Customer Reviews
amazing - By: J. Colclough, 07 May 2008 
i find it hard not to get to carried away with this series....i forget the difference between reality & the amazing world jordan has created! but it!
Lengthy and diverse - By: Mr. G. Battle, 28 Dec 2007 
The Shadow Rising is definitely a book dividedin to thirds. The first few hundred pages expertly entwines the build up of this chapter with a summary of the last three books. There is then a further, less pacey section with deals with culture, exploration of new contentin the form of dreamscapes & the further definition of the Forsaken, the minions of evil. This middle section is tough going & before the action gets going another four hundred pages have passed. The final third, a siege, a daring infiltration & a clash of culture are all well crafted & ensure the first two thirds are well spent. Many of the main plot lines are closed, with a myriad of new paths created to ensure the fifth instalment is eagerly sought out. Overall, Shadow Rising is a competent entryin the series, but it is too long, with content that could be presentedin a more slick fashion.
A must read for all sci fi/fantasy lovers - By: E. Gladwell, 10 Sep 2007 this is an amazing series that takes the reader into a completly different world, as impressive as Tolkein's middle earth this series introduce's Jordan's great talent. A must read for all sci fi/fantasy lovers!
Undoubtedly the most intricate fantasy world ever created. - By: Ryan, 03 Jul 2007 What Tolkein had only begun to achievein LOTR - to construct a whole other world - Robert Jordan is fulfillingin grand style. Whereas Tolkein told a rather tight, focused story of a relatively small group of people, whose adventures take different paths through various landscapes, hinting at the histories & cultures he envisions, Jordan's vision is much more sprawling & complete; takingin an entire continent, intricately constructing countries & peoples, with their individual customs, beliefs & politics. This can ultimately lead to an overload of information at times; the sheer number of characters you need to keep track of is staggering, & although Jordan's reminders can be sometimes jarringly out of place - no matter how subtle - they are required to keep up with many of the less prominent plot threads.
And the plot developmentin this book is the best so far, with many of the more prominent characters finally getting a chance to shine without relying heavily of support from those around them, & all the carefully woven elements from the first quarter of the series finally bearing tangible fruit. In many places, Jordan manages a hat trick of not only extending the history & canonical lore of the world even further whilst simultaneously progressing the storyline, but at the same time threadsin information & characters which you just know are going to open up even more of the samein later chapters & books.
The pace of the book is fantastic; Jordan manages to thread the narrative skilfully throughout, whilst keeping the action flowingin a strong, steady stream, making sure there's always something to keep you reading - almost all of the time, at least.
One of the few flaws of book 4 is that some of the more obtuse subplots do tend to receive an seemingly unnecessary amount of attention. Whilst all the extra background will doubtless come into playin later books, reading through large chunks set aside from any of the main plot lines or characters can feel like a bit of a slog sometimes.
I would have to say that book 4 has been my favourite so far, with not only the characters becoming much stronger, but also the way that all the information scattered throughout the first three books is being pulled into a rich tapestry serving as the backdrop to a story that can be called nothing less than epic.
Brilliant! - By: J. Ireland, 26 Jul 2006 If you enjoyed the first 3 books you will love this one, provided you take the time & effort. There is lots of travelling of the characters throughout the book which can get a bit tedious, but the excitement of the battles & comfrontations of the characters more than makes up for it. The plot is more equally divided thanin the previous books with chapters from the points of view from all the major characters. I particularly thought the hunt for the black ajah was the most exciting part of the book & jordan has developed the ladies Nynaeve, Elayne & Egwene making them more like aes sedai with each chapterin their way of thinking & giving them more independence than before.
