The Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan

RATING: FOUR STARS

The Stone of Tear has fallen; Rand al'Thor holds Callandor, the Sword that is Not a Sword, and is finally beginning to accept his destiny as the Dragon Reborn. Rumours of his existence are sweeping across the lands and conflict is rife as his supporters flock beneath his banners. Yet Rand has no time to dwell on such things and is hardening, growing colder as he begins to view events as a whole rather than individually. He is becoming obsessed with the prophecies of the Karaethon Cycle and turns his attention to the arid Three Fold Land of the Aiel. The Aiel know war like no other race alive and Rand will need their spears if he ever hopes to challenge Ba'alzamon and defeat the darkness he brings. But to win the Aiel, Rand must prove beyond all doubt that he is He Who Comes with the Dawn - the warrior their own prophecies say will lead them from the Aiel Wastes forever.

Yet even as Rand heads towards the Three Fold Land with Matt, Egwene, Moraine and Lan, Perrin turns his attention the Two Rivers. His homeland is besieged by Whites Cloaks; plagued Trollocs and Myrddraal. It is no longer the safe haven Perrin left behind with his friends barely a year earlier. He has been named Darkfriend by the Children of the Light and the legion's leader, Dain Bornhald, will happily see the Two Rivers burn if it means he can tie a noose around Perrin's neck . . .

The Good
Once again, I found myself stunned by the scope of Robert Jordan's story. It's imaginative and can only be described as truly epic. I really got the sense that the whole world is danger during the story and so much seems to hinge on Aiel, and whether Rand can secure the support of the prickly warrior race that resists change and despises any outsider to the lands. Now that the Forsaken are loose and are beginning to meet the main characters, the battles are becoming truly devastating.

The appearance of the Forsaken also adds a real sense of danger for the protagonists in the story, which has been diminishing through the series as the main characters own powers have grown. The Forsaken are all Aes Sedai from the Age of Legends, where men and women were so powerful that they could do things with the One Power that current Aes Sedai can't even imagine. The Forsaken are fully trained and have had thousands of years to master their powers, making them more than worthy adversaries for Rand, Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne.

I especially liked the divergence of story arcs in the story. The Dragon Reborn set Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne up with their own storyline, which The Shadow Rising continues to build on as they continue with their quest to eradicate the Black Ajah - their own sisters who have turned their back on the Light to serve Ba'alzamon himself! But Jordan begins to go further than this in this book and gives Perrin his own story as well. As well as being interesting, it's nice to finally see his character get some use (as he's been a little pointless in the previous books) and Jordan uses Perrin's storyline to show how the world is beginning to be effected by Ba'alzamon's evil.

Jordan's characterisation is as good as ever and all his characters continue to develop. In fact, none of the Two Rivers protagonists are the same people as they were in the first book and all of their personalities have undergone significant changes. This is something that isn't really seen in many books (which I guess is due to the constraints of smaller series), but Jordan really has the time to grow his characters and can add a very aspect to his story. Let's face it, if fantasy was real, then there's no way a person wouldn't be changed by the hardships they endure and the evils they struggle against! They would surely harden as the world burns around them.

The Bad
My main criticism of The Shadow Rising is actually the overall storyline. It was good - don't get me wrong - but it wasn't strongly defined in the start of the book and nothing much really happened for the first third or so. Considering the book's 1, 001 pages long, this problem is definitely worth mentioning as there is about 300 pages that are quite slow paced! That being said, I wasn't bored at the start of the book and still found it enjoyable to read. It just felt slightly separate from the rest of the book somehow . . .

My Thoughts
The Shadow Rising is a superb instalment to The Wheel of Time and was filled with all of the action, characterisation and imagination that I've enjoyed so much in the series earlier books! The book (and series) is definitely an example of epic fantasy at its best and is something that all fans of the genre should read. I'm really excited about reading The Fires of Heaven, the next book in the series, and am confident that it will be every bit as good!