The Fires of Heaven

This was worth reading even though it feels long at times. The action sequences are riveting and the interactions between characters are interesting. When a character dies, I cared which indicates to me that the narrative has drawn me in. And that is what really counts for a novel to be successful. But the criticisms from others are valid: there are long passages of description that at time can interfere with the storytelling and there are many intertwined plot lines that can make it difficult to remember who is who after a plot line is dropped and then picked up again later.

But take your time and enjoy the world. It is worthwhile.

The story is interesting enough but the character dynamics are pathetic. The gender politics is juvenile, and frankly, there isn't a single member of the scattered alliance of good guys who is open and forthright in his dealings with others. Everyone from Rand himself down to the lowest novice of the Tower is so tightly wrapped, secretive, and mistrustful that they do not deserve to win the fight. I am beginning to loathe each and every one of them. Drama should never come from characters behaving stupidly and withholding information from each other. This is just a camouflaged form of Deus Ex. The only reason I am going to continue with the series is to see how things might change under Sanderson.

Summary: Now that Rand has been to Rhuidean and proclaimed himself the Car’a’carn as well as the Dragon Reborn, he is beginning to fulfill the prophecies - including the one that says that he will break the Aiel. Many Aiel that learned their true history are succumbing to the bleakness, and joining the Shaido, one of the clans that refuse to accept Rand as the Car'a'carn. Rand worries about uniting the Aiel behind him in time for the last battle, but he is also worried about more personal secrets - such as the loyalty of Asmodean, one of the Forsaken, who is bound to teach Rand how to control the male half of the one power before he goes mad. He has other advisors as well: Moiraine, who seems to feel the need to reach Rand what she show more knows more urgently than ever before, and Aviendha, who is tasked with teaching Rand Aiel customs, much to her own discomfiture. Egwene continues her learning with the Aiel Wise Ones, and Mat continues to try to escape the pull of Rand and ta'veren.

Meanwhile, the split in the White Tower has left Elaida as Amyrlin; Min, Leane, Siuan, and Logaine on the run; and the "rebel" sisters who refuse to accept the coup setting up a White-Tower-in-Exile in a small town in Altara called Salidar. Nynaeve and Elaine, fleeing from the Black Ajah in Tanchico, join a traveling circus to avoid notice, not only by agents of the Black Ajah, but also by Whitecloaks, the Forsaken, and agents of the White Tower - for Elayne's mother, Queen Morgause, is pressing Elaida for her daughter's safe return, when she is not wrapped up by her new romantic interest, Lord Gaebril, who is more than he seems on the surface.

Review: I remember this book as being one of my favorites (maybe in close runner-up to The Shadow Rising), but in trying to summarize it, it seems like this book is a lot of people traveling to other places in order for the real action to begin. Not that this book doesn't have plenty of action - Aviendha's (accidental) discovery of gateways and flight to Seanchan lands, Mat's first (accidental) turn as a battle leader in the fight with the Shaido, Moiraine and Lanfear's fight on the docks in Cairhien, Nynaeve's fight with Moghidien in Tel'aran'rhiod, Rand and Rahvin in the Royal Palace in Andor. But most of that happens towards the end of the book, so most of the rest of it feels like a very extended road trip. (or rather, several road trips.) There's a lot of things that are set up in this book that become hugely important later - Salidar, the (re-)introduction of Gareth Bryne, the discovery of gateways, the consequences of Moiraine's fight with Lanfear, the escape of Morgause, the dice in Mat's head, the first meeting with the Prophet, etc. There's also a number of smaller scenes that I'd largely forgotten about since the last time I read the series - Nynaeve & Elayne's kidnapping, for one - that are actually very vivid and tense.

However, despite the fact that in summary it feels like a long time of waiting followed by a rush of action, that's not at all what my experience listening to it was. I was involved in the story throughout, and I rarely felt like it bogged down, even when there wasn't a ton of forward momentum in any of the story lines. The one problematic thing that I did notice is that this is when Jordan's gender relations start to acquire the blunt "men think women are silly and frivolous; women think men are careless idiots; neither gender can understand the other" cast that plague the rest of the books. This is largely down to the amount of time spent with Nynaeve's point of view; the device of "Nynaeve derides other people for being/doing [X] while obliviously doing [X] herself" gets tired very quickly, and it's used almost as much as her tugging on her braid and sniffing. Other characters do it too, which is why I got so annoyed with it, but Nynaeve's the worst offender, which is why my notes-to-self about this review simply say "Shut up, Nynaeve."

Overall, though, The Fires of Heaven is still this series on the upswing, and if it's not the best installment, it does contain a LOT of good stuff, and while it's easy to find something to complain about in a book of this size, the fact remains that it tells a good story with compelling characters, and is still engrossing enough to keep me involved for almost a day and a half's worth of audiobook time. On my original read, I gave it 5 out of 5, on the re-read and with a little more reflection, it's still 4.5 out of 5 stars. show less

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Title: The Fires of Heaven
Series: The Wheel of Time #5
Author: Robert Jordan
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 867
Words: 355K

Synopsis:

From Tarvalon.net & authored by Toral Delvar

In the Tower, Elaida is struggling to hold on to power, while her advisors are struggling to cope with the idea of Rand. Fain is counseling Elaida. He steals the Shadar Logoth dagger back before leaving the Tower. He gets past Alviarin only by convincingly bluffing that show more he stands high as a Darkfriend. Rahvin is visited by Lanfear, Sammael and Graendal. They make plans to get Rand. Morgase flees Gaebril after he shames her in front of others. She takes Lini, Tallanvor, Basel Gill and Lamgwin with her. Breane goes with Lamgwin.

In Rhuidean, Rand is living under the roof of the Maidens, the first man ever allowed there. Moiraine loads the various ter'angreal gathered in Rhuidean onto wagons. Rand discusses plans with the clan chiefs, where he learns of what is known as "the bleakness".

Egwene and Moiraine start ganging up on him and he begins to experience Lews Therin's memories. Moiraine finds another of the seals, which is extremely fragile. Mat picks up a Shaido woman, Melindhra, who has come to join the Maidens. Isendre irritates Aviendha and the Maidens by constantly attempting to bed Rand. Melaine decides to wed Bael, chief of her clan. Moiraine argues with the Wise Ones about Rand's plans to take them out of the Waste.

Rand and the Aiel are attacked by Shadowspawn, including Darkhounds. Rand destroys the Darkhounds with balefire. Rand kills a Darkhound which was attacking Mat with balefire. Moiraine Heals Mat after he removes his amulet, and tells Rand balefire is dangerous. Rand agrees not to use it unless he must. The sense of trust between them breaks down so much that Moiraine swears to obey Rand and to not try to manipulate him. Rand is once more visited by Lanfear, who tells him that Rahvin has Morgase.

The Shaido leave the Waste, forcing Rand to follow. Trollocs attack again. Rand and his followers leave the Waste and see a town that has been attacked. One of the survivors says it was a message to Rand, from Couladin. They learn Couladin had been taking Wetlanders as gai'shain.

Aviendha gives Rand Laman's sword to even out the bracelet he had previously given her. He discovers it was made with the Power, so he gives her the hilt and scabbard back, as they are jewel-encrusted and useless. As a result, she unintentionally makes a huge profit. Trollocs and Darkfriends attack again; Rand believes it is Sammael, trying to goad him, as he remembers him doing the same in the Age of Legends; Rand's memories from the Age of Legends frighten Asmodean. Rand tells the clan chiefs he will hang anyone who murders or burns anything, even in Cairhien.

Egwene sees Elayne and Birgitte in Tel'aran'rhiod. Moghedien tries to trap her there, but Egwene escapes. Kadere murders Isendre when she refuses to continue to try and bed Rand because of her fear of the Maidens.

Rand and the Aiel move on to Cairhien, which is under siege by the Shaido. A week away from the city, they meet lordlings from Tear that Rand had sent north, as well as Cairhienin soldiers. They tell him Couladin has the city under siege.

Rand accidentally catches Aviendha naked after taking a bath. Aiel customs in this area are considered a little odd; she flees, using the Power to Travel. Rand follows her to a winter landscape, holding her gateway open, and eventually catches up with her, finding her unconscious. He removes his clothes as well and holds her, to keep her warm. Aviendha awakens and admits her love of Rand. They consummate their relationship. The following morning, they come across a Seanchan patrol outside the gateway, which is now invisible. They shield and bind the Seanchan and head through, and as Rand lets the doorway dissolve, a spear is thrown through. He decides to keep the remaining piece of the spear.

Rand decides to attack the Shaido after coming up with a plan with the clan chiefs. Mat also comes up with the same plan after studying the map for a minute. Mat decides to leave for safety and heads south, where he sees a group of soldiers about to wander into an Aiel ambush. He goes to simply warn them, but ends up leading them throughout the battle. He also kills Couladin. Other Aiel who have not agreed to follow Rand hang back and watch.

Rand uses the One Power to influence the battle, aided by Aviendha and Egwene. Someone, presumably Sammael, tries to interfere. They eventually drive the Shaido from Cairhien, leaving Rand completely exhausted. The other Aiel, which remained apart from the Shaido, send their Wise Ones to discuss joining with Rand. Rand enters Cairhien, seeing siswai’aman for the first time. Tairen High Lords and Cairhienin Lords swear fealty to him. Weiramon arrives from Tear.

Colavaere sends young women, including Selande, to try and bed Rand. He puts a stop to it when he claims to prefer more mature women, and invites Colavaere to his chambers, where Aviendha beats her for trying to get near him. Berelain joins him in Cairhien. Moiraine brings letters from the Tower, from Elaida and Alviarin. Alviarin's is full of flattery.

Mat hears of Morgase's supposed death and tells Rand, who resolves to kill Rahvin. Moiraine first takes him to the docks where they meet Lanfear, who is in a rage because she has been told by Kadere that Rand has been bedding Aviendha for months. She kills Kadere, then attacks Aviendha and Egwene, who are saved by Rand. She decides to kill him when he says he will never love her. Unfortunately, he cannot bring himself to kill Lanfear. Instead, Moiraine takes Lanfear through the doorway to the realms of the Eelfinn, which melts, thus severing her bond with Lan, who is compelled to go east. Rand learns in a letter that Moiraine knew these events would take place. Mat is attacked by Melindhra, who is a Darkfriend, when he reveals he is off to Tear to lead the assault on Illian. He accidentally kills her.

That afternoon, Rand Skims to Caemlyn with Mat, Aviendha, Asmodean and a group of Aiel, but without Egwene, who is too injured. They are immediately attacked by Rahvin. Aviendha, Mat and Asmodean are all killed in that first attack. Rand chases Rahvin into the World of Dreams.

Siuan, Leane and Min are arrested by Gareth Bryne after Logain burns down a barn. Leane practices her flirting on Bryne. Giving false names, they swear to work off their debt, but decide to sneak off at the first opportunity, as they never said when they would repay the debt. Logain rescues them anyway, showing concern for the man he injures in the process. Bryne follows them; he says it is because of Siuan's eyes.

They discover the Aes Sedai opposing Elaida have gathered in Salidar. Siuan and Leane pretend to barely be able to tolerate each other and convince those in charge of who they are, and manipulate them into choosing their own Hall and Amyrlin. Siuan is allowed to run the spy network, and tells them Logain was set up by the Red Ajah. After being captured, Bryne agrees to build an army to take Tar Valon on his own terms. Siuan is set to work for him.

Elayne, Nynaeve, Thom and Juilin leave Tarabon to return to Tear, but come across a woman, Ronde Macura, who drugs the girls to prevent them from chaneling and ties them up. She says there is a message: "All sisters are welcome to return to the Tower. The Tower must be whole and strong". Thom and Juilin rescue them. They realize the Tower has split and set out to find the rebels. Elayne constantly flirts with Thom. Nynaeve and Egwene discover that Elaida is Amyrlin. They meet Galad. In Tel'aran'rhiod, Egwene chastises Nynaeve, telling her to cover herself up.

They head into Ghealdan, where they join a traveling circus and act as performers. While travelling with the circus, they take an a'dam from a Seanchan woman. Elayne says she thinks she could make one. They meet up with the Shienarans they left in Falme.

Moghedien takes over the members of the Black Ajah who left the Tower, giving them different tasks and splitting them up.

Birgitte takes Nynaeve to spy on Moghedien and the other Forsaken in Tel'aran'rhiod. Moghedien spots them and follows. They overcome her after Birgitte shoots her with an arrow, but Birgitte herself is severely wounded. She appears in the real world, and Elayne bonds Birgitte as a Warder to save her life.

Moghedien has one of the Black Ajah Heal her. Liandrin fails to persuade the remaining Black Ajah to gang up on Moghedien. She tries to use Compulsion on Moghedien, but she isn't quick enough or strong enough. She fails, and Moghedien leaves her shielded in such a way that Liandrin is never likely to channel again. Moghedien uses Compulsion on her to make sure she doesn't give up and take her own life, though. The other Black sisters are sent off with various tasks.

Elayne and Nynaeve learn that the rebels are in Salidar, and arrange with both Masema and Galad, who has joined the Whitecloaks, for a boat to take them out of Ghealdan. This results in conflict at the docks between the Prophet's mobs and Whitecloaks. The girls flee to Salidar with Uno and the Shienarans. They are also accompanied by three women: Moghedien, posing as Marigan, Nicola and Areina. Min tells Elayne she loves Rand. The leaders in Salidar decide to talk to Moiraine through Egwene and the Wise Ones. Siuan also forces Nynaeve to teach her about the World of Dreams. Nynaeve makes Siuan agree to let her study being stilled.

Moghedien almost captures Nynaeve in the World of Dreams, but Nynaeve tricks her and captures her with an a'dam. Nynaeve makes her take them to Caemlyn, to try and help Rand. She sees Rahvin and encases him in a sheet of fire, almost killing him, before Rand does kill him with balefire. Nynaeve tells Moghedien she knows where she is and that she's coming to get her.

Aviendha, Mat and Asmodean are alive again because Rahvin was killed with balefire, but Asmodean is killed for good a short while later. Rand meets Davram Bashere, who had been hunting Mazrim Taim. Rand tells him Taim is off limits and that there is an amnesty for men who want to channel.

My Thoughts:

Whooooowheeeeee! Holy Shazboticon Batman! This was feth'ing, frak'ing, frel'ing awesome (if any of you happen to know any more sf/tv show alternate words, leave a comment please. I'm always willing to expand my fake vocabulary).

This is where the cast of characters begins to get so big that the book doesn't contain everyone. There is NO Perrin. I didn't particularly care, but with the addition of the Queen in Exile Morgase and her small band, it just became obvious that things were bloating up. A character like Morgase should not have pushed out someone like Perrin. The fact that she does nothing but escape the Forsaken enthralling her doesn't help any. Yes, it adds a reason for Rand to attack, but that could have been accomplished without adding her and her retinue with their very own POV chapters. They weren't bad, just seemed unnecessary, that is all. And that is about all the bad stuff I have to say.

When I read this back in '11, I noted how angry everyone was. This time around, it became apparent to me that there was a lot of growing out of that anger for several of the characters. Elayne, Aviendha and Egwene all show definite signs of growing up and maturity. It was great to see. Nynaeve, on the other hand, seems to double down on the angry schtick and her being contrasted to the other woman shows her to a great disadvantage in that regards. Of course, Jordan does use that to show a bunch of inner stuff going in Nynaeve, so even she isn't the hateful harpy I thought of her as back in '11. Still don't like her this time around though. Understanding is very different from liking.

Where Perrin was the side character who did a lot of growth in the previous book, Matt gets his chance here. Of course, it isn't until near the end and isn't nearly as a big a section as Perrin had but it is there. He's pretty much told to just grow up and stop fighting his fate. Rand also tightens the reins once he really realizes what a treasure trove of military knowledge is in Matt's head. Even Matt begins to accept that he has to grow up when he can't seem to escape fighting battles and winning them, even if against his will.

The big boss battle at the end is just as awesome as before. I'd forgotten how big a part Nynaeve played in determining the outcome of that. While I remembered Moraine's fate, I hadn't remembered that she'd taken one of the Forsaken with her. So many details that make these stories so good. While not quite like reading a completely new book, there were enough gaps that I never felt “been there, done that”. Jordan can write and I really like what I'm reading.

With what happens to Moraine in this book, it seems proper that the next Wheel of Time book will be the prequel New Spring.

On a closing note, I'd just like to point out how boring, blasé, uninteresting, uninformative and generally pathetic these recently released ebook covers are. I've been using the old covers but wanted at least one example so the future me could see what kind of crap the publishers pull. I've heard theories that the publishers did this so as not to interfere with the possible visuals from the upcoming Wheel of Time tv show from Amazon. Of course, that means when the tv show does release and if it isn't a hot mess of a flopping bomb, that we'll be getting movie actor covers. Oh Lord, preserve us from such an awful fate. I preemptively SMITE those covers!

★★★★★ show less

You know our heroes are in dire straits when they're forced to join the circus. But even the circus can be a place of growth and self-discovery. Other things I like are the legendary heroine archer Birgitte and the humble, honorable Gareth Bryne, who's a little slow on the uptake but isn't a fool. It's also great to have the top-knotted Shienarans back in the game and to finally meet the mad prophet of Ghealdan, who's so crazy he makes the Whitecloaks look reasonable.

The audiobook's female narrator gives her best performance yet. She is hilarious as a Shienaran trying not to cuss and adorable as an absent-minded Seanchan animal handler.

The characters don't speculate and gripe about prophecies and visions as much as they did in book 4. show more Unfortunately, they still speculate and gripe about pretty much everything else. It's stultifying. It muddles the story with so much unnecessary detail that I miss the important stuff, like what actually happens during a major battle midway through the book.

When Jordan wants to move things along, though, damn. The final chapters are incredibly, catastrophically cool. I guess I'm "hate-reading" this series for morsels like these. show less

The fifth book of the Wheel of Time, and it seems Jordan is now fully onboard with the concept of a plot stretching over more than half a dozen books. Which, on the one hand, means not much happens to actually advance that plot; but, on the other, things are actually starting to get moving. Which means, er, Rand al’Thor has brought the Aiel over the Spine of the World because the false Car’a’carn has already left the Waste and started razing cities. Meanwhile, Elayne and Nynaeve are hiding out in a travelling circus. Min is stuck with the stilled ex-Amyrlin Seat and ex-Keeper, and they’re trying to find out where the rebel Aes Sedai have set up shop. It all feels a bit like the middle of a chess game that started out one move show more away from Fool’s Mate, and has been on the run ever since. It doesn’t help that the villains are turning even more pantomime, and the quirks Jordan uses to identify each character – Nynaeve pulling her braid, for example – have gone way beyond annoying. All the major characters are written like slightly dim teenagers – I don’t understand women, wail the men; you need to boss men about if they’re to be any use, declare the women – and yet they’re supposed to be the leaders in a struggle to save the world. Rand has gone from shepherd to king, with no underpinning for the psychological change. It’s a major failing in a series which has little technically to recommend it. Some of the world-building is interesting, but the plotting is erratic, there’s a lot of padding, and the prose is barely competent at best. Even so, the piss-poor characterisation is probably the series’ biggest handicap. I’ll continue with my reread, of course, because I want to finish the damn thing. And for all the lumpen prose and clangingly duff characterisation, the 880 pages of The Fires of Heaven were actually a quick read. show less

Pacing is still terrible although at least some things do happen other than at the end of the book. But my biggest issue with this series remains - I don't actually like any of the main characters, except Rand. And the female characters are either complete bitches or act like 3 year olds! I'm listening to the audio and whenever it's a female character I'm hoping the chapter will be short and then it's a relief when it moves to Rand. I mean, will any of these supposed adult women actually grow up?
The death of a main character was telegraphed - knew that was coming. The unravelling of the other deaths was clever though. Another thing I found quite odd was the Matt fighting in a battle and killing someone powerful but we don't actually see show more that - we just get told about it afterwards - HUH?
Jordan as usual lands the end though - exciting and interesting - it's just a shame that it takes so long to get there.
I'm taking a break from the series now to listen to something else on audio, then will go to New Spring. I'm determined to finish the series as it's a classic (supposedly) but I need a break. show less