It was never supposed to take twenty-three years. When Robert Jordan published The Eye of the World in 1990, the fantasy landscape looked nothing like it does today. People were still waiting for the next big thing after Tolkien. Then came the Dragon Reborn. Fast forward to 2013, and A Memory of Light finally hit bookshelves, but the man who started it wasn’t there to see it.
Brandon Sanderson had to step in.
Imagine the pressure. You’re tasked with finishing the most complex magic system and political web in modern literature because the original creator passed away. Jordan died in 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. He left behind a mountain of notes, some dictated audio, and a very specific ending. But he didn't leave a finished book. He left a ghost of one.
When A Memory of Light arrived, it wasn't just a book. It was a cultural event for millions of "WoT" nerds who had spent half their lives wondering if Tarmon Gai’don—the Last Battle—would ever actually happen.
The Impossible Task of Finishing Jordan’s Vision
Honestly, Sanderson was a weird choice at first. If you look at his early work like Elantris, his prose is much "leaner" than Jordan’s. Robert Jordan loved descriptions. He would spend three pages describing the embroidery on a noblewoman's silk dress or the specific way the wind moved through the Victorian-style streets of Caemlyn. Sanderson? He’s a guy who cares about "hard magic" systems and momentum.
Harriet McDougal, Jordan’s widow and long-time editor, was the one who picked him. She read a tribute Sanderson wrote for Jordan and felt he "got" it.
The transition wasn't seamless. Fans still argue about Mat Cauthon. In the first Sanderson-led book, The Gathering Storm, Mat felt... off. He was too jokey. He lost that grim, reluctant-hero edge that Jordan had perfected. By the time we got to A Memory of Light, Sanderson had mostly fixed the "voice" issues, but the DNA of the book is clearly a hybrid. It’s a Jordan ending told through a Sanderson lens.
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The Last Battle: 200 Pages of Chaos
Let’s talk about Chapter 37.
Most novels aren't even 200 pages long. In A Memory of Light, a single chapter titled "The Last Battle" runs longer than many entire novellas. It is a grueling, exhausting piece of military fantasy. You’ve got Demandred showing up with the Sharans—a massive "check gun" that Jordan had been hinting at for years—and the scale is just ridiculous.
It’s not just "good guys vs. bad guys." It’s a logistical nightmare.
- The Field of Merrilor becomes the focal point.
- The Great Captains—Ituralde, Bryne, Agelmar, and Bashere—are being mentally manipulated by Hessalam (Graendal).
- Logain is struggling with the literal weight of his pride and the destiny of the Black Tower.
- And then there’s Mat, playing the ultimate game of "Snakes and Foxes" with the lives of thousands.
The pacing is relentless. Unlike the "slog" of books seven through ten, where characters seemed to wander through the woods forever, this book has zero chill. It moves. It hurts. People actually die. For a series that sometimes felt like it had "plot armor" for its main cast, the finality of the deaths in this book—Siuan Sanche, Gareth Bryne, Egwene al'Vere—felt like a punch to the gut.
Egwene’s death remains the most controversial part for many. She had become arguably the most powerful and effective leader in the world. Her discovery of the "Flame of Tar Valon" weave to counter Balefire was poetic. It repaired the Pattern. It was a perfect ending for her character arc, even if it was devastating.
The Bore and the Nature of Evil
Rand al'Thor’s confrontation with the Dark One isn't what people expected. It wasn't a sword fight. It wasn't a "super-saiyan" magic blast. It was a philosophical debate about the nature of free will.
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Rand realizes that killing the Dark One isn't the goal. If you kill Evil, you kill Choice. The world without the Dark One—which Rand glimpses in a vision of the future—is a world of puppets. People are "good" because they have no other option. It’s a sterile, terrifying utopia.
This is where Jordan’s military background (he served two tours in Vietnam) really shines through the notes he left. He understood that victory isn't about total erasure of the enemy; it's about the cost of holding the line. Rand’s "victory" is simply re-sealing the prison. He fixes the mistake of the Age of Legends.
The "body swap" ending with Moridin is still a head-scratcher for some. How did it happen? The crossing of the streams of Balefire back in A Crown of Swords linked their souls. It’s a bit of a deus ex machina, but it allowed Rand to finally walk away. He isn't the Savior anymore. He’s just a guy who can light a pipe with a thought—suggesting he now has some level of control over the Pattern itself, similar to how he manipulated reality within the Bore.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a common misconception that Sanderson changed Jordan’s ending. He didn’t.
Jordan wrote the epilogue himself before he passed. The scene where Rand walks away from the funeral pyre? That was Jordan. The fate of the main characters was largely mapped out. What Sanderson did was build the bridge to get there.
Some fans complain that certain plot threads weren't tied up. What happened to the Seanchan? Does Mat ever go back to Ebou Dar? What about the prophecy of the "Aiel who go to the Blight"?
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Jordan always intended for there to be "outrigger" novels. He wanted to write a series focused on Mat and Tuon in Seanchan. Because he passed away, and because Harriet decided (rightfully) that the series should end with his vision, those stories will never be told. A Memory of Light is the end. There are no more secrets coming. That’s a hard pill to swallow for a fandom that spent decades theorizing on Dragonmount.com.
The Legacy of the Light
Is it a perfect book? No.
The tone shifts occasionally feel jarring. Some characters, like Padan Fain, get a "blink and you'll miss it" exit that felt a bit underwhelming after fourteen books of buildup. But as a closing chapter to a 4.4 million-word epic, it’s a miracle it works at all.
A Memory of Light succeeded because it stayed true to the core theme: The Wheel turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. It gave us closure while reminding us that in this world, there are no endings. But it was an ending.
How to Revisit the Series Today
If you’re looking to dive back into the world after finishing the final book, or if you’re trying to make sense of the lore, here is how you should actually approach it:
- Read "The Strike at Shayol Ghul": It’s a short piece Jordan wrote years ago that explains the collapse of the Hall of Servants. It adds massive context to why the Bore was such a mess in the first place.
- Check out "River of Souls": This is a deleted chapter from A Memory of Light published in the Unfettered anthology. It explains what Demandred was doing in Shara. It makes his arrival feel way less like a random plot device.
- Listen to the Origins: The book Origins of The Wheel of Time by Michael Livingston (with Harriet) is the gold standard. It breaks down Jordan’s real-world inspirations, from Norse myth to Arthurian legend.
- The Companion vs. The Wiki: Use the Wheel of Time Companion (the "Big White Book") for fact-checking, but honestly, the fan-run wikis are often more updated with Sanderson’s post-release "Words of Radiance" (his Q&A sessions).
The best way to experience the ending again isn't just re-reading the last book. It’s starting over at The Eye of the World. When you know how the Light eventually triumphs—and what it costs Rand to get there—those early chapters in the Two Rivers feel completely different. You see the shadows creeping in long before the characters do.
The Pattern is finished. The wind rose in the Mountains of Dhoom, but it was not the end. There are no endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a damn good finish.