“The Shadow shall rise across the world, and darken every land, even to the smallest corner, and there shall be neither Light nor safety. And he who shall be born of the Dawn, born of the Maiden, according to Prophecy, he shall stretch forth his hands to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in the pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him.

The People of the Dragon hold the Stone of Tear, and mighty Callandor lies in the hands of the Dragon Reborn. The prophecies are being fulfilled one by one. But in the tombs of Shayol Ghul, the seals are being broken. The Black Ajah grows stronger by each passing day. And the Forsaken return to the world of men, heralding the coming of the Dark One. And a group of ordinary men and women from the village of Emond’s Field are left to combat the Shadow Rising.

The Shadow Rising is in many ways the best book in The Wheel of Time series so far. But unfortunately there are a few negative parts too. For the first three hundred pages or so, our heroes do not take a single step away from Tear, though some of them try. The storyline is put completely on hold as Rand and his companions take a break in the Stone, which is rather unfortunate in a fantasy series that’s already this long. Still, the politics of Tear and the mysteries of its great fortress are interesting enough to keep the reader entranced even through the dreary chapters.

My main issues with this book lie with certain characters. The first of those is Faile, Perrin’s exotic love interest. As a knife-wielding rogue who ran away from her family to become a Hunter of the Horn of Valere, Faile could have been… no, should have been a very interesting character. However, that is not the case, as she spends the entirety of the book acting like a spoiled child whose stubbornness makes Rand seem rather normal in comparison. The second character is Aviendha, a Maiden of the Spear whose only purpose in this book is to yell at Rand and whine about him supposedly having mistreated Elayne. And the third is Dain Bornhald, a Whitecloak captain who has decided to blame Perrin for his father’s death and devotes his life to see him hang as a Darkfriend. Perrin’s innocence is completely irrelevant to Bornhald’s hatred.

On the positive side, the book is almost flawless otherwise. It has some of the best scenes in the series so far; in Rhuidean, the holy place of the Aiel, and in the White Tower. Characters like Rand, Nynaeve, Perrin and Egwene, who frustrated me immensely in book two and three, seem to have grown up a little. We also get to see more of the Forsaken reveal themselves, learn more about the history of the Aiel and visit new places. It is difficult to say any more about the book without revealing details about the plot, so I’ll leave you to figure the rest out for yourselves. But in the end, I would say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and that it was probably my favourite Wheel of Time book so far.

Wheel of Time reviews:
#1 n  The Eye of the Worldn
#2 n  The Great Huntn
#3 n  The Dragon Rebornn
#4 n  The Shadow Risingn
#5 n  The Fires of Heavenn
#6 n  Lord of Chaosn
#7 n  A Crown of Swordsn
#8 n  The Path of Daggersn
#9 n  Winter's Heartn
#10 n  Crossroads of Twilightn
#11 n  Knife of Dreamsn
#12 n  The Gathering Stormn
#13 n  Towers of Midnightn
#14 n  A Memory of Lightn

The fourth part of fourteen books in the Wheel of Time is one of the best. This is a general opinion, not simply my own. However I tend to think that the last three so far have perhaps been my favourites in the series.

n  What works?n

1. Storytelling - Robert Jordan knows how to tell a story and he is at the peak of his power in this novel. There are multiple perspectives involved which include all the main characters off on their individual tasks. Robert Jordan knows when to introduce certain plot points for the most part and how to get into character's heads when writing in their perspectives.

2. The inspiration - The Wheel of Time is an inspirational piece of fantasy storytelling. Sad to say many of the books it inspired aren't that good. I believe Terry Goodkind was inspired by this but I can't say his books are really that great, so maybe that's not a point in Robert Jordan's favour.

3. The ideas - The second and third books are the start of the unique fantasy ideas. This fourth book is where we see a lot more of those ideas such as how the magic system can be used to create transportation and balefire. Balefire is such an interesting if deadly idea in this entire series I must admit. Tel'aran'rhiod is as interesting as it was in the third book and we see the Choedan Kal for the first time.

4. The characters - In this book there are plenty of characters and each of the main characters is fascinating. Mat has a trickster persona, Rand is a fascinating mixture of developing insanity and sanity and Perrin and Faile have an incredible relationship going. The other Aes Sedai girls don't get as much of a look in this book but what they do is interesting enough if not as interesting as what the guys get up to.

n  What doesn't or might not work?n

1.Formula - The Wheel of Time novels are quite formulaic in some aspects. Each book seems to have a lot of moving around, questing and focusing on gaining certain items and so on for the final battle. Of course that is putting everything very simply but if you're a reader who tends to notice that each book is focused on a quest and different task to prepare for a final battle then maybe you might not like these books.

2. Gender relations - Yes, Robert Jordan in some ways can write female characters. Faile for instance is one of the golden female characters in fantasy in my personal opinion. However he has a problem at times with a)letting his female characters become merely characters there to boss around the men and tell them what idiots they are (sterotyping) and b)overemphasising certain traits in the relationships between the male and female characters. For instance braid tugging and biting of or pursing of lips is mentioned far too often. Not to mention that stubborn characters become even more stubborn at times.

3. Characters - Since there are a lot of characters in The Wheel of Time there can be a little issue of what I call 'same character syndrome.' In short, Jordan at times makes his secondary characters too similar in actions and appearance. You might notice that a lot of the Aiel look similar, a lot of Domani look similar and at times some of the main characters (particularly the young Aes Sedai) start to talk like each other and act the same.

4. The writing - Robert Jordan's writing is not terrible but then it's not the greatest. At times his phrasing is awkward, at other times it's too verbose and he often lacks the subtlety of other authors. I also noticed a particularly bad use of deus ex machina at the end of this novel.

n  Conclusion?n

One of my favourite ideas about this entire series is that of how it reflects what history does. There is the suggestion that old and buried things come to life again and I really think that reflects upon history entirely. I have seen a lot of movements and ideas from the past rise up again whether they be fashion ideas which died out decades or centuries ago. It shows that ideas never truly die and this series reflects that.

All that said there is no novel without flaws. If there were that author would have to be a deity. Since writing is born out of people's thoughts there is no way that any book won't have flaws. People are flawed, hence the books they write will be flawed. This review has many flaws. However flaws humanise a work in many ways and when you develop a love for a book you realise that despite the flaws that is 'your' book. You've claimed a personal love for it.

This book was a huge improvement when compared to the previous one. The plot advanced with a good pace and the world building was impressive. However, this is where I will stop reading the books written by Jordan. While I admire the world he created, his writing isn't to my taste. His female point of views are extremely annoying, as the only way he knew how to depict strong women was to make them bullies.

For my Goodreads friends that will continue the journey, I wish you lots of fun. It is time for me to take other journeys.

This fourth part I like it exceptional as it is the most "geographic" of all. Through its pages we get to know some places and we learn a lot about some regions and some peoples. Going south, we learn about the Sea People that their life revolves around the sea and the trade and that their female dominant culture seems very strange to our heroes and brings them many times into embarrassment. To the west we get to know an interesting urban culture reminds me of something from the far East. Finally, in the east, we go to the desert of Ael where we learn more about life in this harsh environment and about the Ael culture that is just as tough and revolves around very strict rules and commitment to the notion of honor. At the same time we make a return to the two rivers where we may not learn more geographic information, but we learn something more important: that their inhabitants are much stronger than they thought and that they are perfectly capable of entering the battle with the forces of the Dark One.

Of course in these areas our heroes do not go for tourism but to cope with the forces of the Dark. There they face many dangers and many ominous revelations as it turns out that the forces of evil put their heavier cards in the game, causing destruction and spreading division, which forces our heroes to become less skeptical, to become aware of the responsibility which they bear and accept the leading role they have to play if they want things to evolve as they should. This leadership role becomes a source of inspiration for many, making them overcome their limitations, but for others it becomes a source of rivalry as it places obstacles to their plans. Within all of this, love is entering dynamically in the game and proves to be an equally difficult affair but can at the same time give strength.

All this in a book that contains many things and leads the series to a different path where our heroes have matured enough to be able to lead now that things get serious, something that is reflected in its writing style, which ends up being impressive as the evolution of history leads to some epic peaks and to small or big emotional moments concerning our heroes. This creates a more complete reading experience and gives the reader the impression that will follow many interesting things afterwards, which of course is quickly understood.

Αυτό το τέταρτο μέρος μου αρέσει ιδιαίτερα καθώς είναι το πιο "γεωγραφικό" ίσως από όλα. Μέσα από τις σελίδες του γνωρίζουμε αρκετά μέρη και μαθαίνουμε πολλά πράγματα για κάποιες περιοχές και κάποιους λαούς. Πηγαίνοντας νότια γνωρίζουμε τους Θαλασσινούς που η ζωή τους περιστρέφεται γύρω από τη θάλασσα και το εμπόριο και που η γυναικοκρατούμενη κουλτούρα τους φαίνεται πολύ παράξενη στους ήρωες μας και τους φέρνει πολλές φορές σε αμηχανία. Στα δυτικά γνωρίζουμε μία ενδιαφέρουσα αστική κουλτούρα μου θυμίζει κάτι από την άπω Ανατολή. Τέλος, στα ανατολικά, οδηγούμαστε στην έρημο των Αέλ όπου μαθαίνουμε περισσότερα για τη ζωή σε αυτό το τρομερά σκληρό περιβάλλον και για την κουλτούρα των Αέλ που είναι εξίσου σκληρή και περιστρέφεται γύρω από ιδιαίτερα αυστηρούς κανόνες και την προσήλωση στην έννοια της τιμής. Παράλληλα κάνουμε και μία επιστροφή στους δύο ποταμούς όπου μπορεί να μη μαθαίνουμε περισσότερες γεωγραφικές πληροφορίες, μαθαίνουμε, όμως, κάτι σημαντικότερο: ότι οι κάτοικοί τους είναι πολύ πιο δυνατοί από ότι νόμιζαν και ότι είναι απόλυτα ικανοί να μπουν στη μάχη με τις δυνάμεις του Σκοτεινού.

Φυσικά σε αυτές τις περιοχές οι ήρωες μας δεν πάνε για τουρισμό αλλά για να αντιμετωπίσουν τις δυνάμεις του Σκοτεινού. Εκεί έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με πολλούς κινδύνους και με πολλές δυσοίωνες αποκαλύψεις καθώς γίνεται φανερό ότι οι δυνάμεις του κακού βάζουν στο παιχνίδι τα πιο βαριά χαρτιά τους, προκαλώντας καταστροφή και σπέρνοντας το διχασμό, κάτι που πιέζει τους ήρωες μας να γίνουνε λιγότερο επιφυλακτικοί, να συνειδητοποιήσουν την ευθύνη που φέρουν και να αποδειχτούν τον ηγετικό ρόλο που πρέπει να έχουνε, αν θέλουνε τα πράγματα να εξελιχθούν όπως πρέπει. Αυτός ο ηγετικός τους ρόλος γίνεται πηγή έμπνευσης για πολλούς, κάνοντάς τους να ξεπεράσουν τα όριά τους, για άλλους όμως γίνεται πηγή αντιζηλίας καθώς μπαίνει εμπόδιο στα σχέδιά τους. Μέσα σε όλα αυτά εισβάλλει δυναμικά στο παιχνίδι ο έρωτας και αποδεικνύεται ότι είναι μία εξίσου δύσκολη υπόθεση αλλά μπορεί την ίδια στιγμή να δώσει δύναμη.

Όλα αυτά σε ένα βιβλίο που περιέχει πάρα πολλά πράγματα και οδηγεί την σειρά σε ένα διαφορετικό μονοπάτι, όπου οι ήρωες μας έχουν ωριμάσει αρκετά για να μπορέσουν να ηγηθούν τη στιγμή που τα πράγματα σοβαρεύουν, κάτι που αντικατοπτρίζεται στον τρόπο γραφής του, που καταλήγει να είναι εντυπωσιακός καθώς η εξέλιξη της ιστορίας οδηγείται σε μερικές επικές κορυφώσεις και σε μικρές ή μεγάλες συναισθηματικές στιγμές που αφορούν τους ήρωες μας. Έτσι δημιουργείται μία πληρέστερη αναγνωστική εμπειρία και δίνεται η εντύπωση στον αναγνώστη ότι ακολουθούν πολλά ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα στη συνέχεια, κάτι που φυσικά γίνεται γρήγορα αντιληπτό.

قبل از اینکه بخونمش میدیدم نظرات راجع به این کتاب تقریبا دو دسته میشد: یا کلی تعریف میکردن و نقطه‌ی تحول مجموعه میدونستنش یا بعد از این کتاب، مجموعه رو‌ کنار گذاشته بودن :))‌ من هم خوشحالم که جزو دسته‌ی دوم نیستم :))

حدود ۲۰-۲۵ درصد اول کتاب واقعا برام کسل کننده بود و به خاطر همین چندین ماه نتونستم سراغش برم ولی بالاخره بی‌حالی رو‌ کنار گذاشتم و از نتیجه‌ی کار راضیم و به نظرم تا اینجای کار بهترین کتاب مجموعه بوده :))

من دنیای جردن رو خیلی دوست دارم! برخلاف کتاب‌های موردعلاقه‌ی دیگه‌م که شخصیت‌ها منو جذب میکنن، اینجا جهان داستانه که یقه‌ی منو گرفته و ول نمیکنه :)) با هر جلد شخصیت‌ها و فرهنگ‌های جدید از همه‌جای دنیا به ما معرفی میشه. هرچی هم‌ پیش میره بزرگتر و پیچیده‌تر میشه و بیشتر کیف میکنم. خیلیا میگن که زیادی توصیف میکنه و توضیح میده و منم قبول دارم. سبک‌ نوشتارش قطعا به مذاق همه خوش نمیاد ولی برای من تک تک جزئیاتی که توضیح میده، از رنگ و مدل لباس و گلدوزیش گرفته تا جواهرات انگشت شست دست چپ شخصیت‌ها، برای من جذابه :)) مخصوصا اگه Visual Reader باشین این مدل توصیف کردن‌های جردن خیلی لذت بخشه :))

اینجا دیگه از روال تکراری‌ای که توی سه تا کتاب قبلی اتفاق میفتاد خبری نیست و هر کدوم از شخصیت‌ها داستان جداگونه‌ی خودشونو دنبال میکنن (البته که ارتباطات ریزی به همدیگه دارن ولی اینجوری نیست که اوایل کار از هم جدا بشن و دوباره آخر کار به هم وصل بشه داستانشون) و شخصا این روال جدید رو‌ دوست داشتم.

شخصیت‌ موردعلاقه‌م‌‌ بین بر و بچ Emmond's Field هم فرصت درخشیدن پیدا کرد. آرکی که براش اتفاق افتاد و شخصیت پردازی‌ای که صورت گرفت رو بسیار پسندیدم و خیلی چسبید! (رومنس رو در نظر نمیگیرم!) به نظرم این کتاب، کتاب اون بود و کاش عکسشو روی طرح جلد میدیدم :))

ولی با تمام خوبی‌هایی که جهانش داره، اکثر شخصیت‌هاش اونقدری که میخوام به دلم نمیشینن :))
میدونم که جوونن، تصمیمات احمقانه میگیرن و لجبازن و این باعث میشه واقعی‌تر به نظر بیان ولی باز هم بعضی جاها روی اعصابم رژه میرن!
از دلایل دیگه، رومنس و روابط عاطفی‌ایه که بینشون شکل میگیره. تا به اینجای کار، هیچکدوم از رومنس‌ها رو دوست نداشتم! روابط خیلی زود خیلی جدی میشن و روال منطقی ندارن به نظرم :)) یعنی اینجوریه که یه شخصیتی تازه به ما معرفی شده و به جای اینکه باهاش وقت بگذرونیم و اول خودشو بشناسیم و بعد توی یه رابطه ببینیمش، سریع همون اول کار یه پارتنر براش پیدا میشه و ما فرصت نمیکنیم این شخصیت رو خارج از رابطه‌ی عاطفی ببینیم و بشناسیم. اینجوریه که نمیتونم اونقدری که دلم میخواد با شخصیت‌ها جور بشم و درکشون کنم. من کلا سخت رومنس میپسندم ولی اینجا هم یه نمه شورش در اومده :))

ولی پلات انقدر خوب بوده که منی که معمولا شخصیت‌های داستان برام مهم‌ترن و اگه نتونم باهاشون ارتباط برقرار کنم لذتی که از کتاب میبرم خیلی کم‌ میشه رو تا اینجای کار نگه داشته و امیدوارم همین برای خوندن ۱۰ جلد دیگه بس باشه :))

Full review to come. Another great addition to the Wheel of Time universe, good action, more impressive world building, some great character moments, and a nice advancement of the plot. There are times where it seemed characters were sacrificed in the name of story and I was not a big fan of some aspects of the Perrin/Faile relationship. Still looking forward to this reread even as I dread the "Perrin buys grain" book.

the shadow is truly rising because what the hell was that. i don’t even know where to begin so i am just going to dump my thoughts while reading this. i think what pushed this to five stars for me was how well-developed the characters were in this one and how jordan really showed their growth. i think the only one we did not see much of was mat because he kind of took a backseat here after Rhuidean. i am really curious about his spear now and i’m sure we will learn more about it later and i know he’ll have his moment soon.

the shadow rising to me was essentially centered on perrin and i have no complaints. i am surprised by how much this one made me fall in love with perrin’s character because i used to find him so boring in the previous books. but in this book, i simply could not get enough of him!

my biggest gripe with this book was the aiel waste journey and entry into Rhuidean. the flashback sections, while important to establish the history of the aiel, were so tedious for me to get through, and put me in a wot slump hency why it took me so long to finish this.

however, after Rhuidean, the game was back on and so much kept happening to the point where i had to take several breaks because of how intense the events were. this book really made me understand why this series is so long: it is the only way you can really experience this book because it makes you fully immerse yourself within its world to the point where everything feels real, and while deeply fantastical, it is also grounded in reality because it is an epic journey that you expect to take as long as possible due to the breathtaking complexity and world the reader is transported into.

i am very tempted to pick up the next book soon because i have not been able to stop thinking about it and want to know what happens next so bad. but i also need to catch up on other books so i guess we’ll see.

i will end this with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"when the sun shines on you, it is my smile. when you hear the breeze stir through the apple blossoms, it is my whisper that i love you.” (from perrin in a letter to faile that she does not even get to read

3.5 Questo quarto romanzo è il punto di svolta della serie, inevitabilmente!
Ho trovato straordinariamente belle alcune delle parti centrali del libro: il Rhuidean, gli approfondimenti su gli Aiel, lo sviluppo di alcuni personaggi.
Capisco perchè molti lettori lo reputino uno dei migliori dell'intera saga ma per me è eccessivamente diluito e ingiustamente faticoso.

“Never think I have abandoned you. When the sun shines on you, it is my smile. When you hear the breeze stir through the apple blossoms, it is my whisper that I love you. My love is yours forever.”

This series is so underrated it's criminal!
The character arc from book one to the end of book four is insane but it works so well! I won't go into the story to avoid any of the dreaded spoilers but I will say the action really came through for me in the Shadow Rising especially through Perrin. Diving into the history of the Aiel was fascinating and honestly made me love them even more.

Perrin became one of my favourite all-time fantasy characters and Rand grew in ways I never would have expected, Matt as always was brilliant and I can't wait to hear more of his building story.

Also, I love Faile.

“If you ask the lion to protect you from wolves, you have only chosen to end in one belly instead of another.”

I returned to this series after two and a half years away, so I had to review summaries of the first three books. I must admit that everything came back to me quite quickly. Reconnecting with WoT feels great, just like meeting so many good friends – Rand, Mat, Perrin, Nynaeve, Egwene, Elayne, and the rest.
What an amazing book! It's brimming with action, plotting, intrigues, world-building, magic, epic scale, and so much fun.

Rand and Perrin show significant character development. Mat, Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve (more or less in that order) also have engaging plotlines, each making progress in their own way.

Plus, the book has a superb and very climactic ending! Well done, Jordan, well done!

4.75/5

Done reading THE SHADOW RISING - Book 4 in The Wheel of Time 14-book series. You know what, this is the thickest book I've finished to date. It contains 1,006 pages.

Author's Writing Style: 2 stars!!! The narration is long and descriptive. Character/s Development: 5 stars!!! There are loads of new minor characters and to some point, it confuses me who is talking this and who is talking that. It's crazy but thanks to its Glossary that is found on pages 983 to 1006. I keep looking at it while reading, helping me understand who and what he or she is.

Plot: 5 stars!!! All the main characters have evolved. Hailed as the Dragon Reborn in Book 3, Rand feels confident about himself. He uses his Callandor to win battles against the Trollocs - creatures of the Dark One. Yet, to my surprise, one of Rand's best friends nearly died. On the other hand, Egwene is now an Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah - it means she is trained to participate in battles. Moraine becomes too vulnerable and experiences trauma.

n  Check out my new youtube channel where I show my instant reactions to reading fantasy books seconds after I finish the book.n

The best book in the series thus far, and a highly enjoyable read from start to finish

It's the hallmark of a great series when the book continue to get better and better as they go along, and while that's certainly not possible through all these books as this series is extremely long, it's certainly been the case in the first four books. This book is fantastic and hits all the right notes. For me, this is where I really am starting to understand why so many people are in love with this series.

I was a bit weary that this book went down the path at splitting up all the characters and having a bunch of mini-stories within the larger book. But it was done with precision and I'm thoroughly glad for what Robert Jordan did here.

The scenes in the Aiel Waste with Rand are amazing. I love everything about the Aiel and their culture, so to have so many pages in this book devoted not only to them as they currently are, but also delving into the history of what brought them to this point was incredible. I love the history here, and the sections that do a huge time jump backwards were some of the best that I have ever read in a fantasy book. As soon as you figure out what is happening and why, it's a jaw dropping moment and is extremely special to the reader.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Perrin sections involving the Two Rivers. Without spoiling anything, it's a wonderful side-quest that his all the right emotional tones and does a great job at developing Perrin as a main character.

Likewise, the Nynaeve and Elayne plotline was incredible and action packed. The Sea Folk is such an awesome aspect to these books, and seeing Nynaeve turn into such a strong power in this world was wonderful.

The White Tower section was shocking, and I really didn't see the twist coming but love it and can't wait to see what is in store for Siuan and Leane.

I'm extremely excited to keep on reading in this series and continue this journey with Robert Jordan.