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The Great Hunt : Book Two of 'The Wheel of Time'

The Great Hunt : Book Two of 'The Wheel of Time'

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $20.37
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the most enjoyable reads ever!
Review: Wow - this book was just fantastic! I don't think fantasy can get any better than this. Jordan has created a world in which the characters are real and become like "old friends" as you go from book to book. The battle scenes are realistic and well presented. The typical cliches are nowhere to be found. Instead a completely realistic world with believeable characters all in a richly detailed historical context.

Get it and read it - you won't be disappointed. Wow!

Unbelievably, I've seen a few negative reviews on this one. Huh? These people obviously need to be switched - or at least have their ears boxed...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hm.. this series is supposed to be great?
Review: I wonder how, somewhere along the way in Jordan's tedious 'epic', people started hailing it as 'the next Tolkien' and 'the greatest fantasy series ever'. It certainly isn't anything of the sort.

The word that best describes the Great Hunt (and the series as well) is hogwash (in polite terms). Anything good is slurred over in a gravy of useless descriptions and foolish side plots. If you want to read 6000+ pages of descriptive minutae with foolish and immature (they're supposed to be over 20?) characters running around getting chased, chasing, wandering, roaming, etc, then this series is worth it. A whole two chapters are spent on describing 3 Aes Sedai flirting with Mat as if they were 13 years old. The book concludes with a second, and 'final'(really!)duel after their 'final' duel in Book One. Dark, deep hints are given about Rand's past and future; perhaps we'll get to know a little more in book 7, 4000 pages later? No one knows.

The book continues the standard tedium of book One with the horribly drawn characters and 'frightening' monsters (yeah, Trollocs really give me nightmares). If you want some good fantasy to read, try His Drak Materials by Pullman. or go back to Tolkien (Jordan, the next Tolkien? haha. He isn't half the writer). Don't put yourself through these books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Second book in one of the greatest fantasy epics
Review: The Great Hunt is a compelling book for the Wheel of Time epic. Robert Jordan's skill at both storytelling and convincing the reader that he is part of the story is unparalleled in most books that I've read (the only execptions would be Issac Asminov and Anne McCaffree) This novel continues the epic seamlessly and continues with Jordan's hand on building each character into seprate, yet unsepreable characters that you can't help but have feelings for through out the entire epic saga.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: On with the show...
Review: The last third of this book is where the series really starts taking off. It's a bit frustrating how Jordan never seems to get to the point: there's a lot more empty space than necessary in The Great Hunt, everything between Fal Dara and The Toman Head isn't so essential to the storyline. But the end... well, here we can really see, for the first time, what Jordan can do at his best.

The first appearance of the Seanchan is a positive shock. The whole thing really knocks you out, and then, when our heroes stumble into that long before seen clash with them, the thrill is superb. Excellent writing. And, of course, there's a lot more to come...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Another obstacle to later books in series
Review: If you thought the introduction to the Wheel of Time (also known as Book 1: the Eye of the World) was long-winded, you haven't seen anything yet! Robert Jordan has taken that introduction and rewritten it as the second book of his overlong series, calling it the Great Hunt.

It's a great hunt, too: you'll be hunting for originality as you trudge through this 700 page episode in Jordan's elephantine epic.

As with the first book, the storyline is nothing new to fantasy readers. The chosen ones that the prophecies foretold come from humble beginnings to great power (guided by a benevolent magician) in order to defeat a great evil that's plaguing or will plague all of mankind, if it ever gets around to it---but it will, don't you worry! We've got prophecy, after all! This is yet another romp across a fantasy land kind-of-novel.

We do see some development in our characters, though, albeit small. Rand, Mat, and Perrin are bungling idiots for the most part, but they're learning, if slowly. Moreover, there's some further development to the subplots, which are the good bits in this huge story. We also get a limited view onto a completely foreign culture---the Seanchan---who come to invade the continent in which the main storyline takes place. Egwene's capture and torture under the hands of these people makes for a chilling and decent part of the book.

Those subplot pearls are few and far between though, and not because Jordan's focusing on the main storyline. Far from it, he instead spends pages and pages describing locales with so much attention to visual detail that your own imagination is not necessary anymore. These picturesque scenes, including building styles, colors of roofing tiles, cuts of dresses, are so enormously detailed that you just stop caring. After all, there's far more to a culture than just what color boots people where in Caemlyn!

The crowning touch that makes this book a near duplicate of the first one in the series occurs with the "final" duel between Rand and the "Dark One" (oh please). Yes, in case you missed it in book one, you get to see it again in book two. Is this the "final" duel, really? Will this ultimate evil ever just die off? No, we're on book 2 of 10 (or more)---there are more "final" duels to go! (Luckily, Rand doesn't duel with the Dark One at the end of books three, four, five, or six.)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A worthy follow up.
Review: This second installment in the WoT series is one of the better ones. It contains none of the bland mid-game maneuvering of books 5 through 8, and maintains the adventurous romance of book 1. The pace starts off slowly but concludes in one of the more unforgetable endings in the series. This book was the most difficult one to read for me because of its ponderously slow start but the last third is enthralling. After this one however, the series takes a generally downward trend.

If you really enjoy this series, give George R.R. Martin a try. His current fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fires, is the best yet. It starts with A Game of Thrones, followed by A Clash of Kings, and the soon-to-be-published A Storm of Swords. And unlike The WoT recently, every book is better than the last. Worth every penny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Still Good
Review: Thus far into the WoT, the writing was still good and the plot was still moving forward at a decent pace. Unfortunately, that trend disappears as you get farther and farther into this monstrosity... unfortunately, by the time you realize that the later books are trash, you have so much time invested that you keep reading just so you will eventually know what happens in the Final Battle (if Jordan EVER gets around to writing it... he has already said that he knows exactly what will happen in it, and has for 15 years...). I think 9 books to set all of this up has been excessive; it might not have been if things had worked out differently, but the way that they are written, 9 is excessive, and it's not even finished. There is very little character growth and/or development, with the exception of Rand becoming a little more... well, unstable.

Anyway, up to this point everything is still enjoyable, so I would also highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: I would have only givin this book 4 stars if not for the ending. The Great Hunt was so much better than the Eye of the World and people should not give up on the series. The end to TGH was the best ending to any book I have ever read, and I am sure as I read on, the endings to others will be even more magnificent! It is a little frustrating in the 2 books how Rand denies what he is, but that is whjat makes a long good storying...I guess..... This book is gooooood! Buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: Robert Jordan amazes me with this novel. I was so into it that I couldn't believe it when I hit the last page. I felt a sense of loss when it was over. With this novel Jordan hooks the unsuspecting reader into rest of the series. Definitely a worthy read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: the epic begins
Review: I consider the Eye of the World to be more of a prelude to the Wheel of Time series and indeed can serve as a standalone novel. With The Great Hunt, the story becomes more complex as the true multiple threads begin, the Forsaken become more active, and the Seanchan arrive. Also, Rand's true ancestry is strongly hinted at for the first time, which adds new dimensions to the breadth of the storyline.

The novel maintains the fast pace of the first book, although the story isn't quite as linear anymore! It's hard to put the book down, especially as some characters' loyalties become questionable (i.e. Lord Barthanes in Cairhien and the Shienaran warrior behind the escape of Padan Fain). The ending brings the story to a satisfying close with plenty of loose ends to be tied in the next book. A great read!

I give this book a 4 not 5 because the childish behavior of some of the characters annoys more than in the first book. Aren't these people supposed to be in their 20's? Why do they act like they're 13 years old? Jordan could have portrayed the characters as innocent adults instead of stubborn kids!

And the length of time Jordan spends on some of these immature confrontations is over the top. For example, an entire two chapters or so is devoted to the three girls (Nynaeve, Elayne, Egwene) frustrating themselves in not being able to "sweet-talk" Mat into delivering a letter to Morgase, with Elayne batting her big brown eyes at Mat and Mat complaining to himself that when women are nice they want something. The failed effort at moving a "mulish man" enrages the girls and puts them in a rotten mood, from which they grudgingly decide to give Mat one of Siuan's notes of authority.

Anyway, the book is good, read it! Start with the first one, of course...


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