| Title | : | The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1857232097 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781857232097 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 912 |
| Publication | : | First published October 15, 1993 |
The bonds and wards that hold the Great Lord of the Dark are slowly failing, but still his fragile prison holds. The Forsaken, immortal servants of the shadow, weave their snares and tighten their grip upon the realms of men, sure in the knowledge that their master will soon break free...
Rand al' Thor, the Dragon Reborn, knows that he must strike at the Enemy, but his forces are divided by treachery and by ambition. Even the Aes Sedai, ancient guardians of the Light, are riven by civil war. Betrayed by his allies, pursued by his enemies and beset by the madness that comes to the male wielders of the One Power, Rand rides out to meet the foe.
The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5) Reviews
-
You’re not in Tel’aran’rhiod. The flaming ta’veren has indeed pulled me back into this series.
“Mat had not learned the lesson that he had. Try to run away, and the Pattern pulled you back, often roughly; run in the direction the Wheel wove you, and sometimes you could manage a little control over your life. Sometimes. With luck, maybe more than any expected, at least in the long haul.”
The passage above felt like it was directed at me. No one is more surprised by this turn of events than I am. Yes, not only did I actually continue reading The Wheel of Time, but I also ended up enjoying The Fires of Heaven, the fifth book in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. For the past two and a half years, I was uncompromising in voicing my disappointment with The Shadow Rising. But deep inside, there was still a part of me that had been tainted by the sweetness and danger of saidin, and he was determined to finish the series no matter what. And then last year, the TV show adaptation came out, and the final episode of the first season was, in my opinion, so bad that it put the book series in a better light for me. Plus, taking a break from the series for years definitely helped a lot. One of the things that decreased my experience with reading The Shadow Rising most was my ridiculously high expectation towards it. For years before I started reading The Wheel of Time, I heard from many fans of the series that The Shadow Rising is the best book written by Robert Jordan; I failed to shake that notion entering that book. With The Fires of Heaven, I read it with the lowest possible expectation, and I more or less knew what I’m getting into; I felt like I could appreciate the good and tolerate the flaws of the series equally. Or maybe, The Fires of Heaven is just overall a superior book than The Shadow Rising for me.
“Always leave a way out, unless you really want to find out how hard a man can fight when he’s nothing to lose.”
The story in The Fires of Heaven continues from where The Shadow Rising ended. Right from the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised by what I was reading. I never expected I would end up devouring the first quarter of this 350k words novel so quickly, but that transpired. The Fires of Heaven is an incredibly character-driven novel. The slow-pacing of the series persisted in this novel, and there were a few sections in the middle of the book where it did feel difficult to continue; I'll get to that later. But I just loved reading Rand al'Thor's POV chapters in The Fires of Heaven, so much more than I expected. It may have taken five novels to get this development, but I found it refreshing to see Rand learning (and using) more of his power as the Dragon Reborn. More importantly, even though Rand can be categorized as arrogant in this book, I think it's not wrong for him to act and behave as he did. For the past four books, every faction and everyone insisted on using Rand for their own benefit, and that situation continues to this novel. It was super satisfying to see him becoming more of a leader and standing his ground strong in many instances instead of constantly being led around like a puppet. I mean, Rand IS The Dragon Reborn! He could destroy or save the world. I can't stop thinking about balefire and the implication of its power we get to witness here. And guess what? Rand's story wasn't even my utmost favorite section in The Fires of Heaven; it's Matrim Cauton's POV chapters.
“He hoped Mat had a fine time while he was free. He hoped that Perrin was enjoying himself in the Two Rivers… He hoped it because he knew he would draw them back, ta’veren pulling at ta’veren, and he the strongest. Moiraine had named it no coincidence, three such growing up in the same village, all nearly the same age; the Wheel wove happenstance and coincidence into the Pattern, but it did not lay down the likes of the three of them for no reason. Eventually he would pull his friends back to him, however far they went, and when they came, he would use them, however he could. However he had to. Because he did have to. Because whatever the Prophecy of the Dragon said, he was sure the only chance he had of winning Tarmon Gai’don lay in having all three of them, three ta’veren who had been tied together since infancy, tied together once more.”
I’m trying my best not to raise my own expectation here, but I must say, I absolutely enjoyed reading Mat’s POV chapters in The Fires of Heaven. Despite his relatively few appearances here, the impact of what he achieved raised his potential to become my favorite character in the series. Mat ranged from underwhelming to okay in the past four books, in my opinion. It felt like Jordan didn’t know what to do with his story arc yet. Or maybe, Jordan did know, but it took him five books for Mat’s character arc to begin. If you don’t know me, I’ve mentioned constantly that reluctant heroes have always been one of my favorite types of main characters to read, and Mat fully embodied this. His determination to try to escape the Pattern he’s pushed into was understandable; I actually felt bad for him and the streak of bad luck he encountered. But luck, good or bad, has always been a part of his life. Gambling is deep inside Mat, and reading the implementation of the new abilities he has acquired to turn the tide in his favor was a fist-pumping moment. This and the creation of The Band of the Red Hand, plus the ending sequence of the book, were my favorite parts of the entire novel. I loved it, and I look forward to the next chapter of his story and development.
“I'm a gambler, a farmboy, and I'm here to take command of your bloody army!
Other than Rand and Mat, I also loved being exposed to learning about the Aiel culture. Jordan’s world-building has always been something that I admired about the series, and The Fires of Heaven expanded upon this further. I also think most of the supporting characters played a role in enriching my reading experience. And as I just mentioned, the final quarter of The Fires of Heaven was well-written and exciting. Honestly, I love to continue to the next book immediately, but I will not make the same mistake I did a few years back when I tried to binge read this series for the first time.
Picture: The Fires of Heaven sketches by Dan dos Santos
All of these praises, however, don’t mean that I thoroughly loved The Fires of Heaven. As I said at the beginning of the review, this is a book filled with noticeable flaws; I just enjoyed it despite them. Perrin is absent in The Fires of Heaven. I genuinely don't mind Perrin's lack of appearance; Perrin is simply not a memorable main character at this stage of the series yet to me. But in exchange for Perrin, we get a lot of Nynaeve’s POV chapters. And I have several problems with this. Nynaeve continues her status of being one of the most infuriating characters I've ever read in fantasy here. Yes, she is a strong-willed character. But there were too many moments where I seriously just wanted to bash her head in and tell her to shut up, listen, and start admitting your own mistakes. Oh my god, Egwene lecturing Nynaeve made me internally scream with joy. Female characters—especially Nynaeve—continue to undermine men every step of their way, and I stand by my words that Jordan wrote some of the worst romances in fantasy. I am not sure whether it is apt to call them romances. They all just happened without proper build-up or developments; they were all totally impossible to understand. Then there is the boring circus and also Elayne's line of thoughts towards Thom, which confused the heck out of me, and Aviendha's never-ending tantrum and mood swing. Frankly, the only parts I enjoyed reading in Nynaeve and Elayne's chapters were the events in Tel’aran’rhiod and Uno—what a bloody riot, this guy.
“We have made the world dance as we sang for three thousand years. That is difficult habit to break, as I have learned while dancing to your song. You must dance free, and even the best intentioned of my sisters may well try to guide your steps as I once did.”
So, the problems in the series are still evident in this installment; if you struggled with them as I did, do not expect them to disappear with this book. Jordan frequently relied on traveling sections, overly detailed descriptions, and repetitive explanations to fill the pages of his series; these undoubtedly affect the pacing in the middle parts of The Fires of Heaven. I also preferred the action sequences to be longer and more vivid. I found Jordan's prose during his descriptions of the clothing and setting way too detailed for its own good sometimes, and unfortunately, not detailed enough during the battle scenes. I did, however, get what I wanted in the final quarter of the novel. So overall, what changed for me? How was I able to tolerate these issues? Regarding the female characters' behavior, I suggest accepting them for what they are and maybe, treating their antics and behaviors as a running joke in the series. I am sorry, but that's the only method I could apply to my reading experience to barely understand why they needed to be that long. If I accept their antics seriously, it would just drive me nuts and insane. As for pacing issues, taking a break from the series feels mandatory. Based on my experience, I don't think I would be able to tolerate the flaws if I had binged read this series like I did almost three years ago. By doing this, I felt like I successfully embraced the good while acknowledging, but not being too infuriated by, the flaws of the novel/series.
“Take what you can have. Rejoice in what you can save, and do not mourn your losses too long.”
At the end of the day, this could all be just because The Fires of Heaven is, in my opinion, a much better book than The Shadow Rising. I know that this is an unpopular opinion. I seldom heard anyone consider The Fires of Heaven one of their favorite books in the series. I am speaking regarding the one written solely by Robert Jordan. Personally speaking, The Fires of Heaven is at least up there with The Great Hunt as the best of the series so far. I cannot determine when I will finish reading the series. But I do know I will be reading the Lord of Chaos within this year, and hopefully, the seventh book, too! Going further beyond that within this year might be pushing my luck. This 2,000 words review I wrote is me circling around to say: “The Wheel of Time, I am back. You win again, ta’veren.”
"We'll drink the wine till the cup is dry,
And kiss the girls so they'll not cry,
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."
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For being such a long book (nearly 1000 pages in my trade paperback copy), amazingly little happens in The Fires of Heaven, and this is why so many readers have abandoned this otherwise interesting story. Approximately the first third of the novel contains so much recap and repetition that, if I'd had "my hair in a proper braid," I would have been yanking it as often as Nynaeve does.
The formula for the first 100 pages or so goes something like this: One or two lines of dialogue, two paragraphs of backstory, another line of dialogue, another couple of paragraphs of backstory... It felt like the proverbial "one step forward, two steps back!"
I managed to stick with it, though, only because I was listening to it on audiobook (and therefore only half listening while I accomplished something else at the same time) and because I wanted to write a review. Besides, I found it immensely entertaining when I could complete Robert Jordan's sentences for him... <>...
In The Fires of Heaven, we never see Perrin or Faile, which is fine with me. There is an interesting plot-line involving Siuan Sanche, Logain, and Gareth Bryne. Rand's adoption of Asmodean is entertaining, too -- I like that we're not really sure which side Asmodean and Lanfear are on. The plot does finally move forward a bit, but it takes way too long to do so. The book could have easily been cut to half its size and been better for it. If I had been the editor, I would have taken a blue pencil to all instances of:
* females obsessing about the modesty of their clothing
* males obsessing about the modesty of female clothing
* needless skirt smoothing and straightening
* silk clinging to hips and breasts
* shivering or sweating that has nothing to do with the weather
* disgusted talk about not understanding the opposite sex
* braid pulling, tugging, and yanking
* sniffing
* thoughts or actual instances of bottoms being switched or spanked
* Nynaeve's cat fights
At this point, I'm quickly loosing patience as The Wheel of Time quickly looses steam. That's a shame, because the story itself is very good -- but it's just too hard to extract it from the dross.
Read more
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The most thrilling and engaging Wheel of Time book yet
In most ways, this feels like a continuation of the previous book but I actually think it exceeds that one in quality. It's the first time in any of these books where I was never bored or impatient for things to get moving. The characters and world-building remain top-notch. There were select moments and plot points that didn't 100% work for me but that is to be expected in books and end series as long as this one.
I appreciated that this book didn't attempt to give a little slice into every single character, but instead focused on a few. While I was a bit frustrated no getting to read about Perrin, Faile or Loial - it's fun knowing more about the characters that we did get, and the expectation that we will get a more thorough focus on those other characters in other books. -
Fifth book in the series and I must say Jordan is still keeping things interesting. True, at some it felt like story is stagnant but soon he threw in some action and I was hooked again.
This book marks the absence of Perrin. I was expecting him to do great things in this book especially after that heroic performance in book 4 but sadly his name was mentioned here and there only, and not a single glimpse. I was very sad throughout the book because of it.
Elayne, Nynaeve, Aviendha and Rand, more than made up for Perrin’s absence here though I must say I only liked Rand here. As for the girls, they kept bickering throughout the book. Sometimes they fought among themselves and sometimes it was others who bore the tantrum thrown by these silly oafs.
Surprise of the book for me was Mat. He really came out of Rand’s shadow in this book. Though he was not prominently featured but whenever he was present in a scene, he was owned it. And he totally stole the show in final chapters. He is slowly paving his way into my list of favorites.
I simply loved how Rand has behaving from the last book. No one can order him around and he will make people do his bidding even if they are dead set against it. He knows what he has to do and he won’t let anyone do him otherwise. With each installment he has become calmer (perhaps except the parts where Aviendha and Elayne drives him mad) and strong.
Last but certainly not the least, Nynaeve. She has been my favorite since book 1. And I will admit graciously that she drives me mad sometimes but she is one of the strongest characters in the series so far. What she did in Shadow Rising and here, I don’t think can be outdone.
Overall it was a satisfactory addition to the series. Slow most of the time but it sure has its moments. -
*** 4.5 ***
A sprint to catch up with the buddy read at BB&B WoT crowd!
This is an amazing Epic Fantasy full of excitement, drama, wonderful as well as ridiculous situations, very flawed main characters, and a feeling of enchantment which is almost unattainable for most authors... Robert Jordan has made us already fall in love with all our thick headed leading boys, creatures, and girls, but in this book he tests our patience with them as readers, because he shows how VERY FLAWED they can get. At times I thought all of them needed to get taken down a peg or hundred, or at least they needed a good switching.... Some of them got exactly that, some steel need some direction with a firm hand... But despite the infuriating cat fighting and frustrating stubbornness they all exhibited at times, this is still an amazing, BRILLIANT, and addictive read which should be read by EVERY Fantasy fan!!!!
I wish you all Happy Reading and may you find the books which make you feel the way this series makes me feel!!!! -
The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time #5), Robert Jordan
The Fires of Heaven is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the fifth book in his series The Wheel of Time. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 15, 1993.
Devastated by Rand al'Thor's revelation of their true history, the Shaido Aiel attack Cairhien, with the aid of the Forsaken Sammael.
Rand prepares to attack the Shaido but first spends time in the Aiel Waste, learning from the former Forsaken Asmodean and becoming closer to the Aiel Maiden Aviendha.
In the same area, Egwene al'Vere continues her studies under the Aiel Wise Ones. Later, Rand leads his Aiel forces to defeat the Shaido, in the Second Battle of Cairhien.
Mat Cauthon uses his memories of past generals to act as a commander and win numerous battles, eventually killing the Shaido leader Couladin, whereupon the Shaido Aiel retreat.
Following Elaida's coup in the White Tower, she names Alviarin as her keeper and resolves to capture Rand. Meanwhile, the Aes Sedai who oppose her establish themselves in Salidar.
Learning this, Min Farshaw, Siuan Sanche, Leane Sharif, and Logain Ablar travel to Salidar
.
A suspicious Gareth Bryne pursues them, but after learning the situation, he forms a tentative alliance with the Salidar Aes Sedai. ...
تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز ششم ماه مارس سال 2019میلادی
عنوان: سری چرخ زمان کتاب پنجم: آتشهای (شعله های) بهشت؛ نویسنده: رابرت جردن؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م
چرخ زمان در جهانی روی میدهد که به سبب ماهیتِ دوّارِ زمان، همزمان گذشتهٔ دور و آیندهٔ دور زمین است؛ در گذار روایت، اسطوره هایی باستانی و تخیلی روایت میشوند که به تاریخ معاصر زمین اشاره دارند، از آنجمله دو غول به نامهای «موسک» و «مِرک»، که در افسانه ها با نیزه هایی آتشین که تا آنسوی جهان میرسید با هم ستیز میکردند، و برخی رویدادهای روایت منشأ اسطوره های زمین واقعی هستاند، مثل شخصیت «آرتور هاوکوینگ» در داستان که به افسانهٔ «شاه آرتور» در جهان واقعی اشاره دارد
کتابهای چرخ زمان داستانهایی بسیار پیچیده درباره خوبی در برابر بدی است، که در این میان، شاهد ماجراجویی شخصیتهای اصلی هستیم. «ارباب تاریکی»، نیرویی شیطانی است، که میخواهد مغزها را فاسد کند، و در پایان دنیا را از آن خود کند؛ تاریکی و نوچه هایش، قهرمانان داستان را در هر گوشه و کناری، مورد یورش قرار میدهند؛ اژدها، که لقب رهبر نور است، قهرمانیست که باید با تاریکی رودررو شود؛ اژدها در دورانهای گوناگون از زمان، بارها و بارها با تاریکی درافتاده است
در این کتاب پنجم پیوندها، و بندهایی که ارباب بزرگ تاریکی را، در خود نگاه میدارند، به آرامی از بین میروند، اما هنوز زندان با وجود شکننده بودنش، هنوز او را در خود نگاه میدارد؛ بندگان جاوید سایه رها شده اند، و تله های خویش را میبافند و ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/12/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ��. شربیانی -
“Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death.”
The White Tower is shattered by a brutal struggle for power. The remaining Forsaken enter the fray, as kings and queens dance to their tunes in secret. And the greatest army the Westlands have seen in thousands of years emerge from the Waste, as the clans of the Aiel cross the Spine of the World at the command of He Who Comes With The Dawn.
The Fires of Heaven is unfortunately not as interesting as previous instalments in the Wheel of Time series. To briefly summarise, there were three hundred pages of following a travelling circus, chapter upon chapter of nothing happening in the Aiel Waste, very little action at all, and quite a lot of talking. And precious little interesting talking, mind you.
Still, reading this book was like taking a break after a long and tedious workout session. Its most important strength was that the main characters, previously dubbed the worst characters in fantasy by this particular reviewer, seems to have improved immensely. Rand al'Thor, while further exploring the depths of madness, behaves rather civilly for once; both Egwene and Mat turn into characters I can respect, perhaps even like; Aviendha and Nynaeve have become almost tolerable; and Perrin and Faile don't even appear. So in one way at least, this was a series highlight so far.
Min's early POV chapters were great, and so were Rand's late ones. Watching Siuan Sanche race across the countryside with a gentled false Dragon in tow and encountering a bunch of interesting characters was perfectly enjoyable. As was reading about the Aiel and their second crossing of the Spine of the World. So there were certainly great parts included in this book as well.
The ending was definitely not as good as the one in The Shadow Rising, but neither would anyone expect it to be. The book as a whole was unremarkable and not particularly impressive, but the (almost) complete lack of negative qualities made me able to appreciate the insane worldbuilding skills of Robert Jordan even more. And for the first time in a while, I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Wheel of Time reviews:
#1
The Eye of the World
#2
The Great Hunt
#3
The Dragon Reborn
#4
The Shadow Rising
#5
The Fires of Heaven
#6
Lord of Chaos
#7
A Crown of Swords
#8
The Path of Daggers
#9
Winter's Heart
#10
Crossroads of Twilight
#11
Knife of Dreams
#12
The Gathering Storm
#13
Towers of Midnight
#14
A Memory of Light -
Another great installment with some major surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed this book especially the last part, it was crazy! I also didn’t want the book to end because I love the characters and this tale very much. I honestly don't have the time to review it but I'd like to mention a few points.
This book had a strange format. I assumed the climax was around p 750 and wondered what’s gonna happen in the last 100 pages.. but after that was "resolved", a completely different set of events took place in the last 150 pages. Suffice to say, I did not see that coming. I first assumed it's impossible to wrap that particular plotline before the end of the book but my friend reminded me that 150 pages are half of an average book's length! So strange to think that while reading a 1000 pages book..
Other than that: while I didn't mind the menagerie subplot, I admit it streched a bit. I also didn't care about the Shaido and wasn't really invested in that particular plotline. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed the book otherwise.
I think the Prophet’s characterisation is on point. We have zealots everywhere who ruin the picture of those they worship or follow.
the last 150 pages WERE EPIC. It was 4 stars read but then stuff happened and I was left disbelieving.
I enjoyed the Fires of Heaven more than the Shadow Rising but at the same time, I know the latter had an overall stronger plot.
I will wait at least 5 months before reading the Lord of Chaos. I struggled with the Shadow Rising because I have read it too soon. I want to avoid that with WoT's future books. -
Another month and another Wheel of Time book down.
This is epic high fantasy at its best. Rich engaging world with a lot of different PoVs and exciting happenings everywhere.
A few points of interest:
Rand - gets his groove on with a special lady and Lanfear looses her mind over it. But he also becomes more of a strong leader everyday.
Nynaeve - Unfortunately almost all the female characters in this get a personality change and spend most their time bickering and postering with each other enough to drive me crazy. But she does get to have a battle with Mogadine and that is pretty awesome.
Birgetta - The one female character that I loved through this entire book is more in the fight than I ever thought she’d be.
Mat - FINALLY DOES SOMETHING….I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for him to become more than a man that only gambles and chases skirts around. He might try to be hiding from his destiny but it looks like it is going to find him no matter what.
Eylane - Tap danced on my very last nerve with her actions towards Thom and some of the other petty crap she pulled. But she has learned to do something that has been lost for millennia so good for her.
The White Tower Divided - WOW this seems pretty troublesome overall. All I know is that Moiraine is pretty much the only Aes Sedae I like and the light burn all the others. It is amazing how dense they all are in themselves and their greatness. Hubris will kill them all eventually I think.
Min - Was one of the few female characters that didn’t turn into a total ninny this book. I enjoyed her chapters traveling with a deposed Suane the most and I hope she makes it to Rand to have her shot soon.
There are some great surprises in this book but I liked the last one just a little more. I think that has a lot to do with all the women in the book becoming silly, whiny and a little stupid for the most part.
But the Wheel weaves as the Wheel Wills and I am so caught up in knowing how this cycle will play out. -
To this point, I’ve enjoyed my re-read of THE WHEEL OF TIME, but I struggled at times to wade through this one. The length — nearing 1,000 pages in the mass-market paperback edition — wasn’t so much the problem as the character Nynaeve.
To this point in the series I’ve been mostly positive about Jordan’s use of women. There’s no disguising the fact that WHEEL OF TIME is heavily inspired by LORD OF THE RINGS, and seeing Jordan correct one of Tolkien’s weaknesses — the role of women in his stories — seemed like a solid step. And while some of the male protagonists seemed passive, merely reacting to the world around them rather than making proactive choices, Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne at times drove the plot, making decisions and bringing the fight to the bad guys.
But in this book, Jordan relies more heavily on Nynaeve’s point of view, and that sucks much of the fun from the story. To this point, Nynaeve has mostly been a side character. Surly and grouchy, almost always criticizing the other characters, she has always been portrayed as a good person who’s a bit overbearing and rough around the edges. But spending as much time inside Nynaeve’s head as we do in this book, I came away with almost the opposite impression. She hates almost all of her “friends.”
Elayne is a slut because of the clothes she wears, even though Nynaeve is often wearing something similar.
Anyone who disagrees with her is a fool.
All men are morons, except for Lan.
Thom is an old fool.
Juilin Sandar wears a silly conical hat (Nynaeve seems obsessed with this damn hat. In every Nynaeve POV chapter, the first thing she ever says about Juilin is that his hat is silly, yellow and conical. She is literally unable to mention Juilin’s name without commenting on how much she hates this hat).
It’s exhausting to be around someone this negative, and Nynaeve’s POV dominates this book, making her constant negativity impossible to ignore. In the end, it drains this book of much of its fun. Even some of the plot developments late in the book are overshadowed by Nynaeve’s personality, and that’s too bad because Jordan moves the story forward and takes it to some interesting places. I just wish Nynaeve didn’t have to be in any of those places. -
So I was trying to decide in which order of Knight Radiant some our characters would fit. Sanderson actually confirmed Rand as a Bondsmith (Windrunner as secondary fit), Mat as a Lightweaver, and Perrin as a Willshaper. Besides those, Galad has to be a Skybreaker, right? Nyneave I’d probably make an Edgedancer, Egwene an Elsecaller and Lan a Stoneward. I’m not sure about Elayne – maybe I need to read more books before I can make a decision. Thoughts, friends?
Anyway, it’s hard to write a review that is not repetitive in a series – let me just say again how much I love it! The fact that, so far, I’ve been reading books 1-5 back to back tells you about everything you need to know. I keep having this wonderful feeling of being on a journey with our characters, which might also have something to do with them going places so much, and I’m constantly in my happy place when reading.
A part of my enjoyment is that the combination of prophecy and the nature of ta’veren really works for me. I enjoy seeing our characters being led in general and being led to one another. In any other book, you’d be skeptical of all those “chance” encounters, but here it just works. Also, it is comforting to me that the core characters have plot armor to a certain degree – though I’m sure that’s going to change at some point.
Still, there continue to be some things that drive me up the wall:
🙄 people having to be naked for weird reasons constantly
🤨 Rand smoking a pipe
🙈 the name “Couladin” sounding way too close to "Kaladin" for my liking (I’m fine with “Adelin“ and “Adolin“)
🤯 Egwene and Nynaeve’s lack of empathy towards Rand (calling him out for being arrogant without considering his fate and his reasons)
🤦♀️ Elayne’s misplaced infatuation with a man that could be her grandfather and is her mother’s ex-lover
I would be lying if I said those things didn’t bother me from time to time, but I am happy to note that they don’t diminish my love for WoT at all. On to book 6! -
Despite The Fires of Heavens being slightly weaker compared to its brilliant predecessor, it is still an outstanding novel, once again confirming how well-thought-out and consistent the Wheel of Time world is. At this point, it is blatant that the whole series is beyond interesting and intriguing, and becomes outright addictive.
The momentum of the presented world is overwhelming and shocking, and yet I can’t get enough of it. While the multi-level main plots in their meticulousness and fastidiousness, harmony and the ability to maintain the logic of the created world in even the smallest, subtle details should place Mr Jordan on the second step of the podium, right behind Professor Tolkien, Mr Jordan is already a master in terms of plotting. Compared with Mr Jordan’s panache, the Lord of the Rings is a single-threaded good-night tale. It amazes me how skilfully Mr Jordan controls everything, over several hundred pages of a dense story, and the only thing that can be criticised is basically too many PMS women, featuring mostly Nynaeve in the form of ever-furious comic relief.
“Is that steam coming out of her ears?”
For me, the first time in the series, Mr Jordan does not even try to give the plot the appearance of being an independent entity that can be read as a story of its own. On the contrary, some plot lines are pushed forward, while others, were completely omitted (e.g. Perrin).
Of course, so much is happening, that it would be impossible to recap everything here. The threads, instead of explaining each other, develop, interweave, grow in complexity and as if it was not enough, new ones appear (we are still not even halfway through, after all!). The story is moving forward in a mad gallop from the very beginning. We mostly accompany Rand and the Aiel, Nynaeve and Elayne, and Siuan Sanche accompanied by Min and Leane. We also are offered glimpses into the split White Tower. At the same time, the Forsaken pursue their goals more and more boldly, either alone or by cooperating with each other. The unexpected, heartbreaking twists are well-integrated with the lighter chapters that give us breathers, and simultaneously only whet our appetite. Their proper length does not allow for boredom, as was sometimes the case in previous volumes.
“We all have to do what we must. Now what we want to, very often. What we must.”
Simultaneously, I can see that these moments, interspersed with long passages, which show a love of detail, meticulous descriptions or, in the worst cases, introducing the thoughts of individual characters to the narrative, can be trying. On the one hand, this is an advantage - the reader has the impression that the world is precise, and the characters’ motivations are clear, clear and understandable.
However, when we look at this book (and series!) with a more critical eye, we notice the text blown out to the outer limits, full of repetitions, banalities or descriptions of completely irrelevant details that in the long run becomes simply boring and tiring. When we overlay it with a strongly exposed element of male-female relations (especially the awful 3+1 leading triangle), we get a product that can be sometimes really irritating.
Luckily, those lengthy details and descriptions that slow down the action, do not dissipate the overall tension. This is achieved thanks to the individual characters, colourful and interesting: some we grow to like (Mat) or love (Moraine), others are irritating (Aviednha), but they are consistently led through actions and events that explain character development. They are human, they make mistakes, you can identify with either their flaws or their dreams (or even both), which is not always obvious in fantasy.
“We all make our limits. And we set them further out than we have any rights.”
For me, Siuan Sanche was the shining star of this instalment, especially when contrasted with Egwene (who is 80% bluff and 20% luck wrapped in insufferable smugness), Siuan shows what happens when all the tools of power are taken away from you and you need to rely on wit and a stubborn will not to give in.
This is just one of the things worth mentioning. It shows that overall, the Wheel of Time is a series that has quite a lot to offer to readers with high expectations. The question is, is it worth being patient and going through this popular saga? I guess so. There are several scenes in The Fires of Heaven, which can provide great entertainment. For some, it is not enough, for others, it will suffice. For me, it is just right. I was genuinely delighted with the epic ending; the last 100 pages crushed me. A very short epilogue, however, left me unsatisfied…
…And prompted me to start the Lord of Chaos immediately.
Also in the series:
1.
The Eye of the World ★★★★☆
2.
The Great Hunt ★★★★☆
3.
The Dragon Reborn ★★★★☆
4.
The Shadow Rising ★★★★☆
6.
Lord of Chaos ★★★☆☆
7.
A Crown of Swords ★★★☆☆
8.
The Path of Daggers ★★★☆☆
9.
Winter's Heart ★☆☆☆☆
10.
Crossroads of Twilight ★★☆☆☆
11.
Knife of Dreams ★★★★☆
12.
The Gathering Storm ★★★★☆
13.
Towers of Midnight ★★★☆☆
14. A Memory of Light ★★★☆☆ -
Full review to come, but for now, here are some random observations:
The book started out strong, with those tricky Forsaken up to their shenanigans, which is always fun to watch.
But as Rand and company traveled without getting anywhere, things got slower...
...and slower...
...and sllllllllloooooooowwwwwwwer!
But then Nynaeve and Elayne met acircusmenagerie, which was really cool!
And the Forsaken started causing trouble again, so my interest was once again piqued.
But then a battle that had been built up for hundreds of pages wound up mostly happening off camera, so then I was annoyed again!
But even if I found some parts dull, the last few chapters more than made up for it, with the most exciting climax since
The Great Hunt!
So, overall, this was my least favorite of the Wheel of Time books so far, but ultimately still a good read (especially the last quarter of the book).
If I were to stack Wheel of Time books in order of favorite to least favorite, this is how it would look so far:
I was a little disappointed in myself that it's taken me so long to read through this series so far, but then I noticed something when I turned the books around:
Light! That's a lot of pages! I expect the table will collapse by the time I get to Book 10! :o -
"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain / Time to roll the dice"
5th volume and as awesome as the others. Rand starts to build his army, they all learn more about the One Power, and thus they become more powerful with each day.
As a side note, whenever I hear
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' Red Right Hand I think of Mat and his band, not of Peaky Blinders.
Notes to myself, heavy spoilers:
(3rd read, Feb 4 - March 5 2022)
------
Rand has indeed become the Dragon Reborn; he is such a powerful character, far from the boy who could be easily manipulated by Aes Sedai. Most of the Aiel clans follow He Who Comes With The Dawn and together they cross the Spine of the World into the Westlands, trying to gather all nations under his flag in preparation for Tarmon Gaidon which is approaching fast.
Mat is finally achieving his long-awaited fame. He makes use of the knowledge gained so painfully in Rhuidean and turns over the result of the confrontation with the Shaido. However, as much as he wants to pull himself away from Rand, the Pattern is more powerful and their ta’veren bond not so frail to be broken on a whim.
The White Tower is still broken; there are two sides now and no sister trusts the one next to her.
Nynaeve is fighting one of the Forsaken and later on even uses her; Elayne makes a very bold move, one which ever find out, will probably end her association with the Aes Sedai.
But more than the plot are the new details which are being thrown into the story with every volume. The more you read, the more secrets are unfolding under you eyes and fingers; the One Power holds yet so many secrets, if only the wielder knows how to use it.
And there are so many more surprises yet to come; my fingers itch to start the 6th volume but I will take a break now, because I want to be able to savor it gradually. -
4 stars
**Although this is a spoiler-free review (spoilers are hidden), there may be spoilers for previous books (scroll down)**
Guys!! Based on pure enjoyment, this is my favorite Wheel of Time book so far. Where the previous book focused more on Rand and Perrin, this one treats all the side quests (Min, Rand, Mat, Egwene, and Elayne/Nynaeve) fairly equally... but excludes Perrin. As Couladin declared himself the 'real' Car’a’carn and promises vengeance on the treekiller Cairhienin, he sets out on a killer rampage to Jangai Pass. Rand soon follows suit. With Foresaken taunting and chasing after him, he will soon be facing more than one enemy... but will his mind hold up until then?
“With his coming are the dread fires born again. The hills burn, and the land turns sere. The tides of men run out, and the hours dwindle. The wall is pierced, and the veil of parting raised. Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death.”
I absolutely loved the plot of this book. It is everything you want. The set up starts up right in the beginning. From the quote above (with which the novel starts), to the gripping prologue, to the tension-filled first chapter. Then the climax and the third act were all phenomenal. You get this feeling of strife through Rand's perspective. At this point I feel like he might become my favorite character overall with time. From the Nynaeve/Elayne side, their plot gives them an opportunity to set up other conflicts and explore parts of the world that we have only heard about previously. They also give the story a tranquil tone with comic relief that doesn't feel forced. Where in some other previous entries to this series I thought the humor and plot was a little bit forced, here I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The one aspect of the story that really put a bad taste in my mouth were the women. I cannot stand some of them now. I have been told that it gets better but WOW do I want to (as Nynaeve would say) "box their ears". Min, Moiraine, Siuan, and sometimes Elayne and Nynaeve are the only women that I actually like. The two main offenders in this book are Egwene and Aviendha. First off, Egwene is a brat. She has this moment in the book where she turns into a pretentious jerk to everyone other than the Wise Ones, Aviendha and Moiraine. There are no words that express how disgusted I was in her while reading her segments. On the other hand, Aviendha is a bad friend: for what reasons I cannot say, but let's just say, if I was Elayne I'd be pissed.
The Fires of Heaven, is the most fun book in the series so far. Despite its usual Jordan pacing issues (though those too haven't been very prevalent), I was more than satisfied in the set up and pay off of the plot and the progression of some characters. Unfortunately the females are getting on my nerves and taint my impression of this novel. Quick note: I am reading New Spring after this book.
Spoiler thoughts:
-----------------------------------
Books in series:
#0
New Spring: ★★.75
#1
The Eye of the World: ★★★.5
#2
The Great Hunt: ★★★.75
#3
The Dragon Reborn: ★★★
#4
The Shadow Rising: ★★★★.25
#5 The Fires of Heaven: ★★★★
#6
Lord of Chaos: ★★★★.25
#7
A Crown of Swords: ★★★.75
#8
The Path of Daggers: ★★.25 -
"Who would rule a nation when he could have easier work, such as carrying water uphill in a sieve?"
-
“Always leave a way out, unless you really want to find out how hard a man can fight when he’s nothing to lose.”
The reception behind The Fires of Heaven is so polarising (for good reasons). My friend calls this “the most Robert Jordan book” all his excesses are on full display (for better or worse). I was both excited and concerned about this book because of that fact and one plotline which often is discussed. So firstly, I think this book is great, I loved my time with it and that single plotline must be one of the most overblown hatreds, I’ve seen for a plotline. In this review, I will be describing why I found this to be a fantastic entry in the Wheel of Time, despite being one of the flawed in the series.
FoH is the first Wheel of Time book where it’s a proper continuation of the prior books’ plotline. Book 4’s major plotline was somewhat independent, breaking the formula of the series and continuing that trend. So, the plot threads like Couladin, Eladia, Min, Rand, Mat, Aviendha and Nyneave are directly followed up. In turn, becomes its biggest advantage.
The world-building is brilliant (as usual). It's not mindblowing akin to Book 4, but there’s a lot of juicy information. So firstly, the polarising element is Jordan's descriptions. His descriptions of bosoms aren't what annoyed me, it’s more so the filler. What Jordan states in 30 words, most authors could communicate in 10. It's less of a byproduct of beautiful prose, but more repetitive descriptions that are littered throughout that serve little purpose. On the other side of the coin, he's excellent at setting a scene. Even people who dislike his prose have a good grasp of the scene he sets, sprinkling nuggets of beauty. It’s not necessarily action (which is often fantastic) but how inner conflict is conveyed to set this incredible atmosphere and deliver certain emotions vividly. If I were to sum it up, I would say it’s uneven in its brilliance. However, I’m mostly a fan but when a chapter's heavy lifting is entirely on its prose with very little of anything interesting transpiring it’s Jordan excesses at his worst.
Another polarising component is pacing. Whenever TSR book slowed down, it's often for meaningful reasons. Each chapter felt like it was delivering something vital like character, culture, plot development etc. In the case of FoH, it felt a lot less meaningful. Chapters could be cut in half, without many meaningful elements being removed contrary to TSR. There were just a ton of meetings and less variety compared to TSR. This didn’t bother me significantly; there were only a few chapters that I didn’t like but even then, elements of those chapters I enjoyed. I even found the Circus plotline to be good, which is the silver lining of the book. If you do not click with this plotline the pacing can drag immensely.
Before going to the positives (as there’s a lot), I think the make-it-or-break is the female bickering. This element can hit the nerves and in certain stages, it did annoy me. The arrogance of the Aes Sedai on display is insane. There’s just a certain section that makes me feel in disbelief by their stupidity and ineptitude. Another oddity is some of the inconsistencies. There’s a certain subplot with Elayne that came out of left field, and I question why it exists. It doesn’t serve any purpose and only undermines what was established in TSR. Similarly, Nynaeve made certain decisions you would think after 4 books you would know not to make. In general, I think some characters felt more inconsistent which is atypical of Jordan. Which is usually one of his biggest strengths. Now I can talk about the positives of the book, which there’s a lot!
Positives
Conclusion
In Conclusion, there’s still a surprising lot that can be said for this book which speaks volumes about its quality. Is this book flawed? Absolutely! However, this is probably my second favourite entry in the series. I loved how it built upon the prior books, expand on it and I’m excited to read the fan favourite Lord of Chaos!
8-8.5/10 -
Like all the rest of the Wheel of Time books this was an enjoyable and engaging read. It was not quite as well paced as the 4th book in the series, but Jordan has a knack for keeping my attention even when not a lot is actually happening. A sure sign of a master storyteller.
The biggest shock was that this book did not feature Perrin at all! That left Rand and the pairing of Nynaeve and Elayne as the main POV characters. Luckily that worked out well enough as both story arcs were good. Rand and the Aiel are on the move from Rhuidean. Mostly to save Cairhien from Couladin and his renegade Aiel. Rand also has to deal with attacks from a few of the Forsaken. Nynaeve and Elayne were on the move from Tanchico to Salidar, where they aimed to join up with the rebel Aes Sedai. Along the way the had to dodge Moghidean and the Black Ajah. Their journey was lengthy and while this was not the best book for Nynaeve as a character, she was a little too crazy at times, I did always enjoy her POV segments.
Min, Siuan, Mat, Morgase, and Egwene all had supporting roles in the story. I loved the addition of Siuan and Morgase as POV characters. Egwene did not have a lot to do, but I did feel she showed a bit of growth and maturity. Mat was an ass for the majority of the book, but had a few good moments towards the end.
This was another highly addictive read. I like the balance between the action and the somewhat weird and crazy humor that Jordan favours.
Rating: 4.5 stars. Not quite as awesome as the 4th book, but still great.
Audio Note: What to say? Krammer and Reading were as awesome as ever. -
It’s interesting rereading Wheel of Time and really seeing how great of a series it is, in terms of being simply such great fantasy, but also recognising where some areas do happen to lack slightly, and I think that this was fairly prevalent in this novel. Now, whereas there were some truly epic scenes, especially towards the second half of the novel, which were so, my god, so good, there were also some fairly long travelogues where nothing really happened for dozens of pages at a time, and it was just characters bickering at each other.
Now, I’m generally fairly lenient with my Wheel of Time ratings, as generally, for each book, while I have criticisms, I also adore the series so damning much as a whole that I tend to give books rating higher than I might otherwise give a book of the same quality. I feel for me that the series as a whole and what it accomplishes, the worldbuilding and the characters make it one of my series of all time, yet despite that, I would probably not actually name any of the individual books as my favourites of all time, as I tend to think of it as one body of work set in the same world, but the series overall is just fantastic.
This book had so many great moments and scenes that were just absolutely top tier, 10/10 content, and I simply loved so much. I mean, everything that happened around Cairhien and that ending in Caemlyn, just fantastic. I also really loved Siuan Sanche and Morgase’s pov, and frankly, Morgase is such a legend with such a strong will, that no wonder Elayne is the sort of character that she is. We also have some interesting development from Rand, and especially Mat, who really started to shine in this book. Mat is one of my favourite characters ever, and I don’t know how far I will get into this reread before I decide reading something else, but I definitely make it through the whole series eventually, where Mat is really is such a remarkable figure in fantasy.
After the prominent role Perrin played in
The Shadow Rising, he didn’t even make a single appearance in this novel, which was fair enough, as the mini arc in book 4 did wrap up nicely, but it is also an interesting choice to make I found, as he is one of the main characters in the series, and he didn’t even make pop up this book at all.
One thing this book could have been was maybe about 150 pages shorter. Nothing too important really happens with Nynaeve, Elayne and that whole situation on the western side of the continent, and a large chunk probably could have been cut. There were some nice moments and important sections to be sure, but a lot of it was also just them travelling along and slowly making progress and I feel much of that was really not all that necessary to the overall plot of the novel at all. The series as a whole does contain a lot of travelling and some really enjoy that, others don’t. I’m sort of in the middle, like, travelling is nice and all and we get to see the world being described, but sometimes it can really be overdone, and I’m aware it gets much worse in the slog books, but I don’t even remember if there was a lot of travelling or just that the plot didn’t move much.
Also, as an end note, Moiraine deserves all of our respect. 9/10 -
The Wheel of Time series represents, for me, the perfect example of a guilty pleasure in the world of fantasy.
This series is not actually written very well. Robert Jordan was not a very good wordsmith, and he really only knew how to say and describe things one way. His characters are generally unbelievable, and have ridiculous dialogue. The plot is tremendously predictable, and is heavily influenced (close to the point of being unoriginal) by the fantasy works that came before. The whole story is much, much longer than it needs to be and obviously became bigger than Jordan could handle.
That being said... I still enjoy these books. I can't rationally explain it, and I've re-read most of them at least a couple times. I shouldn't be so attached to them, yet I'm chained by my own embarrassed desire to periodically dive into the wheel of time. The only explanation I can think of, is that Jordan was a wizard. Not a skillful, subtle, thoughtful wizard; a sneaky, dark, and soul-sucking wizard who has enchanted me by his mediocre writing.
Many people despise and look down their nose at these books, and I totally understand that. Many people also love and adore these books, and will forever place The Wheel of Time series upon their list of all-time favorite books. I can understand that impulse too.
I realize this review is lacking in helpfulness, but the important thing to take away is this: try these books out. If you hate them, then fine. At least you'll have given them a chance. If you Love them, then great! Good for you, and you have a long, LONG, journey ahead of you filled with something you love. Either way, you'll have exposed yourself to one of the most famous fantasy series of all time. -
4.75⭐️
-
The one where Nynaeve runs off to join the circus.
I am not joking. It felt like 400 of 700 pages were Nynaeve fretting about neckline depth, while following a character arc that took her from being scared to being slightly less scared, kind of but not really learning some humility, sitting still with Master Luca's circus for pages and pages and pages until she finally remembered where the rebel Aes Sedai were gathering, and in total leaving me wondering why Lan should ever continue their stated long-distance romance.
The remaining 300 pages were Rand and his Aiel moving back into Randland and facing the Shaido Aiel, and by the end Mat converting into his character for the rest of the series. There are several explosive moments to cap it all off, and these were welcome, but they did not erase all of that dead time spent at the circus. Perrin stays out of this book except in mention by other characters.
In past readings of this series I always lost track of all of those Forsaken, so MAJOR SPOILERS HERE as I track them for my own sake: -
Another solid entry in the WoT series. Minor quibbles here and there, but otherwise highly enjoyable fantasy.
SPOILERS PEOPLE.
Highlights: -
3.5 stars
Okay, this PAINS me to give this book less than a 4 star rating. BUT, this book did not hold up to my memories from when I read it when I was a teenager. I have to agree with what I saw a lot of other reviewers have already stated, there was a lot of repetitiveness in this book. Lots of Nynaeve pulling her braid, lots of Mat saying “blood and ashes” that got old really fast for me.
But there’s a lot of good to this book as well. We see Mat beginning to act on the memories obtained in the last book, Nynaeve and Elayne get a lot of what they were set out to do done, Rand takes action as the dragon reborn. Now that I know series spoilers, there’s a lot that was obvious to me in this book for what was to come that wasn’t when I previously read it.
Lord of Chaos was the book where I quit the series the first time around so fingers crossed I can make it through this time. My goal is to finish the series now that the series is actually completed. -
And now my watch has ended
-
It's funny, because if you read other's reviews of this book, you'll notice that folks start to split into two camps. They're either ridiculously addicted and love it, or they're getting frustrated. They don't want a 400 plus page book in a series that should have been a trilogy. They don't like the fact that Jordan is "getting all epic on your ass" in this continuing study of the adventures of our characters. They don't like the fact that there are 1239724897923489084 more books after this one in the series.
I'm first-camping it. Yep.
I personally love the fact that I'm not finished with this book and done with the series. It ain't over, folks... not by a long shot. I'd say "Keep 'em coming", but Robert Jordan died and the 12th book is probably being written by someone else, so that phrase isn't likely to be crazy-fulfilled. Still, dang.
Keep 'em coming. -
I'm sorry, but by this point, if I had to read once more about "smoothed faced" ageless women (and insert many other repeated phrases of your choice here), I was going to lose my mind. I kept reading the books for the sake of completion, but by book 5, I was rapidly losing patience and interest. I think these books suffered from the syndrome of many long-running book (and TV) series--the lack of an overall cohesive plotline and the presence of far too many characters to keep active in an otherwise entertaining and creatively built world.
-
Wow!
Έγιναν τόσα πολλά πράγματα σε αυτό το βιβλίο, που δεν μπορώ να σχολιάσω το καθένα ξεχωριστά.
Είναι σαφώς το καλύτερο της σειράς μέχρι τώρα, αλλά και της μέχρι τώρα αναγνωστικής μου χρονιάς.
Αυτό που έγινε στο τέλος δεν το περίμενα με τίποτα!!!😶 (Ελπίζω με κάποιον τρόπο να μην ισχύει😂) -
On hold at 55%. I got sick of seeing it on my currently reading shelf lol.
