Book Review – Lord of Chaos

24 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

The opening of each book in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is a variation on these same lines, followed by a description of wind passing across the land before settling into a more focused scene. Despite the length of each book, I found myself pulled into book 6, Lord of Chaos, immediately after finishing book 5 (paid links). Read on below to see what I thought.

Reviews of other books in the series:

I read the e-book edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world …

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne — and where an unexpected visitor may change the world …

In Emond’s Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta’veren to ta’veren and prepares to march …

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally …

And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway …

This book was a long one, with less action on the pages, or at least more spaced out action amongst those pages. Rand has established himself as the Dragon Reborn and, with the rediscovery of the ability to travel, he bounces between Cairhien and Caemlyn. He talks to people in each place but doesn’t do much himself.

Nynaeve and Elayne sit in Salidar, reduced back to students and no longer given the freedom they once had. The intriguing events of the previous book had given Nynaeve a captive member of the Forsaken and Elayne an unusual Warder, but this book saw little progress in any resolution of these situations.

This is the point in the series where I feel that the author could have told and not shown every detail of every single thing that happens. When the events finally culminate in one exciting scene at the end of the book, the pace is much better.

I’m going to take a break from these books for a few months before I start the next one, A Crown of Swords.

Have you read The Wheel of Time series? How far have you read? Which books do you think were best?

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Fires of Heaven

07 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Fires of Heaven is the fifth book in The Wheel of Time series by author Robert Jordan (paid links). I have been slowing working through this series and I’m determined to finish it this time. Read on to see what I thought of this one.

Here are my reviews of the other books in the series:

I read the e-book edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

Prophesized to defeat the Dark One, Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, has upset the balance of power across the land. Shaido Aiel are on the march, ravaging everything in their path. The White Tower’s Amyrlin has been deposed, turning the Aes Sedai against one another. The forbidden city of Rhuidean is overrun by Shadowspawn.

Despite the chaos swirling around him, Rand continues to learn how to harness his abilities, determined to wield the One Power–and ignoring the counsel of Moiraine Damodred at great cost.

This book picks up with our main characters still scattered around Randland (Note that I’m embracing the term Randland for the world of the Wheel of Time because I’m not sure that Robert Jordan ever gave a name to the world that he created). Siuan and Leane have fled the tower with Min and Logain and the two stilled Aes Sedai work to keep their focus on new goals to put off the despondency that usually follows the loss of the use of the One Power.

Rand has embraced his role as The Dragon Reborn, or the Car’a’carn by the Aiel legends. Yet, the Aiel are split and Rand must lead the Aiel out of the Waste in pursuit of the rebellious Shaido before they cause too much destruction. This theme of political strike and division continues throughout the book. The White Tower is divided, and the realms of Amadicia, Altara, and Andor are plagued by unrest and uncertain leadership. Rand is forced to work with his enemies as he continues to learn how to use his power and fight the Forsaken.

Despite all the events of this book, I felt like the pace has slowed and several scenes could have been easily cut to make this a shorter book. We do see the main characters develop and grow – Rand, Mat, Egwene, and Nynaeve, in particular. Like in the earlier volumes, the end of this book concludes with conflict – both a larger battle and a smaller duel. I’ve already started the next book, Lord of Chaos.

Have you read The Wheel of Time? What do you think of the pacing? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

The Wheel of Time – Maps and Plot Reviews

06 May 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , ,

I just started reading The Fires of Heaven, the fifth book of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series a few days ago, in my ongoing attempt to finally read all 14 books in the series (paid links). With so many other books on my to-be-read list, I have inevitably taken a break between books. For a series this long and complicated, that can sometimes create a challenge where I struggle to remember details between each book. For this blog post, I thought I’d share some of the interesting sites on the internet where a reader can review these details between books.

First off is this place – Wheel of Timelines. I discovered this site a few days ago when I was looking for a map of the Aiel Waste. The main feature of this page is a map that links to a timeline of all the books. You can click through and get a roughly chapter-by-chapter summary of each book (simplified, does not include every chapter). The map that links to this shows where each event takes place. As a life-long reader of fantasy, I always love to correlate the story with the places on the map.

The original map from The Wheel of Time, by Ellisa Mitchell.

If you would like a deeper dive into the creation of the maps for The Wheel of Time, this page tells about the expansion of the standard map found in the books.

This post also reminded me that I have this wonderful book about maps in writing and fantasy: The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands edited by Huw Lewis-Jones (paid link). While it doesn’t feature anything from The Wheel of Time, it is a great coffee table book or reference volume.

If maps aren’t enough to jog your memory between books, Reactor Magazine did a read-along of the entire series that started in 2018. You can find the entire collection of articles here.

The Wheel of Time also has a wiki that provides a ton of detailed information on the characters, places, and plot. That can be found at this site.

Be warned – all of these pages could contain spoilers!

Have you read all of The Wheel of Time? Do you have a favorite reference site? Let me know in the comments (above).

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