The Gathering Storm

The Wheel of Time has got to be one of the most frustrating series of books ever written. The main reason, of course, is that it's been almost 20 years since the first book was written. And, somewhere between books four and ten the plot became almost too complex and Robert Jordan's writing, so fresh and vivid through the early books, become repetitive. And his women became annoying beyond all reason.
But it's only frustrating because I love these books so much. And I can accept these weaknesses because, besides these few minor flaws, the books are brilliant and compelling. This is my favorite fantasy series in all of contemporary fantasy.
I say all this to illustrate the monumental task given to Brandon Sanderson when Jordan's editor/wife asked Sanderson (due to Jordan's death) to finish the most complex fantasy epic that I know of.
Now with Sanderson we've reached book 12, The Gathering Storm. There are still two books to go, but suddenly the series feels like it's moving again. In fact, I could argue that Sanderson has written book 12 true to Jordan's style while softening the many flaws that were contained in the previous books. In a sense Sanderson could save the series from being overwhelmed by its flaws. (Thank you Brandon Sanderson for not making me read anything about Elayne and limiting the chapters devoted to Perrin and his stupid wife). Things seem a bit more streamlined. Not to say that The Gathering Storm isn't complex. Every chapter seems to be about different characters, but fortunately they all seem to have a purpose. Which hasn't happened so much lately.
I don't know if Sanderson will be able to fully close The Wheel of Time. Jordan had far too many subplots (viewings/dreams/prophesies, etc. . .) for anybody to accomplish that. But, so far, Sanderson has done far better than anybody could have expected. Jordan's editor/wife made the right choice.

Twilight

This isn't a review of the movie, which I haven't seen and probably won't for quite some time; this is a review of the books, or perhaps, more of a review of Stephanie Meyer as a storyteller.

It may surprise those of you who know me that I have read these books, they aren't something that I would typically read, but I figured that since Stephanie Meyer is a product of BYU, that I should acquaint myself with her work (scout the competition). Anyway, the first day of Thanksgiving break, I read the forth book at my sister's house which is what prompted this post.

So, my thoughts. Hmmmm. Being a man, it's hard to get past the bodice ripper approach to the vampire genre. The Twilight series is more of a romance with the vampire approach added as an interesting twist rather than a vampire story that includes romance. Every page literally drips with drivel like, "he was as beautiful as a Greek god. I just wanted to reach out and caress his perfect marble cheeks, but he was out of reach. I felt the tears forming in my eyes. . ." And while that wasn't a direct quote (best I could come up with, sorry), it gives you the idea. While this type of writing might be interesting to many girls, as a man, it makes the story a bit cumbersome.

Which is what is so frustrating about Meyer's writing. She certainly adds interesting approaches to the vampire genre, and, every once in a while, she decides to toss the more adrenaline oriented audience a bone, but it isn't enough to make the story completely engaging. She has, at times, marvelously brilliant ideas, yet they are clouded by shameless romance.

Unfortunately, I think this romance approach alienates a large potential audience. Not that Meyer is hurting, with her legions of emotional teenage girl fans, but it's quite possible she could have doubled her fan base with a little more attention paid to the interests of the opposite gender (a little more action please).

My sisters and I were talking about these books the other day, and one of the things that they complained about was that they did not like the characters of Edward, Jacob, and Bella. It isn't a good sign when the three main characters are disliked by members of the target audience. I myself could have cared less for Edward or Jacob, both of them were a bit off from a masculine perspective, but it would take another thorough reading of the series for me to decide why. Initially I want to say that they are written too much through a woman's eyes, but that may not be it. I did like Bella's character, probably because her narrative voice sounds accurate to what I expect from a 18-19 year old girl. That could be a disastrous assumption though. And, I'm not gonna lie, Bella became cool in the end. I think I'm in love.

The support characters (mainly the Cullen family) are all considered to be pretty awesome, and Meyer does an excellent job making the reader like them. I doubt there has ever been a cooler group of vampires created than the Cullen family. But that is a rather general claim that I have no right making because, honestly, I'm not that well versed in vampire literature.

I think I may be coming off here as giving these books a quite negative review, and yes, much of what I have said has been focused on the flaws of Meyer's approach to her novels. But on the other hand, I, a 26 year old American male, read these books straight through. It really says something that I was able to slog through all that romance just for the few tidbits of vampire story that Meyer tossed in there. At its core, the essence of Twilight is a very cool story. You just have to struggle to find it amidst all the mushy, emotional writing.