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A review by beaconatnight
The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
5.0
The Shadow Rising improves on all fronts. While I enjoyed The Wheel of Time before, the book turned me into an avid and passionate disciple. Rand al'Thor, the now widely recognized Dragon Reborn, returns to center stage as he positions himself as the prophesied leader of the legendary desert people. Meanwhile, other members of the growing cast of characters follow their own callings, consistently to destinations of great significance.
At the core of the genuinely epic narrative – the longest novel in the series – there is a key event when Rand truly becomes the Aiel's Car'a'carn, He Who Comes With the Dawn. Please excuse me for getting right into the action; for me it was the one moment (or sequence) when the world fully came to life.
A series of flashbacks throw him right at the time when almost all-powerful Aes Sedai brought destruction to the world. Yet, it's not about how the male half of the True Source was tainted or the Age of Madness. Instead, we learn about a people whose commitment to peace – their Way of the Leaf – was put to the proof by increasingly dire circumstances. To me the Aiel origin myth was the most convincing sign of more mature writing, especially because of how it addresses the painful reconstruction of identity in the face of what some of them had to do in order to survive or to save their loved ones.
The Wheel of Time is often praised for its rich depiction of culture. Earlier entries to the series had some of this, but The Shadow Rising quite literally spins a backdrop of colorful tapestry that goes well beyond earlier encounters with sporadic curiosities. Of the four main threads (I'll return to this) the events in the Aiel Waste take precedence, and what our long-standing heroes experience there is rich lore, custom, and character. In fact, even the place itself is construed as their Three-fold Land, where they dwell as punishment for their sins, to prove their courage, and to return to virtue.
Firstly, there are the little things. The comparatively tall people are perceived as fierce and remote, their humor is different and it's difficult to find common ground for conversation. Occasionally find themselves the subject of ceremonies with less than subtle sexual connotations. In many ways to find one's footing with some and some scenes leave the reader just as bewildered as Rand and Mat do themselves.
Don't get me wrong, the novel offers enough background information to gather a vague picture, if you bothered to piece together the details. If you are the kind of fan that enjoys high fantasy as being depictable on maps, there is world-building of this sort. But I don't think that's the point; it's more about the feeling and atmosphere than it is about genuine understanding of a people. In short, it's info-dumping done right.
Other than the feeling of bewilderment, some of the details are just plain awesome. For instance, we meet the Maidens of the Spear (or in their own tongue, the Far Dareis Mai). The form this subsociety of pride female warriors, armed with bows, long-bladed knives at their belts – and numerous long-bladed spears on their backs. I'm getting ahead of myself (I think it will only be established in the next novel), but they'll become Rand's personal guardians. The image might very well have occurred in my over-stimulated childhood dreams of too many hours playing RPG video games.
Speaking of dreams, if you are in any way familiar with the series it shouldn't come as a big surprise that they again play a crucial role in the narrative. We already know that Perrin may access the wolf dream to gather information on his surrounding environment. More importantly, Egwene was much-heralded by her companions for her potential to become a Dreamer, or a dreamwalker, as it's more descriptively called later on. The prospect of wise teaching is what calls her to the desert.
Up to this point, the White Tower of the Aes Sedai claimed the prerogative of interpreting what it means to channel the One Power. In this respect, the story strode familiar paths. The situation is now leavened to some extent by the introduction of other roles of magic. Only few of the Wise Ones can channel – in fact, the Aiel woman Aviendha is a new supporting character ordered to the Aiel Waste for reasons relating to this issue – though they are very well-versed in yet unfamiliar uses. Their societal standing too is very different when compared to the Aes Sedai.
Maybe this is a good point to talk about the second plotline, the one that features Elayne, Nynaeve, and Thom Merrilin. They too meet yet another group of women who make use of the One Power (again under different name) to achieve unique wonders. To reach their destiny they take up the services of the Sea Folk and the two seaward chapters delivered what was perhaps the most captivating prose of the series to date. You could almost smell the ocean and feel the fresh wind on your skin.
I have to admit, their stay in Tanchico was otherwise perhaps the weakest aspect of the fourth installment. It had it's moments, though, with Elayne and the gleeman getting reacquainted perhaps being the most memorable (even though it was a bit slow and clumsy). Also, their climax at the Palace, with its two boss fights, the rescue mission, and the general vibes, fully put me in the Final Fantasy state of mind. Very good fun!
You may remember that the Prologue of The Dragon Reborn revealed the Children of the Light's plan to deliver their justice to Perrin. It's mostly a plot of personal revenge, yet there is an overarching strategy plotted by the mysterious Ordeith (the man we knew as the peddler Padan Fain) to lure Rand to the Two Rivers. Assisted by Loial and a small group of Aiel warriors it is Perrin who answers the challenge.
Of course, those chapters are well-grounded in nostalgia, even if many of the relationships precede the events of the first novel. But when he leads the stealthy rescue mission in the Clan's camp we fully understand what he's made of. Here again Jordan's writing is phenomenal. He portrays the situation in such vivid detail that you'll find yourself holing your breath not to make one sound. I thought it was absolutely awesome how our hero slowly becomes their capable leader, Lord Perrin, the Goldeneyes.
The excessive space makes it possible to really spend time with the crowd. That was particular true for the scenes set in the Two Rivers and it gave off some refreshing cozy vibes. It's as if we follow Perrin to all his daily interactions, some only rather mundane in the bigger scheme of things. They are the kind of details necessary for the reader to get fully immersed in the world, like when we learn of the commodities offered by peddlers or the little things that people do between battles.
The latter however certainly were the highlights here. I guess I'm really susceptible to all the death-and-glory demeanor, greatly exemplified in a passage as this:
"All up and down the line, as far as Perrin could see, the women were there. Their numbers were the only reason the lines still held, almost driven back against the houses. Women among the men, shoulder to shoulder; some no more than girls, but then, some of those 'men' had never shaved yet. Some never would."
For a book released in the early 90s, I think it's fair to praise the crucial role often assigned to female characters. Unfortunately, it's still hard to overstate how little substance there is to Faile. I saw her described as being reduced to the sassy sidekick, and it's sadly fully on-point. Would you believe that her marriage with Perrin takes up only half a page, in a book as chunky as this? It makes you wonder whether Jordan himself liked her.
Similarly, there are some very pulpy attempts at romance in the first third of the book. Frankly, there was a chapter or two when the writing became almost unbearably adolescent. But I have to say, these moments interspersed throughout later and more meaningful events grew on me. It's still very YA (and not even the good kind), but you cannot deny that it adds to the overall character and vibe of the series. Elayne or Min, I wonder. Though I still hope Egwene.
Min is the subject of the fourth and most minor plot thread. Its repercussions are huge and the few chapters are quite exciting to read, but I suspect it's mainly there to take away their safe haven and to set up the general tone of the next book. When it comes to The Fires of Heaven, signs are pointing to greatness!
Rating: 5/5
At the core of the genuinely epic narrative – the longest novel in the series – there is a key event when Rand truly becomes the Aiel's Car'a'carn, He Who Comes With the Dawn. Please excuse me for getting right into the action; for me it was the one moment (or sequence) when the world fully came to life.
A series of flashbacks throw him right at the time when almost all-powerful Aes Sedai brought destruction to the world. Yet, it's not about how the male half of the True Source was tainted or the Age of Madness. Instead, we learn about a people whose commitment to peace – their Way of the Leaf – was put to the proof by increasingly dire circumstances. To me the Aiel origin myth was the most convincing sign of more mature writing, especially because of how it addresses the painful reconstruction of identity in the face of what some of them had to do in order to survive or to save their loved ones.
The Wheel of Time is often praised for its rich depiction of culture. Earlier entries to the series had some of this, but The Shadow Rising quite literally spins a backdrop of colorful tapestry that goes well beyond earlier encounters with sporadic curiosities. Of the four main threads (I'll return to this) the events in the Aiel Waste take precedence, and what our long-standing heroes experience there is rich lore, custom, and character. In fact, even the place itself is construed as their Three-fold Land, where they dwell as punishment for their sins, to prove their courage, and to return to virtue.
Firstly, there are the little things. The comparatively tall people are perceived as fierce and remote, their humor is different and it's difficult to find common ground for conversation. Occasionally find themselves the subject of ceremonies with less than subtle sexual connotations. In many ways to find one's footing with some and some scenes leave the reader just as bewildered as Rand and Mat do themselves.
Don't get me wrong, the novel offers enough background information to gather a vague picture, if you bothered to piece together the details. If you are the kind of fan that enjoys high fantasy as being depictable on maps, there is world-building of this sort. But I don't think that's the point; it's more about the feeling and atmosphere than it is about genuine understanding of a people. In short, it's info-dumping done right.
Other than the feeling of bewilderment, some of the details are just plain awesome. For instance, we meet the Maidens of the Spear (or in their own tongue, the Far Dareis Mai). The form this subsociety of pride female warriors, armed with bows, long-bladed knives at their belts – and numerous long-bladed spears on their backs. I'm getting ahead of myself (I think it will only be established in the next novel), but they'll become Rand's personal guardians. The image might very well have occurred in my over-stimulated childhood dreams of too many hours playing RPG video games.
Speaking of dreams, if you are in any way familiar with the series it shouldn't come as a big surprise that they again play a crucial role in the narrative. We already know that Perrin may access the wolf dream to gather information on his surrounding environment. More importantly, Egwene was much-heralded by her companions for her potential to become a Dreamer, or a dreamwalker, as it's more descriptively called later on. The prospect of wise teaching is what calls her to the desert.
Up to this point, the White Tower of the Aes Sedai claimed the prerogative of interpreting what it means to channel the One Power. In this respect, the story strode familiar paths. The situation is now leavened to some extent by the introduction of other roles of magic. Only few of the Wise Ones can channel – in fact, the Aiel woman Aviendha is a new supporting character ordered to the Aiel Waste for reasons relating to this issue – though they are very well-versed in yet unfamiliar uses. Their societal standing too is very different when compared to the Aes Sedai.
Maybe this is a good point to talk about the second plotline, the one that features Elayne, Nynaeve, and Thom Merrilin. They too meet yet another group of women who make use of the One Power (again under different name) to achieve unique wonders. To reach their destiny they take up the services of the Sea Folk and the two seaward chapters delivered what was perhaps the most captivating prose of the series to date. You could almost smell the ocean and feel the fresh wind on your skin.
I have to admit, their stay in Tanchico was otherwise perhaps the weakest aspect of the fourth installment. It had it's moments, though, with Elayne and the gleeman getting reacquainted perhaps being the most memorable (even though it was a bit slow and clumsy). Also, their climax at the Palace, with its two boss fights, the rescue mission, and the general vibes, fully put me in the Final Fantasy state of mind. Very good fun!
You may remember that the Prologue of The Dragon Reborn revealed the Children of the Light's plan to deliver their justice to Perrin. It's mostly a plot of personal revenge, yet there is an overarching strategy plotted by the mysterious Ordeith (the man we knew as the peddler Padan Fain) to lure Rand to the Two Rivers. Assisted by Loial and a small group of Aiel warriors it is Perrin who answers the challenge.
Of course, those chapters are well-grounded in nostalgia, even if many of the relationships precede the events of the first novel. But when he leads the stealthy rescue mission in the Clan's camp we fully understand what he's made of. Here again Jordan's writing is phenomenal. He portrays the situation in such vivid detail that you'll find yourself holing your breath not to make one sound. I thought it was absolutely awesome how our hero slowly becomes their capable leader, Lord Perrin, the Goldeneyes.
The excessive space makes it possible to really spend time with the crowd. That was particular true for the scenes set in the Two Rivers and it gave off some refreshing cozy vibes. It's as if we follow Perrin to all his daily interactions, some only rather mundane in the bigger scheme of things. They are the kind of details necessary for the reader to get fully immersed in the world, like when we learn of the commodities offered by peddlers or the little things that people do between battles.
The latter however certainly were the highlights here. I guess I'm really susceptible to all the death-and-glory demeanor, greatly exemplified in a passage as this:
"All up and down the line, as far as Perrin could see, the women were there. Their numbers were the only reason the lines still held, almost driven back against the houses. Women among the men, shoulder to shoulder; some no more than girls, but then, some of those 'men' had never shaved yet. Some never would."
For a book released in the early 90s, I think it's fair to praise the crucial role often assigned to female characters. Unfortunately, it's still hard to overstate how little substance there is to Faile. I saw her described as being reduced to the sassy sidekick, and it's sadly fully on-point. Would you believe that her marriage with Perrin takes up only half a page, in a book as chunky as this? It makes you wonder whether Jordan himself liked her.
Similarly, there are some very pulpy attempts at romance in the first third of the book. Frankly, there was a chapter or two when the writing became almost unbearably adolescent. But I have to say, these moments interspersed throughout later and more meaningful events grew on me. It's still very YA (and not even the good kind), but you cannot deny that it adds to the overall character and vibe of the series. Elayne or Min, I wonder. Though I still hope Egwene.
Min is the subject of the fourth and most minor plot thread. Its repercussions are huge and the few chapters are quite exciting to read, but I suspect it's mainly there to take away their safe haven and to set up the general tone of the next book. When it comes to The Fires of Heaven, signs are pointing to greatness!
Rating: 5/5