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Memories of the "Wheel"

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By marydalene

AMOL

Wednesday night, after more than 20 years of waiting, I put down the final volume of series The Wheel of Time, "A Memory of Light," by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

I'm trying to still get my head around the book, and if you're a fan, don't worry. This will be spoiler free. But this series has been my friend so long that I'm a little lost now that I've finished. Like the kid who didn't know what she was getting into when climbing into her first roller coaster ride, stumbling and wide-eyed, exhilarated and a little terrified too.

And this was a long ride, mind you. One that started for me in 1991 when my sister, Tawnie, and her friend held a "longest book we can find" contest thinking that the then-trilogy was finished. And even though it wasn't complete, my sister urged me to read the books. I picked up "The Eye of the World," and I was hooked.

I've had ups (I wrote a paper about Robert Jordan in high school) and downs (the middle mush of "Crown of Swords" et al anyone?) with the series along the way, but no matter how many times I thought "I'm going to wait until it's finished," I always read the next book when it came out. (Maybe that shows my lack of patience, but these are fun books, regardless.) And this roller coaster has picked up riders along the way as well. My mom, aunt, my husband, cousins, and friends now all know of the series as well (I didn't introduce them all to it, but we've all become kindred spirits).

And now, to "A Memory of Light." It is both exhilarating, heartbreaking and terrifying. There are many moments where I was shocked ("That did not just happen!") and, I admit, teared up. And the ending? I was satisfied. I am happy. This is an ending worth waiting for. I am thankful that Brandon Sanderson was willing and able to complete the series after the passing of Robert Jordan in 2007.

So, I've ended my ride and am happy to say, yes, it was worth it. Yes, I am happy to have Rand, Mat and Perrin as my friends (I would be remiss if I didn't mention Elayne, Aviendha, Nynaeve, Egwene and Moraine. And Lan. And … well, you get the idea.) for 20 plus years. This is a world with rich, fully developed characters; a story of good versus evil, and so much more. (I even wrote a little column in the paper about this series.) And would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Is it for everyone? Probably not. Especially if large books make you blink. (Each book is at least 500 pages, most are more. And there are 14 novels.) But, as they say,

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass.
What was, what will be, and what is,
may yet fall under the Shadow.
Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

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