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The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time #5)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 45,885 ratings · 801 reviews

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and go. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

Mass Market Paperback, 989 pages

Published October 15th 1994 by Tor Fantasy (first published January 1st 1993)

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Mar 31, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

For being such a long book (nearly 1000 pages in my trade paperback copy), amazingly little happens in The Fires of Heaven, and this is why so many readers have abandoned this otherwise interesting story. Approximately the first third of the novel contains so much recap and repetition that, if I'd had "my hair in a proper braid," I would have been yanking it as often as Nynaeve does.

The formula for the first 100 pages or so goes something like this: One or...more ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

For being such a long book (nearly 1000 pages in my trade paperback copy), amazingly little happens in The Fires of Heaven, and this is why so many readers have abandoned this otherwise interesting story. Approximately the first third of the novel contains so much recap and repetition that, if I'd had "my hair in a proper braid," I would have been yanking it as often as Nynaeve does.

The formula for the first 100 pages or so goes something like this: One or two lines of dialogue, two paragraphs of backstory, another line of dialogue, another couple of paragraphs of backstory... It felt like the proverbial "one step forward, two steps back!"

I managed to stick with it, though, only because I was listening to it on audiobook (and therefore only half listening while I accomplished something else at the same time) and because I wanted to write a review. Besides, I found it immensely entertaining when I could complete Robert Jordan's sentences for him... <>...

In The Fires of Heaven, we never see Perrin or Faile, which is fine with me. There is an interesting plot-line involving Siuan Sanche, Logain, and Gareth Bryne. Rand's adoption of Asmodean is entertaining, too -- I like that we're not really sure which side Asmodean and Lanfear are on. The plot does finally move forward a bit, but it takes way too long to do so. The book could have easily been cut to half its size and been better for it. If I had been the editor, I would have taken a blue pen to all instances of:
* females obsessing about the modesty of their clothing
* males obsessing about the modesty of female clothing
* needless skirt smoothing and straightening
* silk clinging to hips and breasts
* shivering or sweating that has nothing to do with the weather
* disgusted talk about not understanding the opposite sex
* braid pulling, tugging, and yanking
* sniffing
* thoughts or actual instances of bottoms being switched or spanked
* Nynaeve's cat fights

At this point, I'm quickly loosing patience as The Wheel of Time quickly looses steam. That's a shame, because the story itself is very good -- but it's just too hard to extract it from the dross.
Read more Robert Jordan book reviews at Fantasy literature. (less)

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Oct 23, 2010 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At my gym, we treadmill drones watch several television screens. We used to have ESPN, but it's been cut in favor of another Faux ... I mean Fox ... News screen. There are also several CNNs. It's quite frustrating because neither CNN nor Fox reports the news.

It's all theater.

Both stations have an obvious formula to grind. Fox's spin will always involve a plot on the left to overtake and corrupt America, followed by an impotent but self-righteous two minutes hate session against NPR or the New Yo...more

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Mar 06, 2008 Deena rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-classic

I'm sorry, but by this point, if I had to read once more about "smoothed faced" ageless women (and insert many other repeated phrases of your choice here), I was going to lose my mind. I kept reading the books for the sake of completion, but by book 5, I was rapidly losing patience and interest. I think these books suffered from the syndrome of many long-running book (and TV) series--the lack of an overall cohesive plotline and the presence of far too many characters to keep active in an otherwi...more

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Apr 11, 2009 Mary-Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Fires of Heaven is a seamless continuation of the Wheel of Time Saga. It is most definitely not a stand alone novel, and while certain points are re-explained I think that remembering what happened in the previous novels enriches the ability to predict what will happen, analyze characters actions and thoughts. Including picking up on events that were foreshadowed.

While I expected much of what happened and what was revealed, I was not disappointed with the ‘predictable’. There were things th...more The Fires of Heaven is a seamless continuation of the Wheel of Time Saga. It is most definitely not a stand alone novel, and while certain points are re-explained I think that remembering what happened in the previous novels enriches the ability to predict what will happen, analyze characters actions and thoughts. Including picking up on events that were foreshadowed.

While I expected much of what happened and what was revealed, I was not disappointed with the ‘predictable’. There were things that are put in motion in FoH. That I was desperately hoping for upon finishing even just Eye of the World. It was more that, in knowing what is necessary to defeat the Dark One, that certain thing has to happen. And it was a relief to see more peices of the puzzle fall into place for the Light.

***Spoiler***

The necesity of rand working together with the Aes Sedai, and the split in the tower that will allow this . I knew Rand, from the start was a man with strong values. And the announcement of amnesty at the very end is something that I knew had to happen. I think it will ultimately progress to something born out of necessity , re-establishing the institutions that were in place of the age of legends.

I keep getting frustrated with how it is not so clearly obvious to all the characters in the story that, the few men who can channel, and women who can, are going to have to work together very closely against the Shadow. The constant bickering and petty squabbles amount the protagonists, could potentially be as damaging to the side of the Light, as the power struggle between the forsaken could be to the Dark.

I am loving the progressive development of the ‘reluctant hero’ Mat Cauthon. The constant draw back, everytime he tries to run away getting pulled in tighter, and deeper. I do wonder sometimes how clueless everyone was to Moraines behaviour. I suppose they were all too wrapped up to notice that she seemed to know there was little time left. That leads me to Rand’s inability to kill women, even Forsaken.

I am hopeful to see more of Perrin in the next novel. I did miss him, much the way I miss a good friend. I don’t think about it all the time, and I enjoy the people that I’m with right now, and they are fab. But once in a while there’s that pang of ‘wow I miss so-and-so’. getting to know Perrin so much in the previous book connected me enough to hold on and hope I get to see him more in the future. Whilst thuroughly enjoying everyone else in this novel.

I wasted no time in picking up the next novel in the series. I am still eager to see where this saga leads.
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Jan 26, 2013 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, fantasy

Tricksy review!

This is my second attempt at trying to review The Fires of Heaven. I've got some pretty mixed feelings about the book. First of all, this is obviously a massive story, and most of what happens here underlines that fact. However, something that detracted from the epic sweep of the proceedings is the way the women are portrayed. For one thing, grown women going around strapping other grown women on the backside? Considering that about half, if not more, of this tome is dedicated to...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Casey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 27, 2013 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, aficionados-best-fantasy-list, epic, i-ve-read-it-more-than-once, own-it-e-book, own-it-hard-copy, all-time-favorites

The first few times I read The Fires of Heaven, it was one of my favorites of this series. Somehow I was able to gloss over the annoying, bickering women that dominate an entire section of it and focus on the rest, which is still really great. Maybe it's just all the Fantasy I've read since then that is forcing me to look at this with more discerning eyes, but my opinion has shifted a little - sadly.

I would like to give this 5 stars for all but the Nynaeve/Elayne portions, which are unbearable....more

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Dec 19, 2012 Yasiru rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A note to the reader (based on my comment to Jonathan's review; my review of the series is here):

It's around here that the series transforms. Save for a few key scenes like the climax of Lord of Chaos, the action becomes subdued, the scope broadens significantly and a drawn out political back and forth with numerous asides ensues.

Most readers don't care for such a turn (itself slow and laboured) and this is where most drop out, but I think this is also exactly where The Wheel of Time distinguish...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Markus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Wheel of Time is getting better, and is sad to know that there is a couple of bad ones coming up. First one was good, but too much lord of the rings...ish. Second little better, but a whole chosen one thing was too much echo of Eddings. Third one was even better, still not great, bu at political aspects were getting more interesting. Fourth one was again little better, a world building was good, and Perrins chapters were the best. And this fifth one is the best so far, tough the women characters...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Devin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am determined to finish this series. This is quite a long book and at times is frustrating to get through, but I can say I've enjoyed the ride the whole time. It's not perfect. In fact, the more experience I have in writing, the more I want to change things. But I still enjoy it. I'm already emotionally involved, and that's what Jordan is doing. Every event takes so long to accomplish because he wants you to feel everything the character feels along the way. Yes, he overdoes it, but it's still...more

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Feb 14, 2009 Foomy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I like to call Volume 1 in the "Women Hating Men" trilogy. At almost no point in these three books did women interacting with men consist of anything beyond: insulting men, assaulting men, sniffing at men, or thinking about how stupid men are compared to all the omniscient women. I almost didn't finish this book because of all the negative energy towards men.

Lessons I learned from this trilogy.

1) It is always a man's fault. Always.
2) Women are always smarter than men.
3) It is okay to break...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book took me FOREVER to read!! At one point I stopped reading it for a few months because it was SOOO long and boring! Last book was longer but it was exciting and things were happening. In this book Nynaeve and Elayne get captured a few more times to put their count up and Egwene is horrible. THe worst thing was that Perrin wasn't in it. Perrin is cool! Perrin keeps the story alive, but hopefully he won't completely go blank except about Faile. Fortunately, though the whole middle (around...more

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Dec 31, 2007 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's funny, because if you read other's reviews of this book, you'll notice that folks start to split into two camps. They're either ridiculously addicted and love it, or they're getting frustrated. They don't want a 400 plus page book in a series that should have been a trilogy. They don't like the fact that Jordan is "getting all epic on your ass" in this continuing study of the adventures of our characters. They don't like the fact that there are 1239724897923489084 more books after this one...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Julian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

In this fifth book in the series, I am still absolutely loving the journey. The moment I finish one, I immediately look forward to the next.

The only negative (not enough to drop it down to 4 stars) is that the ending seems to follow the same formula. An epic battle with Rand and one of the forsaken, sometimes he wins and sometimes they get away. If this happens for the next 10 books, it is going to get a little irritating. The reason why such an epic battle is so boring is because Rand is just...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Clive rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This recent attempt to tackle the humongous Wheel of Time series has actually been a re-read so far as I had read the first ten books about nine years ago. I remember getting those ten books almost altogether and reading them one after the other without knowing that the series was incomplete. I think this series constituted the sixth or seventh fantasy series I had read at that stage (when I mostly read fantasy and historical fiction) and definitely considered it as my favourite one by quite a l...more This recent attempt to tackle the humongous Wheel of Time series has actually been a re-read so far as I had read the first ten books about nine years ago. I remember getting those ten books almost altogether and reading them one after the other without knowing that the series was incomplete. I think this series constituted the sixth or seventh fantasy series I had read at that stage (when I mostly read fantasy and historical fiction) and definitely considered it as my favourite one by quite a large margin although I did not particularly like the ninth and tenth books even then. When I had completed the tenth, and realised that it was not the finale, the eleventh book was on the horizon of being published but it was certified as being the penultimate book. Thus, I opted to wait until the series was definitely finished and re-read the whole of them. As most know, history happened and the death of Jordan as well as Sanderson’s decision to split the last book into three further prolonged my longing for this particular resolution. When eventually the publication date of the last book became announced, I felt more excitement than the gap of time and dimming of memory could have anticipated. The wish to finish this literary journey had remained in-grained quite deeply. However, after reading books one through five again, I have decided to stop here.

The first three books have been quite an enjoyable read although nostalgia surely played a part in my reaction to them. Yes, The Eye of the World is too derivative of Tolkien’s style but I found that it still promised that Jordan would build his own world. Indeed, he finds his unique voice from the second book onwards and most of the similar elements with Tolkien become transmuted.

However, Jordan cannot match the linguistic prowess of Tolkien in any way and while at first I found his writing to be somewhat acceptable, his terrible deficiencies become too pronounced when he loses sight of the plot in the fourth book onwards and starts over indulging himself with threads and characters. Jordan makes sure to spell everything out in the most obvious manner and leaves no room for subtlety. This is quite a common flaw in the fantasy genre but Jordan is prominently guilty due to his frequent reiteration of these obvious observations time and again. I would consider the main culprit to be his writing of his characters’ thoughts, especially those concerning their ideas about the opposite sex. This and his incessant descriptions, especially those detailing clothing and particular reactions (braid yanking and skirt smoothing), make the length of the books (and series) to being nowhere near justifiable. I was aware that by the sixth book the pacing would become sluggish at best and practically grind to a halt in the tenth, but I was already perceiving severe issues at this stage as too much time is dedicated to trivialities and miring the succession of events.

With regard to characterisation, the women inhabiting The Wheel of Time are amongst the worst depicted characters I have encountered. Jordan’s intention was perhaps to portray a stronger and more independent image of femininity than that generally perceived in past traditional fantasy works. The actual result, however, is pityingly laughable as almost all of his female characters essentially convey a singular stereotype by routinely degrading men and engaging in petty spats with each other. Moreover, most of these women still end up enchanted helplessly with a man (or two) and all but fall short of swooning before him. This is further aggravated by the poor, or non-existent, background behind their so-called love. Usually a relation is formed because the characters suddenly decide that they like one another.

Yet even with this negative opinion of the series I found it quite difficult to decide to stop. For one thing, as some who know me can say, I generally make it a point to watch a film/series or read a book to the very end, even if I am not particularly enjoying the experience. It is an irrational, and perhaps obsessive, trait of mine but I feel that I cannot say what I think about a work if I stop before the ending. As previously mentioned, I also genuinely wished to find a closure for this memory as The Wheel of Time was a significant constitution of myself when I was reading it for the first time. I had also recently read somewhere that one can become attracted to the Platonic form of the series rather than the actual content and I can relate to this. The books remained oddly compelling as their epic scope and the world revealed tantalise the imagination sweetly. Unfortunately the nations and people are embedded with a set of characteristics to which every individual member has to subscribe to. For example, the members of an Ajah share all the same mannerisms and ideologies. This severely cripples the depth which could have been achieved. Some of the main antagonists of the series, the Forsaken, also suffer from hasty and anti-climatic elimination after long-winded narratives that do not help in exposing them effectively (with the possible exception of Lanfear). With the knowledge that the series will get progressively worse for at least five more long books, I bid Rand and the rest a regretful but determined farewell.(less)

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Feb 06, 2013 Jeffrey Grant rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was a slog. I imagine, apart from the length of the series as a whole, a lot of people point to this book when they need evidence of needless bloating.
The Perrin, Loial, et.al. arc is completely dropped for this book; apparently they had way too much to do in book 4 and were put on the bench. In their place is a lot of bloating with Elayne and Nyaneve trying to find the Aes Sedai and Min doing the same. The Min arc resolves by 2/3 of the way through the book and in my opinion does not...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Kyle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Wheel of Time series represents, for me, the perfect example of a guilty pleasure in the world of fantasy.

This series is not actually written very well. Robert Jordan was not a very good wordsmith, and he really only knew how to say and describe things one way. His characters are generally unbelievable, and have ridiculous dialogue. The plot is tremendously predictable, and is heavily influenced (close to the point of being unoriginal) by the fantasy works that came before. The whole story i...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Neal Richardson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I left the party early the last time I tried tackling this mega long series back in high school. I only picked it up again a couple of years after the author passed away and another was tapped to complete the saga. I'm glad I decided to come back. I'm enjoying this saga much more as an adult.

The story of a young man discovering that he is destined to either save the world and kill everyone he loves or let the world fall into darkness has a lot of fans and a lot of detractors. And both groups are...more I left the party early the last time I tried tackling this mega long series back in high school. I only picked it up again a couple of years after the author passed away and another was tapped to complete the saga. I'm glad I decided to come back. I'm enjoying this saga much more as an adult.

The story of a young man discovering that he is destined to either save the world and kill everyone he loves or let the world fall into darkness has a lot of fans and a lot of detractors. And both groups aren't wrong. The level of world building in this story is thought out to the nth degree and the writing style lends itself to detail that is both fascinating and tedious. The characters can be both endearing and frustrating and not necessarily for the best reasons. You can see character progression but only by inches in some cases. Lots of fantasy series have a world ending plot but few try it on this level--the revealing of this savior and destroyer has a ripple effect on every sprititual, political and cultural faction detailed in the book.

In this volume The Dragon Reborn continues trying to rally people to his cause in preparation for the last battle while other factions try to find a place on the chessboard. The plot trips along like others in the series. Rand and his friends battle intrigue on this and other planes and it leads to a crisis involving one of the Forsaken, agents of the Dark One. The cost of the conflict, like the others, is high. In terms of character development it all cycles back to the impossible situation they are all in and learning to accept their roles.

I would argue that if you've stuck through this series to this point you can probably make it through the rest though I'm told that subsequent volumes tend to test even the most die hard fan's patience. First time through I gave up on novel 7. But I think I appreciate what this author is attempting even better now that I'm maturing. He clearly loves this world and these characters and while the writing style can grate on the senses what's been built here can compensate for that.

If you read any book in this series at any point in the saga you'll discover rather quickly whether or not it works for you. If it does, welcome to the club.

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Oct 19, 2012 Richard Bray rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To this point, I’ve enjoyed my re-read of THE WHEEL OF TIME, but I struggled at times to wade through this one. The length — nearing 1,000 pages in the mass-market paperback edition — wasn’t so much the problem as the character Nynaeve.

To this point in the series I’ve been mostly positive about Jordan’s use of women. There’s no disguising the fact that WHEEL OF TIME is heavily inspired by LORD OF THE RINGS, and seeing Jordan correct one of Tolkien’s weaknesses — the role of women in his stories...more To this point, I’ve enjoyed my re-read of THE WHEEL OF TIME, but I struggled at times to wade through this one. The length — nearing 1,000 pages in the mass-market paperback edition — wasn’t so much the problem as the character Nynaeve.

To this point in the series I’ve been mostly positive about Jordan’s use of women. There’s no disguising the fact that WHEEL OF TIME is heavily inspired by LORD OF THE RINGS, and seeing Jordan correct one of Tolkien’s weaknesses — the role of women in his stories — seemed like a solid step. And while some of the male protagonists seemed passive, merely reacting to the world around them rather than making proactive choices, Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne at times drove the plot, making decisions and bringing the fight to the bad guys.

But in this book, Jordan relies more heavily on Nynaeve’s point of view, and that sucks much of the fun from the story. To this point, Nynaeve has mostly been a side character. Surly and grouchy, almost always criticizing the other characters, she has always been portrayed as a good person who’s a bit overbearing and rough around the edges. But spending as much time inside Nynaeve’s head as we do in this book, I came away with almost the opposite impression. She hates almost all of her “friends.”

Elayne is a slut because of the clothes she wears, even though Nynaeve is often wearing something similar.

Anyone who disagrees with her is a fool.

All men are morons, except for Lan.

Thom is an old fool.

Juilin Sandar wears a silly conical hat (Nynaeve seems obsessed with this damn hat. In every Nynaeve POV chapter, the first thing she ever says about Juilin is that his hat is silly, yellow and conical. She is literally unable to mention Juilin’s name without commenting on how much she hates this hat).

It’s exhausting to be around someone this negative, and Nynaeve’s POV dominates this book, making her constant negativity impossible to ignore. In the end, it drains this book of much of its fun. Even some of the plot developments late in the book are overshadowed by Nynaeve’s personality, and that’s too bad because Jordan moves the story forward and takes it to some interesting places. I just wish Nynaeve didn’t have to be in any of those places.(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Mo rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculativefiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. And then this book happened. Well, now I know why I didn't remember much of it. I'd blocked out that whole thing with the... circus. In all fairness, the first half deserves one star, but the second half is solid, maybe three-and-a-half, so the two-star rating is splitting the difference. Skip the whole menagerie storyline and go straight to the Battle of Cairhien and you'll be fine.

There are a bunch of things in this installment that didn't work for me. The menagerie story arc is the epitome of...more And then this book happened. Well, now I know why I didn't remember much of it. I'd blocked out that whole thing with the... circus. In all fairness, the first half deserves one star, but the second half is solid, maybe three-and-a-half, so the two-star rating is splitting the difference. Skip the whole menagerie storyline and go straight to the Battle of Cairhien and you'll be fine.

There are a bunch of things in this installment that didn't work for me. The menagerie story arc is the epitome of the twin evils of WoT: poor pacing and cartoonish characterization. The entire subplot is unnecessary to the rest of the story, just a way to get from location A to location B. The only thing you really need to know here is that Birgitte joins the party - and I like her and all, but she's extraneous and her entrance into the story is kind of random. This would've been a good time to develop Elayne and Nynaeve as characters, and there seems to be some attempt to do so with Nynaeve, but it falls flat because as soon as they leave the circus she's right back to her usual ways and attitudes and such. Still disappointed; she was a much more mature character in the first two books and regresses badly after that. Reading about Elayne and Nynaeve interacting is just painful. Both of them are constantly offended and judgmental about every little thing the other does. It's so over the top that they seem like some kind of bizarre aliens rather than people. Not to mention tiresome. I get the impression this whole interlude was supposed to be comical, but yeah, didn't work for me.

Also going to throw down a gauntlet here and say I do not like Gareth Bryne at all. The fact that he chases Siuan, Leane, and Min across the continent because of Siuan's ~blue eyes~ is just... creepy. Especially since he thinks she's young enough to be his granddaughter. Then when he finds out she's actually the Randland equivalent of the Pope, who has been deposed and has suffered one of the most terrible fates a person can in this world (stilling) - plus she was "put to the question" a.k.a. tortured - yet she continues to fight the impending apocalypse with all her remaining power and influence like a total bamf, which is why she broke her oath to work for him as a servant, does he consider releasing her from the aforesaid oath to perform insignificant household tasks for him? Y'know, since she really has more important things to do and also has suffered a whole lot? Nope! He insists that she do his laundry and spanks her when she's not submissive enough. Seriously. It's petty and self-righteous and the fact that the real reason he cares so much is because he's sexually attracted to her adds a delightful frisson of gross creepiness to the whole thing. /rant

Now for the good parts. There's plenty of stuff in The Fires of Heaven that I like. The battles! Oh yes, the battles, both the Battle of Cairhien and Rand's duel with Rahvin in Caemlyn/Tel'aran'rhiod. All that balefiring, woo! I love how Mat is incapable of not rescuing people even while he's telling himself that he's waaaaay too smart for that hero shit. Whatever, son of battles! We all know you're a noble soul underneath that shockingly rumpled coat. I love whenever Rand blurts out LTT memories, especially at the end of the Battle of Cairhien. It's so eerie. I love Asmodean! I love the batshit Lews Therin voice! Two of my favorite characters in the series. I love Nynaeve when she gets down to business and tricks Moghedien twice and sets Rahvin on fire right when he thinks he's got Rand beat. Two Rivers teamwork for the win! And Moiraine takes out her second Forsaken - great Aes Sedai or greatest Aes Sedai? Have I mentioned that I love Asmodean? Dang, how come the Dark One doesn't resurrect the cool Forsaken? Afraid Asmo would steal the limelight, maybe? If so, you are correct. Yeah, anyway, the second 50% of the book is good, fun reading. I'll remember to skip straight to it if I ever do another re-read.(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Ward Bond rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From Publishers Weekly

...more From Publishers Weekly

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, continues his effort to unify the diverse people of a discordant world against the Dark One in this fifth tome of the Wheel of Time series (begun with The Eye of the World ). While the Aes Sedai, women who channel the One Power, and the Forsaken, ancient disciples of the Dark One, strive to bend him to their purposes, Rand leads the clans of the Aiel in a war of unification. Rand must try to master his powers as a man who can channel, while eluding the concomitant madness, as two groups of women attempt to come to his aid. His love, Elayne, Daughter-Heir of Andor, and Nynaeve, both Aes Sedai in training, join a circus to evade an angry sisterhood, and Siuan Sanche, former leader of the Aes Sedai now stripped of her powers, and two companions seek other rebels in an attempt to avert the final doom. Jordan deftly weaves details from previous books into this narrative and includes a glossary so that new readers can pick up the saga at this point. But all should beware: the few months covered here suggest it may be years and many more volumes before this series reaches its conclusion.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, leads his army of desert warriors toward a destined war against the forces of the Dark One. Elsewhere, while the Forsaken seed the land with their plots of corruption, a few stalwart individuals gather their strength for the coming battle. Jordan's epic saga of a world threatened by evil incarnate builds steadily as separate strands of a complex plot begin to come together. Fans of this richly detailed and vividly imagined series will not be disappointed.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

SUMMARY:
In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Shadow Rising, Robert Jordan again plunges us into his extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:. ... Into the forbidden city of Rhuidean, where Rand al'Thor, now the Dragon Reborn, must conceal his present endeavor from all about him, even Egwene and Moiraine. ... Into the Amyrlin's study in the White Tower, where the Amyrlin, Flaida do Avriny a'Roihan, is weaving new plans. ... Into Andor, where Siuan Sanche and her companions, including the false Dragon Logain, have been arrested for barn-burning. ... Into the luxurious hidden chamber where the Forsaken Rahvin is meeting with three of his fellows to ensure their ultimate victory over the Dragon. ... Into the Queen's court in Caemlyn, where Morgase is curiously in thrall to the handsome Lord Gaebril. For once the Dragon walks the land, the fires of heaven fall where they will, until all men's lives are ablaze. And in Shayol Ghul, the Dark One stirs.(less)

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Sep 29, 2011 Irene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

The most enjoyable chapters in this book are the one's told from the perspective of Nyneave. She is so funny! I love her one-sided opinions. She is constantly on the lookout for Moghedien, expecting her to track her down and exact revenge for her defeat at Nyneave's hands in Tanchico. She and Elayne are traveling when they encounter Galad, the extremely handsome brother of Elayne. Galad is the ultimate "goody two shoes," striving to do what is right no matter the cost to himself or anyone else....more

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Jul 20, 2011 Gerald Givens rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The saga of Rand al'Thor's rise as the Dragon Reborn continues in another story of revelations, thickening plots, and dramatic landscapes in The Fires of Heaven. The most notable aspect of the novel is the absence of one of the three main characters, Perrin. As with its predecessor, The Shadow Rising, I have a hard time remembering exactly where the story starts off. They blur together after a time, the consequence of such a series.

Jordan continues the story with Rand leaving the Aiel Waste and...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

The first book got me interested. The second book held my interest. The third book almost had me abandon the series but the fourth book brought me back. This, the fifth book in the series may have given me the wind to get through the rest of the series no matter how boring and long winded they may be. It is by far my favorite of the books to this point.

Unlike the previous books, fewer new characters are introduced to keep track of in this book. Also, by this point the world Jordan created is fai...more

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May 06, 2011 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, fiction, sci-fi-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My summary:

Fifth book in the wheel of time fantasy series. Rand is still in Aiel Waste in the city of Rhuidin. He is trying to gather the clans together before he leaves the Waste. Coulidin has also proclaimed himself as He Who Comes With the Dawn so part of the Aiel follow him, and part of the clans are still deciding who to follow. Asmodean begins teaching Rand everything he knows about using the Power and the other Forsaken. Rand is attacked by Darkfriends while he is there and destroys them...more My summary:

Fifth book in the wheel of time fantasy series. Rand is still in Aiel Waste in the city of Rhuidin. He is trying to gather the clans together before he leaves the Waste. Coulidin has also proclaimed himself as He Who Comes With the Dawn so part of the Aiel follow him, and part of the clans are still deciding who to follow. Asmodean begins teaching Rand everything he knows about using the Power and the other Forsaken. Rand is attacked by Darkfriends while he is there and destroys them with balefire. They soon learn that Coulidin has taken his clan out of the Waste in order to attack Cairhien. Rand follows him all of the way there and engages him in battle. During the time it takes to travel the waste, Min and Siuan travel to the place where all of the Blue Aes Sedai are meeting. On the way, they accidentally burn down a barn and are indebted to Gareth Byrne. They break their oath's of obedience and escape and he follows them to the Aes Sedai hideout. There Siuan continues to plan on how to help Rand and get rid of Elaida as Amyrlin. The Aes Sedai enlist the help of Gareth Byrne to help them retake the White Tower. Elayne, Nynaeve, Thom, and Julius travel towards the meeting place of the Aes Sedai after their victory in Tanchico. Nynaeve continues to talk to Brigitte in the dream world and asks her to help her find Moghedian. Moghedian finds her first though and plans to enslave Nynaeve when Brigitte shoots her with an arrow. She sends Brigitte out of the dream world and Nynaeve escapes. Nynaeve remains scared of Moghedian for the rest of the journey to the Aes Sedai hiding place. On their way they travel with a menagerie in order to hide from Moghedian and the Black Aes Sedai who follow her. They reach the Aes Sedai and quickly are treated like Accepted and are made to teach the Aes Sedai how to walk the dream world. While teaching Siuan, Nynaeve sees Moghedian and fights her again. She is defeated but she is saved by Bridgitte again and manages to put a silver collar on Moghedian so she can command her. They then travel to Camelyn to help Rand fight Rahvin. Before this, Rand fights Couladin and uses the force with Egwene and Aviandra's help. Mat tries to run away but instead helps lead a force into battle and kills Couladin himself. Rand then prepares to go to Camelyn to kill Rahvin because he believes he killed Queen Morgase, Elayne's mother. Before leaving, Morraine takes him down to the docks where he faces Lanfear (because she finds out he was with Aviandra). He matches her strength but is unable to kill her because she is a woman so Morraine attacks her and they both fall into the Power-filled doorway and disappear (and supposedly die). Lan leaves to go be a warder for the Aes Sedai Morraine left him with. Rand takes an army of Aiel and goes to Camelyn. He is ambushed by Rahvin and his friends die, but then he fights Rahvin with balefire and with Nynaeve's help, defeats him. His friends are alive again and the book ends with Asmodean going into a room and being killed by someone unknown.(less)

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Apr 27, 2011 Jenna St Hilaire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When you’ve spent 3500 five-hundred-word pages with an author, repetitive phrases get more than a little noticeable. I’ll confess to getting a little bored with Nynaeve’s braid-pulling, the Rand/Perrin/Mat unspoken assumption that each of the others relates better to women, and the number of cultures that dress more risqué than the Women’s Circle in the Two Rivers would ever stand for.

On the other hand, I’m constantly amazed at Jordan’s worldbuilding. He doesn’t miss a note—the characters think...more When you’ve spent 3500 five-hundred-word pages with an author, repetitive phrases get more than a little noticeable. I’ll confess to getting a little bored with Nynaeve’s braid-pulling, the Rand/Perrin/Mat unspoken assumption that each of the others relates better to women, and the number of cultures that dress more risqué than the Women’s Circle in the Two Rivers would ever stand for.

On the other hand, I’m constantly amazed at Jordan’s worldbuilding. He doesn’t miss a note—the characters think in terms of their world and culture, whether it be Rand’s farm and forest idioms or Thom's Game of Houses experience or Aviendha’s ji’e’toh (honor and obligation). I’ve never seen anyone do a better job of this.

The perspective shifts were more comfortable in this book than in the last, but I must say that I hate being in bad characters’ minds. Hate it. Padan Fain, in particular, makes my skin crawl. There are arguments for the value of showing that perspective, but I have a strong visceral reaction to sharing the mind of anyone who celebrates evil.

As for the good characters, I’m chalking up Egwene’s concern over Rand’s arrogance to unreliable narration. I just didn’t see him as arrogant. Maybe I’m biased because I get to share his mind, but he seems to me to be doing the best he can given his circumstances.

Nynaeve was a lot of fun in this book. I got a kick out of her circus experiences, and found her troubles with Birgitte sympathetic and fascinating.

I’m also interested to see where Gareth Bryne and Siuan Sanche go from here.

I haven’t made my mind up whether I like Aviendha yet. She’s shocking, stubborn, and the show-your-love-by-bluster thing has never really been my way. She also refused to let Rand make the amends his conscience demanded for what happened between them. But she feels she must return him safely to Elayne, so we'll see where all that goes.

Without getting into spoilers—near the end, a character I've really liked meets her death. It’s something I’ve suspected was coming for awhile, but it hit me pretty hard anyway. The nobility of the sacrifice and Rand’s grief over it made for one of the most touching scenes in the book.

The tale closed, as usual, with battle and victory and a couple of unresolved threads to make the reader want book six. Which, of course, I immediately had to reserve at the library.(less)

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Dec 22, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read-in-adulthood, on-loan, mildly-diverting

i'm of a couple of minds about this book.

first, no perrin. this made me sad and a little nervous. i like perrin, but perrin is now married to a woman i can't stand and want to push off a cliff, so i hope he's still the same sort of perrin he was before when he shows up again.

second, the women in these books need some serious therapy. i'm looking at you, nynaeve, elayne, egwene, siuan (i liked her better as the amyrlin seat - she didn't seem so shrill) and to an extent, all the Aiel women. so mu...more

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Jun 28, 2010 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book 4 of the Wheel of Time started us on the path to almost independent storylines, and book 5 takes that concept and runs with it. There are half a dozen plots here, including three mostly separate stories being told in the same place. A ton of stuff happens in this book, and good thing, since it's one of the longest in the series. Nonetheless, this is where the things that make some people turn on the Wheel of Time started. People like to complain that "nothing ever happens" in the later book...more Book 4 of the Wheel of Time started us on the path to almost independent storylines, and book 5 takes that concept and runs with it. There are half a dozen plots here, including three mostly separate stories being told in the same place. A ton of stuff happens in this book, and good thing, since it's one of the longest in the series. Nonetheless, this is where the things that make some people turn on the Wheel of Time started. People like to complain that "nothing ever happens" in the later books, but it is more accurate to say that nothing ever happens to the characters they're invested in. And that's because there are too many characters. The Fires of Heaven bears a lot of responsibility for that.

Despite both being very long books, the Fires of Heaven feels somewhat like the second half of the Shadow Rising. We're back to a fairly all-encompassing climax, and a lot of plot lines introduced in book 4 are resolved here, Of course, had this been a single book, it would not only have been 1300 pages, but it would have included on the order of eight separate book-definining scenes. As much as the Fires of Heaven is a harbinger of bogged down storylines to come, it includes some of the most memorable scenes in the series. But it also contains the setup of the new Aes Sedai plot, which doesn't really go anywhere yet, and is divided among three sets of characters. It's no wonder people get mad at the women of the Wheel of Time!

The tone of the Fires of Heaven is different from previous books as well. The first three books were basically adventure stories, and while book 4 introduced some politics and scheming, book 5 brings in raising armies and fighting battles. They are done quite well, but the change is certainly noticeable, and may not be exactly what you were expecting based on the first few books.

One aspect of this book that is sadly not carried over into the next few is the preponderance of Forsaken. They're all over the place in this book, and these plot lines are for the most part interesting. The final big battle does seem like a bit of a cheat, since the events leading to it are based on information the reader knows is false, but if you can't take being frustrated by characters' ignorance, you shouldn't be reading the Wheel of Time.

Sadly there isn't much more I can say without going into spoiler territory. In short, Moiraine and Mat are both awesome in this book, Rand's first signs of madness start here and will keep you intrigued for a while (though perhaps not all the way until they get resolved, seven books later), and if you don't hate Jordan's women, the whole Nynaeve/Elayne storyline is pretty entertaining. Of course, it's also why some readers hate Jordan's women, so I guess your mileage may vary.

In short, this is a book for future books. Even the important things that go down here mostly set up events several books later. The plot lines are beginning to criss-cross (mostly dividing the male and female main characters into two distinct halves of the whole story). To be perfectly blunt, if this book didn't happen to contain such memorable scenes, it would probably be looked at much like book 8 (i.e., not very well). Which really just means Jordan should have spaced out the awesome more evenly!(less)

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Apr 15, 2010 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review stands for the entire Wheel of Time series.

The Wheel of Time appears to be in good hands with Brandon Sanderson penning the last Book (in three parts) of Robert Jordan's epic.

Although I have been reading these books for as long as I have been reading Katherine Kerr's Deverry novels, and will be reading them at least until 2012 when the final book is due out, I have enjoyed them so much that I am willing to ignore the length of time it has taken. It must be almost 20 years from first...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Parcoast rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ah, and this was the famous slow-down in Jordan's great Wheel of Time series. As the characters spread out and become involved in their own plots the story starts to drag some, and it is harder to pull it all together. I noticed this the first time around (years ago) when I read these, and so I was ready for it this time, and my plan worked.

I enjoyed this book, and kept up with all of the detail by simply reading it quickly. Luckily I had an overseas business trip to go on, so after a whole day...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Finished SPOILERS	11	78	Nov 08, 2012 01:36pm
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Chapters 28 through 42 SPOILERS	14	40	Nov 05, 2012 10:50am
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Planing to Read? First Impressions? NO SPOILERS	7	72	Oct 22, 2012 12:05pm
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Chapters 13 through 27 SPOILERS	9	35	Sep 25, 2012 03:09pm
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Prologue thru Chapter 12 SPOILERS	10	71	Sep 25, 2012 01:53pm
Fantasy Book Club...: FIRES of HEAVEN - Chapters 43 through 56 SPOILERS	4	35	Aug 30, 2012 03:33pm

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About Robert Jordan

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

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'Reily.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week.[7] He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.
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Books by Robert Jordan

The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)

The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time, #12; A Memory of Light, #1)

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Quotes from The Fires of Heaven

“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” — 52 people liked it

“I'm a gambler, a farmboy, and I'm here to take command of your bloody army!

--Mat Cauthon” — 33 people liked it

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The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time #5)

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