Book Review: The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

The Fires of Heaven is the 5th book in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. If you've been reading this series, you need to read this one to continue the story. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

The bonds and wards that hold the Great Lord of the Dark are slowly failing, but still his fragile prison holds. The Forsaken, immortal servants of the shadow, weave their snares and tighten their grip upon the realms of men, sure in the knowledge that their master will soon break free...

Rand al' Thor, the Dragon Reborn, knows that he must strike at the Enemy, but his forces are divided by treachery and by ambition. Even the Aes Sedai, ancient guardians of the Light, are riven by civil war. Betrayed by his allies, pursued by his enemies and beset by the madness that comes to the male wielders of the One Power, Rand rides out to meet the foe.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Overall Impression

This is another addition to The Wheel of Time series so if you're planning to read them all you pretty much need to get it. It is, however, relatively weaker than some of the earlier novels with a bit of a slower start and some issues juggling its many plots and characters. If you're a fan of Perrin, he is completely missing from this book. You still get some Rand and Mat, but a lot of the focus is on Nynaeve actually. Overall, it's not bad after the initial start and introduced a lot more tension and players to the world.

Plot

The first 10% or so of the book is a lot of recap going over what has happened in the past 4 books. There is a little development that happens to break things up, but overall it can feel a little slow. This can be good if you've taken a long break, but if you're reading the novels back to back you'll really feel it. After that, though, the pace picks up and by the end it is racing.

There are two main threads to the story, one following Rand, Mat, and the Aiel as they decide their next steps and cross out of the Aiel Waste. Rand is juggling a lot of different things, trying to learn about the Power, deal with rivals, anticipate the Forsaken, and keep the Aes Sedai guessing. The other main thread is the journey of Nynaeve, Elayne, Thom, Juilin, and a few others that join them along the way. In the prior book, the faced off against the Black Ajah and even Moghedien, but now are trying to get back to Tear and if not there, then at least to other Aes Sedai. 

Characters

Overall, the major characters are pretty much already established. We get some interesting developments with Nynaeve's relationship to Egwene and others. She is no longer the big Wisdom that no one dares question and she has to struggle with her new place. Rand gets more complex as he slips into Lews Therin a few more times and becomes harsher overall, willing to use anything he needs to achieve his ends, yet also growing more brittle as new weaknesses crop up. Mat gets more interesting with the realization of how useful the memories he has received. However, he is still the gambler and seeking to run away from his role.

Setting / World Building

This takes place in The Wheel of Time universe and a lot of things are already established in terms of the setting. We do see some extra complexities to channeling, Tel'aran'rhiod, as well as some interesting foreshadowing. Old talents and new ones are hinted at, some of the cool ones are an accidental bit of Travelling and exploration of a ter'angreal.

In terms of locations, we have a bit more of the Aiel Waste, some of Cairhien, Amadicia, and Altara. Lots of powers are starting to move- the Dragon is recognized and that causes a stir in a lot of the world. The Children of the Light, aka the Whitecloaks, are moving for unknown reasons, and the Aes Sedia in the White Tower are trying to consolidate power behind Elaida and decide how to handle the Dragon.

Final Thoughts

This was another good addition to the series. It's not as good as some of the prior ones, with what sometimes feels a bit of filler content, especially with the descriptions of outfits or some of the romantic tensions, but at the end it does still advance the story with some cool moments and developments. Chief in this book are Rand and Nynaeve though plenty of others are present, too. After a slowish start, the book's pace picks up and keeps going until the very end.