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Title: The Fires of Heaven
Series:
The Wheel of Time #5
Author: Robert Jordan
Rating:
5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages:
867
Words: 355K
From Tarvalon.net &
authored by Toral Delvar
In
the Tower, Elaida is struggling to hold on to power, while her
advisors are struggling to cope with the idea of Rand. Fain is
counseling Elaida. He steals the Shadar Logoth dagger back before
leaving the Tower. He gets past Alviarin only by convincingly
bluffing that he stands high as a Darkfriend. Rahvin is visited by
Lanfear, Sammael and Graendal. They make plans to get Rand. Morgase
flees Gaebril after he shames her in front of others. She takes Lini,
Tallanvor, Basel Gill and Lamgwin with her. Breane goes with Lamgwin.
In
Rhuidean, Rand is living under the roof of the Maidens, the first man
ever allowed there. Moiraine loads the various ter'angreal gathered
in Rhuidean onto wagons. Rand discusses plans with the clan chiefs,
where he learns of what is known as "the bleakness".
Egwene
and Moiraine start ganging up on him and he begins to experience Lews
Therin's memories. Moiraine finds another of the seals, which is
extremely fragile. Mat picks up a Shaido woman, Melindhra, who has
come to join the Maidens. Isendre irritates Aviendha and the Maidens
by constantly attempting to bed Rand. Melaine decides to wed Bael,
chief of her clan. Moiraine argues with the Wise Ones about Rand's
plans to take them out of the Waste.
Rand
and the Aiel are attacked by Shadowspawn, including Darkhounds. Rand
destroys the Darkhounds with balefire. Rand kills a Darkhound which
was attacking Mat with balefire. Moiraine Heals Mat after he removes
his amulet, and tells Rand balefire is dangerous. Rand agrees not to
use it unless he must. The sense of trust between them breaks down so
much that Moiraine swears to obey Rand and to not try to manipulate
him. Rand is once more visited by Lanfear, who tells him that Rahvin
has Morgase.
The
Shaido leave the Waste, forcing Rand to follow. Trollocs attack
again. Rand and his followers leave the Waste and see a town that has
been attacked. One of the survivors says it was a message to Rand,
from Couladin. They learn Couladin had been taking Wetlanders as
gai'shain.
Aviendha
gives Rand Laman's sword to even out the bracelet he had previously
given her. He discovers it was made with the Power, so he gives her
the hilt and scabbard back, as they are jewel-encrusted and useless.
As a result, she unintentionally makes a huge profit. Trollocs and
Darkfriends attack again; Rand believes it is Sammael, trying to goad
him, as he remembers him doing the same in the Age of Legends; Rand's
memories from the Age of Legends frighten Asmodean. Rand tells the
clan chiefs he will hang anyone who murders or burns anything, even
in Cairhien.
Egwene
sees Elayne and Birgitte in Tel'aran'rhiod. Moghedien tries to trap
her there, but Egwene escapes. Kadere murders Isendre when she
refuses to continue to try and bed Rand because of her fear of the
Maidens.
Rand
and the Aiel move on to Cairhien, which is under siege by the Shaido.
A week away from the city, they meet lordlings from Tear that Rand
had sent north, as well as Cairhienin soldiers. They tell him
Couladin has the city under siege.
Rand
accidentally catches Aviendha naked after taking a bath. Aiel customs
in this area are considered a little odd; she flees, using the Power
to Travel. Rand follows her to a winter landscape, holding her
gateway open, and eventually catches up with her, finding her
unconscious. He removes his clothes as well and holds her, to keep
her warm. Aviendha awakens and admits her love of Rand. They
consummate their relationship. The following morning, they come
across a Seanchan patrol outside the gateway, which is now invisible.
They shield and bind the Seanchan and head through, and as Rand lets
the doorway dissolve, a spear is thrown through. He decides to keep
the remaining piece of the spear.
Rand
decides to attack the Shaido after coming up with a plan with the
clan chiefs. Mat also comes up with the same plan after studying the
map for a minute. Mat decides to leave for safety and heads south,
where he sees a group of soldiers about to wander into an Aiel
ambush. He goes to simply warn them, but ends up leading them
throughout the battle. He also kills Couladin. Other Aiel who have
not agreed to follow Rand hang back and watch.
Rand
uses the One Power to influence the battle, aided by Aviendha and
Egwene. Someone, presumably Sammael, tries to interfere. They
eventually drive the Shaido from Cairhien, leaving Rand completely
exhausted. The other Aiel, which remained apart from the Shaido, send
their Wise Ones to discuss joining with Rand. Rand enters Cairhien,
seeing siswai’aman for the first time. Tairen High Lords and
Cairhienin Lords swear fealty to him. Weiramon arrives from Tear.
Colavaere
sends young women, including Selande, to try and bed Rand. He puts a
stop to it when he claims to prefer more mature women, and invites
Colavaere to his chambers, where Aviendha beats her for trying to get
near him. Berelain joins him in Cairhien. Moiraine brings letters
from the Tower, from Elaida and Alviarin. Alviarin's is full of
flattery.
Mat
hears of Morgase's supposed death and tells Rand, who resolves to
kill Rahvin. Moiraine first takes him to the docks where they meet
Lanfear, who is in a rage because she has been told by Kadere that
Rand has been bedding Aviendha for months. She kills Kadere, then
attacks Aviendha and Egwene, who are saved by Rand. She decides to
kill him when he says he will never love her. Unfortunately, he
cannot bring himself to kill Lanfear. Instead, Moiraine takes Lanfear
through the doorway to the realms of the Eelfinn, which melts, thus
severing her bond with Lan, who is compelled to go east. Rand learns
in a letter that Moiraine knew these events would take place. Mat is
attacked by Melindhra, who is a Darkfriend, when he reveals he is off
to Tear to lead the assault on Illian. He accidentally kills her.
That
afternoon, Rand Skims to Caemlyn with Mat, Aviendha, Asmodean and a
group of Aiel, but without Egwene, who is too injured. They are
immediately attacked by Rahvin. Aviendha, Mat and Asmodean are all
killed in that first attack. Rand chases Rahvin into the World of
Dreams.
Siuan,
Leane and Min are arrested by Gareth Bryne after Logain burns down a
barn. Leane practices her flirting on Bryne. Giving false names, they
swear to work off their debt, but decide to sneak off at the first
opportunity, as they never said when they would repay the debt.
Logain rescues them anyway, showing concern for the man he injures in
the process. Bryne follows them; he says it is because of Siuan's
eyes.
They
discover the Aes Sedai opposing Elaida have gathered in Salidar.
Siuan and Leane pretend to barely be able to tolerate each other and
convince those in charge of who they are, and manipulate them into
choosing their own Hall and Amyrlin. Siuan is allowed to run the spy
network, and tells them Logain was set up by the Red Ajah. After
being captured, Bryne agrees to build an army to take Tar Valon on
his own terms. Siuan is set to work for him.
Elayne,
Nynaeve, Thom and Juilin leave Tarabon to return to Tear, but come
across a woman, Ronde Macura, who drugs the girls to prevent them
from chaneling and ties them up. She says there is a message: "All
sisters are welcome to return to the Tower. The Tower must be whole
and strong". Thom and Juilin rescue them. They realize the Tower
has split and set out to find the rebels. Elayne constantly flirts
with Thom. Nynaeve and Egwene discover that Elaida is Amyrlin. They
meet Galad. In Tel'aran'rhiod, Egwene chastises Nynaeve, telling her
to cover herself up.
They
head into Ghealdan, where they join a traveling circus and act as
performers. While travelling with the circus, they take an a'dam from
a Seanchan woman. Elayne says she thinks she could make one. They
meet up with the Shienarans they left in Falme.
Moghedien
takes over the members of the Black Ajah who left the Tower, giving
them different tasks and splitting them up.
Birgitte
takes Nynaeve to spy on Moghedien and the other Forsaken in
Tel'aran'rhiod. Moghedien spots them and follows. They overcome her
after Birgitte shoots her with an arrow, but Birgitte herself is
severely wounded. She appears in the real world, and Elayne bonds
Birgitte as a Warder to save her life.
Moghedien
has one of the Black Ajah Heal her. Liandrin fails to persuade the
remaining Black Ajah to gang up on Moghedien. She tries to use
Compulsion on Moghedien, but she isn't quick enough or strong enough.
She fails, and Moghedien leaves her shielded in such a way that
Liandrin is never likely to channel again. Moghedien uses Compulsion
on her to make sure she doesn't give up and take her own life,
though. The other Black sisters are sent off with various tasks.
Elayne
and Nynaeve learn that the rebels are in Salidar, and arrange with
both Masema and Galad, who has joined the Whitecloaks, for a boat to
take them out of Ghealdan. This results in conflict at the docks
between the Prophet's mobs and Whitecloaks. The girls flee to Salidar
with Uno and the Shienarans. They are also accompanied by three
women: Moghedien, posing as Marigan, Nicola and Areina. Min tells
Elayne she loves Rand. The leaders in Salidar decide to talk to
Moiraine through Egwene and the Wise Ones. Siuan also forces Nynaeve
to teach her about the World of Dreams. Nynaeve makes Siuan agree to
let her study being stilled.
Moghedien
almost captures Nynaeve in the World of Dreams, but Nynaeve tricks
her and captures her with an a'dam. Nynaeve makes her take them to
Caemlyn, to try and help Rand. She sees Rahvin and encases him in a
sheet of fire, almost killing him, before Rand does kill him with
balefire. Nynaeve tells Moghedien she knows where she is and that
she's coming to get her.
Aviendha,
Mat and Asmodean are alive again because Rahvin was killed with
balefire, but Asmodean is killed for good a short while later. Rand
meets Davram Bashere, who had been hunting Mazrim Taim. Rand tells
him Taim is off limits and that there is an amnesty for men who want
to channel.
Whooooowheeeeee! Holy Shazboticon Batman! This was feth'ing,
frak'ing, frel'ing awesome (if any of you happen to know any more
sf/tv show alternate words, leave a comment please. I'm always
willing to expand my fake vocabulary).
This is where the cast of characters begins to get so big that the
book doesn't contain everyone. There is NO Perrin. I didn't
particularly care, but with the addition of the Queen in Exile
Morgase and her small band, it just became obvious that things were
bloating up. A character like Morgase should not have pushed out
someone like Perrin. The fact that she does nothing but escape the
Forsaken enthralling her doesn't help any. Yes, it adds a reason for
Rand to attack, but that could have been accomplished without adding
her and her retinue with their very own POV chapters. They weren't
bad, just seemed unnecessary, that is all. And that is about all the
bad stuff I have to say.
When I read this back in '11, I noted how angry everyone was. This
time around, it became apparent to me that there was a lot of growing
out of that anger for several of the characters. Elayne, Aviendha and
Egwene all show definite signs of growing up and maturity. It was
great to see. Nynaeve, on the other hand, seems to double down on the
angry schtick and her being contrasted to the other woman shows her
to a great disadvantage in that regards. Of course, Jordan does use
that to show a bunch of inner stuff going in Nynaeve, so even she
isn't the hateful harpy I thought of her as back in '11. Still don't
like her this time around though. Understanding is very different
from liking.
Where Perrin was the side character who did a lot of growth in the
previous book, Matt gets his chance here. Of course, it isn't until
near the end and isn't nearly as a big a section as Perrin had but
it is there. He's pretty much told to just grow up and stop fighting
his fate. Rand also tightens the reins once he really realizes what a
treasure trove of military knowledge is in Matt's head. Even Matt
begins to accept that he has to grow up when he can't seem to escape
fighting battles and winning them, even if against his will.
The big boss battle at the end is just as awesome as before. I'd
forgotten how big a part Nynaeve played in determining the outcome of
that. While I remembered Moraine's fate, I hadn't remembered that
she'd taken one of the Forsaken with her. So many details that make
these stories so good. While not quite like reading a completely new
book, there were enough gaps that I never felt “been there, done
that”. Jordan can write and I really like what I'm reading.
With what happens to Moraine in this book, it seems proper that the
next Wheel of Time book will be the prequel New Spring.
On a closing note, I'd just like to point out how boring, blasé,
uninteresting, uninformative and generally pathetic these recently
released ebook covers are. I've been using the old covers but wanted
at least one example so the future me could see what kind of crap the
publishers pull. I've heard theories that the publishers did this so
as not to interfere with the possible visuals from the upcoming Wheel
of Time tv show from Amazon. Of course, that means when the tv show
does release and if it isn't a hot mess of a flopping bomb, that
we'll be getting movie actor covers. Oh Lord, preserve us from such
an awful fate. I preemptively SMITE those covers!
★★★★★
