Scan barcode
A review by khaleesiofthegreatwhitenorth
The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
TLDR: General fantasy worldbuilding and related plot development stopped me from DNFing the series on this book, because certain [female] character descriptions/plot points are painful reminders of the era it was written in
—
If it weren’t for the fascinating elements of the overall plot and an overall interest in seeing Brandon Sanderson’s take on this series later (by finishing it for RJ post mortem) I would’ve DNFed the series on this book. This book dragged for far too long at the beginning (if this wasn’t the start of “the slog” I’m honestly nervous for books 7/8), and even when things started getting interesting they were marred by the way RJ describes most of the women. Maybe the fact I took such a long break between ending book 4 and starting this one is an Influencing factor but this book felt the most atrocious for the endless descriptions of women’s bodies (which never seem to matter when it’s men, how slender or plump are they RJ?!) and felt like it desperately needed an editor. Especially when it came to Nynaeve’s chapters, my god she I never thought I’d miss Faile (who was insufferable for about 80-90% of book 4). I know this was written in the early 90s but come on. “She wasn’t fat, she was beautiful” almost did me in.
But I’m in too damn deep (don’t buy hardcovers of book series you haven’t read before until you’re REALLY SURE) and even so I do mean it when I say the overall plot is fascinating. The dream world stuff (I audiobooked this almost exclusively I will never be able to spell it now lol) is great and the balefire element we get introduced to… curse you for being so creative with your fantasy worldbuilding RJ *fist shake*😅
—
If it weren’t for the fascinating elements of the overall plot and an overall interest in seeing Brandon Sanderson’s take on this series later (by finishing it for RJ post mortem) I would’ve DNFed the series on this book. This book dragged for far too long at the beginning (if this wasn’t the start of “the slog” I’m honestly nervous for books 7/8), and even when things started getting interesting they were marred by the way RJ describes most of the women. Maybe the fact I took such a long break between ending book 4 and starting this one is an Influencing factor but this book felt the most atrocious for the endless descriptions of women’s bodies (which never seem to matter when it’s men, how slender or plump are they RJ?!) and felt like it desperately needed an editor. Especially when it came to Nynaeve’s chapters, my god she I never thought I’d miss Faile (who was insufferable for about 80-90% of book 4). I know this was written in the early 90s but come on. “She wasn’t fat, she was beautiful” almost did me in.
But I’m in too damn deep (don’t buy hardcovers of book series you haven’t read before until you’re REALLY SURE) and even so I do mean it when I say the overall plot is fascinating. The dream world stuff (I audiobooked this almost exclusively I will never be able to spell it now lol) is great and the balefire element we get introduced to… curse you for being so creative with your fantasy worldbuilding RJ *fist shake*😅
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Violence, and War