A Memory of Light

Wheel of Time, Book 14

By: Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading

Length: 41 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's 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

©2012 The Bandersnatch Group, Inc. (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Fantastic and emotional ending to a fantastic saga

What a great ending to this amazing series. The whole of the fourteen books are packed with so much detail that it's almost too much, but that same detail is what makes the world feel alive. The sheer breadth of characters and inns (each needing a name!), the multitude of detailed and fleshed out cultures, not to mention the unique and robust 'magic' system, are nothing short of impressive. I definitely have little strength in coming up with this kind of stuff.
I also greatly enjoyed (for the most part), the unique interactions that this series has. I don't think I've quite found its like before, and it added so much flavor, especially the earlier books. I had to laugh out loud often at it.

So much happened in this last book that it's almost hard to quantify. I laughed, I sorrowed, I was in awe, and more than once I was relieved that things didn't turn out like they appeared they were going to. It was so often a rollercoaster of emotion in a good way.
The last battle itself was probably the most impressive ever put to paper or movie format that I've ever experienced. The amount of research that must've gone into it..
Matt was once again a highlight. His thoughts and words almost always made me laugh, once again.
I couldn't have asked for a more fitting end to my favorite fantasy series.

Spoilers ahead!

Some thoughts and discussion. Don't mind my particular quirks of longwindedness, if you would 😂

So much sadness for the ones who died, especially when they'd gone through so much development, grown and found a new and happy life from the ashes of their old one with a bright future ahead. I wish Suian and Gareth had married as soon as they acknowledged their mutual love. We're never guaranteed tomorrow, and with the last battle looming they shouldn't have waited. RIP to those great people.
It makes me less sad for Egwene because she and Gawyn took what happiness they could find. I think Gawyn died foolishly (using those rings, oof), his motives weren't bad but he kind of forsook the resolution that he had JUST made. At least Egwene went out like the biggest hero of them all, discovering yet another new weave and taking out all the Sharan channelers. She's going to be remembered as one of the biggest legends ever in the White Tower for a very long time. RIP
I just wanted to mention how greatly I enjoyed her work in the tower of bringing down Elaida from within. It didn't stand out the first time around, but I think it's made her one of my more favorite characters.
RIP Davram Bashere and wife. His loyalty and assistance to Rand were huge throughout so much of the series.
RIP to all those minor and side characters that had their limelight for part of a book. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of all.

Another highlight in this book and last was Androl and Pevara. My favorite way for a romance to start, with dislike, then falling into mutual respect and love. I'm glad they both made it.

A small mention of various things that came as a surprise but are characteristic of why I love this series. Noel becoming a hero of the horn was a standout that I remember from before, as was the giant gateway of lava. There's plenty of amazing things and moments, but these two in particular put me in awe.

All right, this has gone on long enough. My last thought is that I would like to see more of wheel of Time. Not even a grand story with dire implications, but side stories of our surviving characters surviving, thriving, and loving. Perhaps someday we will.
I also feel like it's going to be pretty much impossible for the TV series to do this justice. Too many internal monologues and complicated concepts. It'll be interesting to see what they can do.

If you've read this far, I commend you. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I did, and let us not firget Michael Kramer and Kate Reading with their amazing different voices and accents, which also leant this a bit of something. Until the next time!

This was all I expected and much more

Any additional comments?

Last 2 books of WoT where FANTASTIC!!! At times, series was dragging little bit and I felt like giving up... especially in second half, when I felt story was little dragging on; but, last two books were SOOOO GOOOD!!! I cannot express myself without giving some of the plot away... It was EPIC!

Epic ending for an epic series

What did you love best about A Memory of Light?

The most gripping and suspenseful of the WoT series, in my opinion. Couldn't have imagined a more fitting conclusion to this wonderful series.

What did you like best about this story?

The characteristic copious amounts of detail that Jordan/Sanderson have always provided. I couldn't help but be sucked into the plot and see every little detail unfold as if I were right there with all the main characters.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have. This one is just as great as all the other WoT books. Michael Kramer did a particularly good job on his reading of AMoL.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Can the light prevail?

Any additional comments?

With so many story lines complicatedly woven into this epic, I was worried that the book wouldn't answer them all. I was so happy to have all my worries dispelled by Jordan/Sanderson. I couldn't have imagined a better ending...in fact, I wasn't even able to imagine the one that I got! Even with having read all the other WoT books a couple of times, AMoL kept me on my toes. I had no idea what was going to happen next, and when it did happen, I was thrilled that I never would have guessed it to happen the way it did. Jordan did his series a monumental service in choosing Sanderson to complete his work. If I had never known that Jordan had died, I would have assumed that he had been the one who wrote the last three books. A fitting end to this amazing series.

I was wrong

I read this book the day it came out. I read it hungry for the story, to see the fate of my friends. I was distracted and for some reason, very dissatisfied.

Something was not right I had to be wrong.

Now years later I must change my initial impressions. I listened with great intent and can say, I am thoroughly satisfied. these friends live on and I will revisit them through the turning of the wheel of time. As I grow older they remain timeless. I don't know if Robert Jordan knew the impact his creation would have on the lives of his readers. I do not feel I am alone in my sentiments. he has touched the hearts and imaginations of millions. I thank him for sharing his friends and I thank him for sharing his gift.

Great ending of an age!

wonderful how everything was wrapped up. the two readers added depth of character. i definitely recommend this entire series!

Great Narrating Eases the Author Transition

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE LAST 3 BOOKS OF THE WOT SERIES:

I've been reading the Wheel of Time Series since I got the Eye of the World and the Great Hunt for a Christmas gift in Middle School. Robert Jordan's ability to paint vivid pictures with his words along the depth of personality he gives all of the characters made it a very easy series to get attached to.

The strength of his writing made it a difficult transition for me when the torch was passed to Brandon Sanderson to finish the series. It just seemed to me that Sanderson had a tough time capturing all the nuances of the characters that Jordan had developed over the years, and the result was a sort of caricature where each major character only possessed the strongest or most pronounced of their personality traits (e.g. Mat’s tendency to shy away from responsibility and his womanizing) and lacked all of the depth that made them real and relatable. Because of that, I stopped reading The Gathering Storm about a third of the way through and didn’t intend to finish the series for fear of being disappointed by the ending after being such a fan of the series for years.

NOTE: This is in no way a criticism of Brandon Sanderson as an author. He took on the incredibly difficult task of finishing a very deep and complex series using only the notes of the original author. I think it would be nearly impossible for anyone to duplicate someone else’s writing style and thought process, no matter how detailed the notes. He did an admirable job finishing an incredible fantasy epic which I, along with the many fans of the series, am grateful for.

When I started my Audible membership a few years later, one of my first purchases was The Gathering Storm. I wasn’t willing to invest time in sitting down and reading it, but I was naturally curious about how the series ended so I decided to give it a shot. I was extremely happy I did. The performances by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading gave color to the characters that I thought had been missing after the author transition, and I immediately dove back into the series, listening all the way through the last three books over a couple months.

I would recommend to anyone who may have not have enjoyed reading the last three books as much as the rest of the series to give the audio versions a shot. Kramer and Reading were able to capture the personalities of the characters through the way they read the story.

Like many of the fans who have reviewed these books, I grew up reading the Wheel of Time series, and was extremely satisfied with the way it ended. A big thanks to Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson for the experience, and for creating something that even someone who is not a hard-core fan of the fantasy genre can love and appreciate.

The end of the wheel of time

This was a fitting end to the wheel of time series. It felt natural and although I was sad to finish it. I am happy that I read the whole series through and got to live the lives of the characters.

Great end to a wonderful series.

Would you consider the audio edition of A Memory of Light to be better than the print version?

I love the audio versions because they are so expressive

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Memory of Light?

I could tell you...but...you need to read the book.

Fantastic!

A fitting end to one of my favorite stories of all time. Sanderson delivered a near impossibly well-paced, and satisfying conclusion. Robert Jordan would be proud.

Sanderson should rewrite the whole series!

great ending to an epic story. was worried about the change in authors but Sanderson arguably does better than Jordan. Well done! the two audio actor/ voices feel like part of the family after the whole series. top notch.