A Memory of Light

Wow, what a long, strange, wonderful journey this has been.  I mean, a few books I was ready to give this series up.  People (mainly Greg) kept telling me to stick with it, that it would all be worth it.  Those people were correct.  Everything turned around and the last few books were great. 

I can only imagine what it must have been like reading these as they came out.  What could you expect?  Could anyone wrap this whole story up in a way that would do it justice?  Sanderson did a fantastic job (has he ever said how much Jordan had actually mapped out before he died?) of concluding this massive series.  There were moments that were sad, funny, scary, heart-warming, and just about any other emotion you can imagine.

-So I was right.  About a few things.  Rand could not kill the Dark One, he realized that at the last moment, there must be a balancing force.  If he kills the Shai’tan, then there will be an emptiness and people will not be the same.  Instead, he decides to seal the Bore, but he does it correctly this time.  This is not a prison, it is just putting the Dark One where he belongs so he cannot touch the world.

-I was also correct about Rand and Moridin’s connection being important (I am sure everyone figured that out).  Moridin uses it to force Rand to drop Callandor, which he seizes and then is taken over by the ladies.  This allows Rand to use all three powers (saidin, saidar, True Power) to form a massive weave to repair the Bore.  This bond between the two also allows Rand to switch bodies with Moridin.  As the body of Rand is burnt out from using that much power, he switches his soul with Moridin (no idea how that happens).  Everyone thinks the Dragon Reborn is dead.  Rand can leave with a new, undamaged body and live life.  He cannot channel, but he has some kind of ability.

-The fights with Demandred were probably my favorite parts of the book.  I asked who would win in a sword fight:  Galad or Gawyn.  They did not go against each other, but both went against Demandred.  He defeated them both and each time I got choked up.  Then Lan stepped up to take the challenge.  I loved it!  My favorite part was when Demandred asks who he is and Lan replies “the man who is going to kill you.”  I guess I forgot that it did not matter who was the better swordsmen, in the end it was always Lan who was better than them all.

-Egwene’s death actually made me cry.  I never thought she would die.  I figured she would survive and see her dream of leading the White Tower into the future come to fruition.  I hope that Cadsuane does not try to take them backward (I am sure she will not).

-I also got very upset when I thought Mat was dead.  Or Perrin was dead.  Or when Perrin thought Faile was dead.  Hell, I actually got chills when Olver sounded the horn.  I kept yelling at him to do it because I knew that Mat’s deaths would cancel out him being the horn bearer. 

-The only thing I was disappointed in was the way Padan Fain died.  I mean, it was great that Mat killed him, especially since he used the dagger, but there was a hint that whatever Fain had become, this being known as Shaisam was somehow connected with the Creator and Dark One.  Or maybe it was arrogance on Shaisam’s part.  I guess we will never know.  Like I said, when Mat pops back up and kills Fain, I may have whooped.

-I would love to read about Demandred’s experience in Shara (apparently this is a short story).  It seemed like he was sincere about if he defeated the Dragon Reborn and the Dark One was victorious, he would try to help remake the world in a glorious way.  I guess he was not totally evil, just full of so much rage agains Lews Therin.  Sad actually.

-It upset me with how much Logain started to go into a tailspin.  He kept wanting power and I started to think that the character was ruined.  Then, Androl is able to convince Logain to help the refugees who were being attacked by Trollocs.  After the battle, the woman who tells Logain that she hopes her son can channel so he can go to the Black Tower brought a little tear to my eye.  Logain was afraid that people would not fear him, but instead, he found that they respected him and he says that the Black Tower will always be there to protect the people.  That was awesome.

Seriously, I feel like I could just keep mentioning things I loved about the book.  There are some many things that I am probably forgetting about.  If you read it, what were some of your favorite parts? 

Author: Ngewo