Last week, I prefaced my commentary-like review of the first Wheel of Time book, The Eye of the World, with explanations as to why I was embarking on this re-read project after a decade-long break. It would be redundant to repeat all of that, so if you have not yet read the original review, I suggest you start with that before reading this second, shorter review of the second volume in the series, The Great Hunt.

When I first read this book back in November 1997, I found it to be a major step backwards from the first novel. In the few re-reads I did between then and the autumn of 2000, I recall that my opinion of the book (and the third volume, The Dragon Reborn) did not improve at all. But what impressions would I take after reading it nearly ten years later?

Several of the same problems that I felt plagued the first volume were pretty much repeated in this second volume[, yet] despite this, in some ways, this story was more enjoyable than I had remembered it being a decade ago.

On the whole, I would still argue that The Great Hunt was a less enjoyable reading experience than was The Eye of the World. Several of the same problems that I felt plagued the first volume (too lengthy personal descriptions of minor characters, an uneven pace to the plot(s), the thin characterizations of the major characters and even more importantly, the enemies, the rather pedestrian prose) were pretty much repeated in this second volume, with a few curious additions. Yet despite this, in some ways, this story was more enjoyable than I had remembered it being a decade ago.

The story picks up roughly one month after the conclusion to the first novel. Rand al’Thor, one of three adolescent males from the backwater village of Emond’s Field, has discovered that he can touch the magical, tainted male side to the magical One Power (which runs the universe, in a way that I wonder might be analogous to the “dark matter” that makes up most of the universe’s mass). Furthermore, he may be the reincarnated soul of the dreaded Dragon Reborn, who in madness helped destroy civilization after a ten-year battle with the forces of evil. Rand is the hero (villain?) of prophecy, a mantle he does not want and makes quite clear, in both internal monologues and in conversations with characters, on numerous times. As I was reading this, I kept wondering to myself if perhaps the author went a little overboard with utilizing repetitive comments to reinforce the centrality of Rand’s conflict. It felt a bit forced at times to me and I cannot help but to speculate how differently (and perhaps, how much more powerfully) a reduction in the times Rand (and to a lesser extent, the other character and their own personal crosses which they bear quite vociferously) has to put voice to his conflicted thoughts. Read More »