SYNOPSIS:
The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.
Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half-men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.
REVIEW:
I DID IT!!!I FINALLY FINISHED THE WHEEL OF TIME SERIES🥳🥳. It feels so surreal to even contemplate that a series that has been a big part of my life for a year now is finally over and I have no more books to get back into. It makes me sad but also relieved to be able to finish this huge series. Everything about the world, the characters and the plot is deeply etched into my mind and I know I wont be able to forget it for years. Even the ending was fantastic and probably the best series finale I have read in years. It was worth reading through all the imperfections (cough *Egwene* cough) and occasional slogs to reach this banging climax and I am eternally greatful for Sanderson for not letting Jordan’s hard work remain uncompleted. So in this post I am going to share what I deem is the best of Wheel of time just to show my gratitude and support to the authors for this amazing series.
The World.
Wheel of time is a series that is widely known for his vast, expansive world with dozens of different cultures and traditions and a very deeply rooted history of myths and legends. The title itself suggests that there is a pattern to time and we are following a cycle of different timelines with their own stories of heroes and villains. It sounds all grand and exciting when you think about it. Who doesn’t like a good ol’ good vs evil story with a massive battle and a banging conclusion that ends in peace between the kingdoms, right? But if you are in the world of WoT, there isnt just one conclusion. Sure, we have a huge battle thousands of years ago where The Dragon Reborn (the chosen one) seals the ever popular “dark one” and wins the war but it also lead to the corruption of the magic system and a catastrophic breaking of the world with millions of casualties. And so we have a victorious battle but a tragic conclusion that creates a strain on the society in the current age and time. There is a gradual degradation of society. Corruption and poverty is ever rising. And there are growing attacks by evil monsters like Trollocs and Fades, beings that have been dormant for centuries and are practically myths in the present time. It takes a long time for the people to even accept the fact the world is going to a dark place and its quite understandable since we are following multiple characters in multiple places across the world with no way to communicate instantly. We also have a matriarchal society where only women are allowed to channel their magic and men are killed for it because their magic drives them to madness. On the surface it seems very feminist to have a women dominated society since its very rare to see in fantasy and I, for one was extremely happy about it but as we dive into the intricacies of the system, we see that power can corrupt women just as it can corrupt men. Flaws arent gender specific and no matter who is in charge, too much power can either save a society or destroy it depending on how a person uses it. RJ had quite the progressive mind because he didnt advocate for a specific gender. He always pushed for a balance between the two sides which was so refreshing to see in a series that was written 30 years ago. It takes time and effort to change the mindset of the people, a mindset that has been rooted in the society for thousands of years. I am not ashamed to admit that it was frustrating at times but the results were satisfying enough to forget the rest. I think 15 books aren’t enough to capture the essence of the world. There is so much potential to explore and so many places to unravel in this series. But even if I wish Jordan was alive to write more books, I am happy with the ending and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
The Magic System.
Its safe to say that WoT has one of the most unique magic systems ever. At the core, it could be compared to other elemental magic systems that we have read about in different books. People can use their magic or One Power as we call it here, to control wind, fire, earth and even heal life threatening injuries. But what makes it quite unique is that One Power is used differently by males and females. We have Saidar for women and Saidin for men, both part of the One power yet channeled in completely different ways. Ofcourse in this series, at the time the story begins, saidin has been corrupted by the Dark One thousands of years ago and the men who can channel are seen as mad men. They are stripped of their power and that eventually leads to their death. Since Saidar is the only half of One power that can be safely used, women are powerful and are responsible for the safety and security of the kingdom. They are called Aes Sedai and they are trained for years in an institute called Tar Valon and are divided into different groups called Ajahs, each serving a specific purpose in the society like combat or research. Personally, I loved the perception of people towards One power more than the magic itself. It was interesting to see how people reacted to situations where Aes sedai use their powers or when a man is discovered to have Saidin. Most people revere Aes sedai but there are some who think Aes sedai are darkfriends, people who follow the Dark One because the magic is complicated with many rules and limitations. Its not enough to learn it but you have to take oaths to not abuse it as well because it has been done many times in their history with devastating consequences. We have so many mystery surrounding One Power and its two halves and I loved making theories about it. I loved the process of solving this puzzle and it was quite satisfying to know when I was right. We have a deep history surrounding the magic system, some of which were lost to the past but were slowly getting rediscovered by our protagonists throughout the series. We have different variation of One Power in different cultures. Both Saidar and Saidin get enough time to be explored in this series and I loved the slow unravelling of it.
The Banging Endings .
If you have ever read any wheel of time book, you know what I am talking about. RJ knew how to make a classy exit from each book. He knew exactly how to hook the readers and make them crave for the next installment. His endings are always thrilling and makes me so excited to start the next book. Its like an itch that I cant scratch. If I have to choose then I think the endings of The Great Hunt and A Memory of Light are my favorite. The former made me completely fall in love with the series and the latter gave me the biggest hangover ever. Even if any of the middle books turned out to be a slog, the epilogues were always worth the pain of reading the entire book. Hence why they are one of the best parts of the series for me.
So those are some of the many things that I love about tge Wheel of time. Before I wrap up I want to say that this isnt a complete post. There are many more stuff I wish to talk about, one of them being the characters. I would love to go in depth into every one of them but that will be in a separate post. So, yeah, I guess that’s it for now😄.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Until then..
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