Tag: Robert Jordan

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, Book Four of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan is the fourth book of The Wheel of Time series. Our heroes leave the city of Tear and split into groups. Min learns about the volatile situation at the White Tower of the Aes Sedai at Tar Valon. Perrin, Faile, and Loial travel to liberate Emond’s Field. Nyneave and Elayne follow the Black Ajah to Tanchico. Rand, Mat, and Egwene head to the Aiel Waste to confront their destinies. Can Rand learn enough about his powers in time to defeat the Shadow Rising?

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Summary

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan begins soon after the Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan ended. Tear has been taken and Rand wields the sword that is not a sword, Callendor. The first chapter of the book serves as a prologue, covering four different points of view.

Chapter One starts with Min arriving at the White Tower of Tar Valon. During the Dragon Reborn novel, Moiraine sent Min to explain the events that occurred in Falme to Siuan Sache, the Amyrlin Seat, the leader of the Aes Sedai. This introduces the reader to one of the four main plots of this novel, the volatile political situation of the Aes Sedai.

Chapter One continues with short scenes introducing three of the opposition characters in this book. Elaida is from the Red Ajah of the Aes Sedai. She is located at the White Tower in Tar Valon. Dain Bornhald is a Whitecloak. He is at Taren Ferry in the Two Rivers near Emond’s Field. High Lady Suroth is a leader of the Seanchan. She regrouped the Seanchan at Cantorin Harbor after their defeat at Falme.

Three groups leave Tear at different times. Perrin, Faile, and Loial follow the Ways to liberate Emond’s Field from Shadowspawn and Whitecloaks We meet the citizens of Emond’s Field for the first time since book one. Nyneave and Elayne take a Sea Folk ship to get to Tanchico to search for the Black Ajah. They meet a Seanchan ship’s captain named Egeanin, who is different than she seems. Rand, Mat, and Egwene head to the Aiel Waste to confront their destinies.

The four stories each conclude, setting up the events for the next novel in the series, The Fires of Heaven.

Recommendation

Shadow Rising by Robert Jordon is a great novel, but it is different than the first three novels in the series. The first three novels all ended with most of the main characters achieving success together in a specific location. Eye of the World ended at the Eye of the World, The Great Hunt ended at Falme, and Dragon Reborn ended at Tear. This novel is like the breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. There are four groups followed in this novel and each group comes to a climax at the end of the novel, but they will remain apart to pursue their individual goals in the coming novels. That is disappointing but necessary to tell the greater story. This world is big and now the readers will see more of it by following multiple storylines.

There are two parts of this novel I thought were brilliant. The whole series of chapters about Perrin’s journey and struggle against the Shadowspawn and the Whitecloaks at Edmond’s Field come to a satisfying conclusion. Chapters 25 and 26 cover the Aiel Ancestor History Sequence. The stories were complicated and resonated.

The first season of the Amazon Prime Video will adapt the first two novels of the series in 2020 or 2021. I will be interested to see how they adapt this novel in a few years.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9539.The_Shadow_Rising

This is the link to my review of Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan, Book three of the Wheel of Time.

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time.

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Book one of the Wheel of Time.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan. Book three of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan is the third book of The Wheel of Time series. Perrin and Moraine follow Rand to Tear. Mat, Egwene, Nyneave, and Elyane follow the Black Ajah to Tear. They meet at the Stone of Tear and Rand meets his destiny with the sword that is not a sword named Callendor. Can Rand wield Callendor to prove he is the Dragon Reborn and defeat Ba’alzamon?

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Summary

Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan begins soon after Great Hunt by Robert Jordan ended. The battle at Falme is over and Rand unfurls the Dragon Banner. The Dragon banner group hides in the hills considering their next move. Moiraine, the Aes Sedai, and her warder Lan protect the group. Perrin, the wolf brother and Min, the lady of prophecy, and Loial, the Oglier are members of the group. Something unexpected happens and Rand leaves the protecting hills and the group follows him but is one step behind him on their way to Tear. Callendor, the sword that is not a sword, is found in Tear. The prophecy is that the Stone of Tear will fall and the one who can wield Callendor is the Dragon Reborn.

Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is in Tar Volan. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne are training under the tutelage of the Aes Sedai. They have brought Mat, the trickster, to Tar Volan for the Aes Sedai to heal him. They hope the most powerful of the Aes Sedai can heal Mat from the curse of the dagger he took from Shadar Logoth. The Black Ajah makes its presence known. The members of the Black Ajah are Aes Sedai who follows the dark one. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne head to Tear to fight the Black Ajah.

Both groups travel to Tear and Rand proves his worth.

Recommendation

The Dragon Reborn is another great novel in the Wheel of Time series. It was a great idea to limit Rand’s POV chapters and having him as a mysterious force that the group follows. Bringing almost everyone in the cast to Tear worked well. I enjoyed Mat’s story the best. His story feels like a spy thriller. Perrin faces his main dilemma of whether to take up the blacksmith hammer and a non-combat role or the war ax and a combat role. The best moment of the novel comes at the end when Rand responds to the climax of the novel. It is a perfect reaction and Moraine states the truth that will propel Rand, Perrin, and Mat in the novels that follow. I am looking forward to watching the first season of the Amazon Prime Video adaption of the first two novels of the series in 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/359820.The_Dragon_Reborn

This is the link to my review of Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time.

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, Book one of the Wheel of Time.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan is the second book of The Wheel of Time series. It follows Eye of the World, the first book in the series. Someone stole the Horn of Valere. The prophecy says they need the horn to summon the great heroes of the ages at the last battle. Can Rand and his group retrieve it before the great enemy, Ba’alzamon, disposes of it and their chance to defeat him in the last battle?

Summary

The Great Hunt begins with the characters reflecting on the events of Eye of the World at the city of Fal Dara. Rand trains with the sword with Lan. The Amyrlin Seat, the leader of the Aes Sedai arrives in Fal Dara to access the situation. After someone steals the horn, Agelmar, the Lord of Fal Dara, forms a group to retrieve it. The group is lead by Ingtar and includes Rand, Mat, Perrin, Loial, and Ingtar’s soldiers. Padan Fain, the thief and the leader of the Trollocs the group chases, is not who he seems. They split the group up during their journey. Rand, Loial, and one of Ingtar’s soldiers named Hurin overcome challenges. Rand must face his destiny and Ba’alzamon’s lies.

Meanwhile, Moiraine, the Aes Sedai the characters followed in Eye of the World, takes Egwene and Nynaeve to the Aes Sedai city of Tar Volan to start their training to become Aes Sedai. Egwene and Nynaeve learn at the White Tower in Tar Volan and become friends with Elayne and Min.

The horn arrives in Falme, a city on the western coast. The characters meet in Falme for the confrontation which includes the Seanchan, a strange and violent people from across the sea, The Children of the Light, a military order attempting to exterminate Darkfriends, and Ba’alzamon. Rand proves his worth.

Recommendation

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan is a great second novel to the Wheel of Time series. Jordan delivers the promise of the first book in the second. The novel could have suffered from becoming an episodic placeholder setting up the series conclusion but it does not. The two main storylines are strong. Their search for the horn and Rand’s journey of acceptance of his destiny flows well together. Egwene and Nynaeve’s training showcase the wider world and the use of the One Power. The two most important scenes in this novel are when Rand becomes the Dragon Reborn and the Seanchan capture Egwene. The Great Hunt sets up The Dragon Reborn, book 3 of the Wheel of Time. I am looking forward to watching the first season of the Amazon Prime Video adaption of the first two novels of the series in 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/233649.The_Great_Hunt

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

This is a link to the post from March 7, 2019, on an update on the current situation with the Wheel of Time Amazon Prime Video adaption from the Wertzone website.

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-wheel-of-time-tv-series-update.html

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time Book #1

Introduction

Rand and his father Tam are sheepherders near the village of Emond’s field. The Trollocs invade and threaten their world. Trollocs are minions of the Dark One. The Dark One longs to break out of his centuries-long imprisonment. The Dark One is threatened by three young men from Emond’s field, Rand and his two friends Matt and Perrin. Will they be killed by the Dark One’s minions or will they escape to the mythical city of Tar Valon?

Summary

Rand and his friends are helped by five people early in their journey to Tar Valon. Nynaeve, the Wisdom of Emond’s field, and her apprentice Egwene. A wisdom is a female healer and weather forecaster found in villages. The Aes Sedai, Moiraine and her Warder named Lan. The Aes Sedai are female magic users from Tar Valon who use the One Power to do their magic. The last helper is the gleeman, Thom Merrilin. Gleemen are traveling entertainers who are found infrequently in the villages. They try to avoid the Trollocs, their commanders called Myrddraal and other followers of the Dark One called Darkfriends. The group faces the dangers of Shadar Logoth and the Children of the Light. They are helped by Min, the Tinkers, the forest dweller and friend of wolves named Elyas Machera, and the Ogier Loial. The young men are named ta’veren, a person who the Wheel of Time revolves. The Wheel of Time is the pattern where the ages repeat again and again. They must find the Eye of the World to defeat the Dark One.

Recommendation

This novel is an epic that begins an epic series of fifteen books (fourteen novels and a short prequel novel). While inspired by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, there is much more in this novel. Ran, Mat, and Perrin have different personalities and wants. The narrative pushes them to face the Dark One through dreams and increasing danger from his minions. The Dark One has an objective and a way to achieve it. This novel ends with a bigger world beckoning and a reluctant hero beginning to understand his place on the Wheel of Time. I have waited a long time to start this long journey of reading this series, but I am glad that I have chosen to start it now. This first book is great and I look forward to reading the last three novels which were completed by Brandon Sanderson, one of my current favorite authors. On to book number two, The Great Hunt.

Links

Goodreads link for The Eye of the World

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228665.The_Eye_of_the_World

Review of The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan. Rand searches for the Horn of Valere since he needs it for the Last Battle. Rand becomes the Dragon Reborn and Nynaeve learns how to use the One Power. Amazon Prime Video will adapt the first two novels of the series in 2020.

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan