Comments on: The Gathering Storm: Review http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/ All you can eat sci-fi and fantasy books Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:02:16 +1100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Renai LeMay http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-3733 Renai LeMay Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:11:09 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-3733 Some fair points Sam :) I agree with you about most of this and especially about The Gathering Storm being a breath of fresh air :) Some fair points Sam :) I agree with you about most of this and especially about The Gathering Storm being a breath of fresh air :)

]]> By: Sam http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-2684 Sam Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:48:16 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-2684 I think it's kind of impossible to ask Sanderson to 'give more time' to resolving the various themes. The world of the WoT left by Jordan was so madly multi-threaded that some important themes are going to HAVE to be dealt with in a single chapter, like with Verin. At least The Gathering Storm actually resolves some issues, which it had increasingly looked like Jordan was unable to do. You may think some parts of The Gathering Storm were just 'filler', but I think the entirety of books 10 and 11 were just filler, along with much else besides. The Gathering Storm was a breath of fresh air compared to the waffle that preceded it. And I hope The Towers of Midnight finally clarifies why it was thought necessary that the whole Seanchan sub-plot even exist. That said, I love the series. I just think it could have been much much shorter, and that it would've been much more powerful for it. So please stop suggesting that Sanderson take his time on anything just because it has been a long time so far, lest the series run into twenty books (touch wood!). I think it’s kind of impossible to ask Sanderson to ‘give more time’ to resolving the various themes. The world of the WoT left by Jordan was so madly multi-threaded that some important themes are going to HAVE to be dealt with in a single chapter, like with Verin. At least The Gathering Storm actually resolves some issues, which it had increasingly looked like Jordan was unable to do. You may think some parts of The Gathering Storm were just ‘filler’, but I think the entirety of books 10 and 11 were just filler, along with much else besides. The Gathering Storm was a breath of fresh air compared to the waffle that preceded it. And I hope The Towers of Midnight finally clarifies why it was thought necessary that the whole Seanchan sub-plot even exist.

That said, I love the series. I just think it could have been much much shorter, and that it would’ve been much more powerful for it. So please stop suggesting that Sanderson take his time on anything just because it has been a long time so far, lest the series run into twenty books (touch wood!).

]]> By: Renai LeMay http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1533 Renai LeMay Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:10:22 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1533 I kind of suspected he would have to :) I kind of suspected he would have to :)

]]> By: Espen http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1532 Espen Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:06:31 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1532 Sanderson had a Q&A yesterday, and the problem with no Mat came up. He said that Mat will have much more playtime in the next book. Sanderson had a Q&A yesterday, and the problem with no Mat came up. He said that Mat will have much more playtime in the next book.

]]> By: Renai LeMay http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1529 Renai LeMay Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:29:42 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1529 Fair point! That could indeed be what Sanderson was trying to do. But I still feel the Mat chapters ... just not really that great. He's a hard character to master, I guess. Fair point! That could indeed be what Sanderson was trying to do. But I still feel the Mat chapters … just not really that great. He’s a hard character to master, I guess.

]]> By: Renai LeMay http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1528 Renai LeMay Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:28:59 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1528 Cheers! Yeah, we can but hope with Mat. I am really surprised that Sanderson didn't focus on him more, given the demand, but I am conscious that he deliberately tried to write those chapters humorously. The TV battle was good, and I got a little 'thrill' from it ... but well, I just didn't feel it was detailed enough, or that we got a feeling of the scale of the amount of ppl involved. And I expected some more Blood Knives chaos at the end, given how they had been built up. Cheers!

Yeah, we can but hope with Mat. I am really surprised that Sanderson didn’t focus on him more, given the demand, but I am conscious that he deliberately tried to write those chapters humorously.

The TV battle was good, and I got a little ‘thrill’ from it … but well, I just didn’t feel it was detailed enough, or that we got a feeling of the scale of the amount of ppl involved. And I expected some more Blood Knives chaos at the end, given how they had been built up.

]]> By: Renai LeMay http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1527 Renai LeMay Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:26:09 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1527 Really? I didn't get that much of an emotional feeling from the Mistborn characters ... in general I feel probably RJ is better at that sort of stuff. I think probably I had that reaction because Sanderson was so good at thrusting us back into the Wheel of Time world ... a world which I, and many others, grew up with. Really? I didn’t get that much of an emotional feeling from the Mistborn characters … in general I feel probably RJ is better at that sort of stuff. I think probably I had that reaction because Sanderson was so good at thrusting us back into the Wheel of Time world … a world which I, and many others, grew up with.

]]> By: jj http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1521 jj Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:22:02 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1521 Don't forget that part of the criticism against the books that weren't that stellar (COT, WH) were because Jordan tried to do what the fans wanted, which was to include Mat. Jordan struggled to get him in those plot lines in the books and ended up bogging down the series with disparate plot structure. I appreciate that Sanderson knew this and kept Mat mostly away from this book. Don’t forget that part of the criticism against the books that weren’t that stellar (COT, WH) were because Jordan tried to do what the fans wanted, which was to include Mat. Jordan struggled to get him in those plot lines in the books and ended up bogging down the series with disparate plot structure. I appreciate that Sanderson knew this and kept Mat mostly away from this book.

]]> By: yoniy0 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1520 yoniy0 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:19:43 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1520 I don't know. I was kind of impressed at how this book *doesn't* sound like Mistborn, as opposed to, say, Warbreaker. Having said that, I do agree that Mat needs a careful reconsideration on BS's part. Fortunately, nothing major has happened with him, so there's time to get him right for the main plot line. And about Verin's chapter, I also thought that just sitting down for a conversation and neatly explaining everything is *not* the way to do it. We should get wind of what's happening there from Verin's own PoV, and maybe some tidbits from the notebook\letter she left Egween\Mat. All this to say - I think the review is dead-on (well, I thought the battle for TV was nicely handled, but that's all). I don’t know. I was kind of impressed at how this book *doesn’t* sound like Mistborn, as opposed to, say, Warbreaker.
Having said that, I do agree that Mat needs a careful reconsideration on BS’s part. Fortunately, nothing major has happened with him, so there’s time to get him right for the main plot line.
And about Verin’s chapter, I also thought that just sitting down for a conversation and neatly explaining everything is *not* the way to do it. We should get wind of what’s happening there from Verin’s own PoV, and maybe some tidbits from the notebook\letter she left Egween\Mat.
All this to say – I think the review is dead-on (well, I thought the battle for TV was nicely handled, but that’s all).

]]> By: Alec http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/11/01/the-gathering-storm-review/#comment-1516 Alec Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:24:09 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=1064#comment-1516 Enjoyed your review. I can't help but feel that the emotional reaction readers are having is distinct to Brandon's writing style. The final chapters, for example, seemed very MB like to me. Not that I didn't enjoy them, just that substantively they are distinctly different and elicit an emotional response that to me was not characteristic of RJs narrative style. Enjoyed your review.

I can’t help but feel that the emotional reaction readers are having is distinct to Brandon’s writing style. The final chapters, for example, seemed very MB like to me. Not that I didn’t enjoy them, just that substantively they are distinctly different and elicit an emotional response that to me was not characteristic of RJs narrative style.

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