A Hardened Leader || The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan Review Part 1 (Wheel of Time #5)

[@Smycoo]

I’ll go over Nynaeve more in-depth in part 2 of the review so please keep the counterpoints for then 🙏🏽😆

[@anthonybiggs6141]

Great review btw

[@Smycoo]

@@anthonybiggs6141 thank you! 😁

[@philipgriessel5315]

Mat is the GOAT

[@Smycoo]

I'm not able to decide between the 3 boys just yet! 😆

[@nigelnicholas4832]

Definitely my favourite character. Rand is too nuts. Perrin is too nice and solid. Matt is a rogue who knows how to have a good time but still gets things done.

[@avendesora7165]

Agreed!

[@Jerome616]

A great review, I really appreciated your critiques and I’m happy you still enjoyed the book.

[@Smycoo]

Thanks again Bryce! 😄

[@dhruvseoni8418]

Sooo what did you think of the Egwene-Nynaeve Dreamworld “lesson”

[@Smycoo]

Lol I hated it of course 😆. Talked about it in my part 2 for this.

[@DmGray]

Ahh, the Jordan thirst. tbf, I *do* enjoy the idea that Nynaeve goes from prim and proper to totally lying to herself that she's still prim and proper as she becomes the kind of woman she SAYS she hates. On Min, you're definitely right on all counts, but I saw it more as angst and insecurity. I think I still to this day identify so hard with that internal voice telling you you're not good enough and need to change. I saw that struggle as something very real, especially as her understanding of her viewings around Rand *do* upset her.

[@anthonybiggs6141]

i liked books four through six the most, with book six being a huge game changer and having arguably one of the best scenes in the entire series.

[@anthonybiggs6141]

Also, there's so much behind the scenes stuff in book five that wont be revealed till about five or six books later.

[@Smycoo]

@@anthonybiggs6141 yea I got the feeling there was a lot of set up in book 5. I’ve heard from a few people something crazy happens in book 6 so I’m excited to see what that is!

[@therefep9723]

Ayyyy been waiting for this one. Time to watch 😂

[@tommitchell6314]

Great review! I’ve just today finished book 5. Surely no chance those two characters that fell through the doorway are dead?! (Trying to avoid spoilers in the comments) Would be such unsatisfying deaths for 2 big characters.

[@Smycoo]

I feel the same! I explained why for one of them in this but in my part 2 video for this book I explain why I think the other may make a return. It's hard to answer this without spoilers lol. Maybe I should make a discord at some point. 🤔

[@tommitchell6314]

@@Smycoo let me know if you do! I’m at the same point as you in the series so would be good to have a chat with you and potentially others about theories. Also I have no idea when to read the prequel

[@Smycoo]

@@tommitchell6314 I think I'll make one for next video as I'm halfway through LoC and the theories are driving me nuts 😆 Honestly not sure if I even want to read the prequel I don't particulary care about the main characters in it. I was thinking I'd just leave it and read it a while after I'm done the series and read it when I'm craving a return to the world without a full reread.

[@alexmartini3283]

I was so happy when nyneave got put in her place by Egwene. Basically the only time I have been happy to read about nyneave

[@Smycoo]

Haha me too. But then Egwene ruined it next chapter when you see why she did it.

[@someweeb4110]

@@Smycoo that's when Egwene secured #1 annoying piece of shit slot of the 3 thots for me

[@garethbread]

It’s so interesting to see such wildly different perspectives. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a fictional character as much as egwene in those chapters, just so power hungry, arrogant and manipulative. Nynaeve is just tempestuous and not self aware, which makes her full arc absolutely amazing from my pov

[@sebastiandalpozzo5362]

You forgot to put Faile down the bottom

[@Smycoo]

Haha I actually like Faile. I think she’s a good character but it is frustrating that Perrin is 100x worse because of her.

[@TheMightyBone]

Nice review. Good to hear a fresh look at the series. Those of us who read when we were much younger(I was like 12) can have trouble teasing out nostalgia versus actual good elements Nynaeve has always sucked though. This was a book I did like more on later reads; first read The Shadow Rising I liked a lot better, and it was one of my faves while the next few were not. Wish I could say the foreshadowing and hand-holdy stuff gets better, but while there are some slogs ahead, there are also some of the most epic scenes in the whole series. If you finish the series(and Malazan) and are looking for fantasy with great characters since I get the impression you like good character, check out the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. The characters there will make everyone in WoT look 1 dimensional and it's a very solid series, and the first 3 can be read standalone so a bit quicker than WoT or Malazan.

[@Smycoo]

Yea Nynaeve wasn't great in this. Which sucks because she had the best growth of any of the characters in it. The First Law trilogy is actually the series I'm starting after WoT. At the moment I'm planning on doing First Law > Prince of Thorns (maybe the whole trilogy not sure) > Faithful and the fallen > greenbone saga. Then Malazan soonish after those. If you have any other series suggestions please do share!

[@nigelnicholas4832]

I'm on crown. Only way I have made it this far is because of audibles. I play chess and listen to the book during the boring parts. The whole series has been over written. But I am engaged with the characters so... Not sure why prime changed the plot and characters so much . With all the filler that Jordan spews out. They could easily edit and make an 8hr series.

[@Smycoo]

Maybe I’ll have to listen to the audio sped up for the slog books 😆

[@TheAlmightyOAF]

I didn’t hate nynaeve that much in this book 🤣🤣

[@Smycoo]

Couldn’t stand her! 😭😂 She did get a lot better in the final 1/4 to be fair. I think Jordan just wasted too much time with her POVs which resulted in too much time in her head and reading her annoying thoughts all the time which just got me more and more annoyed as I read.

[@kinslayermds]

When the writing gets needlessly verbose I tend to think that Jordan was trying to elicit the sensation of time grinding to a halt.

[@Smycoo]

Well he definitely succeeded if that was his intent!

[@thesemonies5797]

There's so many bosoms, necklines, clingy dresses, sniffing, smoothing skirts, and wool-headed men 😂

[@Smycoo]

How could I forget the sniffs and skirt smoothing!! 🤦🏽‍♂️🤣

[@TheMightyBone]

Plenty of knuckles turning white, clenched jaws, eyes widening in suprise, and hauty stares as well.

[@Smycoo]

@@TheMightyBone Stop! Don't make me relive it! 😆

[@stevecherney1612]

It is be very Hard right now, not to comment. At ease private!

[@Smycoo]

😂😂

[@therefep9723]

I'd say stick with the split videos, easier to digest 30 minute videos and that way you can keep serving up content since these books are kinda chonky. Bro the bosoms/60 only go up from here. RJ was a great author but I swear I can detail all his fetishes just by reading this series haha. Wouldn't be too bad, but I swear RJ couldn't write a good romance to save his life. The books do dramatically slow down from here on out (the 'slog' is generally considered to be books 8-10, but imo both 6 and 7 plod a lot too). However, don't let that discourage you cuz some of the best moments and climaxes in the series happen in these books. I also see you pick up a whole lot more than I do when I read haha. You're never surprised by shit I was blown away by, maybe I should start reading more carefully lmao. RIP my boy Asmodean and as always, fuck egwene.

[@Smycoo]

bosoms/60 😂 I don't think it'll annoy me as much in future books I was just already not in the mood to be accepting of smaller annoyances reading this. Hopefully the slog isn't too bad I don't mind if it slows down as long as it feels like something's happening.