat by the special task they can perform. Seedless, the andat of the city Saraykeht can magically pick seeds from cotton serving as a magical cotton gin. The andat of the city of Machi called Stone-Made-Soft can help with the mining of ores. The andat also protect the cities by having the power to destroy enemies of the Khaiem. So no one has defeated the cities since they obtained their andats.
Summary – Characters
The Empire of Galt wants to defeat the Khaiem so they plot to kill the Khai Machi, the ruller of the city of Machi.
When a Khai dies, the Khai’s sons must fight each other to the death so only one rules after his passing.
Biitrah Machi is the eldest son of the Machi, but he would rather work in the mines than be the ruler.
Idaan Machi is the daughter of the Khai and has her own plans including her fiance Hiami, a son of one of the most powerful of the clans in Machi.
Maati is a scholar, an appentice poet who missed his chance to control an andat. The Dai-kvo rules the poets and tells Maati to go see what is going on at the city of Machi and report back to him.
Otah Machi is the sixth son of the Khai Machi. He was appenticed to the poets and later exiled as a laborer. He is the wild card. When the Khai dies, he will be part of the succession whether he likes it or not. Maati is his old friend but they had a complicated relationship.
Cehmai holds the binding on the andat name Stone-Made-Soft. He wasn’t the originator of the binding, but he holds it now.
Recommendation
Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham is a great second book in a series of a different kind of fantasy. The plot is slow, there’s not much action, and characters maneuver through political and business maneuvering. There is an Asian/formal feel through the characters use of poses and their choice of honorifics. Some of the characters from the first novel appear in this novel, but the clear protagonist is Otah. The ending worked well.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham
In A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham, the poet-magician Heshai must keep control of the magical creature Seedless, or the Summer Cities will fall to the Empire of Galt.
This is the link to my review of Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey. (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck write together as James S. A. Corey in this Science Fiction series called The Expanse.)
Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Book Twelve of the Wheel of Time series.
Introduction
Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson is the twelfth book of The Wheel of Time series. The novel follows five main plot arcs. Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, and Gawyn. All five characters face hard choices and must grow so they can complete the challenges they encounter. Will the forces of Light be destroyed by the Gathering Storm?
Summary – Prologue
The prologue has six point-of-view characters, and each point of view sets up a plot arc.
Renald is a farmer in the Borderlands. He and his neighbors feel a storm coming between the forces of the Dark and the Light and must decide what to do about it.
Falendre must deliver a message from Rand to the Daughter of the Nine Moons about having a meeting to discuss a truce.
Seanchan Banner-General Tylee Khirgan’s forces are ambushed by hundreds of Trollocs only a day’s march from Ebou Dar.
Graendal is summoned by Moridin to discuss what she should do about Rand in Arad Doman.
Rodel Ituralde springs his trap on the Seanchan forces in Arad Doman.
Masema tries to regroup his forces after his defeat in Malden. Faile has something to say about that.
Summary–Main Plot Arcs
Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson has five main arcs.
Rand continues to pursue his truce with the Seanchan so they can both focus on defeating the forces of the Dark One rather than each other. He also hunts for Graendal.
Mat continues his journey with the Band to escape into Andor. He also searches for the woman he learns is looking for him.
Perrin marches the refugees from the defeat of the Shaido at Malden to safety in the Two Rivers.
Egwene continues her rebellion from within the Tower.
Gawyn learns that the White Tower Aes Sedai have captured Egwene and wants to rescue her from them.
Summary–Best Chapters
Nine Chapters stand out in The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
The Last That Could Be Done is Chapter 22 where the fight between Rand and Semihage comes to a conclusion. Rand is pressed and uses a power he has never used before.
The Death of Tuon is Chapter 36 where Verin agrees to help Mat in exchange for keeping a letter for 10 days before he opens it. Tuon becomes the Empress Fortuona and approves the Seanchan raid attacking Tar Valon.
A Force of Light is Chapter 37 where Min witnesses two events. Rand tracks Graedel and belives he has defeated her. He plan to leave Arad Doman. Cadsuane sends Nynaeve on a mission to find Perrin and bring him to her. She tells Nynaeve that she will reveal what she knows if Nynaeve is successful.
News in Tel’aran’rhoid is Chapter 38 where Egwene’s plan is progressing. Egwene meets with Verin.
A Visit from Verin Sedai is Chapter 39 where Verin reveals her mission to Egwene. She gives Egwene a notebook about the Black Ajah. Egwene feels the Seanchan attack coming.
The Tower Shakes is Chapter 40 where the Seanchan attack Tar Valon.
A Fount of Power is Chapter 41 where the Salidor Aes Sedai enter Tar Valon to rescue Egwene.
Sealed to the Flame is Chapter 43 where Egwene is upset that the Salidor Aes Sedai have taken her from Tar Valon just as she neared victory.
Veins of Gold is Chapter 50 where Rand sits on Dragonmount. He contemplates his future and comes to a decision.
Recommendation
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson is a great follow up to The Knife of Dreams. The Knife of Dreams completes the story arcs for Perrin and Elayne. It also continues the arcs of Rand, Mat, and Egwene. The Gathering Storm completes the story arcs for Rand, Mat, and Ewgene. Now that they have resolved their arcs, they are ready for the Last Battle, Tarmon Gai’don.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
This is the link to my review of Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. When Rand forces the hand of one of the Forsaken, will the Forsaken defeat him or will he earn a Crown of Swords?
This is the link to my review of Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, Book Six of the Wheel of Time. Chaos reigns in the Westlands. They push Rand to the edge of insanity. Will he survive the box?
