The Shadow Rising

Publisher's Summary

The seals of Shayol Ghul are weak now, and the Dark One reaches out in The Shadow Rising, book four of The Wheel of Time, as The Shadow is rising to cover humankind. In the Stone of Tear, the Lord Dragon considers his next move. It will be something no one expects, not the Black Ajah, not Tairen nobles, not Aes Sedai, not Egwene or Elayne or Nynaeve. Against the Shadow rising stands the Dragon Reborn.

Listen to more books in The Wheel of Time series.

©1992 Robert Jordan (P)1997 Books on Tape

Critic Reviews

"Jordan's multivolume epic continues to live up to its high ambitions. Complex plotting, an array of strong characters, lavish detail, and a panoramic scope make this series a feast for fantasy aficionados." (Library Journal)
"The fourth volume of the most ambitious American fantasy saga continues to suggest that The Wheel of Time will also be the finest." (Booklist)

The BEST of the Wheel of Time

Great development of Perrin and a decent amount of Mat, this novel stands out as the most emotional and most ecstatic novel in the series. This turn in the series is the most engaging and enjoyable. I have listened to it 4 times now and each time experience a tightening in my throat when...well better not spoil it. You will not regret this one!

22 of 24 people found this review helpful

Best Book So Far

Now totally addicted to the pattern that Jordan has woven, I have to admit this last installment was by far my favorite. YES, critics of Jordan are right in that he can describe every detail in the most mundane scenes...and YES, his characters are a bit one dimensional in their personas...BUT with a story this complex I have to admit I appreciate characters that I know won't change on me from chapter to chapter or book to book. What I think most critics miss is that this book is about the storyline and the pattern, not just about the characters that play within it.

This past week I learned that Jordon has died and that he didn't finish his last book in the series (and rumor has it the last installment is a mammoth!). I am committed to finishing this out and seeing Rand through as the Dragon reborn, finding out what Lord Perin Golden Eyes does, and discover what's up with Matt and his flair for luck and history. 4 books down, 8 more to go!

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

lances say

Through out the Wheel of Time different threads of each part continue to get more and more intriguing. The changes/challenges each character undergoe never fail to leave you wanting more.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Excellent Book

I believe this is one of the best in the series. I can't wait for the Fires of Heaven to come out. I really pray it is the unabridged version!

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Best in the series yet

This series has been fantastic, and this book is the best so far. Can't wait to get the next one...

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

I'm still listening...

I am struggling with continuing this series. The overall concept is intriguing but the writing is difficult sometimes. Things happen to characters that after four books we still have no explanation for, the girls are airheads at the best of times, oh Rand this and oh Rand that and all of the sudden he and Egwayne have no feelings for each other with no lead up, Elaine writes two letters that we have no insight into, Minh is supposed to be street savvy yet she sounds like an idiot when it comes to the opposite sex and someone please shoot me when Nineavh speaks. She's mean and grouchy and how are we supposed to like her or how do the others like her? Anyways I'm still listening because it is entertaining but im hoping Mr. Jordan connects the dots and smartens up the characters in the rest of the books.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great series + Great narration = must read.

Great series + Great narration = must read

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

the best of the best

You are reading the best epic fantasy series there is. period. It may take a while to get into it but you will. There are 2600 plus characters but don't get scared teenagers read this every day. You will know these peoples as "friends" and "enemies" and like your own family. Read by the dynamic duo of recitation kate reading and michael kramer... they pull it all together .. I switch genres just to listen to them... It [the series] is really one huge wonderful story broken into 14 too short books that nobody wants to see ended..I can not express how good these books are. I have started 16 different friends reading TWoT and they are all addicted. You think that maybe the books are enchanted some how???
If fantasy is your genre you have arrived....... paul t.

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Better than its predecessors

I have been lukewarm at best about most of the series so far, as Jordan's penchant for exhaustive repetition is nothing short of maddening, but in this book he manages to drop it (along with the omnipresent adolescent angst that manages to overshadow every significant event by burying it under a mountain of triviality) long enough to achieve a few moments with some genuine emotional resonance. To avoid posting any spoilers, I will refrain from specifics, but the most poignant are the moments of history that Rand views, and they succeed where so many other efforts by Jordan fail because he--probably unintentionally--drops his usual writing devices and gets out of the way to simply narrate the events for us. The contrast between this part and most of the rest of the series is really amazing, and shows just how strongly we can feel the emotions of the moment without having to have it spelled out repeatedly for us both before and afterward. It's unfortunate that Jordan seems to trust the intelligence of his readers so little.

So kudos to the author for some really great moments in this book (there are one or two more, but I cannot describe them without giving things away). I wish there were more like them throughout the rest of the series.

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

Great story....

Really fun read. My only gripe is that the narrators often do not take a long enough break between chapters, so it can be a bit confusing as to when a new chapter begins.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Where do we go from Here?

So Rand has taken Callandor. Forsaken are falling, and Lanfear has staked a claim on Lews Therin in his sheppard costume of this age. In book 3 we were introduced to Aiel, and suddenly they are a key component to Rand's victory at Tear and at what cost? Rand must find answers, and although Tear outlaws channeling and anything to do with channelling, oddly it is their store of angreal that provides answers (albeit cryptic for now), and Mat Cauthon starts to come into his own here too.
Had book 1's journey been written with such focus and intent as this book, it would easily have been five stars and a brilliant novel in its own right. The story is clearly, firmly lodged in Jordan's mind and one can't help but imagine him over a computer or typewriter furiously churning out this brilliant continuation as it develops in his mind.
This book answers such questions as Who is Rand? What do the Aiel have to do with anything? Who are the forsaken, really? What roles do Mat and Perrin play in Rand's journey? And on Kate Redding's side, Nynaeve al'Meara, Elaine Trakand, and Egwene al'Vere really start to develop as they head to Tanchico opening up the world to the reader from the Aiel waste in the east right across to the west, in search of the black sisters that Siuan Sanche set them to hunt.
Just for the history presented in this book alone as exposition makes it 5 stars! Brilliant in every way, and the beginning of the development of Mat as a battle leader is handled beautifully!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The story grows and grows

I was captured and in the history of brilliant books I couldn’t put it down and I look forward to the next book coming to me .

cuts in the audio lower performance quality

Often the audio paused more than as expected between sentences where we should here the continuation of the story. this seems to be due to the cut and edition of difference recordings. I noticed this for the first time in book 3, but in this one this issue seems more frequent and it decreases the performance quality m

love it

another excellent continuation of the series, compared to the previous novels it meanders more but still thoroughly enjoyed.

What a listen

This is the set to walk to . Read them all the first time . Love walking and listening

loving the series

reading along with it, at certain parts different names were said or paragraph still makes sense

Damn fine!

They painted the pictures in me head nearly as well as when i read the books :) Cant fault the book or the readers, keep it moving along nicely. The only drawback, they dont pronounce some of the names as i did :)

keep it up!

one of the best so far

it was great. i feel like the characters finally get somewhere and the development is great in this book. it feels like a lot gets set in motion in this book

brilliant best fantasy series iv ever read

Great series
Great author
Brilliant narrator's that make the story and scenes immersive.
cant wait to read the other 11 now.

differing pronunciations

only thing that frustrates me in this audiobook is the narrators not pronouncing names and places the same, it makes me unsure how it should actually be said.