The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time, Book 4) (U)

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.....BookListThe fourth volume of the most ambitious American fantasy saga, The Wheel of Time, continues to suggest that it will also be the finest. The most negative thing one can say of it is that in order to keep all the narrative threads going, Jordan has made this book a trifle more episodic than the first three. But the episodes themselves are gems, some of them humorous--e.g., various women's pursuits of Rand, the Dragon Reborn, while he tries to establish leadership over the desert-dwelling Aiel--others starkly terrifying--e.g., Perrin's leadership of the defense of Two Rivers against a swarm of Trollocs and the intrigues that are rending the Aes Sedai's ranks at the worst of all possible times. The size of this installment in Jordan's saga continues to allow him immense richness and detail in world building. This volume, indeed the whole saga, surpasses all but a few of its peers and is highly recommended for all collections.