The book was mediocre.

Criticisms:

Galad and Gawyn's motivations and actions seemed to tidy for me. They needed a bit more soul-seaching before they came to the conclusions they did. It was too fast. I think most of that can be contributed to the lack of previous "screen time" (especially for Galad) and Sanderson's need to fit these things in before the end. It's a minor criticism, but it stood out to me.

Much of Elayne's storyline was also glossed over. So much so, that it was difficult to suspend disbelief for the outcome. There should have been more concerning her struggle for ascension. Her move for the Sun Throne, was much the same, but a little better overall. Finally, was that even Elayne. I kept getting the impression that I was reading about a new character. Sure, there were bits and pieces of the Elayne I'm familiar with, but overall she seemed a different person.

Sanderson had a lot of catching up to do with Perrin and he did it in this book. I would have preferred Perrin's decision to willingly lead, and his finding a balance with his wolf-self had taken place earlier. It didn't because Jordan dragged out Perrin's storyline unnecessarily. Sanderson did an admirable job fitting that all in before the final book.

Mat's storyline was enjoyable overall, with the one glaring exception being his letter to Elayne. It was so bad a depiction of his character that it needs to pointed out (and has been). However, there's one other thing regarding Mat's storyline that's bugging me and I haven't seen it mentioned yet. Jordan repeatedly (as is his style) mentioned Aes Sedai's ability to sense Shadowspawn. So, how do the three Aes Sedai in Mat's camp not sense the gholam, and particularly Teslyn when she's within a few yards of it?

Sanderson's writing: While I do enjoy not having to read long, unnecessary descriptions of buildings and dresses, I think Sanderson could have broken up the dialog a bit more. Mainly with the thoughts of a lot of characters. That is a minor thing, though. Unfortunately, he also makes some really horrendous choices. A specific example is when he inserts real-life modern-day speech patterns, most notably the "are you wanting to"-type of speech that has recently plagued modern English. Really, what is wrong with "do you want to" instead? And it certainly has no place in this series. Sanderson, also occasionally had more educated characters use the vernacular of country folk, which was sometimes jarring to read.

Can someone please explain to me the purpose of the Chapter "Boots?" I don't see a reason for it to be a part of the series at all.

The numerous glaring typos: Tell me. Who is to blame? Sanderson, Harriet, other Tor editors/typesetters. I need someone to blame.

Compliments:

I really enjoyed the Tower of Ghenjei scenes. (It doesn't surprise me to learn that Jordan already wrote all or nearly all of them.) The outcome was already known, but still it was enjoyable to read.

Things that got wrapped up: Berelain and her man in white. Glad that's taken care of. Mesaana's alias. Glad that's taken care of. Verin's letter. Glad that's taken care of. Aludra's dragons get made. Glad that's taken care of.

Aviendha's second trip through the glass columns. Very interesting. And although those images seemed more "real" to her, it should be obvious that those are only possible futures. Every other thing that touches on the future in this series makes it clear that the future can't be known for sure. The different prophecies of the various cultures are misinterpreted consistently. The Foretellings and visions in the World of Dreams are all open to interpretation as well. The ter'angreal used for testing in Tar Valon and Rhuidean also show only possibilities.

Conclusion:

The book is mediocre because it lacks a lot of character development in lieu of getting things done to move the story along. It has some very poor writing style choices. It leaves out a major section of the continuing and important theme of unity among the nations.

Normally, these things by themselves would have made the book a failure. However, I don't think it's fair to look at this book individually and judge it soley in that manner. It is part of a series and as such, has extenuating circumstances that can't be ignored. Jordan left Sanderson some large holes to dig out of in order to get the series done in the time prescribed after Jordan's death. He has done a manageable job of that--not well, in this book, but manageable. I may have even given this book a slightly higher rating if not for the very poor writing style choices of Sanderson. As an ardent fan of the series as a whole, I can't help but be disappointed by this book, but neither can I be unsatisfied knowing the limitations Sanderson was burdended with.