I can remember when I first got The Eye of the World, it was the summer after I completed my freshman year in High School. I had just finished reading the entirety of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, having read the Lord of the Rings and whatever fantasy series the local library had. I was devouring books at an unrelenting pace. I was searching for something new and I discovered the Wheel of Time.

I can remember picking up the Eye of the World for the first time. Ironically the cover art caught my eye, on the paperback volume. I flicked through it, and decided to give it a go. I had no clue that this series would mean so much to me over the years. I can remember reading the prologue on a car ride over to my grandmother's house. It was as if a key to a new world had been unlocked.

Dragonmount had left me a little confused and it took me a while to figure out that the prologue was set well in advance of the main story. I was a little slow on the uptake, then. Though, the journey was fascinating.

If I had needed selling, Shadar Logoth did it for me. The flight from the Trollocs and Myrddraal was alright up to that point. When the characters started on their own unique journeys, however really got me intrigued. Rand's journey with Mat and Thom down the river to Whitebridge. Perrin and Egwene's journey across country with Elyas and the wolves.

I instantly hated the Whitecloaks. I was in shock when I thought Thom had died in Whitebridge. The grueling journey to Caemlyn for Rand and Mat.

Then the reunion in Caemlyn, and the flight through the Ways. Machin Shin. The journey to the Eye of the World, and then the ultimate reveal that Rand could channel. The entire book had reinforced that male channelers were worse then female ones. Destined to go mad. It was a nice cliffhanger. I finished The Eye of the World in almost a day.

So I went to the library and got the next two volumes, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. I wasn't too thrilled with The Great Hunt overall. It was a fun story, but there was something about it that I disliked. I think the worst of it is when Rand tries to alienate his friends.

The thing that intrigued me though was Nynaeve and Egwene's journey to the White Tower, and there time there. We learned a lot more about the Aes Sedai.

I was overjoyed to see that Thom was not dead. Then the journey to Falme, and Rand's battle in the clouds.

The Dragon Reborn I still regard as one of my favorite books in the series. Mat was my least favorite character to this point. Egwene and Nynaeve could channel which was cool. Rand was fated to go mad and destroy the world and doing so save it. Perrin could talk to freaking wolves. Mat, though, was Mat. He seemed whiny, and self-centered.

Yet, it was his scenes in the book that are some of my favorite from the series. Especially the one where he beats Gawyn and Galad fresh from his sickbed.

Then his night of gambling in Tar Valon, and joining up with Thom as they escape the city.

When he breaks into the Stone of Tear.

I read the next few books over the course of a couple days and was disappointed to find that A Crown of Swords was the most recent publication. About this time I began searching the net and lurking on Dragonmount and Wotmania.

I moved to Missouri shortly after The Path of Daggers was released. I devoured it like all the others. The years slowly turned and I was eagerly awaiting each new publication. Crossroads of Twilight was a disappointing read in my opinion. Knife of Dreams was an entirely different beast. It was the old Jordan. The pacing was a lot better. Things happened!

And then like the wind, he was gone. I remember getting online and reading the news on Wotmania. I had never met the man. Oh, I had read the interviews, read his blogs, knew about his fight with amyloidosis. Yet I did not know the man, but somehow his death had struck me.

Then I read that some new author named Brandon Sanderson was going to finish A Memory of Light. So I decided to check out some of his work. So I read his Mistborn and found it enjoyable. So I had hopes for the end.

As The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight came out, I came to realize that the series was ending. That A Memory of Light had been split into three volumes didn't bother me. Some of the scenes were a little more anticlimactic then I could like. Some of the characters were off, but the story was being told. I expected some changes with a new author, so I didn't let it put me off. Sure there were some glaring offenses, but I enjoyed the story for what it was.

Now having read the final volume of the Wheel of Time. A Memory of Light and having had some time to digest what I read, I can say the disappointment with the series is in many ways justified. Yet at the same time, it depends on how you look at the series as a whole.

There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. The series has been about the journey. Sure there were destinations and goals along the way. The biggest of which were Tarmon Gai'don. Sure some characters didn't get the scene time they deserved. Some deaths were shocking. Others were necessary. Egwene needed to reunify the White Tower for the Last Battle, but post Tarmon Gai'don, she would have been a terrible Amyrlin particularly with the Black Tower and the Seanchan to contend with.

New character arcs being started in the last book, I can say this much it goes to show that the world is not stagnant. And then Rand's scene where he rides away on his own journey into the world.

The story, the series, on a whole has been about the journey. Mat is married to the Empress of Seanchan, and they have an empire to bring into check. Perrin is now married to the Queen of Saldaea. Elayne has Caemlyn to rebuild, and Cairhien to manage. Nynaeve and Lan have Malkier to rebuild.

The journey is not over, not for the characters. It goes onward, but our witness to it is. "There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time, but it was an ending."

Am I sad, that our journey with these characters we have spent so long with is over? A little. I would like to know what happens, but alas the crux is there will be more characters to grow concerned with. It would go on endlessly. I am glad they decided to put the brakes on now.

Do I consider the Wheel of Time a literary masterpiece? Far from it! I do not read fantasy for literary prowess. I read it to be entertained, perhaps, mind numbingly so. I enjoy fantasy for a good story set in a world that's different. And what we got is years of entertainment from Mr. Jordan and Mr. Sanderson. At times the writing was painfully slow, but I think it helped to cement and grow communities because of this.

Perhaps someday, in a couple months, or a couple years I will dust off my books. I will turn over The Eye of the World in my hands and think of the fond times. And I will crack it open and read Dragonmount. And perhaps I will read the series start to finish all at once as it was meant to be read all along. One large story.

In many ways the journey went onward. We grew and changed as the series dragged out over the years. Friends were made and communities created around the Wheel of Time. Our changes over the decades in many ways reflect the old adage about life being a journey. And I think the Wheel of Time captured that theme perfectly. It was a journey start to finish. From a little isolated village called Emond's Field in the Two Rivers district in Andor, and we saw a breadth of cultures and interesting people, that came to a close at Shayol Ghul. I will miss traveling with Rand, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve, and Egwene. Yet, our participation in their journeys is done. In many ways the book is bittersweet.

Will I recommend A Memory of Light and the Wheel of Time as a whole to others? Yes, if you've read this long, might as well finish what you started. The series, of course. I might loan out the books in the future to friends, and perhaps the kids.

In the meanwhile I got to do some author shopping. Many thanks to the Wotmania crowd, and Readandfindout. Many thank indeed. I'll see you all on the Books forum