The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
Series: The Wheel of Time #2
Publisher: Tor, Premium Mass Market Paperback, 736 pages
The Wheel of Time continues in this second installment with Rand and and the other villagers from Emond’s field continuing on their journey to ensure that the Light wins.
The Great Hunt was a very enjoyable second installment in The Wheel of Time series. We can see Jordan start to weave new elements into the story and expand on things he had introduced in book one. While there is still some question of what is to come and there is plenty of time for things to change even more, it is nice to see some of the pieces come together. Even when it’s not quite what I expected. After all, we get our first real taste of how Jordan is willing to incorporate twists and tug on your heartstrings in this book.
Rand, Rand, Rand. Through most of this book I really wanted to have a conversation with Rand that he probably wouldn’t have liked too much, but honestly dude. Yes his life is going to be much more than sheep farming, but by this point he’s had time to realize that. It just really chafes seeing some of the ways he acts, when other times he’s so confident and just doing it. I’d like to believe with the events at the end of the book that we are past that because he is obviously capable of handling whatever comes his way, but realistically, time will tell. I’m getting some interesting vibes from Egwene and some of the other characters following this book and I’m wondering just where these path’s are going to end up leading in the future books.
The Great Hunt had the same pacing issues towards the end as the first book did, but I didn’t feel as lost this time. There was just a ton of things happening in a rush the last 50 or so pages. It dangles the carrot to get you to want to read on, but it is frustrating too because we are rushing through these critical events and we don’t get to see any of the true impact until we read on, which I guess is the point, but dammit maybe I don’t want to have to rush through all of these big reveals. Besides the pacing of the end though I really did enjoy the story and how it unfolded. Jordan’s writing really does keep me turning the pages. He’s so heavy on the details so you can get a lot out of the read and it makes everything come alive that much more.
All in all, I really did enjoy The Great Hunt and I’m looking forward to continuing the series. There is a lot that is starting to happen and lots of hints and teasers being dropped and I can’t wait to see what comes next. I am totally invested in this series. 4/5 stars.
The World of Time Series:
1. The Eye of the World
2. The Great Hunt
3. The Dragon Reborn
4. The Shadow Rising
5. The Fires of Heaven
6. Lord of Chaos
7. A Crown of Swords
8. The Path of Daggers
9. Winter’s Heart
10. Crossroads of Twilight
11. Knife of Dreams
12. The Gathering Storm
13. Towers of Midnight
14. A Memory of Light
Among Stories 
Impressive size! Is the entire series that sort of length? I’ll be reading the 2nd ‘Expanse’ book soon – although that’s just under 600 pages so not *hugely* chunky [grin]
It is! If I’m not mistaken, the shortest book is about 600 some odd pages. 🙂
I ended up buying the first three Expanse books last week actually and all of those are over 500 pages a pop too which is a goodly amount to be sure! I don’t know when I’ll read them yet, but I’m sure happy to have them, lol.
I just need to pick up the last 2 Expanse books for the complete set. I still need to watch Series 4 onwards too so I’m not sure what will happen first. Definitely book 2 this year and possibly book 3… After that I’d have to think about it…..
You know what they say… so many books, so little time! It’s a good problem to have!