THE FIRES OF HEAVEN (The Wheel of Time #5) by Robert Jordan ⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written May 11, 2020)

Coming in hot off the excitement of #4, this book cools things down to a level that’s repetitive and disappointing. I had hoped I wouldn’t get that feeling until further into the series, but here it is.

This was way too long, point blank.

I didn’t feel like much was happening until the last 100 pages, which was 860 too late. I spent an embarrassing number of pages groggy-reading and scanning through extended descriptions, searching for the passages that mattered. The occasional checkpoint of interest came along, but it generally only led to another delay in action.

There’s two frustrating tactics continually popping up that unnecessarily raise the page count and slow the flow: repeating points over and over, especially points covered in multiple volumes before, and using travel to move the plot along. The POV characters are almost never in one place for an extended period of time, and it feels like you’re always waiting for them to get to their destination for the compelling parts to happen. Book 4 was great because each character was settled in one of Tanchico/Two Rivers/Rhuidean/Tar Valon by the 2nd half or so of the book, allowing tension to build and come to a head with the eruption of conflict. This book’s only exceptional conflict ended up being a sudden twist climax that didn’t have the same payoff. A pretty epic twist/ending, but the lead up made it feel a bit cheap.

I’m hoping this entry in the series was more about moving pieces where they need to be on the board for the next set of showdowns, kind of like reestablishing the world in the first episode of a season after a game-changing finale; ya gotta pick back up somewhere. And there’s a saving grace in the rich world that’s been designed and questions unanswered that maintain a thirst for the next book. Less than the last to be sure, and the page count of the books ahead has me groaning more than ever.