The Fires of Heaven

October 18, 1993
Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, continues his effort to unify the diverse people of a discordant world against the Dark One in this fifth tome of the Wheel of Time series (begun with The Eye of the World ). While the Aes Sedai, women who channel the One Power, and the Forsaken, ancient disciples of the Dark One, strive to bend him to their purposes, Rand leads the clans of the Aiel in a war of unification. Rand must try to master his powers as a man who can channel, while eluding the concomitant madness, as two groups of women attempt to come to his aid. His love, Elayne, Daughter-Heir of Andor, and Nynaeve, both Aes Sedai in training, join a circus to evade an angry sisterhood, and Siuan Sanche, former leader of the Aes Sedai now stripped of her powers, and two companions seek other rebels in an attempt to avert the final doom. Jordan deftly weaves details from previous books into this narrative and includes a glossary so that new readers can pick up the saga at this point. But all should beware: the few months covered here suggest it may be years and many more volumes before this series reaches its conclusion.

Once again the Wheel turns, and the world moves closer to war and destruction. The Dragon Reborn grows increasingly isolated, the Forsaken have grown in strength, and the White Tower is in disarray in Volume 5 of this series. Kate Reading and Michael Kramer continue as narrators, providing a familiar characterization and delivery style for fans of the series. Fresh and engaged, they both maintain a strong pace, and, as they pass the story between them, complement one another. As new characters are introduced, they fit them into the fabric of the narration. In the hands of Kramer and Reading, this book goes by much more quickly than its length would suggest. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine