The Shadow Rising

Paperback, 960 pages

Published Oct. 2, 2012 by Tor Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-3467-1

(1 review)

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind. In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken? In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn. In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland. In the Stone of Tear, the Lord …

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out. The Shadow is rising to cover humankind. In Tar Valon, Min sees portents of hideous doom. Will the White Tower itself be broken? In the Two Rivers, the Whitecloaks ride in pursuit of a man with golden eyes, and in pursuit of the Dragon Reborn. In Cantorin, among the Sea Folk, High Lady Suroth plans the return of the Seanchan armies to the mainland. In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve. Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn...

10 editions

Landrin201 reviewed The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time, #4)

Review from a long-time fan (spoilers for previous books, not for this one)

5 stars

The Shadow Rising is where most fans really fall in love with this series, for good reason.

Firstly, and this is a mild spoiler: you're not getting an ending identical to the last 3 books again. This ending is radically different, and significantly better.

Second, the character development in this book is absolutely amazing. Every single character develops in this book, and if you re-read The Dragon Reborn the development becomes VERY apparent. This is also where you start to really see the scope of what Jordan is writing; he develops the world enormously in this book, in ways you may not be expecting going in. The previous books made the world feel big; this one made it feel deep.

I think this book is among the best in the series for juggling the ensemble. There are 3 major plotlines in the book, all following different characters in different parts …

The Shadow Rising is where most fans really fall in love with this series, for good reason.

Firstly, and this is a mild spoiler: you're not getting an ending identical to the last 3 books again. This ending is radically different, and significantly better.

Second, the character development in this book is absolutely amazing. Every single character develops in this book, and if you re-read The Dragon Reborn the development becomes VERY apparent. This is also where you start to really see the scope of what Jordan is writing; he develops the world enormously in this book, in ways you may not be expecting going in. The previous books made the world feel big; this one made it feel deep.

I think this book is among the best in the series for juggling the ensemble. There are 3 major plotlines in the book, all following different characters in different parts of the world. No one plotline is given too much attention, and all of them mirror each other in really interesting ways. None of the plotlines feels shoehorned in or inorganic; they all work really well together.

This is easily in the top 6 of the series, without a doubt.