The Shadow Rising is the fourth installment in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series, and it is one of the most important books in that series. It advances the story more than almost all of the other books and sets the table for how characters evolve as the series continues.
The story accelerates at a rapid pace in this book. Readers shouldn’t rush through this one. So many vital facets of the overall tale are first mentioned or revealed in The Shadow Rising. Take your time and savor the story. It will be hard because you won’t want to put this book down. It may be one of the longest in the series, but it may take you the least time to read.
In The Dragon Reborn, lead character Rand al’Thor teamed up with the Aiel people to seize the Stone of Tear, a previously unassailable fortress in the city of Tear. He has proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn and is now the ruler of the country of Tear as well. As the Dragon, he must decide what to do next. It has to be something that will prepare him for the coming Last Battle between the forces of good and evil, but he doesn’t want to be tied down by the Aes Sedai sorceresses in the White Tower, who are also laboring to prepare for the Last Battle.
The time spent in the Stone of Tear during the early portions of this book will mark the last time the five youngsters who first set out from the Two Rivers in the first book — Rand and his friends Mat, Perrin, Egwene and Nynaeve — will all be in the same place at the same time until book 14, the final book in the series.
Ta’veren
A ta’veren is a person around whom the pattern of reality weaves itself. The stronger the ta’veren, the more they affect the life threads around them. Rand al’Thor, Matrim Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara are all ta’veren, with Rand being the strongest. People close to them are pulled into their orbit, one way or another.
Readers get firsthand insight into how dangerous life can be around three ta’veren very early in this book, and it is crucial to keep this in mind throughout the series. The impacts of these three characters being ta’veren are felt over and over.
Points of View in The Shadow Rising
In the first three books, the points of view were limited mainly to the characters from the Two Rivers. The Shadow Rising is a departure from this writing style. According to The Wheel of Time wiki, nearly 50 percent of this book is told from the points of view of Rand and Perrin, and another 30 percent from Elayne Trakand, Egwene al’Vere, and Mat. The remaining 20 percent is split among 15 other characters.
Some readers may lose track of all of the characters and their points of view, but the expansion of POV characters is very intentional on Jordan's part. There is too much going on in this world for everything to be seen through the eyes of just a few characters. These brief moments where we step into the shoes of other characters give readers an understanding of what is going on and puts events in a wider context.
The Aiel
In The Shadow Rising, the readers learn about the Aiel and why they are crucial to Rand. The Aiel prophecies aren’t the same as those popular among the nations west of the mountain range known as the Spine of the World. They have their own. They are looking for He Who Comes With the Dawn, a messianic figure known elsewhere as the Dragon REborn.
Not only do we learn about how different life is in the Waste, where the Aiel live, but we learn the hard truth about the Aiel and their past and why they live there. That truth is known only to the leaders of the Aiel, and not everyone can accept that knowledge.
What’s revealed in The Shadow Rising will forever alter future events in this series, and the time Rand spends in the Aiel Waste is essential to his story. It is the most significant even in Rand’s life to date, outside of him learning he can channel and is the Dragon Reborn.
In The White Tower
Crucial events occur in the White Tower of the Aes Sedai. Siuan Sanche, leader of the powerful organization, is removed from her office and stilled, meaning she's permanently cut off from the One Power, which essentially means she can no longer use magic. Her Keeper of the Flame, Leane Sharif, shares her fate. They are questioned and sentenced to death by rebel Aes Sedai, but Min, who is in the Tower to spy for Siuan, helps them escape. They take Logain, the gentled false dragon, along with them.
Elaida, the former Aes Sedai consultant to Morgase, the Queen of Andor, assumes the Amyrlin Seat. Her motives for the coup are somewhat unclear, and this storyline is a bit incongruous with what readers already know about how the White Tower functions. Amyrlin Seats are rarely removed and only for the most grievous infractions. This action serves as a springboard for a significant plotline.
Lord Perrin
Word reaches Tear that Whitecloaks — the derogatory name for the mercenary army the Children of the Light — have invaded the Two Rivers, there Rand and his friends grew up. Perrin’s ta’veren pull leads him to part ways with Rand to protect their home village. Perrin had a previous run-in with the Children of the Light and knows they consider him a Darkfriend and a murderer. Rightfully so, Perrin is worried about his family and friends.
Perrin, Faile, Loial, and three Aiel travel the Ways to the Two Rivers, where they discover that not only are there Whitecloaks in the area but also an army of Trollocs bent on destroying the home village of the Dragon Reborn.
This culminates in a massive battle in which the Two Rivers folk fight off Trollocs. During these events, the people Perrin grew up with, young and old alike, start calling him My Lord, and the title sticks. He marries Faile, and she also becomes a Lady of the Two Rivers.
Hunting the Black Ajah
Perrin isn’t the only one who gets separated from Rand in this book. Nynaeve and Elayne, who has declared her love for the Dragon Reborn, are both Aes Sedai trainees in the White Tower. Before the coup, they head to the city of Tanchino to search for the 11 Black Ajah Aes Sedai who escaped them in Tear. Thom Merrilin and Juilin Sandar go with them as protection. Not only are they searching for the Black Ajah, but also for something in Tanchino that could cause great harm to Rand.
During their adventures, the foursome save the Panarch of Tarabon from captivity by the Black Ajah, getting some help from a Seanchan woman named Egeanin and the ship captain Bayle Domon along the way.
They also find the object they're looking for: a magical artifact called an a’dam. They have seen a’dams before, in Falme. They are a leash of sorts that forces someone with the One Power to obey the wishes of the person holding the leash. The a’dam they find in Tanchino can be used on a man who can channel and is a grave danger to Rand.
The Forsaken
The Forsaken are powerful channelers who serve the malevolent Dark One. They play key roles in The Shadow Rising, as in every book. At the end of The Shadow Rising, Rand battles and subdues Asmodean, cutting off his oaths to the Dark One. The Forsaken Lanfear still stalks Rand as well. Her ambitions are for her and Rand to rule when the Dark One breaks free of his prison.
Nynaeve duels it out with the Forsaken Moghedien in Tanchino and captures her, though she escapes. Nynaeve now knows she has enough power to hold her own against the Forsaken but must be wary of being caught unawares if Moghedien tries to get revenge.
The Shadow Rising drives the narrative forward and ramps up character development. The primary characters from Two Rivers have all changed significantly since Moiraine whisked them away from their homes early in The Eye of the World. They are tougher, smarter, and more worldly. They are starting to understand that the weight of the world will eventually rest on their shoulders, and they must be prepared.
The events of The Shadow Rising will be adapted for TV in the upcoming third season of Prime Video's The Wheel of Time show, which will premiere on March 13. So now is the perfect time to read it.
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