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Title: Better than I'd hoped.
Review: "The Shadow Rising" left me expecting disappointment in Book 5 (and it was fairly obvious that there *would* be a Book 5), but "The Fires of Heaven" was better than I expected.This is mostly because we finally get some insight into the world of the Aiel, who are definitely one of the most fascinating cultures I've come across in fantasy. Even if the inspiration for them is fairly obvious, Jordan does some impressive things with them, and with the reaction of the western "wetlanders" to their latest incursion.Other than that, this book has simply added to a series that is becoming top-heavy, and in danger of crushing itself under its own weight. Since of all of the characters in the book, it is Egwene who develops the most, I would rather have had Rand's tale wrapped up long ago, and had a (concurrent?) story about her instead.But no, the Last Battle is yet to come, and I'm sorry to say, the sooner the better
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