wiktory.

OH MY GOD IT'S DEAD THE SHORT STORY THAT WAS TRYING TO KILL ME I KILLED IT INSTEAD HAHAHAHA okay now I have to revise it.

But at least I have a draft.

Towers of Midnight (analysis)

[This is part of a series analyzing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels. Previous installments can be found under the tag. Comments on old posts are welcome.]

Side note first: the poll results thus far are coming down pretty firmly on people saying that yes, I should read the Prologue to AMoL, and yes, I should blog about it when I do. I must admit, I’m curious why those of you who voted “no” chose that option. Anyway, decisions on that soon. For now, ToM, and the analysis thereof.

For most of the time I’ve been writing these posts, I’ve been analyzing each volume in the context of the rest of the story: the books that precede it, the books I had previously read that follow it, speculation about the books that were out but I hadn’t read them yet. As we round this final corner, though, I find Towers of Midnight almost more interesting in the context of absence: the unknown events of A Memory of Light, and the void that will follow it, the end of the series.

Of course, we may (probably will) get other books. I’ve heard they’re talking about a companion book -- something more canonical than the White Book of Lies -- and it’s entirely possible that Jordan’s estate will farm out the property the way we’ve seen with Dune. But as far as the series proper is concerned, ToM is the point at which I start thinking, not only about what has happened, but what may never happen.

( The list could fill an ordinary trilogy. )

And with this, we enter the final stretch. I don’t know yet how I want to handle AMoL -- whether I will do the Prologue, whether I will split it into two posts again, etc. I’d say the odds of both are decent, though the former depends pretty heavily on my spare time in the next few weeks. I do know that I’m going to do a wrap-up post when it’s all over with, discussing what this has taught me about writing such a long and sprawling series -- that one should make for some interesting discussion.

Wheel of Time Index Post

I'm putting this together now rather than after I'm done with the whole shebang because people (myself included) may want to look back at some of the previous entries before the last ones appear.

I will, of course, update it with the final links as they happen. So if you want something to bookmark, this is one to keep.

Book posts

• The Eye of the World
  
• The Great Hunt
  
• The Dragon Reborn
  
• The Shadow Rising
  
• The Fires of Heaven
  
• Lord of Chaos
  
• A Crown of Swords
  
• The Path of Daggers
  
• Winter's Heart
  
• Crossroads of Twilight
  
• New Spring
  
• Knife of Dreams
  
• The Gathering Storm (reactions)
  
• The Gathering Storm (analysis)
  
• Towers of Midnight (reactions)
  
• Towers of Midnight (analysis)
  

Other analysis

• Epic POV
  
• On Women
  
• The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game
  
• The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time
  
• On Prophecy
  

Related posts

• "Robert Jordan's dead"
  
• in memoriam
  
• Dammit, I lost my bet. (series length)
  
• Nostalgia Street, Wheel of Time stop (my experiences with the series)
  
• for those who find my pace too slow (link to Leigh Butler's Tor.com posts)
  
• why, brain, why? (musings on an RPG system hack for WoT)
  
• holy crow (mid-TGS reaction to Sanderson)
  
• End as you began (AMoL delay)
  
• The Wheel of Time Plan -- including bonus fundraiser (post-KoD rescheduling)
  
• To Prologue or Not to Prologue (poll)