My reaction to aMoL is mixed. Some disorganised thoughts:

The plot moved quickly and, mercifully, characters tended to function without the chronic misunderstandings and miscommunications that they've been prone to in previous books. I suspect these two facts are connected.

There was plenty of action and of peril, as there should have been, but the endless battle scenes quickly became tedious. The only thing that saved them was the creeping sense of Something Wrong as the captains made ever more mistakes. That was a nice touch (though really, if you could get that close to them wouldn't just killing them have been more effective?).

The Horn was a plot twist like whoa. Noal made me want to cry. I positively cackled with glee at Graendal's fate. Oh sweet delicious irony.

Unfortunately, Sanderson's attempt to write Mat was, if anything, even worse than in previous books. He does most characters well - Jesus!Rand, Aviendha, Egwene - but really mangles a few. Every scene with Fortuona in it left me wincing. She used to be my favourite character.

I thought Rand's battle with the Dark One was powerful and believable. I found Rand's fate satisfying. There were plenty of unanswered questions - in the good sense. Though there were also plenty of dangling unresolved plot threads, in the not-so-good frustrating sense.

A lot of people died. Those who did, I did not expect, and some of those I expected to die did not. This pleases me.

I was disappointed by the lack of emotional impact in scenes that should have been very powerful, like Rand's meeting with Moiraine or the confrontation between Egwene and Fortuona. Some of those scenes have been building for half a dozen books - they deserved more than platitudes or insults.

But my greatest disappointments were in Demandred, and in Shara. Demandred, for appearing at the head of a terrifying army with a ridiculously powerful sa'angreal and then proceeding to spend the whole battle yelling for Lews Therin to come out and fight him. It was stupid. But I suppose the Forsaken aren't always the sharpest tools in the box. What really irritated me was the Sharans. One of the central themes of this series has been the need for people to put aside their differences and work together and a damned large chunk of the series has been focused on Our Heroes trying to make that happen. Because this is humanity's fight against the darkness. And then the Sharans appear. Demandred has them hookwinked and they fight for the Shadow.

It made an entire people of humans the enemy. It denied them the choice to fight for the Light - a choice everyone should have had. In a way I can't fully articulate, I vehemently object to that plot decision.

Overall, I found the book a mixed bag. But even though there were parts I disliked, I'm glad of it. We finally know how it all ends. And I'm sad, because a long adventure is over.