The Wheel of Time

Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson)

This fantasy series encompasses 14 books as follows:
The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
The Shadow Rising
The Fires of Heaven
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
The Path of Daggers
Winter's Heart
Crossroads of Twilight
Knife of Dreams
The Gathering Storm
Towers of Midnight
A Memory of Light

It is not worth giving an individual plot summary of each book. Suffice it to say that Jordan creates a fantasy world that is largely human based (no elves or dwarves) and set in a pre-industrial timeframe. In this world, good and evil are represented by the Creator and Dark One, with the Dark One beginning to influence the world increasingly as the seals on his prison weaken. Magic is wielded by Aes Sedai, women who are able to touch the True Source and channel it to affect the 5 elements of earth, air, water, fire, and spirit. Men can also channel, but because in ancient history men were involved in creating the prison for the Dark One, their access to the True Source is tainted and eventually leads to madness. The story begins by identifying our protagonists, 5 young people from a small remote village. Prophecies abound about "The Dragon Reborn", a man who will be able to channel and whose purpose is to go to the last battle to challenge and defeat the Dark One. So from introduction of our 5 characters (Rand - the Dragon Reborn, Mat, Perrin, Egwene and Nynaeve) to the completion of the last battle 11,000 some pages later, we are told by prophecy almost everything to expect. And as with prophecy, interpretation and expectation often lead us astray.

Jordan's world is intricately detailed. His ability to follow these 5 characters (who are rarely together) as their lives intertwine and affect each other is fascinating. This is an epic of political intrigue, spiritual purpose and personal growth, of duty, development of self and community, of love, learning, arrogance and humility. I am impressed at how well Jordan is able to pull everything together. All prophecies that are mentioned, resolve. The only loose piece that is left hanging is that the Tinkers do not find the Song, which it turns out is not that important. I love that a main character can not appear in an entire novel, and then be wrapped right back in later. I love that we follow a story line long enough to sink in to it and have a bit of resolution, before jumping to the next. This is not a series of cliff hangers, but a series of minor resolutions that leads to a major resolution. And in the end, the major resolution is largely satisfying. If you have the time, read this series. If you get through the first few, you will not be able to quit, so settle in for the long haul of all 14 volumes.
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