Rereading Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising (Book 4)

My trek back through the world of the Wheel of Time continues with The Shadow Rising, one of my favorites (from memory). We have truly reached the beginning of the middle, with Rand shaking off the shackles of those who want to control him and setting off to shape his own destiny. He’s a leader now. Which doesn’t mean he’s uncertain, but he knows how to hide those uncertainties.

A split begins in this book, taking the main characters further and further from one another as they each have their own roles to play in the bigger story. Perrin went home to the Two Rivers, where he rallied the people to fight with him against White Cloaks and trollocs.

One of my biggest complaints with this series from my memory is that with all the detail Jordan put in the stories, he missed a moment I had been anticipating for many books — the moment Rand’s kinsmen learn what he has become. In particular, I wanted his father’s reaction. It happens, but off the page, where I can’t see. As of the end of this book, it actually hasn’t happened yet, but it’s an oversight I know is coming, and I feel just as strongly this time as I did before that it should be there. I want that moment. Oh well…

Epic. This story is truly epic in book 4. It was headed that way before, but now it is.

Rating 5/5

TItle: The Shadow Rising

Author: Robert Jordan

ISBN: 0812513738

Published October 15, 1993