The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time)

i find it hard not to get to carried away with this series....i forget the difference between reality and the amazing world jordan has created! but it!

Lengthy and diverse (0/0 people found this helpful)

The Shadow Rising is definitely a book divided in to thirds. The first few hundred pages expertly entwines the build up of this chapter with a summary of the last three books. There is then a further, less pacey section with deals with culture, exploration of new content in the form of dreamscapes and the further definition of the Forsaken, the minions of evil. This middle section is tough going and before the action gets going another four hundred pages have passed. The final third, a siege, a daring infiltration and a clash of culture are all well crafted and ensure the first two thirds are well spent. Many of the main plot lines are closed, with a myriad of new paths created to ensure the fifth instalment is eagerly sought out. Overall, Shadow Rising is a competent entry in the series, but it is too long, with content that could be presented in a more slick fashion.

A must read for all sci fi/fantasy lovers (0/0 people found this helpful)

this is an amazing series that takes the reader into a completly different world, as impressive as Tolkein's middle earth this series introduce's Jordan's great talent. A must read for all sci fi/fantasy lovers!

Undoubtedly the most intricate fantasy world ever created. (0/0 people found this helpful)

What Tolkein had only begun to achieve in LOTR - to construct a whole other world - Robert Jordan is fulfilling in grand style. Whereas Tolkein told a rather tight, focused story of a relatively small group of people, whose adventures take different paths through various landscapes, hinting at the histories and cultures he envisions, Jordan's vision is much more sprawling and complete; taking in an entire continent, intricately constructing countries and peoples, with their individual customs, beliefs and politics. This can ultimately lead to an overload of information at times; the sheer number of characters you need to keep track of is staggering, and although Jordan's reminders can be sometimes jarringly out of place - no matter how subtle - they are required to keep up with many of the less prominent plot threads.

And the plot development in this book is the best so far, with many of the more prominent characters finally getting a chance to shine without relying heavily of support from those around them, and all the carefully woven elements from the first quarter of the series finally bearing tangible fruit. In many places, Jordan manages a hat trick of not only extending the history and canonical lore of the world even further whilst simultaneously progressing the storyline, but at the same time threads in information and characters which you just know are going to open up even more of the same in later chapters and books.

The pace of the book is fantastic; Jordan manages to thread the narrative skilfully throughout, whilst keeping the action flowing in a strong, steady stream, making sure there's always something to keep you reading - almost all of the time, at least.

One of the few flaws of book 4 is that some of the more obtuse subplots do tend to receive an seemingly unnecessary amount of attention. Whilst all the extra background will doubtless come into play in later books, reading through large chunks set aside from any of the main plot lines or characters can feel like a bit of a slog sometimes.

I would have to say that book 4 has been my favourite so far, with not only the characters becoming much stronger, but also the way that all the information scattered throughout the first three books is being pulled into a rich tapestry serving as the backdrop to a story that can be called nothing less than epic.

Brilliant! (2/2 people found this helpful)

If you enjoyed the first 3 books you will love this one, provided you take the time and effort. There is lots of travelling of the characters throughout the book which can get a bit tedious, but the excitement of the battles and comfrontations of the characters more than makes up for it. The plot is more equally divided than in the previous books with chapters from the points of view from all the major characters. I particularly thought the hunt for the black ajah was the most exciting part of the book and jordan has developed the ladies Nynaeve, Elayne and Egwene making them more like aes sedai with each chapter in their way of thinking and giving them more independence than before.

The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time)

Robert Jordan

Reader Reviews:

amazing (0/0 people found this helpful)

Lengthy and diverse (0/0 people found this helpful)

A must read for all sci fi/fantasy lovers (0/0 people found this helpful)

Undoubtedly the most intricate fantasy world ever created. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Brilliant! (2/2 people found this helpful)

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