The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan again plunges us into his extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

....Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine.

....Into the Amyrlin's study in the White Tower, where the Amyrlin, Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, is weaving new plans.

....Into Andor, where Siuan Sanche and her companions, including the falst Dragon Logain, have been arrested for barn-burning.

....Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rhavin is meeting with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon.

....Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril.

For once the Dragon walks the land, the fires of heaven fall where they will, until all men's lives are ablaze.

And in Shayol Ghul, the Dark One stirs....

Now that we are talking about book 5, it's time to mention how long these books start to get, and how dense they are.  This is where the action starts breaking off into sections, even more so in the previous four books.  Our heroes are spread throughout the world, and are rarely together for long periods of time.  Which means, the secondary characters continue to grow in size, as do the plot point.  Which by the way, all the plot points would take way too much time to ever fully explain.

A lot of people, who end up complaining about this series, starts their griping with this book.  They feel like all the extra action slows down the books, making them boring.  I'm not one of them, I love this series, and I love get lost in the size and scope that very few authors can ever pull off.  Robert Jordan was one such author, and I think what he was able to do with this series is amazing.

As I said earlier, these won't be reviews, more like comments on what I like and didn't like about certain situations or character development, so here it goes.

It's in this book that I think Mat really starts to take control of himself and accept what he is to become.  That's not to say he does it willingly or happily, but we see him start to grow up a bit here.

The Shaido Aiel, what can I say about them other than that I wish they would have been killed off sooner, and I'm already tired of them by this point in time.  I know I have a long way to go with dealing with them, but I could wish otherwise.

What happens with Moiraine upsets me, though even when I read this book for the first time, I knew that it may not be the final resolution.  So we will see in the future what becomes of her, though I must admit that I really like her, almost more than all the other female characters combined.

Siuan, I love her.  The way she has dealt with being deposed and starts to make a new life for herself is amazing.  Though I wish she could have done it more out in the open, as opposed through subterfuge.

Nynaeve is exploding as a character, trapping one Forsaken and helping eliminate another.  Her temper gets on my nerves, but I'm fond of her.

Morgase, who I never really warm up to, is just annoying and simpering at this point in time.  Even when she wakes up out of her stupor and sees what she has become, I almost don't care.  For all I care "Lord Gaebril" can have her, and I don't see what Martyn sees in her.

It's really odd for me to write these since I already know how everything ends, so trying to remember how I felt after each book, without knowing the future, is a bit hard.  But I'll do my best and give you my thoughts as I had them.

Other Books in the Series:

The Eye of the World
The Great Hunt
The Dragon Reborn
The Shadow Rising