The Shadow Rising Review

I keep breaking these up by more than every other book, but I don’t mind; it’s allowing me to savor the feeling of immersing myself into Jordan’s world far longer.  The real question will come in a few months (relative to when I write this review, not relative to when it posts), when I have to decide if I’m pausing Wheel of Time to read the new Stormlight book, interspersing the new Stormlight book, or waiting to read the new Stormlight book until I’ve finished my Wheel of Time reread.  The point is that I am still thoroughly enjoying this rereading experience with the fourth book, The Shadow Rising.  Indeed, I should make a more consistent effort, when I’ve finished all fourteen books, to intersperse this kind of fantasy in my reading rhythm more regularly.

Not that just any fantasy can compare to Jordan’s epic.  The Shadow Rising is, in a sense, the prelude of an arc that will carry over numerous books, as Rand tries to forge himself into something he thinks is hard enough to defeat the Dark One.  He is also studying the prophecies of the Dragon, which allows Jordan the opportunity to explore the nature of prophecy in his unique, cyclical world.  Prophecy is always a difficult topic to write, since it can seem to undermine characters’ agency, but Jordan sidesteps this issue neatly without ducking away from it.  Should characters about whom prophecies are made deliberately attempt to fulfil those prophecies, or should they simply allow them to happen?  Since the prophecies aren’t fully understood, Rand ends up doing a little of both.

Rand’s actions form the main plot of the book, but Perrin’s plot runs parallel to it and could almost form a complete book of its own.  For arguably the first time in the series, he truly distinguishes himself in efforts of his own.  In many senses, his character arc has some similarities to Rand’s, but he nevertheless remains a distinct personality.  Always the most mature of the trio who set out from the Two Rivers in Eye of the World, he continues to be so now; Rand might have more authority, but Perrin is more thoughtful and influential in his way, and his interactions with people, both his peers and his seniors, bear this out well.  His relationship with Faile from the start of The Shadow Rising seems to take a leap from the end of the previous installment, which is a little disorienting at first, but works well after a few chapters.

Speaking of the three Ta’veren, Mat starts taking a more active role in this book.  I remember not really enjoying his character very much the first time through, and finding his sections a little confusing, until he comes into his own towards the end of the series.  With the benefit of hindsight, knowing where his character is eventually going, events and actions he takes in The Shadow Rising both made more sense and were more satisfying to read.  If it seems like he somewhat stumbles into exactly what he needs to, well, you could call that a plot contrivance, but you would be better recalling that Mat’s luck is a part of the worldbuilding, as is his role as Ta’veren, even if it’s a different kind of Ta’veren than we see with Rand and Perrin.

I remembered much more of this book than most of the previous volumes, especially Rand’s and Perrin’s parts, but I had mostly forgotten all but the barest fragments of Elayne’s and Nynavae’s plot.  This is surprising, given how much I enjoyed it this time through.  First, because it’s nice to see someone other than Rand confronting a major evil-doer in the story, and second, because it involves some interesting moral complexity.

This is the first of what I sometimes call the desert books, because Rand seems to spend a lot of time in the middle of the series wandering around in the desert with the Aiel.  This is a bit of a trope, especially the part with the waiting army of hyper-honorable, highly skilled warriors, even if the Aiel and their history are plenty complex and unique enough to make them distinct from other such groups that show up in fantasy and science fiction.  Then again, Wheel of Time, to a certain extent, works by leaning into tropes and making them more, rather than avoiding or subverting them.  The advantage of a story sprawling across fourteen books is that what starts as a trope can be fully developed and made into as unique a part of the worldbuilding as the most inventive, original aspects.

At last, The Shadow Rising gives us a little different of an ending, with no attempt at a fake-out final victory.  I found Rand’s ending less than satisfying, because it still seemed too similar to the endings of the previous volumes, but Perrin’s ending is excellent, as is Nynaeve’s/Elayne’s.  While maybe not quite as strong as the third book, this is another excellent installment.  It will be a few weeks before you get another Wheel of Time review, but, in the meantime, I hope you continue with one of fantasy’s greatest series.