I started down the path of being an avid Fantasy reader and fan back in 1997. With the influence of two close internet friends I made the bridge from reading Star Wars novels straight into the Wheel of Time. From that point I explored the ins and outs of the Fantasy genre, discovered some amazing writers and uncovered what it was about Fantasy that made me fall in love with the worlds, plots and especially characters.

By the time I was old enough to start applying for work I only had one job in mind- a bookstore. In fact I had only one bookstore in mind, our local Waldenbooks; and managed to wiggle my way into a position there when I was 16. Eight years later I would joke with my former manager that I could recall the day that he, personally, had sold me the first book in the Wheel of Time. It was 2001 by that point and Fantasy still was a passion of mine.

Fantasy, back in the era of it’s prime, was brilliantly produced and published. There were authors like Jordan, Goodkind, Martin, Eddings, Lackey and many others who had delivered consistently brilliant books that defined and shaped the genre of epic fantasy. For years I moved from one author to another, revisiting my favorites in between, and made good progress through the genre that I had come to call my favorite. Following the deterioration of the Star Wars brand after 1999, I was still a big fan, though not as die-hard as before. Even so, I had thrown over Star Wars for the love of fantasy.

During Fantasy’s Golden age the authors incorporated everything into their writing and presented the package deal;  there was action, drama, romance, intrigue, battles and anything else you could think of. But these authors delivered a packaged novel, one that could appeal to both female and male alike and encompassed everything we could ask for and more.

I worked on and off at Waldenbooks between 2001 and present day. During those years I watched as the Fantasy/Sci-Fi section lost it’s shelf space to the every growing Manga section and the Manga generation.

While I can appreciate good artwork I feel like graphic novels are utter fluff with no literary value. Argue, if you will, but their value is purely visual, not literary. But they were (are!) a fad that has managed to steal the thunder of the Fantasy genre. In my previous bookstore they took up an equal amount of space to Fantasy and in my current bookstore it’s only a little less space. Even so this fad has managed to steal vital attention, space and more importantly readers from the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre that otherwise might have grasped their loyalty.

While Manga began to encroach on the shelf space for Fantasy/Sci-Fi there was an internal battle going on for that space. Epic Fantasy was losing popularity and the new comers to the shelves were primarily Paranormal novels or Militaristic novels. It felt like the male Fantasy genre writers (Cook, Fesit, Modesitt, Marco, etc.) took a path that prompted them to write books with such a strong militaristic presence and plots that lacked the flair, and feminine angle of other Fantasy series. On the other hand it felt like the female authors (Hamilton, Armstrong, Banks, Harrison, Briggs, etc.) gaining shelf space were of the Paranormal sub genre. These were the vampire lovers, the ones who wanted to live in the real world but dabble with fantasy, and they churned out books faster than I could blink.

By 2006 I had become a pessimistic fan of Fantasy. Where were the well rounded books that presented a reader with everything we could ask for? I couldn’t get past the book summary on any of the Paranormal books. I fared a little better with the heavy militaristic books, making it several books in on Modesitt and completing two books for Marco. Even some authors (Eddings, Lackey, and others) that I had loved previously were producing books that I couldn’t quite become involved with.

I came to a realization in 2007 that I had lost faith and interest in the genre.

I continued to purchase novels that I would attempt to read. Some series I made progress with (Berg’s Bridge D’Arnath, Carey’s Kushiel Series) while others I floundered before I could make it halfway into the book (Edding’s Elder Gods, Fiona McIntosh’s Myren’s Gift).

I continue to cling to a little optimism that someday I’ll discover a series I either overlooked, or one newly written, that will capture my attention, love and loyalty like many in the past. In the meantime I’ve learned to wait, with great anticipation, for continuations in series that have not yet let me down (The Wheel of Time, Bishop’s Black Jewels, Snyder’s Study Series).

And now- with some hope- I turn to any and all readers of my review blog. We created the “Request/Suggest” section for two purposes- to interact our readers and for the more selfish reason of hoping to find books that will capture our attentions again.

Request a Review: Use this function to request a review of a novel, or a series, that I’ve already read. This might make me  will allow me to revisit something I might have given up on, or something I love and therefore will thank you for!

Suggest a Review: Maybe you think you’ve got a book that will re-establish my love of Fantasy? If so, let me know and suggest it as a novel to review. From this commentary you may have discovered that I’m not a fan of paranormal or militaristic fantasy, monotone writing, and many other things. So maybe you’re wondering what I do like?

• Worlds: The thing I love most about Fantasy is the creative of the worlds, the mythos, the cultures, and the magic. When a writer can truly develop a fully functional, thought out and functional world it’s a work of art.
  Examples: Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Bishop’s Black Jewels, Flewelling’s Nightrunner, Lackey’s Valdemar, and several others.
• Magic: We all know that the foundation of Fantasy is the magic or those little mystical things that special people can do. When an author can develop a whole new magic class I’m in for the ride. There are only two worlds which have completely blown me away with their creativity and the magic system: Wheel of Time and Black Jewels.
• Plot: I like multi-dimensional plot lines. I love the intricacy of the Fantasy genre where authors spin a web of plots, intrigue, drama and characters. Plot, for me, is more than just the steps and path the novel takes from beginning to conclusion. It’s all those little alleys and back streets that are as compelling and gripping as the main boulevard. For me, a well balanced plot is enough of a reason to read as eries. I like a little romance, drama, intrigue, battles, and twists. The best authors have the ability to weave these all together into a single flowing story.
  Examples: Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, Snyder’s Study Series, Stackpole & Allston’s Star Wars X-Wing series, and Lackey’s Valdemar.
• Characters: Give me a character who I can love to hate or hate to love. Mary Sue’s bore me to tears and any sense of perfection  makes me cringe. I like human characters who have faults just like me, and lord knows I have plenty! In short: give me depth and character development.
  Examples: Bishop’s Black Jewels, Stackpole & Allston’s Star Wars X-Wing series, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, Carey’s Kushiel Series, and Jordan’s Wheel of Time.

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

The release of this book took me by surprise. I hadn’t heard that they had found an author to continue the Wheel of Time series after Jordan’s untimely death, so when I saw the signs announcing its release at my local Waldenbooks I was both thrilled and skeptical. I had never read any Sanderson, and even if I had, I would have wondered—would this beloved series ever be the same? I crossed my fingers and hoped, then picked up my reserved copy the day of the release on the way to work.

I have to say my skepticism was unfounded. For me, this was the best since Lord of Chaos, not counting a few favorite scenes from the last four books. Sanderson did a wonderful job with the characters, and it seemed quite seamless— at no point was I able to say “Jordan couldn’t have written this part”, which I had feared to be the case, given that this was effectively the work of two different writers.

Much of my impatience with the series was relieved while reading TGS—there is a lot of plot movement in this chapter of the series, whether you’re thinking of the major conflict plots, or some of the more minor, romantic sub plots. While the past three or four books have been staging things for the various conflicts, we finally start to see many of the conflicts play out in TGS. However, it was not without disappointment: some of the story arcs I was anticipating still seemed stagnated—I hope I can count on Sanderson to move them along with next year’s release of Towers of Midnight, in the same way he has done with many of the other story arcs.

I found this novel to be a real page turner—I found myself wanting for sleep a couple of mornings due to the fact I’d stayed up too late reading. However, I won’t pretend there weren’t slow moment—first bit of the prologue gave me a bit of a pause, as I found myself faced with an not unknown, but still unfamiliar character on the first page, on top of the fact I was somewhat disoriented in the world, as it had been quite some time since I had read any part of the series. I highly recommend a re-read before tackling this book, though there I admit there a lot of fun in really rediscovering the world of Wheel of Time with this book—so if you don’t mind being a little confused at first, you want to just dive in!

All in all, all the things I’ve loved about Wheel of Time were present in this book: Aes Sedai intrigue, snarky romantic humor, scheming Forsaken and great action—not to mention a healthy dose of witty dialogue. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Sanderson and Jordan have in store for us as Tarmon Gai’don approaches.

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

Book: The Gathering Storm
Author: Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Series: #12 in The Wheel of Time
Released: November 2009

It’s the beginning to the end of one of the most prolific Fantasy series ever written.

Needless to say that going into the release of The Gathering Storm the expectations from the collective of fans and critics alike was high. All those expectations for the book did not fall on the capable shoulders of Robert Jordan, but on the untried shoulders of young Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson was the Chosen author to complete the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan tragically passed away on Sept 17, 2007 leaving behind an incomplete series. Lucky for us fans he took meticulous notes and his editor/wife was hugely involved in the process- enough so that she was able to lend an experienced and helping hand to Brandon Sanderson throughout the process of completing this iconic Fantasy series. And completing Jordan’s legacy.

Enough preamble…

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As a long time Wheel of Time fan I respectfully decided to withhold my opinion of Brandon Sanderson as the new author to the Wheel of Time until I had read what he had to contribute. That didn’t stop me from reading all kinds of articles, posts and different community opinions on TOR and Harriet’s choice. My three greatest concerns for Brandon Sanderson writing the Wheel of Time were:

1. I feared that he was an author who would use this beloved series to springboard a larger career for himself and his motives were selfish.
2. I feared that no matter who the author was, or what their level of talent, no one could successfully complete the Wheel of Time except Robert Jordan himself.
3. If Sanderson was such a talented author why wasn’t his own work speaking for itself? I grew concerned when an author I’d barely heard of (and I’ve worked in a bookstore part time for nearly eight years!) was suddenly the next coming of Jordan.

Braced by those fears I left my desk job, drove fifteen minutes to my local Waldenbooks, and picked up my copy of The Gathering Storm the very day it came out. It sat next to me on my desk for several hours as the rest of the day crawled to an end and sat next to me in my car as I raced home (beating my best commute time by a full 5 minutes!).

By the end of the Prologue I knew my fears were unfounded. It was not Robert Jordan but it was someone who clearly understood the world, understood the characters, and understood Jordan’s point of view. Instantly I was impressed, engrossed and I kept on reading.

That pesky desk job and the need for sleep interrupted my progress but it took me less than a week to finish the book (the longest it’s taken me to read any of the WoT books).

In any well written book there should come a time where the reader cannot put the book down, no matter how heavy their eyelids are, or what other obligations they may have. That chapter stood out very easy for me in this book and the last 200 or so pages flew by as I turned each page until the conclusion of this book.

This was, without a doubt in my mind, the best Wheel of Time book since the release of Lord of Chaos, the sixth book in the series. The primary arc of this book was so powerful that it recreated my good opinion of a character I had long ago given up on enjoying or appreciating. It presented the reader with added character development for some of our favorites, some new characters who are bound to be favorites, and even development for some unexpected characters.

Of course, this book was not flawless, so I don’t want you to walk away with that concept. Like with any of the Wheel of Time books there comes a point in the book where you’re screaming (at least in my case) at the author to “Get on with it!”. The greatest disappointment of The Gathering Storm is the complete focus of the storyline on one particular arc, with some secondary focus to a smaller arc centered around the development of one particular character. The lack of certain characters will annoy you. The lack of drive behind the plots for the lacking characters is also one of my greatest complaints. Even so, do not be deterred, there is still hope for all those great arcs and characters in the coming 2 books. After all.. there’s always next book.

There were moments of such utter satisfaction in this book that I couldn’t help but smugly grin, clap my hands, or simply whoop out loud. The way Sanderson captured Jordan’s greatest characters was impressive, but the arcs themselves were what blew me away. The power of many of the chapters, of the characters, of the events were brilliant.

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If you’re a Wheel of Time fan and have read this book- please check back for my next post, with spoilers.

If you’re a Wheel of Time fan and have not yet read this book- what are you waiting for? Run, drive… fly to your local book store and start it tonight.

If you’re not a Wheel of Time fan and are wondering what all the fuss is about- now is the time to begin. Sanderson has promised us the final two books in this series in 2010 and 2011. Don’t wait for it to end, rush out now and buy Eye of the World and start it so you can appreciate the intensity of waiting for a book, and enjoy the excitement of a newly published Wheel of Time book. As it stands there are only two more to come- don’t miss out.