Let’s rank all 14 books in The Wheel of Time series

8. The Gathering Storm, Book 12 of The Wheel of Time

In The Gathering Storm, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson takes the helm after the passing of Robert Jordan. This book not only tells a daring story but also succeeds as a smooth transition from one author to another. Sanderson did not try to emulate Jordan’s writing; rather, he adapted his own style to be appropriate for The Wheel of Time. “I cannot replace Robert Jordan,” Sanderson writes in the foreword. “Nobody could write this book as well as he could have. That is a simple fact.”

This volume is filled with war, death and madness. Heroes struggle to unite a fractured land of warring kingdoms and shaky alliances in preparation for the Last Battle, Tarmon Gai’don. Madness runs rampant within this book. What has been building up for a while now comes to a head as Rand continues to lose control. The man who is supposed to save the world has ended up terrifying it to the bones.

Storyline aside, this volume stays true to the soul of the characters Jordan had been writing about for years. When he passed away in 2007, Sanderson received a phone call from Harriet McDougal, Jordan’s wife and editor. She requested that he be the one to complete the final Wheel of Time book. Out of respect for his predecessor, Sanderson ended up turning what was supposed to be one last book into a fully realized trilogy. The twelfth book in the series is a terrific addition, but Sanderson has yet more to give.