"Care for the living. I'll weep for the dead later."

Tέλος και αυτός ο γίγαντας! Η ιστορία μας συνεχίζει ακριβώς εκεί που είχαμε μείνει με τους ήρωες μας σε πολλές περιπέτειες, ο Perrin ταξιδεύει στο πεδίο του Έμοντ, Ο Rand έχοντας υποτάξει το Δάκρυ, αρχίζει να στρατολογεί Αελίτες ενώ τα πράγματα στο Λευκό Πύργο έχουν πλέον ξεφύγει και η μηχανορραφίες χτυπάνε κόκκινο.

Το βιβλίο ήταν ίσως το πιο καλογραμμένο ως τώρα και με συνεχή αγωνία και νέες πληροφορίες! Δεν κρύβω όμως πως υπήρχαν στιγμές που με κούρασε (Όπως η ιστορία του Perrin και το απαίσιο love story με την Faile) και ότι γενικά υπήρχαν άσκοπες περιγραφές και διάλογοι για πράγματα όχι τόσο ενδιαφέροντα ενώ άλλα που θα έδιναν στην ιστορία τόσα (Όπως το τι συνέβαινε στο Λευκό Πύργο, οι εκπαίδευση της Egwene και των κοριτσιών, η ιστορία του Mat, η Nyneve με τον Lan) δίνονταν με το σταγονόμετρο και σαν να μην ενδιέφερε τον συγγραφέα μιας και πολλά πράγματα που δεν μας τα είχε ξανά αναφέρει ήταν πλέον για κάποιο λόγο δεδομένα.

Πέρα όμως από αυτά τα μικρά μου παράπονα απόλαυσα αυτό το ταξίδι χιλίων σελίδων και το τέλος με άφησε με πάρα πολλές προσδοκίες για την συνέχεια!

The best book so far! I am committed! I bought the hardcovers :).

Spoilers below!!!







My favorite: Rand. Seeing him make his own decisions and finding his way was gratifying.

Most annoying person award: Nynaeve. Girl, don’t be that rude to everyone.

Increasingly more likeable: Leaving what I call his “Fool of a Took”-ways behind him and gaining memories of being a general as well as his use of the Old Tongue.

n  ”Aah, go on and be a bloody Aiel chief. You have the face for it.” (Mat)n

Not enough page-time : Lan. Stoic competence is my crack.

Character I want to see die the most: Dain Bornhald. No. Couladin. No. Bornhald. Fanaticism is worse than lust for power.

Highlight: Rand using his powers. Now that was cool. Can’t wait to see what else he’s capable of. There doesn’t seem much else left!

Awkward romance moment: Rand and Elayne kissing. The second-hand embarrassment was real.

Women in love: Elayne, Faile and Aviendha continue to stumble and blunder awkwardly. Jordan really took that sentiment I found best expressed by Lorelai Gilmore to the next level:
”I’m afraid once the heart is involved, it all comes out in moron.”

Weird fetish revealed (?): Women always having to face some task naked; nakedness as a means of humiliation for women. Butt pinching - the threat and execution of it. What’s up with that?
(I think the worst example is Mat threatening Berelain, the ruler of Mayene, with a butt pinch because she doesn't react to him greeting her in a hallway. So cringy.)

Biggest tease: Waiting for 140 pages to find out what Rand’s plans are after he announced he’d reveal them “tomorrow”. At least it was worth it.

Biggest surprise: Not being bored once in 1004 pages.

I am completely sold on this series. It has already gained another fan. On to book 5!

Rating: Very Good

Genre: Fantasy

This might be an unpopular opinion, but The Shadow Rising is my least favorite book among the first four books in the series. This book is a favorite of the fans. It is still a great book but it did not surpass what the first three were. I feel somehow it gets more complicated without having a main focus. In the previous books, there was the main mission and there were side missions. The side missions or quests were as important and significant as the main one. In The Shadow Rising, I did not feel the same way. I felt there was a lack of focus on what should have been done by the characters. Some quests were better than others.

The Tower's events I find them to be extremely interesting. This was a big change in the direction of the story, we get to see how Min reacts with all that and how foolish Gawyen is! Perrin and Faile going back to Two Rivers to free it from the Whitecloaks that was another mission that I liked reading. It made Perrin become The Goldeneyes.

Rand along with Mat, Egwene, Moiraine, and Lan go to the Waste through a Portal Stone specifically to a city called Rhuidean. I was not very thrilled reading about the Aiel culture. Sometimes it felt tedious and distracting. There are parts that I enjoyed reading in Rhuidean but not everything. The ending of this book was not as epic as the last three books. Each ending of those books had something big happening, something significant. In this one there is an important event but the scale of it is not like the others. The end definitely makes a room for a lot of coming events or scenarios in the next book.

Overall The Shadow Rising was a pleasant experience. I went into it with higher expectations. Those were not fully met but still, the ride was very good.

I read the eye of the world in 2016. I loved it.
I read the Great Hunt in Sept 2019. loved it.
I read the Dragon Reborn in Aug 2020. I loved it.

In each case: the first month afterward, I’m so excited to read the sequel. Yet, the more I waited, the more difficult it was to read it. The first few chapters weren’t the easiest to get through. But once I did, I couldn’t stop reading.

Only this time, I just waited 3 months to read the sequel. And I was so sure Shadow Rising is going to become an instant favorite. Yet, it took me 25 days to finish during which I barely read anything else because I wanted to focus on it.

It was probably a mistake on my part, I shouldn’t have forced myself to read it. it only made it worse. I tried and tried and made so little progress that I only wanted to be done. Luckily, I love the characters. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it through. But even that glorious ending was overshadowed by my relief that it’s over.


You might wonder, why 4 stars and not less?
It wasn’t like nothing was happening. I think the writing style simply didn’t do it for me.
The story itself was great. Many parts were very interesting and some things FINALLY made sense. I truly loved the storylines in this one, I really wish it wasn’t so hard to read. This book takes place in many different locations after Tear, the White Tower, the Three-fold land, and two other locations I won’t mention because of spoilers. I also liked Rhuidean part. I also predicted many events! I’m not sure if that’s because they were obvious or because I was paying attention.


I enjoyed Perrin’s part but I have to admit: Rand was the star of this book. We barely saw him in Dragon Reborn but here? He was finally accepting his destiny (and thankfully no more doubt and hesitation) and taking charge. Even Perrin. This was so refreshing after seeing them so indecisive in the last books. And the girls splitting up made things more interesting. I wanted to see more of Min however she truly was an underrated character in this installment (not enough spotlight).

Rand’s development in this book was amazing. He surely didn’t appear so smart in the previous books but here we can see how much he’s taking everything seriously, analyzing, and doing his absolute best to do the right thing. His development impressed me.


While I haven’t seen the well-beloved Mat yet, he certainly grew on me. Not much after Dragon Reborn but now I don’t mind reading from his perspective.
I found most of the female characters a bit similar in a way that’s more like how men see them, especially how uptight they are. I still love them and I found this easier to accept in this book.
Moraine, the Amyrlin, Egwene, Elayne, and Min are my favorites. But now I’m more curious than ever about Aviendha. I might reread some of her parts in Dragon Reborn because all the Aiel women were very similar to me. I don’t remember much about her from the former book. I believe she’s going to be a major player in the future books.

Faile is probably my least favorite of the main cast. She’s too uptight. I like her and appreciate how loyal she is and love how much she supports Perrin but she has yet to grow on me. I feel bad for it but I simply can’t feel much towards her.


Sure, Mat still complained a lot.
Naynaeve still pulled her braid.
All the boys considered the other expert with women.
Both genders found the other a mystery.
And while their repetitiveness tired me at first, I don’t think these things will stop anytime soon. So I eventually ignored those comments and kept myself from rolling my eyes.


I’m honestly very much looking to reading the next book. I won’t read it anytime soon. I have them in mass market which is honestly a pain. I don’t know why they make them so unlikable. Tor can at least use different page quality, a more off-white one rather than grayish. Or add some margin. Or make them easy to open like the French livre de poche… I still need to buy 5 WoT books. Never buying mass market again. unless it was hella of a deal

Overall, I loved the story and the characters as always. And I can see why this book is superior to some of the previous ones. But the writing style made it difficult for me to fully enjoy it and appreciate it like I should’ve had.

This might have been a gigantic book (around 40 hours for the audio), but my review will be a tiny one as by this stage of things pretty much everyone knows what they are getting from the WoT series.

I think The Shadow Rising was the best instalment of the series so far. It did not suffer from the slow starts that plagued the early books and it kept the pace and intensity up all the way through to the exciting finale.

Rand, Elayne, and Perrin all had great storylines and showed up well in this instalment while Mat, Min, and Egwene's own POV scenes were also quite engaging. Mat can still be a bit of an ass at times, but at least he is better than he was in the early books and he had some cool stuff happening to him in this one.

One of the things I like about WoT is the large cast and this one continued to deliver some interesting lesser POV's from some of the villains and other minor characters which helped enhance the story.

Rating: This was easily a 5 star read for me.

Audio Note: Fantastic narration again from Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. They might be the best pairing in the audio world!

n  “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.”n

I had a plan, you know? A simple plan. Start, just start, the mammoth Wheel of Time series in 2020. Just get one book done and move on. But the thing about 2020 is that it came to thwart every plan made by everyone and I was no exception. I lost my job, had a gut-wrenching time with a dear old friend and so much other shit and as a result, I stuck with this series. And at the close of this year, that nobody will miss, I am 4 books down in this series and guys, it’s already looking like a great journey! And the cherry on top is that this book is the best one out of all the WoT books I have read so far. So let’s dive right in to the review, shall we?

n  Writingn
I’ve stated this in the first three books and I am stating it here yet again, for the last time, the writing style is really good. Going forward, I would probably not include this section in my reviews for WoT but boy oh boy, can this man write! And I know that Jordan needs no validation from me but 4 books and over 3000 pages later, I can safely say that this man is one fine story-teller and writer. He can pull out some really beautiful and flowery prose when he wants to and he can also turn it down a little so as to keep you reading even though he might not be doing a whole lot in the book, without sacrificing the quality of his writing. ‘Nuff said!

n  Plotn
The plot picks up from where the last book left off, with the party in the Stone of the Tear. They stay there for a while, trying to decide which course of action (and travel) to undertake when events and ideas force Rand’s hand to travel to the city of Rhuidean in the Aiel Waste and Moiraine, Lan, Egwene, Mat and Aviendha accompany our Dragon Reborn. While Nynaeve, Elayne & Thom travel to Tanchico to find a certain item that might be dangerous to the Dragon Reborn, Perrin and Faile go back to the Two Rivers to save the place from the tyranny of the White Cloaks. If you can’t tell just by that, there is a LOT going on in the book with such a huge cast of characters. At times it is hard to even keep track of all the things in the book bcz there are just so many things going on! I loved the pacing of this book and how it carried itself to the end without ever feeling rushed or losing steam. It just kept building up from where it started right till the end and that is something commendable.

n  Magic Systemn
See, this has been a constant area of nitpicking for me and I am not about to stop. Not yet, at least. The magic system is still unfurling, if you can believe it. And while it takes nothing away from the story on the whole, I just am a guy who got spoiled by Sanderson! I want more! Now! Although to be fair, for the first time we see the magic system taking toll on the more strong users and starting to develop harder lines. As for Saidin, the ending of this book gives me hope that with the next book we might see some broad strokes being painted. The magic system is just a little too shrouded in mystery for me to be completely okay with it so far but I can say that it just works so well for now. But I am a greedy bastard and I want more on the magic system and I want it in the next book, please.

n  Charactersn

>>Rand al’Thor: Well after being missing from the last book for all intents and purposes, Rand comes to party in this book and how! This boy, this damned farmboy who had no idea and wanted no part in anything just a while ago is now a commanding figure who takes to rule over a nation overnight and who constantly mouths off with Moiraine! Not that she didn’t earn it to an extent. But Rand is starting to come into his own in a very fabulous way and I gotta say I am really liking how he’s being handled as the chosen one.

>>Matrim Cauthon: I guess it was Mat’s turn to take the backseat in this book and he was barely there to provide a few select one liners and not much else. But I think after a certain event, even his character will pick up in the next book (hopefully).

>>Perrin Aybara: This lad got another day in the sun after the last book too! Perrin has a strong story line in this book and he has a great deal of page time! He emerges as very smart and cool-headed figure for me. I liked how he took over the mantle of Lord Perrin slowly even though he didn’t want it. He’s been set up well, I must say!

>>Nynaeve al'Meara: Well, the queen bitch is still a bitch! Nynaeve gets on my nerves with the way she acts and I am starting to feel that that’s a deliberate choice on the author’s part with the way he’s written her. And if that is the case, well I guess mission accomplished bcz she is not someone I like so far. And on the whole, I don’t see her character arc going anywhere either but I guess that’s okay since I have a feeling that the next book might be heavy on her.

>>Egwene al'Vere: She’s like the chameleon who keeps on changing her colors. In this book Egwene was very different and while the reasons for that made sense, I can’t say I like the way she is towards everyone else in the group. I also didn’t understand why she did what she did with Rand and Elayne but I guess i’ll just have to roll with it.

>>Moiraine Damodred & Lan Mandragoran: Ah these two took a major backseat, Lan even more so that Moiraine, and every time she came up, she got shot down by my boi Rand!

>>Thom Merrilin: Well this guy was absent as far as I am concerned.

>>Faile aka Zarine Bashere: Well ain’t she a manipulative piece of work! She constantly manipulates Perrin at every step of the way and I personally don’t like it bcz my boi Perrin is so dang sweet and straight! She should not be playing games with him. But overall, she seems like a solid and strong female character, much like many others.

n  Problem Areasn
1: I still have an issue with Moiraine. I don’t see why she never communicates with Rand or any of the others. She would keep trying to nudge them in the direction she thinks they need to go but she won’t ever tell them why that is the case. I mean, can’t she see that those guys already have a raw end of the deal and she simply keeps adding to it by not even talking to them about the situation they’re placed in with no fault of their own? I wish Moiraine does something more, better and amazing, bcz I know what’s coming down the road and I don’t want that to happen till I’ve started to feel love for Moiraine! Please o please, sir Jordan, make her awesome! Pretty please!

2: I mentioned this issue in my review of Dragon Reborn as well; these books are getting a tad formulaic in their endings. And yes, Jordan did break the formula that I mentioned in the last review but then there is this other formula as well. I sort of don’t really like this thing where Rand is so overpowered that he can literally just fumble and tumble his way to victory. He doesn’t even understand the things that he is doing and yet he is just doing them out of instinct. And it just sort of doesn’t raise the stakes of the book like it would otherwise, you know? And I do realize that the end of the book has definitely opened the door to the breaking of this formula too, but since it was there in this book, I felt obligated to point it out.

n  Overall Impactn
Look, let’s face it, you don’t carry a 1000 paged tome to it’s end well unless your story has the strength to do so and you deliver on the whole. And if by the end of the book a reader like me is left with but 2 points of complaints, you can be sure that the book was a fabulous one. I was thoroughly satisfied by the book and can safely call it my fav book out of the 4 that I have read so far. There are so many things that I loved in this book and there are also many things that I finally understood and came to terms in this book.

I finally understand the need to make all the women in this book so catty! It’s an exact opposite scenario of our real world where women have the upper hand and they wield more power than men and so it becomes a constant tug of war where the women consider it a slight to have to accept the help of a man or to be saved by one and they always try to maintain that upper hand in some way or the other. I guess I need to shift my perspective a little going forward.

I think the highlight for me in this particular book has been Perrin and Rand. Perrin who remains just as humble and soft as ever but still grows into someone who’s coming out more and more of the shadows in the background. He is a strong character and I would love to see him grow from here into a formidable opponent. Rand is turning into a fabulous take of the chosen one trope for me bcz of one simple reason: he still has no clue how to deal with being the chosen one or what to do with his powers. I love how Jordan took his time with Rand and only by the fourth book did he turn him into someone who’s finally taking to accept his role and starting to lord over other people and starting to maneuver things and people. He still doesn’t know how to wield the One Power and survives mostly by dumb luck which is another thing I like even though I want to see him grow in that aspect.

n  “I bring change,” Rand said sadly. “Not peace, but turmoil.”n

I also loved, absolutely and thoroughly, what Jordan did with the Aeil history chapter! I so loved that twist! I just was hyped by it quite a bit! It is also very enjoyable to see how he is developing so many different cultures and so many different kinds of communities! It is admirable to see what a humungous task this writer set himself and then delivered on it too. But I guess these books pack so much information that it’s impossible to realize the full potential of what Jordan is doing unless you give it a second read and see all those foreshadowing plots payoff and enjoy the book for its details rather than be hungry for the plot. I definitely see myself re-reading these books. I am mighty impressed by what I have read so far and I dare say that this series has been one of the best decisions I have made. I go happily to book #5

n  “And when the blood was sprinkled on ground where nothing could grow, the Children of the Dragon did spring up, the People of the Dragon, armed to dance with death. And he did call them forth from the wasted lands, and they did shake the world with battle.”n

n  Actual read dates: 03/09/20 - 20/11/20n

3.5 - 4 Stars. This is a tough one to rate. It took me a long time to read it.

There is a lot of walking and a lot of recapping, and whenever it sucks me in for a few chapters, I then end up abandoning it once more for days or weeks.

There are some absolutely brilliant bits, but then it slows down again. All in all, this one was a bit of a mixed bag.

This was where I gave up reading WOT the first time around but the story, world, and characters are interesting, and I find Jordan's writing enjoyable.

Looking forward to the next instalment.

At 393,000 words this is the biggest chapter in the grandiosely epic Wheel of Time. I consider books 1-3 an introduction into the fantasy world Robert Jordan created. The history of the world and its environs are slowly revealed to the reader to increase the familiarity of the various cultures, feuds, politics and who’s sided with who. Everybody is searching for purpose and spends the majority of the first three parts running toward something but ultimately aren’t sure where it lies. In The Shadow Rising, the story begins to settle with the main characters split into three groups each headed for their own destiny.

Rand, Mat and Egwene head for the Aiel waste and the mythical city of Rhuidean to further explore the prophecies of the Dragon Reborn. Perrin returns to the Two Rivers to intervene in the invasion of both the Whitecloaks and Trollocs and Nynaeve and Elayne pursue the Black Ajah all the way to Tanchico.

There isn’t a great deal to say that i haven’t already written about in the three previous reviews. The story is gaining in depth and complexity and the three main protagonists continue to develop. I’m particularly liking Rand as he isn’t the sniveling ‘Chosen One’ i was expecting and is a genuine badass. Perrin is also given a good chunk of the book to do his own thing without being overshadowed by Lan or Morraine.

This felt like the biggest chapter and seemed to take an age to finish. It is too long and surely could have been reduced during the editing process and I’m thankful the proceeding books aren’t as lengthy but ultimately it was worth the hours I put in, especially as it ended on a bit of cliff hanger and made me want to read The Fires of Heaven straight away but I restrained myself; to fully appreciate these books i believe a sizable break is required in between.

n  “Begone from among the living, and do not haunt us with memories of what is lost. Speak not of what the dead see…”n

*** 5 ***

"...“Do not try to stop us,” Sulwin cautioned. Adan made his fist loosen again. “You are not Aiel,” he said. “You betray everything. Whatever you are, you are no longer Aiel!” “We keep the Way of the Leaf as well as you, Adan.” “Go!” Adan shouted. “Go! You are not Aiel! You are lost! Lost! I do not want to look at you! Go!”..."

This is my second time reading this book, and it is interesting the things you notice every time are slightly different than the other... To me, apart from the epic battle that is brewing between The Light and The Darkness, and above the interpersonal relationships between the characters we have grown to love or hate by this fourth volume of the Saga, this time the most impact on me had the way people refuse to change through the ages, despite plenty of disasters following the set of actions they have clung to for seemingly ever. We, humans, even tend to change our legends and bases of our religions and creeds, to such a degree, that they have nothing to do with their beginnings, but we twist them to fit what we think we want them to be and say about who we are... The original Aiel, the predecessors of the current guards and people Rand is hanging out with because of their skill as warriors, those Aiel used to abhor violence, any weapons that have no other use but war, and murder was a reason to be shunned by the clans, those remnants of the original Aiel are ridiculed now, and are not even called Aiel... How does a base for a whole People change so much, that they are known for their warrior prowess now, and look with condemnation to any whom they perceive as weak?

n  "...“Keep the Covenant, Jonai. If the Da’shain lose everything else, see they keep the Way of the Leaf. Promise me.” “Of course, Aes Sedai,” he said, shocked. The Covenant was the Aiel, and the Aiel were the Covenant; to abandon the Way would be to abandon what they were. Coumin was an aberration. He had been strange since he was a boy, it was said, hardly Aiel at all, though no one knew why.”..."n

I have been fascinated lately about "historical content" and "historical perspective"... We tend to change our historical view depending on the time the work has been written and the time we, the readers, actually read it. This seems very much a theme in this series, since we have hundreds of generations' stories converging into our main timeline. What was the real meaning of a prophecy, what was the context when it was written, what were the attitudes of the people who wrote and rewrote it for posterity, and what does it all mean in the hear and now... Another of my favorite authors, Janny Wurts, deals with this same theme in a very different way, but just as impactfully... What lays in the heart of an Order, like the Aes Sedai here, is not necessarily what the Order stands for anymore... Just because you have a badge that should stand for the good guys, doesn't make your actions always good... Why do we always choose the easier, most radical way of dealing with things, thus causing collateral damage, instead of doing the hard work and sticking with the hard won ideals? Maybe the answer is that we are all human, but I resent that on principal, because once it touches you personally, then you want the hard work to be done and for you or yours not to be the ones lost in the crossfire... As the old saying goes, death, or anything as harsh and permanent is the easy way out, the hard way is figuring out how to live peacefully without losing yourself... I know, I am getting off on a tangent, so I will stop here.

n  "...“Fools,” Mat muttered, half to himself. “Hiding inside the wagons, as if that would make any difference to a Trolloc. They could all have roasted alive, easy as not.” “They are still alive,” Rand said, and Mat realized he had seen them, too. “That is always important, Mat, who stays alive. It’s like dice. You can’t win if you can’t play, and you can’t play if you are dead."..."n

Great Book! Yes, it has its issues, but in my opinion, they are not enough to mar the book's impact! Recommend it to EVERYONE!

I still hate the original Tor covers after all these years. Clearly this is meant to be Rand and Mat chlling in the Three-Fold Land, but it is not Rand and Mat. It's just two short middle-aged assholes, like from Mad Men: Randland, with Egwene in a prom dress serving them soup.

This book, fourth in series of sixty-eight, represents both the best and the worst of the series. The features that irritated me decades ago still do so now; the unnecessary regurgitation of established world knowledge (in "service" to remind the reader of many details), the high-school level verbal sparring ("Well if you don't know what you did that upset me, I won't tell you!"), the inability of characters to comprehend that people from other cultures might just see certain things differently. But at least we see some real plot movement. It's as though the first three books were the setup, and only now can Jordan tell the real story.

Perrin's solo story is also the best and the worst. I like his journey, but again the constant bickering and stubborness of both him and Faile representing the macrocosmos of male-female relations across this world, and the painfully obvious sub-story about Lord Luc pulled it down a peg. Similarly, the obvious secret status of the traders traveling with the party in the Aiel waste was irritating; I have read these books before (so, so many times . . . ) so it might not be fair to judge, but I think the text makes certain things obvious and the reader just has to endure the wait for "secrets" to come out.

My real agenda with these reviews is private tracking of the Forsaken, which I always found hard to keep straight on previous series reads, so I am noting what I know here. MAJOR SPOILERS for the series so watch out:


Fate of the Forsaken:
Aginor - Greedy for power. Green cloak. Killed by Rand at the Eye of the World; burned up when Rand stole away the connection to the EotW saidin.
Asmodean - weakest of the Forsaken? Quick to abandon plans if they turn difficult. Captive to train Rand in unsing Sai'din.
Balthamel - enjoys "pleasures of the flesh" (torture). Grey cloak. Killed bodily by the Green Man.
Be'lal = High Lord Samon in Tear. Called "the Envious" and "netweaver" but doesn't matter b/c balefired by Moiraine.
Demandred - hates Rand (the Dragon)
Graendal - ?
Ishamael = Ba'alzamon - finally killed for real, right? Bodily stabbed through heart by Rand with Callandor in the Stone of Tear (in ?Telaranrhiod but confirmed in the real world)
Lanfear - obsessed with the Dragon, wants to make him powerful and make him hers. Stays close to Rand.
Mesaana - ?
Moghedien - "the spider"; fought down by Nynaeve in Tarabon; escaped.
Rahvin - "with his thirst for power," "best plans take time to mature". Tall dark man, white at temples. Controlling Morgase.
Sammael - envies Rand (the Dragon); rules in Illian as Lord Brend on the Council of Nine; showed up recently and quickly rose to power. Swordmaster.
Semirhage - ?

Cuendillar seals: 3 broken, 1 found intact in Stone of Tear. (7 in total exist)

Fantastic!! ❤️

5/5 stars

OKAY ROBERT JORDAN, I SEE YOU

This book goes so hard it’s actually insane. The characters, mainly Rand, are developing so much and I love them all – EVEN PERRIN. I cant believe I just said that. Perrin’s POV was good. Really good. In the middle I was groaning at having to read his POV but by the end, I was won over. Goldeneyes forever, baby. Nynaeve is a queen and I cannot wait to see where she ends up (the most powerful Aes Sedai ever, SURELY?). Egwene and Elayne definitely take a back seat in this book, but I like where things are going for them. Mat’s stuff is super interesting and I can’t wait for him to have a major focal point because HE DESERVES IT.

That being said, Rand POV > Everyone. He just has so much going on and so many interesting things happening. Rhuidean parts are the best parts of the entire series. More of this, please.

Honestly, I just liked everything about this book. Best book in the series so far, and I can’t wait to read more because I just know this series is going to be a favourite of all-time (yes, I know about the slump in the middle but I am prepared for that).

5/5 PERRIN IS ACTUALLY COOL NOW