The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers! I hope you’ve had a restful weekend. One thing I’m thankful for is The Wheel of Time! I’m enjoying my re-read of this series (I only made it to book 10 the first time around). If you’ve read the series – NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

DO NOT READ THIS BLOG POST IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST 4 BOOKS

**** SPOILERS ****

About The Book 📚

Title: The Fires of Heaven (Book Five of The Wheel of Time)

Author: Robert Jordan

Publication Date: First published 1993

Publisher: My copy was published in 2012 by Tor Books

Suggested Reader Age: Adult

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction

Pages: 846

Synopsis

“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.”

About The Author

“Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O’Neal and Jackson O’Reilly.”

He led an incredible life and died too soon. Using Jordan’s notes, Brandon Sanderson continued The Wheel of Time series after Jordan died from cancer in 2007.

My Review

“With his coming are the dread fires born again. The hills burn, and the land turns sere. The tides of men run out, and the hours dwindle. The wall is pierced, and the veil of parting raised. Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death.”

› The prologue begins two months after Elaida became the Amyrlin Seat. Padan Fain/Mordeth comes to visit Elaida to give her false information about Rand al’Thor in hopes she’ll be able to capture him. Elaida wants the Aes Sedai who fled the White Tower to return and to find Siuan. She’s determined to ensure the world sees the Tower united and strong.

Lanfear organizes a meeting with Rahvin, Graendal and Sammael. She proposes that the four of them could work together and capture Rand, bringing him to the Dark One so they can reap the rewards. She wants to leave the other Forsaken out of the plan.

Forsaken: “Name given to thirteen of the most powerful Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends, thus among the most powerful ever known, who went over to the Dark One during the War of the Shadow in return for the promise of immortality. Aginor, Asmodean, Balthamel, Be’lal, Demandred, Graendal, Ishamael, Lanfear, Mesaana, Sammael, and Semirhage.” (From the Glossary of The Fires of Heaven)

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the great forest called Braem Wood. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”

Min, Siuan and Leanne are in Kore Springs awaiting trial for burning down a shed. Logain helps them escape. Lord Gareth Bryne sets off after them, determined to discover what they know about the Dragon Reborn.

Tear fell after Rand pulled Callandor from its perch. He’s heard rumours that there is a new Amyrlin Seat, the old one has been stilled and executed, and that Logain is dead.

Morgase, the Queen of Andor is under the control of Gaebril. Like Bryne and Elaida, Gaebril is trying to gain as much knowledge about Rand as possible.

Rand is in Rhuidean with Lan, Moiraine, Egwene, Mat, Kadere and his men. He knows he brings destruction and change where ever he travels and hopes that the change can be for the good of all.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/comments/wdd9n3/another_batch_of_fanart_using_midjourney_ai_this/

Six out of twelve clan chiefs sit with Rand to discuss their future. Bael (the tallest man Rand had ever seen), Jheran (in a blood feud with Bael’s family – they tolerate each other for Rand’s sake), Han (impulsive, I don’t trust him), Bruan (calm, tactician), Erim (older, his hair is half white, but he’s as strong as the others), and Rhuarc (with dark red hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders he is the chief of Taardad). They speak of the other chiefs and debate who will join He Who Comes With The Dawn. Couladin hates Rand. He’s not a chief, but the Shaido follow him. Rand asks them to bring in the rest of the clans and keep an eye on the Shaido.

Rand claims Jasin Natael is his gleeman, but his real name is Asmodean, one of the Forsaken. Rand thinks he’s forcing Asmodean to teach him things about the One Power, but it’s really Lanfear who wants Asmodean to teach Rand enough about using the Power so he doesn’t die, but not enough to be stronger than her.

Moiraine and Egwene show Rand that three out of the seven seals are broken. Moiraine doesn’t like Rand’s plan to take all the Aiel across Dragonwall, but Rand still doesn’t trust her, so he doesn’t listen to her advice.

Mat is now twenty years old. He can now remember all of his other lives and he has a hard time keeping them straight. He feels homesick and tells Rand he plans to leave with Kadere and make his way back to Two Rivers.

Egwene and Aviendha are training with the Wise Ones after Aviendha recently gave up Maiden of the Spear life to enter training with the Wise Ones to become a dreamwalker (“Aiel name for a woman able to enter Tel’aran’rhiod“).

Rand often dreams of Min, Elayne, and Aviendha.

Nynaeve, Elayne, Thom and Juilin are travelling to Tar Valon by wagon after leaving Tanchico weeks ago. They don’t know what happened to Siuan, or that there is a new Amyrlin Seat who is hunting them down.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 8
I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to read about Perrin or Loial, however, this book made me love Mat’s character. We don’t get a lot from him, but what we do get is extraordinary.

› Atmosphere: 10
Amazing descriptions enable me to picture every scene in my mind. Learning about the Aiel culture is a testament to Jordan’s world-building skills.

› Writing Style: 8
A little cliche and repetitive. Some readers may have a hard time getting through this one due to the wordy paragraphs between dialogue.

› Plot: 6
Great beginning, the middle and ending were off for me.

› Intrigue: 5
Although I care about the characters and wanted to read it, it took me almost a month to finish this.

› Logic: 8
Had to re-read some parts that were confusing.

› Enjoyment: 7
I love the beautiful coloured maps, the character development and the writing. It’s fun to see Rand embrace his power even if he is stubborn and a little arrogant.

Average 7.4

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• The Fires of Heaven is a slower-paced, character-driven book. It’s not my favourite of the series, however, it is a good reading experience. I’ve already re-read the next book Lord of Chaos. I’ll be sharing a review for that one soon.

The Eye of the World ★★★★★
The Great Hunt ★★★★★
The Dragon Reborn ★★★
The Shadow Rising ★★★★★
The Fires of Heaven ★★★★