The Fires of Heaven : Book Five of 'The Wheel of Time' (Wheel of Time)

Rating:
Summary: Jordan's Wheel Keeps Turning
Review: After surviving the disappointment of "The Dragon Reborn", the Wheel of Time series has definitely regained its lost momentum and the series continues to get better with each book.

This book has been my favorite of the series so far. Jordan builds on the momentum he captured in book four ("The Shadow Rising"), and the storyline and character development continue in TFOH.

As for the main characters, each is facing new and exciting challenges in this book. Rand is still dealing with the realization that he is The Dragon Reborn. He has rallied the Aiel clan chiefs in a massive battle against the rebel Aiel chief Couladin, who claims that he is the true Dragon Reborn. Couladin and his followers, the Shaido, meet the fury of Rand and the rest of the Aiel in a decisive and climactic battle.

Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve continue their pursuit of the Black Ajah. Word has reached them that Siuan Sanche has been overthrown and stilled by Eladia. The three have also learned that a group of Aes Sedai has decided to try to overthrow Eladia and reclaim the White Tower.

Mat, Lan, and Moiraine continue to travel with Rand. Mat distinguishes himself in the battle with the Shaido by beheading Couladin. Moiraine has decided to become more yielding to Rand, but this turns into disaster at the end of the book.

This book is the best of the series so far in my opinion. The storyline and character development is very good, and the plot keeps the reader interested throughout the book. The last 200 pages of the book are some of Jordan's best work. The ending of the book is a true cliffhanger and will leave the reader wondering what will happen next. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Hopefully, it will be as good as this one.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing story.
Review: I am rereading the series for the umpteenth time, in anticipation of reading "The Path of Daggers." I just finished TFOH. It seems each book in the series is better than its predecessor. Unlike Knight Michaels, who writes nearby, I found a lot of character growth in the book. And, I don't see what he means by his comment about "...murdering characters...."

In TFOH, we see a lot of Rand. He emerges as a complex person. He seems somehow to fully understand that almost everybody wants to kill him or to use him for their own purposes, whether or not it helps the cause. He's the only one who has a holistic view about the nature of the conflict. He hardens himself like iron, using and commanding whole nations against his own nature. And yet, three pretty girls can put him through agonies of uncertainty and self-doubting.

Prior to this book, we knew little about Elayne. Sure, she's a spoiled brat. She's also delightfully spunky and adventurous, and she too is learning how to deal with smart, energetic people like Thom Merrilin in a way that will help her become a ruler.

Nynaeve has a ton of conflicts gnawing at her - her relationship with Lan, her feelings about Aes Sedai and Moiraine, being challenged by Egwene, etc. The stable, quiet world in which she lived for 25 years has been replaced by a maelstrom of currents, and she's having a hard time coping. But, she's tough as nails and fierce as a tigress, and she's a heavyweight with the One Power. The scenes with her and Moghedien in the Royal Palace are absolutely riveting.

Mat continues his march to becoming my own favorite character. He would take the easy way out in every situation, but The Wheel won't let him. He is a reluctant hero at best. We see his powers growing in stages, and at each stage he surprises with his capability. Rand sees it too, and tests it and exploits it as he can. The scenes in the battle with the Shaido are gripping.

As far as the general relations between men and women - hey, that's pretty much on target. That's why that other book about Mars and Venus was an all-time best seller. Let me introduce you to my half-dozen sisters-in-law sometime. They make Aes Sedai look like Brownies. They even sniff at stupid men just as do Jordan's women; and we men employ that same look that Thom and Juilin use when being put upon by Nynaeve or any others.

Anyway, by the time this book is ended, all sorts of momentous and exciting things have happened. It's a delightful and essential building block in this epic series. Finally, keep in mind two things. First, only about two years have passed since Rand and gang, who except for Nynaeve were all teenagers, were routed out of the Two Rivers at the start of the series. The character changes they show seem reasonable to me.

Second, those who suppose that Jordan is dragging this out to extort more money out of us: think a minute. Think about placing yourself behind a typewriter 8 to 12 hours a day, day in and day out, for YEARS on end. Think about devoting your life to pleasing all sorts of unappreciative people - for however long it takes to finish the stories. I'll be happy to pay $25 or whatever pittance he asks each year or two for as long as it takes to resolve this great story.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible adventure.
Review: I loved/enjoyed every moment of it.

Story so vividly told as the other previous books. Twists in plots so clever! Character development was extremely pleasant for me, enough to feel loss when some particular minor (or main for this volume) character(s) were killed off the Wheel.

A treasure.

Rating:
Summary: War, Magic, and Turning Points
Review: The Wheel of Time is probably the best-known and most widely read fantasy series other than The Lord of the Rings.
When book one (The Eye of The World) was published in 1988 or 1989, it created a sensation -- a tremendous first volume that had the usual good-evil battle and tons of action but also was filled with magic, history, politics, sociology, cultural background and realistic characters.

When I re-read the first five books, I was amazed at the details of history and politics that Jordan provided in his world. Jordan also has numerous protagonists, not just one or two primary ones like many other fantasy writers. Moreover, the series features strong men and, through their magical abilities and powerful personalities, stronger women. Jordan has been rightly lauded for the prominent and powerful roles he created for the female characters.

The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven followed and created a tremendous series such that The New York Times noted that Jordan had come to dominate the genre that Tolkien made famous.

The Fires of Heaven is the most action-packed book of the series, with few dull moments and an explosive ending. The various protagonists continue their development, especially Mat (as a war commander) and Egwene. Rand continues to be pulled in many directions, but needs some help from his allies to survive.

Nonetheless, this book is NOT a preview of things to come -- The Fires of Heaven's plot twists near the end (especially the most important one that would be a HUGE spoiler) are barely examined in books 6-9.

Unfortunately, starting with Lord of Chaos (book 6), Jordan's creation became unwieldy. Instead of concentrating on following the themes and story-threads of books 1-5 (which combined are more than 3500 pages, hardcover), he created new storylines, bogged down the narrative and halted the pace of the epic. Book 8 in particular is an unmitigated disaster -- 650 pages (hardcover) with almost no progress to the story. Book 9 began to jump-start the narrative once again.

The series is at 10 books (the tenth will be published in January 2003) and growing (13 total possible -- it's a common numerical theme in the books), thus the last volume will be published in 2006, at the earliest.

Other than the final chapters of Lord of Chaos (book 6), this is the last of the good WoT books published to date. The Fires of Heaven is the blood-and-guts installment -- it has the highest body count, much war, scheming, conquest, hunting the evildoers, a couple of surprises and a fiery finish (hence the name). By the time you read this volume, you will most likely be addicted to the series as a whole; but if you hadn't made it this far, be forewarned that the pace, storyline, action and development slow down considerably in books 6-8.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely one of the best in the series (so far, anyway)
Review: There are certainly both positive and negative things about this book and the Wheel of Time series as a whole.

There are only a certain number of ways we can read about how wonderful and terrible saidin can feel. Ice and fire, sweetness and vileness, etc. ad nauseum. But the reader gets the impression that Jordan wants us to understand exactly how it feels for male channelers, and the constant repetition of sweetness and vileness makes the end of Winter's Heart all the more poignant, even moving.

I have to take issue with previous reviewers' problems with the book. Elayne, Nynaeve, Egwene, Rand, Mat etc. all act juvenile BECAUSE THEY ARE JUVENILE. Even Nynaeve, the eldest of this young group, is understood to be no older than 25. Being 24 myself, I can testify that these individuals are acting exactly as many of my peers would act given the same situations. I can't imagine what kind of stress it would produce to have the kinds of life-altering experiences these people have had. I understand it is fiction, but I think Jordan has done an excellent job portraying realistic characters and their reactions.

I also don't understand one reviewer's statement about "Jordan's juvenile obsession with female nudity and sexuality." Honestly, the male characters are naked or in their "smallclothes" just as often as the girls are naked or in their "shifts". I would have to say Jordan is again being realistic. People change clothes. It happens. I think Jordan has anything BUT an obsession with nudity. He doesn't go into medical detail about body parts like some writers. Heck, one of our main characters didn't even have sex until the FOURTH book in the series. Sex is not meant to be a driving point in the story.

Speaking of the story, I would have to join others in saying that the series has gone on longer than it maybe should have. But I'm sure Jordan is well aware of this fact himself, and doesn't need US to tell him that. That whole "many-headed monster" idea is probably truer than we think. As a budding writer myself, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to keep track of as many characters and storylines as Jordan is juggling. I would have to say he's doing admirably. Bravo, sir!

I believe the story is meant to have a web, or Pattern. As I read the story AGAIN, I am struck by how clear it is that events are drawing to a conclusion, however bleak, far-off, and long-awaited it might be. I'm willing to wait and I respect Jordan as a writer trying to write the best story he can.

I believe it was Stephen King (and please forgive me if I'm wrong) who once said, "Sometimes a story is just a story." I think we, as readers, would do well to remember that. I've been a fan of fantasy for as long as I've been able to read. In a literary sense, of course certain authors (Tolkien being a good example) are going to be better than others. Tolkien is probably looking down from whatever cloud he may be sitting on, and wishing we would all just let the authors in the genre he really created simply TELL THEIR OWN STORY. I think we need to stop comparing EVERYONE in the fantasy genre to Tolkien, LeGuin and others. Personally, I don't care for LeGuin. But that's my opinion. If you like Jordan's books, good for you. If you don't, well then good for you too. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

Before I close this review, I would like to remind the readers who keep comparing Tolkien and Jordan of one thing. Please remember the VOLUMES of material concerning Middle-Earth that Tolkien never had a chance to have published before his death. I believe the "History of Middle-Earth" is pretty close to 12 volumes, if not more. Jordan doesn't have to worry about a professorship at Oxford, so he therefore has the time to do what Tolkien never did . . . truly complete his epic.

I say again, Bravo Sir!!

Rating:
Summary: This Wheel Turns Too Slowly
Review: There is a recurring theme in all of the reviews of the Wheel of Time books - eventually, it seems, reviewers become fed up with the slow pace and aggravating main characters and give up, with more giving up the further along in the series they go.

I'm probably at that point now. Fires of Heaven has a remarkable ending, one that gets the adrenalin flowing, but reaching that end is a long, tedious slog. Fully half of the novel - the half featuring the mind-numbing adventures of Nynaeve and Elayne - is barely readable. The portions with Rand are much better than in the previous book, but are too frequently interrupted by more of the Wimpy Women to be fully enjoyed. It is not that Jordan cannot write women . . . well, okay, he can't, but some of the best moments of Fires of Heaven come when he lets us inside the heads of Min and Siuan Sanche. But far too often the women characters spend their time complaining about men, only to place themselves in situations where men have to rescue them, all the while obsessing over how much cleavage or leg they or other women are showing. It's cute for the first few hundred pages of the first book. By the time one hits page 4000 in the series, however, it is a complete turn-off.

It took two weeks to muddle through the thousand pages of this one (and only two hours to get through the last two hundred). It is a serious question whether book six will be worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: Mostly very good
Review: Yes, the book is very long. When I began the series, I'd only read a couple of thousand page books. Now, I'm starting to think that I'll have read a dozen by the time the series is finished. That's besides the point. When I read Robert Jordan, the pages fly by. Suddenly I'm 100 pages from when I last looked at the page. This book had some of the usual annoying babble and frustrations such as Nynaeve and Elayne consistently falling into traps and revealing too much information. I did enjoy reading about Rand's relationship to Aviendha, and Moiraine's change in character. Mat is becoming more and more interesting as he begins to have a life of his own outside of following Rand. Sadly, the book doesn't talk any of Perrin, and way too much of Elayne and Nynaeve. I think the ending could have been a bit better but I still liked it. It gets 4 stars because I didn't put the book down with a big "wow" at the end. Jordan keeps the story moving with various plot twists, and I don't think there is a single chapter where something significant doesn't happen. It's a very, very good book, and from what I hear, the next one is better. I just have one question... how many women can have "ice cold stares" or something equivalent to that?