The calm before the storm.
Towers of Midnight, the penultimate book in the 14-volume Wheel of Time series, might be the strangest installment of them all. With the Last Battle drawing closer, the main protagonist, Rand al’Thor, is barely seen, though his presence is felt throughout the book.
This book is about preparing different characters for their roles in the upcoming battle with the Dark One and his minions. Unfortunately, the story, especially regarding Perrin, seems to drag to a halt sometimes. More on that later.
After totally ignoring the Black Tower storyline for several books, readers finally get a long-overdue, much too brief check-in. Aviendha, who was sent to Rhuidean fairly early in The Gathering Storm, seemed forgotten by Brandon Sanderson. Finally, late in Towers of Midnight, she gets a big moment as she sees one possible future in the crystal columns of the ancient Aiel city.
Points of view in Towers of Midnight
According to A Wheel of Time Wiki, there are a whopping 27 character points of view in this book, and only one takes up more than 15 percent of the pages. Perrin receives 20 percent himself, with an additional 13 percent spread between characters in his story arc. Perrin is probably the most complex character in the series outside of Rand, and it takes him an exhaustively long time to figure out his destiny.
Galad, Faile, and Morgase all contribute to his storyline, but it is Perrin’s trip into the wolf dream and his battle with Slayer/Luc/Isam that dominates most of his story.
Mat’s arc takes up about 15 percent of the book. He convinces Elayne of the value of Aludre’s dragons, battles the gholam assassin, and embarks on his journey to rescue Moiraine. That latter mission happens towards the end of the book and is the most dramatic, as Mat has to face the Aelfin and Eelfin again.
Elayne’s various tasks in solidifying her hold on the throne of Andor and her efforts to place herself on the throne of Cairhein take up over eight percent of the novel.
Egwene also claims eight percent. Her Tel’aran’rhoid battle with Mesaana and the Black Ajah overlaps with Perrin’s fight with Slayer, as they happen simultaneously in the White Tower and in the world of dreams.
Rand al'Thor, the hero of the story, gets 16 percent. That’s it! Min, Cadsuane, Almen Bunt, and Egwene also contribute to Rand’s journey, but as in so many of the books, Rand is more of a presence felt by others than an active character.
Perrin versus the Whitecloaks and Slayer
The blacksmith lord has a lot going on in this book. His story grinds to a halt as he realizes there is a dome over the area around his camp in the wolf dream that doesn’t allow gateways to work.
Perrin knows Slayer is behind it, but he doesn’t know how, and he is also cognizant of the fact that he is still unable to fight Slayer in Tel’aran’rhoid. Hopper trains him for chapters on end before finally, Perrin and Slayer do battle. Perrin figures out that it is a dreamspike that is preventing the gateways from working, given to Slayer by Graendal to help him kill Perrin.
Perrin steals the dreamspike and takes it to the White Tower in the wolf dream, where he finally does battle with Slayer. Slayer kills the spirit of Hopper, which eliminates the wolf in all dimensions. Outside of their fight, this story seems to drag on forever.
Perrin’s long-running issues with the Whitecloaks date back to the very first book and are based primarily on grudges held by Byar and Bornhold. Perrin agrees to a trial, judged by Morgase, who is finally revealed as the former queen of Andor, whom most thought was dead. She rules that by Andoran law, Perrin’s actions constitute murder, even though there were extenuating circumstances. Galad agrees to postpone the sentencing until after the Last Battle.
Now that the gateways are working again, Perrin moves his army to Whitebridge in Andor. He has an epiphany and returns to Ghealdan with his army to save the Whitecloaks from a Trolloc ambush intended for Perrin. Byar tries to kill Perrin but is slain in the attempt by Dain Bornhold. Perrin establishes an uneasy peace with Galad and the Whitecloaks, and they agree to join his army to fight in the Last Battle. Perrin and Galad agree to Perrin’s punishment, which isn’t significant.
Perrin’s journey to understanding his destiny as a lord and leader is an interesting one. Strangely, many of the trials he must go through are some of the weaker aspects of the overall Wheel of Time story. The Whitecloaks, the Prophet, the wolf dream, and even the Shaido are all parts of Perrin figuring out his role in the Last Battle; however, individually, these things drag the narrative down.
Egwene versus the Seanchan and the Forsaken
Someone is killing sisters in the White Tower. Egwene suspects the Forsaken Mesaana and sets a trap for her and her Black Sister minions. In his eagerness to protect Egwene, Gawyn foils the plot, but also may have alerted the Amyrlin’s enemies that she's on to them.
After an argument with Egwene, Gawyn goes to Caemlyn to visit Elayne. Meanwhile, Egwene resets the trap, using herself as bait. In Andor, Gawyn discovers that it is Seanchan assassins attempting to kill Egwene. He travels back to the White Tower by a gateway.
Despite her focus on the wrong target, Egwene springs her trap for Mesaana in Tel’aran’rhoid. A battle ensues, and Egwene eventually defeats Mesaana, leaving the Forsaken mindless and helpless. This confrontation takes place in Tel’aran’rhoid at the same time as Perrin’s clash with Slayer.
Meanwhile, Gawyn arrives just in time to do battle with three Seanchan assassins trying to kill Egwene while her body lies in her bed, with her spirit in Tel’aran’rhoid. Gawyn overcomes the threats to the Amyrlin, and Egwene survives both battles just as Perrin survives his.
Egwene has eliminated one major threat to her and her sisters and foiled another plot against them. She has now solidified her position within the White Tower as more and more of her sisters realize that the Last Battle is indeed coming.
Mat versus the Aelfinn and Eelfinn
Mat finally meets with Elayne and easily sells her on the power and importance of the dragons Aludra has invented, and the queen sets about producing as many as possible. He also survives a confrontation with the gholam assassin, then plots to eliminate the creature completely.
Mat loans Elayne his medallion, given to him by the Eelfinn when he went through the twisted doorway ter’angreal in Rhuidean in the fourth book. She tries to copy it but has only limited success. Her copies aren’t quite as effective at blocking powerful weaves as the original. She returns it to Mat just in time, as Mat lures the gholam into a trap and slays it.
Then, Mat, Thom, and Noal (who, it turns out, is the famous writer Jaim Farstrider) go to the Tower on Ghenjei to rescue Moiraine. After a battle with the Eelfinn and then Aelfinn, they finally escape the tower, but only after losing Noal, who sacrifices himself to save them.
This storyline is one of the strangest in the whole series, and the purpose of the Eelfinn and Aelfinn is hard to discern. It also seems unusual to remove a significant character like Moiraine from the narrative for so long.
Ironically, despite the end being so near, very little of this book is spent with Rand. We see him in the White Tower early in the book, telling Egwene he plans to break the seals to the Dark One’s prison on purpose. Of course, this plan meets with broad disapproval.
Rand also returns to Bander Eban in one last effort to save the city. His being a ta’veren works in his favor as he quickly finds soldiers and someone to run the city, transforming Bander Eban into something more than a dying place devoid of hope. King Asalam finally turns up and is returned to the Domani throne.
Towers of Midnight sets the scene for the grand finale. There are some key moments sprinkled throughout, including Moiraine’s rescue, the revelation of Rand’s plan, and Perrin’s resolution with the Whitecloaks and his confrontation with Slayer.
The pieces are all in place for the Last Battle. Who will survive? What will happen to the Wheel of Time? Can Rand and his forces defeat the Dark One? All of these questions will be answered in A Memory of Light.
The Wheel of Time book club:
- Book 1: The Eye of the World
- Book 2: The Great Hunt
- Book 3: The Dragon Reborn
- Book 4: The Shadow Rising
- Book 5: The Fires of Heaven
- Book 6: Lord of Chaos
- Book 7: A Crown of Swords
- Book 8: The Path of Daggers
- Book 9: Winter's Heart
- Book 10: Crossroads of Twilight
- Book 11: Knife of Dreams
- Book 12: The Gathering Storm
- Book 13: Towers of Midnight
- Book 14: A Memory of Light
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