The Shadow Rising
The fourth book in the Wheel of Time series took a really long time to get going. Everyone starts out in the same place, trying to figure out what they're going to do next. And it takes nearly 200 pages for the various groups to head out and become interesting again. Thankfully, the back half of the book was so good I actually considered calling in sick to work so I could spend all day reading it.
The book ultimately breaks off into three different plots. Perrin and Faile head to Two Rivers to deal with the Trollocs and Whitecloaks there. Elayne and Nynaeve take off to Tanchico in search of the Black Ajah, with Thom the Gleeman in tow. And everyone else heads in to the Aiel waste.
Perrin's adventures in Two Rivers, growing into a general and falling in love with Faile, take up the bulk of the book. Initially I wasn't happy with this story. Faile is an incredibly frustrating character, and she and Perrin have some serious communication issues. But they figure them out (or maybe stop caring, there are some intense gender roles in this relationship) and I was truly rooting for them in the end. This ultimately became the most interesting and thrilling part of the book, and I spent the last two chapters either crying or fighting back tears. Tears of joy and despair and hope and frustration and this beautiful disaster.
Elayne and Egwene take up a frustratingly small part of the book. There are very few chapters dedicated to their story, though what we do get is intriguing. Tanchico is set up as a proper nest of vipers just before they arrive, and their attempts to blindly stay one step ahead of their enemies is fantastic. A lot of old, minor characters show up, and it's fun to see them figure out their loyalties. Elayne is fast becoming my favorite character, mostly for being so much more level-headed and wise than the people around her (except for when it comes to Rand). But Nynaeve is finally learning that she doesn't know everything. Well, starting to.
The final story is mostly interesting for how it delves into Aiel history and culture. Rand and Mat remain a bit boring. Mat is shiftless and growing quite angry at the world. Rand has a plan, but he refuses to share it with anyone, including the reader. And keeping the focus on them shunts Egwene and Moirraine off to the sidelines. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the Aiel, especially because Jordan does a fantastic job of employing the old "show don't tell" rule. He gives the reader a bunch of pieces, but doesn't necessarily string them all together, which keeps it interesting. And the buildup to the final battle is suitably tense. If only that battle weren't a bit of a let down.
Jordan still falls short when it comes to defining the magic of his world. Egwene spends most of this book learning about her dreamwalker powers, and I wonder if that's the reason she's in so little of the narrative. Maybe I've just been spoiled by good magic systems in recent years. I'm still hoping that the rules will become clearer in future books, if nothing else by the time Brandon Sanderson takes over. That's one of his specialties, and the main reason I like his books so much.
Jordan is also not great at romance, though that could also have something to do with the youth and inexperience of his characters. Egwene, at least, is refreshingly up front about her feelings. Nynaeve seems to have gotten there by the end of the book. And Perrin and Faile at least end this book in a good place, even if the journey there was rough.
What is great about these books is the general world-building. There are so many different cultures, and learning more about them, about clothes and food and politics and history, is amazing. The series is suffering a bit from character bloat (it's time for people to start dying), but the upside is that it lets us see a lot of the world. And seeing the ripple effects of various people's actions is great. There's a lot happening now, and I'm excited to see what happens next. Especially now that the White Tower has fallen.
The book ultimately breaks off into three different plots. Perrin and Faile head to Two Rivers to deal with the Trollocs and Whitecloaks there. Elayne and Nynaeve take off to Tanchico in search of the Black Ajah, with Thom the Gleeman in tow. And everyone else heads in to the Aiel waste.
Perrin's adventures in Two Rivers, growing into a general and falling in love with Faile, take up the bulk of the book. Initially I wasn't happy with this story. Faile is an incredibly frustrating character, and she and Perrin have some serious communication issues. But they figure them out (or maybe stop caring, there are some intense gender roles in this relationship) and I was truly rooting for them in the end. This ultimately became the most interesting and thrilling part of the book, and I spent the last two chapters either crying or fighting back tears. Tears of joy and despair and hope and frustration and this beautiful disaster.
Elayne and Egwene take up a frustratingly small part of the book. There are very few chapters dedicated to their story, though what we do get is intriguing. Tanchico is set up as a proper nest of vipers just before they arrive, and their attempts to blindly stay one step ahead of their enemies is fantastic. A lot of old, minor characters show up, and it's fun to see them figure out their loyalties. Elayne is fast becoming my favorite character, mostly for being so much more level-headed and wise than the people around her (except for when it comes to Rand). But Nynaeve is finally learning that she doesn't know everything. Well, starting to.
The final story is mostly interesting for how it delves into Aiel history and culture. Rand and Mat remain a bit boring. Mat is shiftless and growing quite angry at the world. Rand has a plan, but he refuses to share it with anyone, including the reader. And keeping the focus on them shunts Egwene and Moirraine off to the sidelines. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the Aiel, especially because Jordan does a fantastic job of employing the old "show don't tell" rule. He gives the reader a bunch of pieces, but doesn't necessarily string them all together, which keeps it interesting. And the buildup to the final battle is suitably tense. If only that battle weren't a bit of a let down.
Jordan still falls short when it comes to defining the magic of his world. Egwene spends most of this book learning about her dreamwalker powers, and I wonder if that's the reason she's in so little of the narrative. Maybe I've just been spoiled by good magic systems in recent years. I'm still hoping that the rules will become clearer in future books, if nothing else by the time Brandon Sanderson takes over. That's one of his specialties, and the main reason I like his books so much.
Jordan is also not great at romance, though that could also have something to do with the youth and inexperience of his characters. Egwene, at least, is refreshingly up front about her feelings. Nynaeve seems to have gotten there by the end of the book. And Perrin and Faile at least end this book in a good place, even if the journey there was rough.
What is great about these books is the general world-building. There are so many different cultures, and learning more about them, about clothes and food and politics and history, is amazing. The series is suffering a bit from character bloat (it's time for people to start dying), but the upside is that it lets us see a lot of the world. And seeing the ripple effects of various people's actions is great. There's a lot happening now, and I'm excited to see what happens next. Especially now that the White Tower has fallen.
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