The Gathering Storm (novel)

For other uses, see The Gathering Storm.

The Gathering Storm
The front cover showing Rand al'Thor with Min Farshaw in the background, in front of a building with a burnt-out hole in the center. The title is justified middle and top in stylized letters. Authors names are middle and bottom, with Jordan's in larger letters above Sanderson's.
Original cover of The Gathering Storm featuring Rand al'Thor with Aviendha in front of a burnt out manor.
AuthorRobert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Cover artistDarrell K. Sweet (US)
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Wheel of Time
GenreFantasy
PublisherTor Books, Orbit Books
Publication date
October 27, 2009
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book
Pages783 (hardcover)
ISBN0-7653-0230-6
OCLC318422996
Preceded byKnife of Dreams 
Followed byTowers of Midnight 

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.[1] The Gathering Storm consists of a prologue, 50 chapters, and an epilogue.

  1. ^ Sanderson, "Foreword" The Gathering Storm, pp. 5–6.