The Shadow Rising

I finally finished the Shadow Rising today. Sorry it took so long. Since this is book four, be warned that this short review will contain some elements and outright spoiling. Sorry, but this far into the series, it is unavoidable. You should be reading where you left off instead of reading a review ahead.

This book should be the one more appropriately the Dragon Reborn. Rand has journeyed to his mostly unknown Aiel birthfolk with Moiraine, Lan, Mat, Egwene, Rhuarc, and Aviendha, etc from Tear. He has truly stopped questioning the forces pulling him into a destiny that he neither dreamed or desired from his home in the Two Rivers and is determindly seeking out the prophecies detailing his weave in the Pattern. This means confronting all the strange customs of the Aiel.

Egwene is determined to learn of dreamwalking from the Aiel Wise Ones to better catch more Black Ajah. Mat simply cannot break away from Rand no matter how much he gripes and follows him even into the depths of the Aiel sacred place, Rhuidean. He comes out half-alive after a second brush with a ter'angreal of a red twisted doorway, and deeper in touch with an evident past life. Moiraine also adventures into Rhuidean, as does Aviendha- but we know nothing of their experiences, except that it is traditional for Wise Ones to make the trip.

Perrin, Faile, Gaul, Chiad, Bain, and Loial have broken away from the ta'varen binding them to Rand to journey through the Ways to the Two Rivers at reports of the Whitecloaks besetting the town. They arrived to keep the Whitecloaks from burning down Edmond's Field they thought, instead finding the Aybara family razed and burned- by Trollocs. The rest of the Two Rivers is beset by a dark horde of Trollocs and Myrdryaal as well as Whitecloaks, and it appears that Edmond's Field is relying on the famed heroism of their own Perrin to guide them through the forces seeking to destroy them utterly. Faile is as stubborn as ever, equally as determined to set Perrin straight and protect him- as much from her strangling him as the Whitecloaks eager to hang him. They meet up with the Aes Sedai Verin and Alanna, who were hunting more girls in the area who could channel, sine the Manethern area was so thick with the ability and old bloods.

Elayne, Nynaeve, Thom, and the thief-catcher Juilin Sandar have purchased passage on a ship to Tanchico in hot pursuit of the Black Ajah that stole ter'angreal from the White Tower. They befriend the crew of the Wavedancer and its channeling Windfinder, Jorin. Apparently the Aiel are not the onlt ones with impressive prphecies of the Dragon, the Sea Folk call him Coramoor and waive all fees to the band to take them at all speed. They make the voyage in record time with assisting Jorin to call winds to push themselves along. Local rioting and government upheaval looks to make their task of intercepting the ter'angreal difficult. They run into Bayle Domon, who aides them in their search.

Min is back in the White Tower of Tar Valon, having borne her message to the Amyrlin Seat, is cooling her heels semi-against her wishes. The Amyrlin's excuse, to keep her close in the uncertain times and observe her semi-prophetic visions. It does nothing to prevent the breaking of the Tower, save that Min saves Siuan and Luane picking up Logain on the way. Tar Valon is in chaos and the Blue Ajah almost assuredly wiped out. The world is unaware.

I do agree with my husband in this, Jordan has a way with domineering women roles. I feel that Egwene and Faile are examples of this to the extreme. Where have all the brainless and loafing fluffheads gone? Apparently still here in the real world. I feel they do far exceed their boundaries many times, but luckily they have the men that they try to bend to their will that ignore them. There is some justice to this I suppose.

The book covers all grounds fairly, and no one character is shorted. This is a very key book and describes absolutely fabulous conflicts and new areas. I will have to go back over a couple of chapters simply to absorb all the details of some of the Aiel towns. I had to hold in a laugh at Jordan describing corn and tomatoes with awkward mispelling and word jumbles. Such as Maize being Zaime and tomato as oomato. Or something like that. I refuse to comb through the book more than to get names and places spelled right. There is definitely a lot more enjoyment in the book now that Rand, Perrin, and Mat are more set to move the world as best they can rather than digging their heels in.

In short, we jump from everyone in the Stone of Tear, to going to the Waste, Tanchico, Tar Valon, Two Rivers, and the waters and roads in between. Its a huge book and easy to get lost. If you don't remember what happened for everyone to end up in Tear to begin with, do yourself a favor and reread Reborn. A great read, I'm off into Fires of Heaven now.