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mardana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Again, keeping the readers on edge. I enjoyed it, even though many passages where a bit hard to bear.
I would have liked some more Moiraine chapters.
Not a huge fan of the „the main character has all the pretty women swooning over him“-trope. It is more of a thing I would expect in a harem manga…
Also, why is Matt always so dense? It feels like is main roll is to be underestimated until he deus ex machina swoops in and saves the day and suddenly everyone is happy they kept him along, despite his annoying persona.
I liked the whole sul‘dam/damane lore and the twist it had.
Not a huge fan of the „the main character has all the pretty women swooning over him“-trope. It is more of a thing I would expect in a harem manga…
Also, why is Matt always so dense? It feels like is main roll is to be underestimated until he deus ex machina swoops in and saves the day and suddenly everyone is happy they kept him along, despite his annoying persona.
I liked the whole sul‘dam/damane lore and the twist it had.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
bookscattracks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Hello! I haven't finished a book in over a month! But it was real long and I had fun, so that's all that matters.
First thing that struck me was how different it was from the show. I knew people had said, but yeah, wow a lot of choices were made! I think most ended up being for the better, and some I'll hold judgement on as the series, both book and show, move forward.
Anyway! Here are some rambled yay and nays.
CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Yay:
Women! Honestly, it turns out I am very easy to please. Just put a group of women together doing pretty much anything and I will be happy. All of the scenes in the white tower, seeing Moiraine interact with other Aes Sedai, her very brief but much appreciated scene with Siuan, my best girls Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve and Min going on their little adventure, which okay didn't end great but still! I did love everything that came after too, as horrible as it was. I just loved the women in this book. Thank you women.
Moirrane and Lan. I think they had all of two, maybe three scenes in this book, so it might be weird to mention them, but they were some of my favourites. Any interaction of theirs is just so enticing, it feels like there's a hidden meaning behind every word, yes, give me more!
Elayne worrying they'd run out of money in a week and Nynaeve saying it'd last them a month, I love you both. Elayne then using her powers and risking certain death to steal an apple because she was worried about starving <3
'Men often mistake killing and revenge for justice. They seldom have the stomach for justice.' I support women's wrongs - in fiction - but I still loved this line from Nynaeve. It was a big change to the show, but it makes me wonder if we'll see a scene like this with Egwene later on in the book series... I DID gasp when I read another line that was word for word in the show from Nynaeve - 'I'll make you curse the first kiss your mother gave your father' - good to know it was a book original. Honestly, the parallels and contrasts between Egwene and Nynaeve are just so fascinating to me. I know people classify Nynaeve as the one with anger and control issues, but I have a feeling Egwene will be the one to keep an eye on moving forward....
The world in general just seemed more expansive, and the Seanchan were such a different and intriguing, albeit terrifying, addition. I'm excited to see what's still to come! I have heard tale of Sea Folk.....
Nay:
I loved Selene so much more in the show, which I think is a pretty universal opinion. It was just SO obvious she was sketchy, and I know Rand is meant to be a dumb boy but really, it was kind of patronising to the reader to keep that up for so long.
Jumping off of that, Rand is the only man for any of these ladies ???? They even got Min too ???? This espeically, at the very end, when she had had no interest in him before, had me perplexed. Was it just that she knew they'd end up together in the future? So was kind of resigned to it? Also Elayne straight up telling Egwene she liked him, and continuing to mention him at any opportunity. Big Sigh. I knew this was coming before I'd read, so I shouldn't be surpirsed, but it's still sad to see. I'm VERY interested to see where the show takes it, considering how they dealt with Moiraine and Siuan. Come on Rafe, I know you can make this right.
The men. I'm sorry, but it's no surprise that in general I just found the chapters following them lackluster compared to the women. The search for the horn and travelling through villages got repetitive, much like the first book. That's just something I'm resigned to with this series now.
Anyway! That was lot. Better than the first one, disappointed by some things, but pleasantly surprised by others, and excited to keep going!
First thing that struck me was how different it was from the show. I knew people had said, but yeah, wow a lot of choices were made! I think most ended up being for the better, and some I'll hold judgement on as the series, both book and show, move forward.
Anyway! Here are some rambled yay and nays.
CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Yay:
Women! Honestly, it turns out I am very easy to please. Just put a group of women together doing pretty much anything and I will be happy. All of the scenes in the white tower, seeing Moiraine interact with other Aes Sedai, her very brief but much appreciated scene with Siuan, my best girls Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve and Min going on their little adventure, which okay didn't end great but still! I did love everything that came after too, as horrible as it was. I just loved the women in this book. Thank you women.
Moirrane and Lan. I think they had all of two, maybe three scenes in this book, so it might be weird to mention them, but they were some of my favourites. Any interaction of theirs is just so enticing, it feels like there's a hidden meaning behind every word, yes, give me more!
Elayne worrying they'd run out of money in a week and Nynaeve saying it'd last them a month, I love you both. Elayne then using her powers and risking certain death to steal an apple because she was worried about starving <3
'Men often mistake killing and revenge for justice. They seldom have the stomach for justice.' I support women's wrongs - in fiction - but I still loved this line from Nynaeve. It was a big change to the show, but it makes me wonder if we'll see a scene like this with Egwene later on in the book series... I DID gasp when I read another line that was word for word in the show from Nynaeve - 'I'll make you curse the first kiss your mother gave your father' - good to know it was a book original. Honestly, the parallels and contrasts between Egwene and Nynaeve are just so fascinating to me. I know people classify Nynaeve as the one with anger and control issues, but I have a feeling Egwene will be the one to keep an eye on moving forward....
The world in general just seemed more expansive, and the Seanchan were such a different and intriguing, albeit terrifying, addition. I'm excited to see what's still to come! I have heard tale of Sea Folk.....
Nay:
I loved Selene so much more in the show, which I think is a pretty universal opinion. It was just SO obvious she was sketchy, and I know Rand is meant to be a dumb boy but really, it was kind of patronising to the reader to keep that up for so long.
Jumping off of that, Rand is the only man for any of these ladies ???? They even got Min too ???? This espeically, at the very end, when she had had no interest in him before, had me perplexed. Was it just that she knew they'd end up together in the future? So was kind of resigned to it? Also Elayne straight up telling Egwene she liked him, and continuing to mention him at any opportunity. Big Sigh. I knew this was coming before I'd read, so I shouldn't be surpirsed, but it's still sad to see. I'm VERY interested to see where the show takes it, considering how they dealt with Moiraine and Siuan. Come on Rafe, I know you can make this right.
The men. I'm sorry, but it's no surprise that in general I just found the chapters following them lackluster compared to the women. The search for the horn and travelling through villages got repetitive, much like the first book. That's just something I'm resigned to with this series now.
Anyway! That was lot. Better than the first one, disappointed by some things, but pleasantly surprised by others, and excited to keep going!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Slavery
rikuson1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I Liked It
-★★★✭☆- (3.75/5.00) 😉
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
The Great Hunt is a continuation of The Eye of the World, and you should definitely be able to feel that with this being released within the same year of 1990 as it. The pacing, though, definitely felt more sporadic this time around, and the overall cast, for the entirety of the book, one split, stayed split. But it's different from The Lord of the Ring's split, in which the characters split up in those books, but all still hold the same overall goal in mind. The similarities to it, though, and the homages, plot-wise, can still be caught throughout the book. For example with Rand wanted to remove himself from the presence of his friends like how Frodo did at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring for the betterment of the situation, (although that didn't really last in this). Or Ingtar being obsessed with the Horn of Valere in a similar way Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring was with the Ring. With the book being called "The Great Hunt" going in it is implied that it's mainly to do with the Horn of Valere, which is partially true. The Horn of Valere plays a large role at the end of the book in a way I was not expecting but the re-retrieval of it (and the dagger) seem to take up the bulk of the story.
Characterization/ Character Development
There was little to no character development to be seen in this entry which isn't a bad thing they don't have to drastically progress or regress permanently for it to be a pro for me, it's just an observation. The Great Hunt seems to further build on the worldbuilding, the lore of the world, and further solidify what was already set in the first book. In the aspects of characterization, we did get a decent amount of good moments that allowed the characters to shine more than they had before, like Egwene, for example.
The Action/Fight Scenes
Although the action was about the same, there was a fight between Rand and a self-proclaimed proponent swordsman at the end of the book, which I felt was the best-written choreographed fight in the series thus far. The explanation as to why Rand was able to come out on top of that right probably could have been explained a bit better, though. Nonetheless, the action within was impressive for him since it was handled differently. Up to this point, most if not all of the fights that Rand has participated in were written in this fight-style named metaphorical way. Meaning if Rand is to do a specific sword action, Robert Jordan will say a specific named sword-style attack like "Kitten in a Corner," and then we the reader have to imagine what the hell that means because most of the time once this is said no further elaboration to that encounter is given and Rand comes out of the encounter the victor moving forward with his goals. As someone who is big on fight scenes, especially one on one, I am not a big fan of this way of depicting them. To be honest, I personally found it kind of lazy, especially coming from someone who is known to be extremely detailed when it comes to explaining damn near everything in his series, it felt like the fight scenes in that aspect, got the short end of the stick and it really feels like a jarring contrast in his writing style. The consistency in detail just wasn't there. It's not a dynamic I like. This was done in The Eye of the World as well but it was done way more here than it was in there to the point where I have to bring it up as a personal gripe of mine because at one point in, Rand's final fight, a nice chunk of it turned into Robert Jordan just naming off fighting styles back to back to back to back with no elaboration into what was going on in the fight outside of those named attacks and I just felt so disconnected to fight scene, it was not that immersive or engaging, just too vague for me, it did not hit the way I wanted to, unfortunately. As stated in the fight with the swordsman, though, this wasn't done nearly as much, a nice chunk of it was written out, which is why I felt the need to mention and commend that one.
Verdict
The Great Hunt was a good read. Even though when I was reading it, the back and forth of obtaining the Horn and Dagger to losing it to obtaining it again, to losing it again, did feel weird pace but it didn't ruin the overall experience for me. It's like if Gollum in The Lord of the Rings got a hold of the ring and the crew had to get it back from him, and that spanned basically a whole book. Nonetheless, I would say this is a tad more entertaining and a bit better than the Eye of the World, but I wouldn't say it's a huge improvement but an improvement nonetheless.
I liked it
-★★★✭☆- (3.75/5.00) 😉
My Grading Score = 75% (B)
The Great Hunt is a continuation of The Eye of the World, and you should definitely be able to feel that with this being released within the same year of 1990 as it. The pacing, though, definitely felt more sporadic this time around, and the overall cast, for the entirety of the book, one split, stayed split. But it's different from The Lord of the Ring's split, in which the characters split up in those books, but all still hold the same overall goal in mind. The similarities to it, though, and the homages, plot-wise, can still be caught throughout the book. For example with Rand wanted to remove himself from the presence of his friends like how Frodo did at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring for the betterment of the situation, (although that didn't really last in this). Or Ingtar being obsessed with the Horn of Valere in a similar way Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring was with the Ring. With the book being called "The Great Hunt" going in it is implied that it's mainly to do with the Horn of Valere, which is partially true. The Horn of Valere plays a large role at the end of the book in a way I was not expecting but the re-retrieval of it (and the dagger) seem to take up the bulk of the story.
Characterization/ Character Development
There was little to no character development to be seen in this entry which isn't a bad thing they don't have to drastically progress or regress permanently for it to be a pro for me, it's just an observation. The Great Hunt seems to further build on the worldbuilding, the lore of the world, and further solidify what was already set in the first book. In the aspects of characterization, we did get a decent amount of good moments that allowed the characters to shine more than they had before, like Egwene, for example.
The Action/Fight Scenes
Although the action was about the same, there was a fight between Rand and a self-proclaimed proponent swordsman at the end of the book, which I felt was the best-written choreographed fight in the series thus far. The explanation as to why Rand was able to come out on top of that right probably could have been explained a bit better, though. Nonetheless, the action within was impressive for him since it was handled differently. Up to this point, most if not all of the fights that Rand has participated in were written in this fight-style named metaphorical way. Meaning if Rand is to do a specific sword action, Robert Jordan will say a specific named sword-style attack like "Kitten in a Corner," and then we the reader have to imagine what the hell that means because most of the time once this is said no further elaboration to that encounter is given and Rand comes out of the encounter the victor moving forward with his goals. As someone who is big on fight scenes, especially one on one, I am not a big fan of this way of depicting them. To be honest, I personally found it kind of lazy, especially coming from someone who is known to be extremely detailed when it comes to explaining damn near everything in his series, it felt like the fight scenes in that aspect, got the short end of the stick and it really feels like a jarring contrast in his writing style. The consistency in detail just wasn't there. It's not a dynamic I like. This was done in The Eye of the World as well but it was done way more here than it was in there to the point where I have to bring it up as a personal gripe of mine because at one point in, Rand's final fight, a nice chunk of it turned into Robert Jordan just naming off fighting styles back to back to back to back with no elaboration into what was going on in the fight outside of those named attacks and I just felt so disconnected to fight scene, it was not that immersive or engaging, just too vague for me, it did not hit the way I wanted to, unfortunately. As stated in the fight with the swordsman, though, this wasn't done nearly as much, a nice chunk of it was written out, which is why I felt the need to mention and commend that one.
Verdict
The Great Hunt was a good read. Even though when I was reading it, the back and forth of obtaining the Horn and Dagger to losing it to obtaining it again, to losing it again, did feel weird pace but it didn't ruin the overall experience for me. It's like if Gollum in The Lord of the Rings got a hold of the ring and the crew had to get it back from him, and that spanned basically a whole book. Nonetheless, I would say this is a tad more entertaining and a bit better than the Eye of the World, but I wouldn't say it's a huge improvement but an improvement nonetheless.
I liked it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
brendan_clay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
pun1sher's review against another edition
4.25
there is a palpable improval from eye of the world, the book feels more coherent and better paced
the Seanchan do feel slightly random, and also heavy but God was I dying to know what would happen in each chapter
the Seanchan do feel slightly random, and also heavy but God was I dying to know what would happen in each chapter
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
dani_reis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Writing: 3.5⭐️/5
Jordan has a vision for this novel, but this vision feels like it’s a bit surrounded by repetitive phrases and scenes. The writing itself is serviceable. It gets the job done, and is easy to read when it needs to be. But the overall impression of the writing is a bit unsubstantial. Apart from a few moments of truly good writing, the novel doesn’t shine in its prose. That being said, it also isn’t held back by its prose. It’s served by its prose: nothing more, nothing less.
Characters: 3.25⭐️/5
*Some Spoilers*
Where the first book truly drew me into the characters, this book offered a number of reasons to question their characterization. Min, for one, has a moment that seems completely out of character for her. Not to mention a lack of any growth towards many of the characters we grew to love in the first book. Plus, and I can’t emphasize this enough, we have the fridging of a minor character solely for the purpose of advancing Thom’s plot, which I must (and truly do) consider a cardinal writing sin. If I’m being honest, the only character who retained growth from my perspective was Nynaeve.
Plot: 3.25⭐️/5
I feel the plot of this book will be entirely necessary to the plot of the series. And yet, it left me with the same taste in my mouth as a filler episode of a sitcom. Much of the plot felt pulled at – lengthened where it wasn’t necessary – and padded with fluff. The truly adventurous or intriguing parts of the plot were quickly (and sometimes far too easily) resolved in order to advance the next section. Of course, all that being said, it’s not an unenjoyable read at all and did keep my interest, whether deserved or not.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Those who read book one of The Wheel of Time (The Eye of the World)
Content Warnings?
- Slavery, confinement, kidnapping, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, blood, gore, torture, abuse, child death, war, misogyny, sexism, death, murder, injury, injury detail, fire, emotional abuse, gaslighting,
Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5
As much as parts of this book IRRITATED ME (hi, Rand), I am very excited to start the third one.
Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body horror, Gore, Toxic friendship, Grief, Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, and War
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, and Racism
cmklaft's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I'm impressed I could even get through this. Robert Jordan has an amazing ability to draw out a story that could 100 pages 650 pages.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Blood, Violence, and Slavery
girljames's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
aliensmileyface's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery