“It soon became obvious, even within the stedding, that the Pattern was growing frail. The sky darkened. Our dead appeared, standing in rings outside the borders of the stedding, looking in. Most troublingly, trees fell ill, and no song would heal them.
It was in this time of sorrows that I stepped up to the Great Stump. At first, I was forbidden, but my mother, covril, demanded I have my chance. I do not know what sparked her change of heart, as she herself had argued quite decisively for the opposing side. My hands shook. I would be the last speaker, and most seemed to have already made up their minds to open the Book of Translation. They considered me an afterthought.
And I knew that unless I spoke true, humanity would be left alone to face the Shadow. In that moment, my nervousness fled. I felt only a stillness, a calm sense of purpose. I opened my mouth, and I began to speak.
– From The Dragon Reborn, by Loial, son of Arent son of Halan, of Stedding Shangtai”
– Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
Towers of Midnight is the thirteenth and second of the three penultimate books of Robert Jordan’s epic series, the Wheel of Time, that was penned by Brandon Sanderson.
One thing that seems to confuse many (myself included), is the chronological placing of Towers of Midnight in relation to the Gathering Storm. Towers of Midnight takes place at roughly the same time as the Gathering Storm. This was because Robert Jordan originally planned the last book “A Memory of Light”, to be released as one BIG volume.
Brandon Sanderson, Harriet Rigney, and Tor instead decided that the last “book” would be released in 3 parts-the Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light.
A helpful way of visualising it may be like this: (or maybe this’ll just confuse you more)
The Gathering Storm——————->
Towers of Midnight———————>
A Memory of Light—————————->
However, where the Gathering Storm was predominantly focused on Rand Al’Thor and Egwene Al’vere, Towers of Midnight instead focuses on our other ta’veren boys, Perrin Aybara and Matrim Cauthon.
Warning! From here on there will be SPOILERS up to and including book 13 of the Wheel of Time.
Now then, we all know the Wheel of Time’s prologues can sometimes be . . . lengthy.
They function as a great way in expanding the world and catching up on loose plot threads little visited, but sometimes they can be a bit of a slog to get through. Basically, I was expecting a bland concoction of stones and dirt, with maybe a little copper mixed in the pot.
What I wasn’t expecting was the gem that was the Borderlanders preparing to hold off Shadowspawn at Heeth Tower. From the stoicity of the men to young Keemlin’s abrupt name-day ceremony, I’ll admit I found myself choking up a little.
Light, that was good.
“Respect is a thing earned and not demanded, Perrin Aybara.”
-Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
I’ve got to begin with Perrin. He earnt much ji in this book. I can understand that if you weren’t really feeling into his story in Towers of Midnight, your rating of the book would be lower, as his storyline definitely takes up the most space.
Personally, I felt Perrin’s arc in Towers of Midnight was nothing short of spectacular. I’ve always . . . liked Perrin, but the last time I remember feeling really invested in his story was probably nine books ago, in the Shadow Rising.
There are two dimensions (which are interlinked) to consider for Perrin’s arc in Towers of Midnight: the real world and the dream world, Tel’aran’rhiod. In the real world, Perrin meets the Whitecloaks, and their Lord Captain Commander, Galad Demandred.
Side note-I actually really like Galad. Sometimes his way of thinking can be . . . flawed, but I think he’s a great character and it’s honestly a shame that we hardly see him until later in the series.
I appreciated the scene where Perrin’s chopping wood, and Gaul’s just chilling at the side. It reminded me of an earlier time in Tear, where he’s just working in some random smithy. Another favourite of mine.
Nothing like hard work to get the mind pumping.
Many people seem to hate Perrin’s trial, but I thought it was really well done. I thought it was quite moving and Perrin was just solid throughout. His response to Bornhald was sooo satisfying…
“‘Have you never realised that some men are different from you, Bornhald?’ Perrin asked. ‘Have you ever tried to think what it must be like to be someone else? If you could see through these golden eyes of mine, you’d find the world a different place’”.
Meanwhile in Tel’aran’rhiod, Young Bull has been learning and growing more comfortable with the wolf within, although he still can’t decide if that’s a good thing. His intimate friendship with Hopper was a stand out. I thought everything in the dream world was awesome; hunting with the wolves, learning from Hopper (bless his wolfy soul), and training in the nightmares (Yikes. I’ve had even weirder dreams than that). Theat bit where Perrin watched Rand on Dragonmount, but from the other side, was cool.
And Slayer. Another character I would have loved to have seen more of throughout the series. His and Perrin’s mutual animosity is one of my favourite ongoing conflicts in the series. Their three-dimensional fights in Tel’aran’rhiod were epicly epic. With a helping of epic. Their final fight (in Towers of Midnight), where Perrin carries the dreamspike halfway across the westlands to Tar Valon, where he meets Egwene in Tel’aran’rhiod, was exhilarating. It was hilarious when Egwene tried to tie him up, then Perrin just stares at her as he wills them off. Who’s the real boss of Tel’aran’rhiod now, Egwene? Nothing but a wolf on the hunt, acting without thought and by instinct.
Then he redirects flippin balefire. What a legend.
Then things get nasty pretty quick. Hopper dies the second death, prompting Young Bull’s rage. Perrin follows Isam into the nightmare, destroying the dreamspike and driving off Slayer.
A pity he didn’t slay him though.
The scene that followed that heartbreaking moment was perhaps the best of the lot: Perrin forging Mah’alleinir, his Banhammer of POWER. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again, a scene doesn’t have to have action to be powerful. The Wheel of Time is a fantastic example of a series that delivers such moments. Nothing but a man, his hammer, some metal and an iron focus.
Heh heh, see what I did there?
The final other thing I really enjoyed with Perrin was where he went back to save the Whitecloaks, pulling an oath of fealty from Galad, and Byar (finally) being silenced by cold hard steel. Perrin has finally embraced true leadership, and earned the loyalty of tens of thousands, however long that did take.
Oh, and he’s become King Steward of the Two Rivers. Fitting. Anyway, you want my opinion of Perrin in Towers of Midnight? Chef’s kiss.
“The tool he left behind was the hammer of a simple blacksmith. That person would always be a part of Perrin, but he could no longer let him lead. From now on, he would carry the hammer of a king.”
-Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
Egwene didn’t play as big of a role in Towers of Midnight, a feat which would have been pretty difficult considering her exploits in the last two books. I always find it amusing whenever Egwene plays the Hall against themselves. She’s smart, I’ll give her that. I also thought her fight in Tel’aran’rhiod against the Black Ajah and Mesaana was pretty good.
Now, I can’t exactly mention heads without tails. Gawyn was a . . . mix for me in Towers of Midnight. I don’t think he and Egwene are well suited and while I’m glad their relationship has developed more, something still doesn’t feel quite right about it. Also, his siblingy chat with Elayne was a strange mix of irritating and sweet. I’ve got to say though, when he killed those three Bloodknives by himself in the dark to protect Egwene, that was some good stuff.
Another thing I didn’t like was the whole ‘Egwene vs Rand’ stuff. Although the scene that kicked it off, where Rand saunters into the White Tower, completely chilled, physically shutting the Hall up, and camly proceeds to tell Egwene of his plan to break the seals, was brilliant.
“Nobody walks a difficult path without stumbling now and again. It didn’t break you when you fell. That’s the important part.”
-Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
Speaking of the devil (although not so much anymore), after the climax of the Gathering Storm I was super excited to see Rand again. While we didn’t get any direct PoV’s inside his head (other than the epilogue), we did get to see him from inside other characters’ heads.
I guess I should now refer to him as Zen Rand. That first chapter, Apples first, I just couldn’t stop smiling. Our boy, Rand Al’Thor, a millimetre away from destroying the world and the Pattern itself, now reforged into the Creator’s Champion.
His reunion with Tam was one of the most emotional moments in the book. I believe it’s the first time we’ve seen the Dragon Reborn weep. Tam’s quiet words, the solemnly watching Aiel.
Chills man. Chills.
Then he just keeps on getting better and better. He Travels back to Arad Doman to clean up his mess, then goes to help Ituralde at Maradon. Although he’s pretty much a Demigod now, it was refreshing to see his human side emerge as he sees the devastation in Saldea, leading to one of the best moments in the book, where he Travels outside the walls accompanied by just two Maidens, and proceeds to destroy the entire Shadowspawn army without moving an inch. Ahhh. So satisfying.
Rand’s meeting with the Borderlanders was full of cracking moments too. All his little truth bombs to the rulers and his quiet strength. Also, his response to Cadsuane, “If you wish, you may call me Rand Sedai”, had me choking on my tea air. Class.
Anything and everything with Rodel Ituralde was a joy to read. His battle tactics, his dry wit, his determination and defence of Maradon were all some of my personal highlights of Towers of Midnight. There’s lots of those, so that’s no small feat.
“It was hard to explain to students that there was a rule that trumped all of the others: Always trust your instincts.”
– Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
The other standout character Towers of Midnight delves into is none other than our Lord of Luck. The book does a fantastic job of closing up the ‘Gholam vs Mat’ subplot. For seven? books now the Gholam has been haunting Mat, following his steps and murdering innocents in it’s wake. Mat’s fight with the Gholam at the start, and his later one where he kills it, was one of the most satisfying deaths of a villain in the series, Mat yelling in the old tongue and kicking it into the void.
The first time I read that chapter I was sort of confused because it didn’t explain what was going on, but by the end of it you’re like, “Ahh, I get it now”, as you realise how they’d planned the thing. Almost made me want to reread it. Maybe I did.
The other big moment of Mat’s arc in Towers of Midnight was Mat and the gang in the Tower of Ghenjei. The Eelfinn and the Aelfinn fascinate me, and the whole sequence of venturing through this mind warping but vivid Tower in a different world was everything I’d hoped for. Mat losing his eye (I did not see that coming), the group rescuing moiraine, Noal’s death, “If you ever meet a Malkieri, you tell him Jain Farstrider died clean”, and Mat figuring out how to escape from the Tower, was absolutely insane.
Other special mentions for favourite Mat moments in Towers of Midnight: Him strolling round Caemlyn, disposing of criminals, and chatting with Birgitte in the tavern (anytime those two are together is just perfect), Mat meeting Perrin for the first time since the Shadow Rising and catching a badger for old times sake and Mat chatting with Setalle about boots.
I’ve discovered that Mat’s letter to Elayne is a point of controversy in the community. Some dislike it, some think it’s hilarious. I’m definitely on the latter end; I thought it was brilliant.
Speaking of the Queen, I thought Elayne was . . . better than usual?
Her fight with the Black Ajah and slimy Mellar, along with several of the political manoeuvres, including taking the Sun Throne, were solid moments. Birgitte though, man. Testing the throne first, with Elayne and the Cairhienin court’s incredulous reactions, was priceless. She is often what makes Elayne’s chapters bearable.
It was heartwarming to see Elayne, Morgase and Galad reunite. Although, that may have partly been because I’m ecstatic that Morgase’s plot line has finally ended. However, I did not like Elayne saying it would be easiest to execute Perrin. I know she’s queen, but you try laying one finger on my boy Perrin, and I’ll . . . I’ll . . . phaw!
I can’t not mention our main girl Nynaeve. She had some outstanding moments in Towers of Midnight. Oh and she’s healed madness. What’s that now, she’s healed Stilling, broken her Block, helped cleanse Saidin, and now this?! Someone make her Yellow Ajah already.
Oh wait, she is! Nyneave’s testing for the Shawl was something I’ve been waiting for for ages. Let me say, I was not disappointed. Ter’angreal scenes, man. They. Always. Deliver. And not just the testing, but her closing words to Egwene and the Aes Sedai after her Testing. You tell them, Nyneave! On top of that (as if we needed more), Nyneave finally takes Lan’s bond from Myrelle.
I liked how we caught glimpses of Lan riding towards Tarwin’s Gap throughout Towers of Midnight, reluctantly accumulating new recruits along the way. When he officially raised the Golden Crane, between Arafel and Kandor, and leads his ‘final’ charge at the Gap, I wanted to scream along,
“Tai’shar Malkier!”
“The world was not black and white-it wasn’t even gray. It was full of colors that sometimes did not fit into any spectrum of morality.”
-Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
I’m so glad we get to see Aviendha again. I love the Waste and I almost felt like I was meditating with her during these moments, including her chat with Nakomi (The Creator’s avatar? Rand’s mum? Avi’s future self?) about the true purpose and future of the Aiel.
Then Rhuidean and Aviendha’s extra trip through the columns and her visions of the future of the Aiel. Yeah . . . I’m not sure how I felt about that. Amazingly written, very clever and utterly world breaking, but also really tragic.
You allow someone to see the future, and that future shows the utter destruction of your people, likely through your own faults, without allowing them to change it? To me that seems the epitome of cruel. I don’t believe the Creator would have allowed the future shown to Aviendha if it were the only possible future for the Aiel. I can’t. Fingers crossed Memory of Light will help resolve that problem.
Anyway . . .
It’s fitting that I should mention the Black Tower stuff last, as it was only featured in the last 10% of the book. It’s kind of frustrating. Of all those random PoV’s we got during the ‘slog’, and we never had proper good inside intel of Black Tower shenanigans.
Androl. Just Androl. I’ve hardly met him, but he’s already one of my favourite characters in the series. We keep receiving little tidbits from his past; that man’s done a lot. It appears that Taim has been Turning Asha’man and now there appears to be two sides to the Black Tower conflict, and our pageboy is definitely on the weaker side. Fingers crossed for more from the Black Tower in A Memory of Light.
“Small things were important. Seconds were small things, and if you heaped enough of those on top of one another, they became a man’s life.”
– Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Towers of Midnight
Generally, I feel Towers of Midnight is actually underrated. I will admit that the book’s pacing almost felt too fast at times, jumping from one person, to the next, to the next, and back. Also, I feel Brandon did a fantastic job again (finishing off the Wheel of Time is no easy undertaking. Believe me, I don’t know), but there were . . . slight moments that did feel off. Saying that, it was full to the brim with insane moments; emotional, satisfying and truly EPIC. As of now, Tower of Midnight is my favourite of the series so far, just ahead of the Gathering Storm and the Shadow Rising. The quality just keeps getting better. I’m honestly kind of surprised to say that I’ll be really sad to see the series end.
A Memory of Light, here I come!
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Here’s is one of The Fantasy Nobility’s Opinions…
“I feel like it is a mixed bag with this book.”
Mike