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gemspy7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
midici's review against another edition
4.0
*Re-read
Just as the first book introduced the main characters and provided world-building, this book expands on what happened previously by drastically increasing the scope of the world and the people we follow.
At the end of the first book Rand discovers he can channel, and is horrified. Moiraine attempts to convince him he is the Dragon Reborn, prophecised to fight the Dark One (amongst several other things - there are a ton of prophecies in this book) but Rand refuses to believe it.
Nynaeve and Eugwene need to go to Tar Valon to learn to channel, and after an attack on Sheinar that results in the loss of the Horn of Valere and the dagger Mat needs to stay alive, the main group spilt up once more. The women to the Tower (with some exceptions), the men to chase the Horn and dagger.
If the first book introduced the mystery of why these people were being chased by monsters and dark friends, this second book is about the same characters coming into their powers, and drastically increasing the complexity of this world. Nynaeve and Eugwene reunite with two characters from the first book, Min and Elyane, at Tar Valon. There, they all work on their abilities - but we also see that the Aes Sedai are not some monolithic organization. There are factions and rivalries, and ongoing power struggles. We also learn more about how channeling works.
The Sheinarian soldiers consist of an entire roster of characters, dedicated to regaining the Horn of Valere, even if they have a wide variety of reasons for doing so. Perrin, reluctantly, embraces his wolf speaking in order to help Hurin, who can "smell" crimes.
The biggest struggle of course, is Rand. He knows he can channel, but doesn't know how. He knows the power will drive him mad, and that if he is found out by the Aes Sedai he will be "gentled" and lose the will to live.
We also see much more of the Seachan, Artur Hawking's descendants who have returned from across the ocean to retake the whole continent. They collar the woman that can channel and use them for battle, and take great offense to the whole principle of Aes Sedai. This is going to be one of the ways in which the history of this world, forgotten or otherwise, starts to play a key role in the events unfolding currently.
The book ends with a battle as epic as that in the first book. Caught between the White Cloaks and the Seachan, Mat blows the Horn of Valere, and the army of past heroes come to his call. As they battle below, in the sky Rand fights the Dark One. Rand survives the battle barely, but he has now been officially proclaimed the dragon reborn. I am not sure if this is true but I think this book (and possibly the first) resulted in Rand fulfilling one of the prophecies about the Dragon Reborn. It's possible the rest of the books will follow that format as well.
Just as the first book introduced the main characters and provided world-building, this book expands on what happened previously by drastically increasing the scope of the world and the people we follow.
At the end of the first book Rand discovers he can channel, and is horrified. Moiraine attempts to convince him he is the Dragon Reborn, prophecised to fight the Dark One (amongst several other things - there are a ton of prophecies in this book) but Rand refuses to believe it.
Nynaeve and Eugwene need to go to Tar Valon to learn to channel, and after an attack on Sheinar that results in the loss of the Horn of Valere and the dagger Mat needs to stay alive, the main group spilt up once more. The women to the Tower (with some exceptions), the men to chase the Horn and dagger.
If the first book introduced the mystery of why these people were being chased by monsters and dark friends, this second book is about the same characters coming into their powers, and drastically increasing the complexity of this world. Nynaeve and Eugwene reunite with two characters from the first book, Min and Elyane, at Tar Valon. There, they all work on their abilities - but we also see that the Aes Sedai are not some monolithic organization. There are factions and rivalries, and ongoing power struggles. We also learn more about how channeling works.
The Sheinarian soldiers consist of an entire roster of characters, dedicated to regaining the Horn of Valere, even if they have a wide variety of reasons for doing so. Perrin, reluctantly, embraces his wolf speaking in order to help Hurin, who can "smell" crimes.
The biggest struggle of course, is Rand. He knows he can channel, but doesn't know how. He knows the power will drive him mad, and that if he is found out by the Aes Sedai he will be "gentled" and lose the will to live.
We also see much more of the Seachan, Artur Hawking's descendants who have returned from across the ocean to retake the whole continent. They collar the woman that can channel and use them for battle, and take great offense to the whole principle of Aes Sedai. This is going to be one of the ways in which the history of this world, forgotten or otherwise, starts to play a key role in the events unfolding currently.
The book ends with a battle as epic as that in the first book. Caught between the White Cloaks and the Seachan, Mat blows the Horn of Valere, and the army of past heroes come to his call. As they battle below, in the sky Rand fights the Dark One. Rand survives the battle barely, but he has now been officially proclaimed the dragon reborn. I am not sure if this is true but I think this book (and possibly the first) resulted in Rand fulfilling one of the prophecies about the Dragon Reborn. It's possible the rest of the books will follow that format as well.
pemillik7's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
redeyesinferno's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cultneophyte7's review against another edition
5.0
The book that actually made me fall in love with Wheel of Time. Everything that felt generic about The Eye of the World no longer prevalent, this book was just incredible. Character development for every single one of the Two Rivers gang off the charts, and the whole ending sequence in Falme just oozing epicness.
mirandathebatchelor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maloki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Not only is the book amazing, and never really feels like it's dragging on just for the sake of it, the narration by Rosamund Pike is brilliant.
protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
The Great Hunt brings more to the table than The Eye of the World because more time is spent enriching each of the characters beyond just Rand. The hunt for the horn was a nice quest that moved the story along and each side quest was rather well paced and there were few weak spots. I like that Jordan doesn't overwhelm the reader with more and more characters, but slowly introduces them so that you can keep track of those that will be important.
joeypriestley's review against another edition
3.5
Gender essentialism really starting to show it's strong faults- real disservice to the women in this one. Namely Egwene in captivity and ge ting broken out- which could've been great and interesting development- just felt flat and boring. I got really excited thinking Nynaeve & Elayne were going to get some funny or interesting bonding on the road like Rand & Matt, only for the whole thing to be skipped. Not even a mention of spoiled Elayne- daughter heir to Andor- struggling to adapt to a rough life on the road? Really genuinely annoyed me both whilst reading the book and not, I ended up ranting to an number of people in my life over the unfulfilled potential of many aspects of this book.
Rand's POV is noticeably the weakest and least interesting. Really not enough Moiraine
Rand's POV is noticeably the weakest and least interesting. Really not enough Moiraine
fionajackson's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this even better than the first. So excited to be plunged back in to a sprawling fantasy series.