The Gathering Storm

Book Twelve of the Wheel of Time

By: Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading

Length: 32 hrs and 58 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

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)

One of the best in the series

I first picked up The Eye of the World in 1992 while I was stationed overseas in the Army and I have been a voracious fan ever since. I even maintained my own fansite and created around 50 different pieces of art inspired by the series.

I tell you these things because I want to qualify what I am about to say: This book is EASILY one of the best in the series. I felt that Mr. Jordan had sort of lost his way in the last few books and very little had been accomplished. Brandon Sanderson has come in and written a book that is better paced than at least the last 4 written by Robert Jordan and to me at least the characters all still felt like they should have.

In short, this IS a Wheel of Time novel and I'd highly recommend it. It goes on my shelf as one of my most cherished right next to The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven.

Sanderson has saved the Wheel of Time

I read the early books of Wheel of Time when I was young. I gave up on around book nine or so, seeing as the story didn't go anywhere and the characters by and large seemed to concentrate on doing stupid things. In the word of Dark Helmet, 'evil would always triumph because good is dumb' (and unable to communicate). Even though I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson, I hesitated for a good six months before picking up the Wheel again.

In his prologue in having taken up the mantle from the late Robert Jordan, Mr. Sanderson describes himself as a 'new director for a movie where the actors remain the same'. This is fairly apt, though not sufficient - he's also the new screenplay writer. The best analogue I can think of is Star Wars - imagine what the prequel would have been like should George Lucas given screenplay and director positions to someone else, just like in the original series.

From the get-go, Sanderson starts tying up excess strings and moving people where they should be. The Final Battle is coming and characters are finally waking up to do something about it, and amazingly even if they disagree on issues, they still understand that there are larger issues at stake. Women are no longer control freaks who are unable to do anything with men, and men are not willful children who do nothing but rebel. The story moves forward and you never feel that there is yet-another-sidetrack that is brought into play just to make the story longer.

In short, the Wheel of Time is good again.

For narration, the Michael Kramer and Kate Reading pair is my favorite for almost any book. They manage to give the characters enough distinct voice without going into actual acting. Pace is calm and measured - perfect for a long book.

If you are like me and gave up on the Wheel of Time somewhere down the line, here's a reason to pick it up again. Personally, I skipped a few books and read up on what happened on Wikipedia. Their two paragraph description was quite sufficient to understand what had happened in the books I missed - which says something on the pre-Sanderson era books.

MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS DEFLATED

I have to agree with another reader who pointed out that the only part of this book that is good is that covering Egwayne. Finally she wakes up and has some gumption. Great stuff.

BUT my beloved rascal with the sharp mind, Mat, has degenerated into a blithering idiot. I am devastated! AND Nineve, full of spark and power, has taken Egwayne's flat character. These two were my favorites. Wo, Wo. PLEASE bring them back to life.

Ann.

Wonderful book!

I was very worried when I heard that Jordan had not written the book, but the book did not disappoint in any way. A wonderful book! I can't wait to listen to the next part in the series!

Thank you Brandon Sanderson!

If you could sum up The Gathering Storm in three words, what would they be?

Hmm, strange question

Any additional comments?

So, I was a teenager when I fell in love with WoT. Then the relationship started to drag around book 6. Book 8 was borderline unbearable, so when book 9 was released, decided to give Jordan one last shot. He let me down miserably. I heard book 10 was an utter disaster, so I filed for divorce from Robert Jordan for good. Dude's story got out of control, so predictable, and at one point I realized I not only didn't care if anyone besides Matt died, I actually WANTED several main characters to die. I would have given anything for Nynaeve to die and stop tugging her damn braid...Perrin and Faile I wanted dead as well...where was their marriage counselor? Not a healthy relationship. And Rand, who we fell in love with...didn't care if he died either. Sorry Robert, all of your characters became robots who hated the other sex, sipped tea, and tugged braids. The best part about those middle books was the descriptions of all 47 dresses that the 47 women in a room wore. Yellow with scrollwork down the sleeves...Magenta and divided for riding. High necked, low-necked, lace around the cuffs...oh yes do tell Robert! I have nothing better to do with my time.In short, the only reason I decided to start this series over was because Sanderson wrote the last 3. So, 17 years after swearing off the Waste of Time, I started from Book 1. Middle books were as crappy as I remembered, and I did a lot of skimming and summary reading, but this book, and so far half of Book 13 have been amazing. Thank you Brandon Sanderson for revitalizing what started out as, and is now again, a pretty great series. Can't wait for finish it.

Awesome

I couldn’t have asked for more this book is awesome. Sanderson kept the wheel turning.

Best new Wheel of Time Novel

This is the best Wheel of Time novel since the Dragon Reborn and The Shadow Rising!

pleasantly surprised

The new writer did Wheel of Time justice and then some. I was concerned but never fear. This is one of the best books in a long while for the series.

credit to Robert Jordan

Brandon Sanderson did a fantastic job of finishing off this book for Robert Jordan. good choice, the two authors never disappoint.

Amazing time and time again!!

Another great in the series!!! Brandon Sanderson does an amazing job picking this up! Definitely one of my favorite so far!