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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this one slightly better than the previous one, so the series is back to 5 stars
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Another wonderful installment to the WoT series! Definitely a 4.5/5 stars. The Fires of Heaven (TFOH) is now among my top three favorite books in this series. The Dragon Reborn remains my favorite but it is closely followed by TFOH and The Shadow Rising (TSR).
TFOH begins shortly after the end of TSR, and follows three major groups: Rand and co leaving the Aiel Waste, Nynaeve and co leaving Tanchico, and Siuan and co leaving Tar Valon. Of these plot threads, I found those last two the most interesting as well as the final moments of Rand's plotline. Unfortunately, Perrin (my fave of the EF men) and his storyline are completely missing from this book. Although, it's probably for the best so I can imagine he is experiencing nothing but happiness with Faile lmao!
Now this might be an unpopular opinion but I don't like Rand. He's an incredibly frustrating and arrogant character. He treats some of the characters in a disrespectful manner that irritated me greatly, but I also understand where he's coming from. However, I am particularly pissed at him for his inability to deal with Lanfear resulting in Moiraine's potential death and his atrocious interactions with the Maidens of the Spear. Honestly, I was so happy that he had to suffer the consequences of his actions. I was also fascinated by his descent into madness. Seeing Lews Therin come through was such a treat and I loved the slight hints we got about the Age of Legends during those moments. Excited to see his continued battle with himself as the series continues. Additionally, his fight against Ravhin was the most amazing climax in the series so far.
We also have a couple of chapters in Egwene's POV that I enjoyed. You can really start to see her embodying the Aes Sedai philosophy and acting like a leader. It was really sweet seeing Moiraine treating Egwene like an equal as well.
Since Aviendha was first introduced in the Dragon Reborn, I have loved her. She very much follows the tsundere archetype which I love in most contexts, except with Rand. Her relationship with him just does not work for me. This is in large part due to it being framed as destiny, some of the horrendous commentary by the Wise Ones ( specifically, "those hips were made for having children" as they've been pushing her to sleep with Rand ), and overall I don't really see the chemistry between these characters. Alas, she's one of the three who will have to end up sharing Rand so I'll just have to deal with it. Also, I am not looking forward to the future drama that I am sure is going to occur between herself and Elayne.
This is another unpopular opinion but I actually really enjoyed the circus plot with Elayne and Nynaeve. It had some much needed fun and whimsy before reality set in and smacked them with danger. Nynaeve's journey was particularly enjoyable. She started getting humbled multiple times during this book with perhaps one of the craziest plot points I was not expecting concerning Birgitte being kicked out of TAR by Moghedien. And holy shit! Elayne saving Birgitte by forming a Warder bond with her was insane!! Lets also not forget that Nynaeve was the MVP during the final fight with Ravhin.
Although Siuan and Leane have been stilled, they are more than capable of fighting back in their own way. I absolutely loved watching them learn how to navigate the new reality that they live in, while manipulating those around them to achieve their goals. Really looking forward to seeing what they do in the future!
Lastly, we have to talk about Moiraine. She's another character I have loved since the beginning of the story, and her arc in this book was both humbling and hard to watch. Considering her upbringing, and her background as an Aes Sedai, control is something she's used to having. And as we've seen from the previous books, this rankles at Rand who has been determined to ignore and push away all of Moiraine's counsel. In a desperate bid to finally be heard, she literally begs Rand to listen to her and even swears to do as he says. However, this also starts to foreshadow her future. As Lan says: "She was a soldier, a warrior in her own way as much as I. This could have happened two hundred times these past twenty years. It was a good day to die.". This really goes to show how much she's dedicated her life to ensuring the Dragon Reborn's success during the Last Battle. Like I love her final confrontation with Lanfear but I am so angry that it happened because Rand simply cannot kill any woman, even when she's clearly shown how ready she is to kill everyone he loves. This also might be copium but I am holding out hope that Moiraine will come back. As of this moment, we only know that her and Lanfear are in the Aelfinn/Eelfin's world but not necessarily that they're dead.
TFOH begins shortly after the end of TSR, and follows three major groups: Rand and co leaving the Aiel Waste, Nynaeve and co leaving Tanchico, and Siuan and co leaving Tar Valon. Of these plot threads, I found those last two the most interesting as well as the final moments of Rand's plotline. Unfortunately, Perrin (my fave of the EF men) and his storyline are completely missing from this book. Although, it's probably for the best so I can imagine he is experiencing nothing but happiness with Faile lmao!
Now this might be an unpopular opinion but I don't like Rand. He's an incredibly frustrating and arrogant character. He treats some of the characters in a disrespectful manner that irritated me greatly, but I also understand where he's coming from. However, I am particularly pissed at him for
We also have a couple of chapters in Egwene's POV that I enjoyed. You can really start to see her embodying the Aes Sedai philosophy and acting like a leader. It was really sweet seeing Moiraine treating Egwene like an equal as well.
Since Aviendha was first introduced in the Dragon Reborn, I have loved her. She very much follows the tsundere archetype which I love in most contexts, except with Rand. Her relationship with him just does not work for me. This is in large part due to it being framed as destiny, some of the horrendous commentary by the Wise Ones (
This is another unpopular opinion but I actually really enjoyed the circus plot with Elayne and Nynaeve. It had some much needed fun and whimsy before reality set in and smacked them with danger. Nynaeve's journey was particularly enjoyable. She started getting humbled multiple times during this book
Although Siuan and Leane have been stilled, they are more than capable of fighting back in their own way. I absolutely loved watching them learn how to navigate the new reality that they live in, while manipulating those around them to achieve their goals. Really looking forward to seeing what they do in the future!
Lastly, we have to talk about Moiraine. She's another character I have loved since the beginning of the story, and her arc in this book was both humbling and hard to watch. Considering her upbringing, and her background as an Aes Sedai, control is something she's used to having. And as we've seen from the previous books, this rankles at Rand who has been determined to ignore and push away all of Moiraine's counsel. In a desperate bid to finally be heard, she
So good, finally some humour and sass, makes the amazing plot and great writing so much better
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book could have been 10% shorter if Jordan hadn't felt like showing off his ability to invent folk sayings.