The Wheel of Time Reread: Book 13 - Towers of Midnight
*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THIS AND OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES*
Find the full list of posts in my full re-read of the series HERE
Book Thirteen down. Only one to go.
Towers of Midnight is our final “breather” instalment. As the Last Battle begins, our characters get one final chance to wrap up their business and get everything ready for the climax. But as they do, we must deal with the narrative snarl Jordan left Sanderson to clear up.
I enjoyed Towers of Midnight, but of the final three books, it has the most problems. Not big problems, but noticeable ones. It's here that we see how difficult it must have been for Sanderson to effectively split the single narrative Jordan had planned into three separate but well-structured novels.
When you first read Towers of Midnight, nothing seems out of the ordinary. The plot carries on from the previous book, as you would expect. But then, you realise something is wrong. First, Tam Al'Thor ended the last book with Rand, but now he's with Perrin and doesn't seem bothered by what happened between him and Rand. When Perrin's army arrives at a location, they had already been camped at in the previous book. And then, about halfway through the book, characters start discussing the climax of the previous one as if it's currently happening.
Yes, Rand's plotline in The Gathering Storm is happening halfway through everyone else's storylines in Towers of Midnight.
It's confusing. But also necessary.
Lessons learned
Everyone who has read The Wheel of Time knows that the most poorly received book in the series - at publication, at least - was Crossroads of Twilight. Why? Because it didn't address the fallout of a major plot event at the climax of the previous book but went back to other characters prior to it happening.
This is what Sanderson needed to avoid. The Gathering Storm needed to end with Rand's big climax. But in order to make the final three books equal in size, Sanderson had to rearrange the characters as best he could.
Wrapping up plotlines
The other issue Sanderson had to deal with in Towers of Midnight was wrapping up all the loose plotlines. We're about to go into the Last Battle. Anything that doesn't get tied up now isn't going to have time later.
Some characters have endings that feel satisfying. Berelain and Galad, for example, I find extremely adorable. These two have been secondary characters throughout the series, both doing what they feel they believe is right, only in different ways. Seeing their instant infatuation is a wonderfully fitting climax for them.
But then there are those that feel shoehorned in. Morgase and Tallanvor's relationship, for example, smacks of a loose end that should have been quietly tied up several books ago.
Moiraine and Thom
Okay, this is the third time I've read through The Wheel of Time. I do not see any indication of a relationship between Moiraine and Thom anywhere. I'm sorry, it just comes out of nowhere. I don't mind it, but if someone can show me any evidence this was foreshadowed, that would be great.
What happens afterwards
What happens in a story after the good guys win? I mean, this story takes fourteen books to reach its climax. It would be understandable for the characters - or the readers - to not think beyond the Last Battle. After all, if they lose, there won't be a future, so why expend effort into planning for it?
Not Robert Jordan. I'm pretty sure this is one of the ways his time in the Vietnam War influenced his writing. He saw first-hand the dangers of going into a conflict with no end goal. And so he intended for Rand to be better than that.
We first saw it with Rand's schools, intending to gather and preserve as much knowledge as possible. Now we see him making plans for what will happen to the world when they win the Last Battle and no longer have a common enemy. Especially after the Dark One has been sowing chaos for so long.
But this mindset also gives us a repeat of one of my favourite moments in the entire series.
Back in Book Four, The Shadow Rising, we were shown the history of the Aiel in what remains one of my favourite pieces of writing of all time. In a masterpiece in minimalist world building, we were shown history in reverse, using small glimpses at key points in time to build a story that spanned hundreds of years.
Now we get this again but in the opposite direction, with Aviendha being shown a possible future for the Aiel. Again, through the smallest vignettes, we are given just enough information to create an entire timeline.
And so, here we are. All the loose ends are wrapped up. Our characters are in place. There is no more time to prepare, as Tarmon Gai'don is upon us. Whatever happens to the characters we've grown to know over the last thirteen novels will happen in A Memory of Light.
As I've said, there are issues with Towers of Midnight. But, at the end of the day, It can't be denied that Sanderson did something that must have felt next to impossible. Taking what Jordan had left, including the missteps he'd made along the way, and crafting it so everything is in place will always remain one of his greatest achievements.