The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm is a fantasy novel by American writers Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the twelfth book in the series The Wheel of Time. It was incomplete when Jordan died on September 16, 2007, from cardiac amyloidosis. His widow Harriet McDougal and his publisher Tom Doherty chose Sanderson to continue the book. Jordan originally intended to finish the series in a single volume titled A Memory of Light. However, when Sanderson began writing the book, it became clear that a single volume would be too large to print. The expected final book was split into three volumes: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light. The books would be published a year apart with the first volume, The Gathering Storm, published on October 27, 2009; a week earlier than originally announced. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the No. 1 position on The New York Times hardcover fiction Best Seller list, making it the fifth consecutive Wheel of Time book to achieve this feat. The three books comprise what can be considered Jordan's final vision of the series. In the foreword, Sanderson states that they can be thought of as "the three volumes of A Memory of Light or as the final three books of The Wheel of Time. Both are correct." He also comments on the differing writing style, suggesting that it could be compared to different film directors directing the same script. The Gathering Storm consists of a prologue, 50 chapters, and an epilogue. Plot summary The series' storyline has been leading up to the "Last Battle" (Tarmon Gai'don)—a fight between the forces of Light and Shadow. According to prophecy in the series the primary protagonist Rand al'Thor, as the Dragon Reborn, will "fight the [battle]", and must be present for the forces of Light to have a chance at winning and stopping the being known as the Dark One, the primary antagonist, from escaping his prison.