Review: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Blurb:

In The Great Hunt, the second novel in Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, Rand al’Thor and his companions set out to retrieve a powerful artifact from The Dark One’s Shadowspawn.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of...

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

In pursuit of the thieves, Rand al’Thor is determined to keep the Horn out of the grasp of The Dark One. But he has also learned that he is The Dragon Reborn―the Champion of Light destined to stand against the Shadow time and again. It is a duty and a destiny that requires Rand to uncover and master extraordinary capabilities he never imagined he possessed.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.

Review:

This book! The Great Hunt was such a rollercoaster of a ride! It triggered every emotion at one point or another. It has the intense dramatic “ups” that kept me hooked for long stints, then the slogging along “downs” that grew a bit tedious. There’s bittersweet moments as relationships fray and change, as well as super sweet ones as we get to watch new blossoming friendships unfold amongst the chaos. There’s laughter and tears, anger and frustration. You really get to experience the full gamut in this one book. I’m eagerly (and apprehensively) anticipating what else is in store for these characters (and my poor heart) in the rest of this series!

“...the Great Hunt of the Horn has been called in Illian, the first time in four hundred years.”

Those first 160 pages had me riveted on the edge of my seat! The tension Rand (and you as the reader) are feeling in that beginning portion are SO intense! That section alone screamed another 5 stars. Then the next 100+ pages take you on an extended journey through never changing, monotonous terrain that really puts you in mind of Frodo and Sam traveling through the Emyn Muil area which grew a bit dull to read. Things pick back up, however, building up that delicious tension and anxiety for the climax, which was fantastic reading! 

The Great Hunt had a very different vibe from the first book. Where The Eye of the World gives you essences of Lord of the RIngs along with that nostalgic feeling of a traditional epic fantasy, immersing you cozily into the world on a grand quest, The Great Hunt focused more on delving into the political schemes of various areas and how things culminate into parts of the prophecies surrounding the rebirth of the Dragon and the coming of the Last Battle. 

“The Light forgive us for what we are loosing on the world.”

In a lot of ways The Great Hunt was putting me in mind of the prequel Star Wars movies with Anakin Skywalker. I kept seeing Anakin overlapping Rand the more I read, their characters seemingly two sides of the same coin in many ways, and then also differing in others. Both boys were the prophesied Chosen Ones come to bring balance to their worlds, both very strong in power and potential, both courted by both the Dark and the Light. But where Anakin craved power and prestige, Rand wants nothing to do with legends and glory. He just wants to be a sheep farmer living a quiet life in the Two Rivers. Granted, knowing that his path leads to eventual madness might have some sway over that, but I’ve never gotten the impression he wanted more than the idyllic life he had previously had.

Watching Rand struggle throughout The Great Hunt, seeing him fight and deny the destiny everyone claims is his, watching him fight to do the right thing for his friends despite this incredible burden that has been placed on his shoulders, my heart broke for him and the unfairness of it all. He never had a choice. Not really. This lack of choice, this destiny because of the Pattern that is woven by the Wheel, is one thing that frustrates me a bit. I can’t say too much without being spoilery, but the basis of this series is a cyclical Pattern that sounds like it always ends the same way for certain characters and there’s nothing they can do to change things because it is as the Wheel weaves it. I don’t like that some characters have no choice to be other than what the Wheel weaves them to be in a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. I prefer my “chosen ones” to be uniquely themselves, not a reincarnation of someone past, someone stuck in this endless loop to fight the same fight that ends the same way in every Age of the world. It feels like a very fruitless struggle in many ways, full of despair and suffering 🥺 Anakin at least had the freedom to choose. I wish Rand did as well.

“The Wheel of Time weaves the Pattern of the Age, using the lives of men for thread.”

Much of The Great Hunt follows Rand, just as in the first book, but what we do see of the other characters that we know and love, we get to see all of them changing and growing, adapting to the legendary times they are living through. Some of them change for the better, maturing more, and others have dropped in my esteem, though I’m sure they’ll rise again. One who has grown more as a current favorite is the Ogier, Loial. He’s such a sweet cinnamon roll of a character, the most loyal friend you could ask for, especially when times get tough and the burden of destiny threatens to smother you. And he’s a lovable book nerd :D 

We also get to see more from some of my favorite secondary characters whom we met in The Eye of the World as they come breezing back into the lives of our Edmond Fielders. Made me so happy to see them again! And they appear to have more significant roles as the series progresses, which is what I’d hoped for! 

While that ending was epic and grand, with so many groups and characters converging in this one area like one big strategy game, the fact that this wasn’t the final climax makes me so excited for what else is to come! You have this amazing of a climax and it’s only for book 2 out of 14!!!  I can only imagine how much more intense, dramatic, and emotionally damaging the Wheel of Time series is going to turn out to be! I’m so ready for it (I think) and desperately need The Dragon Reborn right this minute!!

“...yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light.”