The Fires Of Heaven: Book 5 of the Wheel of Time (Now a major TV series)

I’m so enjoying this series, seriously the first five books have been amazing, can’t wait for the next one! Also please Rosamund Pike keep narrating the books!

First of all, I am a fan of this series and was inspired to re-read the books. It is set in a post-technology post-apocalyptic feudal future, where thought magic exists. The story is told from many perspectives. Each book has it's share of action, and there is an overall arc of character creation and evolution. Each character and culture is written independently of each other, and their thoughts and feelings are frequently in conflict. There is a very small touch of science fiction, but this is very firmly a fantasy series. Whilst some might be cautious about how many books there are, I have sometimes got to the end of a series and wanted more. Well the Wheel of time has 'more' built right in from the start.

Having rated all the previous books in the series 5 stars already, it’s not possible for me to go any higher. I will say this though, this is my favourite in the series so far. All the books have contributed to the lore, of course, and this one builds on it. A very brief and unfair review would be to say that this is a book about traveling. Rand Al Thor travels west with Egwene, Mat, Moraine, Lan, and the Aiel. Elaine travels with Nynaeve, Thom, and Julien. Siuan Sanche travels with Leane and Min. No Perrin in this book, unfortunately, but a bit more of Mat. Some good stuff there! The series has me so involved in these characters, that even the slowly diminishing influence of Moraine and Lan hasn’t upset me too much (so far). Once again, a five star book, in what has so far been a five star series. Slow at times, lengthy to an intimidating extent, but definitely worth it.

The Wheel of Time saga is as addictive as ever, filling you with the urge to read what happens next. However some of the separate plotlines in this book feel too much like a male author trying to understand women, and the dialogue and narrative in the female-centred plotlines are dull and unnecessary. That said, the climax is as fast-paced as the previous books, with cliff-hangers that will make you want to go immediately to the next book. I'm still hooked, but this is the first book in the saga where I skimmed uninteresting and unnecessary dialogue and narrative.

As much as i have enjoyed the series up until this book, i cant really say that the standard of story telling has been flawless, until now. The fires of heaven really brings things up a notch, with fast paced storytelling, lots of exciting events, and overall not as many boring talking long winded chapters that i feel have plagued the series so far. Nynaeve and Elaynes characters get a lot of plot time, and there are some very good bits, esepcially the circus bit, although thom seems to be being underwritten and slightly boring, and julein the thief catcher even more so. Rands characters, along with egwene, aviendha, lan, moraine and everyone else who was in the waste get a lot of attention on them, as well as mat, although he really only shines in a couple of chapter. The forsaken become a bit more known to us as well, after rand captures asmodeon at the end of book 4 he is there throughout book 5 as his guide to all things forsaken. Lanfear and moghedien also turn up quite a bit. Unfortunately Perrin, and everyone else who was in the two rivers, have been missed out of this book completely. But then some things such as the whole whitecloak taking over the world thing which i found a bit boring has been mostly left out of it as well. Lets just say book 5 is all about the car'a'carn and the dragon reborn.

So now we're well into the series, each character has found their stride and have (mostly) accepted their fates. Rand has now found the army he needed and takes it across the Dragonwall to fight the Shaido. He has come a long way from the country boy we found in the Eye of the World. He is now a cold, but strong leader and the few insights into his thoughts we get are well done. We also have a new development with Lews Therin's thoughts drifting into his head making you wonder if he's going mad already. Mat really comes into his own in this volume, with his new memories of battle commanders, leading him to take control of a battle late in the book. Because of this, he begins to finally accept his being ta'veren. Also, Egwene is becoming a stronger character, as is evident by her shifting the balance of power between her and Nynaeve in Tel'aran'rhiod, planting the seeds for her future employment. As is becoming usual with these books, the storyline with Nynaeve and Elayne isn't all that interesting. For the most part, they hide in a circus headed by the brilliantly over the top Valan Luca. However, most of this is bogged down by details you don't really want or need to know, like the fact that Nynaeve doesn't get on with many of the other performers and gets into fights with them. The story picks up a little when Nynaeve meets up with Moghedian again, forcing Birgitte into major character status in a rather surprising way. It is while the women are in the circus that we get a very interesting look at the Prophet Masema, and how someone can take a simple belief (in this case that the Dragon Reborn will save the world) and use it to cause chaos. Something that happens all too often in our world. We also follow Min, Siuan and Leane on their way to join the rebel Aes Sedai. While there's not that much story here, you do get an insight into how manipulative Siuan really is. Min has virtually nothing to do though, almost a waste of a decent character. One of the downsides here, is that Perrin is not in the book. As one of the three main Ta'veren, it is odd to leave him out. I like Perrin, and felt more than a little disappointed by this. You can, though, see his effects on the Two Rivers during various scenes in Tel'aran'rhiod where evidence is clear of homes are being rebuilt after the Trolloc raids, along with new homes. The ending more than makes up for any other faults the book has. Unlike the other books, the ending seems to take up a good chunk. Almost 25%. It starts with the battle for Cairhien which feels climactic at the time, but once it is over, the real ending begins with a very surprising fight with Lanfear. The aftermath is handled well and you feel for the characters' loss. This makes the final battle with Rahvin seem like more. It is during this final battle, where Rand enters Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh again, and meets Nynaeve. In my review of the Eye of the World, I mentioned how these two interacted. It's a shame there's not more scenes between them. The woman has known Rand since childhood and disciplined him when necessary, so for her to see him as the man he is today is very touching. Nynaeve can come across as a stuck up misandrist at times, but by reading these scenes, you get a feel that it's all a front. Or most of it anyway. So, all in all, this is a good addition, though it does show a few signs of decline.

Just a great read, delivered quickly.

Wheel of Time series is the best I've read since Terry Brooks Shannara series. I haven't found anything spread over many books which has given me so much pleasure for a long while. I'm really enjoying it. Well written. Plenty of intrigue, twists, turns and little side lines. Some funny bits too.. Really is worth reading. Enjoy!

I am a fan of Robert Jordan, I already have the Italian paper edition of all books and wanted to read it in the original languange. Some description are maybe too detailed or repeated but I knew it already from Italian so nothing new. To me absolutely worth to read

Je ne note pas le tome mais la saga. J'ai adoré cette saga en dévorant tous les tomes. Elle est rythmée, pleine d'actions, de complots, de revirements qui nous maintiennent en haleine tout le long. Le monde où se déroule l'action est bien pensé : on conserve un réalisme, les nouveautés proposées (magie, croyances, politique, etc.) sont bien interconnectées et nous changent des histoires habituelles. A titre personnel, je le range en N°1 de l'heroic-fantasy avec l'assassin royal. De part des héros qui sont humains par leurs défauts, et une puissance magique qui reste contrôlée [magie limitée en capacité et dans le temps ; risque de s'y abandonner ; etc.], cela permet d'avoir une mis en danger constante : le héros peut basculer du côté obscur, ou se perdre dans la magie, etc. Ils supplantent à mon gouts les autres séries (Seigneur des anneaux [trop de longueurs], la Belgariade [trop simplet], ...).

Nachdem Rand al'Thor den Großteil der Aiel Clans unter seiner Führung versammelt hat, gilt es jetzt die abtrünnigen Clans zu unterwerfen. Und das auch mit gutem Grund, schließlich terrorisieren diese, angeführt von Couladin - dem falschen Drachen und Häuptling des Shaido Clans - das Land Cairhien. Aber auch die Forsaken sind eine ständige Bedrohung, könnten diese doch jederzeit auftauchen und dem Dragon Reborn das Leben schwer machen. Aber Rand ist nicht allein. Mit Rat und Tat zur Seite stehen ihm Mat, Egwene, Moiraine, Lan und Aviendha. Rand versucht nebenbei seine Fähigkeiten mit der einen Macht mit Hilfe von Asmodean, einem gefangenen Forsaken, zu schulen. Derweil befinden sich Min, Siuan und Leane auf der Flucht aus dem White Tower und vor Elaida, der neuen Amyrlin Seat, und versuchen Kontakt zu dem Dragon Reborn und seinen Mitstreitern aufzunehmen. Sie stoßen dabei auf kleinere und größere Schwierigkeiten. Gleiches gilt für Nynaeves Gruppe, bestehend aus ihr, Elayne, Thom und Juilin, welche aus Tanchico flüchtend das Weite suchen. Werden die im ganzen Land verstreuten Gruppen wieder Anschluss zueinander finden? Und dann gibt es da noch Moghedien, eine weibliche Forsaken, welche eine Niederlage gegen Nynaeve einstecken musste. Von Rachegelüsten gepackt sucht sie nach Nynaeve, um ihr diese Niederlage heimzuzahlen. Währenddessen versucht sich Morgase, Elaynes Mutter und Königin von Andor, aus den Klauen des mysteriösen Gaebril zu befreien ... Nachdem Band 4 mich persönlich eher enttäuscht zurückgelassen hat, sah ich dem 5. Teil der Reihe eher skeptisch gegenüber. Aber fast alles, was mich am 4. Band so gestört hat, zB. das Herumreiten auf kleinsten Details, langwieriges Vorantreiben der Handlung und wenig Entwicklungen, sucht man hier vergebens. Stattdessen zieht die Geschwindigkeit wieder deutlich an - ab dem 2. Drittel des Buches überschlagen sich die Ereignisse nur so - und macht diesen Band wieder deutlich interessanter zu lesen. Insbesondere Rands Handlungsstrang, der für mich im letzten Buch noch ein Schwachpunkt war, ist hier deutlich unterhaltsamer und der beste Teil des Buchs. Die Kapitel aus Mins Sicht waren, wie immer, sehr spannend zu lesen, aber leider wieder recht kurz - Sie belaufen sich in etwa auf 100 Seiten. Trotzdem reicht es aus, damit sich Siuan immer mehr zu einer meiner Lieblingsprotagonistin entwickelt. Lediglich Nynaeves Handlungsstrang fällt etwas ab. Lange Zeit passiert recht wenig. Stattdessen wird bis zur Ermüdung die Kleidung von ihr und Elayne beschrieben, auch nimmt der Geschlechterkampf hier wieder seinen Lauf. Leser der Vorgänger wissen, was sie davon zu erwarten haben. Hinzu kommt ein Ausflug der Gruppe zu einer Art Wanderzirkus, der auch eher Seiten füllt, als dass er die Handlung wirklich vorantreibt. Aber auch diesem Teil der Geschichte gibt es positive Seiten abzugewinnen. Die Ausflüge in die Traumwelt Tel'aran'rhiod, über die Nynaeve mit Egwene in Verbindung steht, sind allesamt sehr kurzweilig und wendungsreich. Trotzdem sind diese Kapitel der schwächste Teil des Buchs. Für Freunde von Perrin wird dieser Band zur Geduldsprobe, da seine Figur kein einziges Mal im gesamten Buchverlauf auftaucht. Ansonsten kriegen Fans der Reihe das geboten, was sie vom Autor zu erwarten haben. Im Verlauf der Handlung kommt es zu epischen Schlachten, Magieduellen, Intrigen im Königshaus, zu Ausflügen in fremde Welten, wie dem mysteriösen Tel'aran'rhiod, es werden mächtige Artefakte genutzt, und, und, und... Insbesondere Rand macht hier wieder einen großen Sprung nach vorne, während sich auch Nebencharaktere weiterentwickeln, die in den letzten Teilen etwas untergegangen sind. The Fires Of Heaven hat meine Bedenken, was die Reihe anbelangt, komplett beseitigt und mich mit richtiger Vorfreude auf den nächsten Teil erfüllt. Für mich persönlich ist dieser Teil einer der bisherigen Höhepunkte der Reihe!

Action-packed and more fast-paced than the previous books. Tons of character progression in this one as Rand continues to build his harem, power and ambition. If you are getting tired of this series, this book will revitalize your interest.

The quality is so good