Essay Questions

What is the once-unusual, but now unusually common provenance of this novel?

Once upon a series was comprised of a set number of independent yet connected stories. And then a little fellow named Harry Potter came along and filmmakers revealed that you could actually make more movies out of a series of books than the number of books themselves. The makers of the Twilight trilogy of novels learned this lesson and that is why the film trilogy consists of four movies. The publishers of the Wheel of Time book series seem to have been influenced to some aspect by this surefire moneymaking ploy as A Memory of Light started out as a single volume intended to conclude the series, but wound up as merely the last book in a mini-trilogy with material originally included in making its way into the two preceding novels as well.

Where does wind rise from in this entry?

One of the things about a series of books that appeals to readers over the long term is repetition of certain elements. Every book in this series literally features Chapter 1 opening almost word-for-word with the exactly same paragraph. What differentiates each from the other are the precise details and one of those details is the description of a wind coming from an Age long past. For instance, Chapter 1 of The Path of Daggers begins with the wind rising "above the great mountainous island of Tremalking." In the final book in the series, the wind rises "in the Mountains of Mist."

Who wrote the book's final scene?

Two authors are listed on the cover of the book. The Wheel of Time series was originated and written by Robert Jordan until his death in 2007 with the series still unfinished. As mentioned above, the decision was made to split this Jordan's original plan for the concluding volume into three separate books which would be completed by Brandon Sanderson based on extensive notes and outlines by Jordan. Although no precise information has been released identifying which of the two authors was actually responsible for writing individual parts of the books published in the wake of Jordan's death, Sanderson has gone on record as affirmatively stating that the book--and series--comes to an end with a scene focusing on Rand that was composed by Jordan shortly before his death.