The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2)

Rating:
Summary: Downward Spiral Starts Here
Review: The most important question I can pose to Mr. Jordan is; `What about the `Wheel of Time' is so relevant to the human condition and literature, that almost 10,000 pages of text is necessary to convey the background of these fictional characters in an imaginary world?'

Absolutely nothing.

Make no mistake; Mr. Jordan is not an excellent writer by any means. His series has no signs of intricate plot construction. He seems more interested in expressing his exact idea of what the reader should imagine in each scene, then allowing the reader to use their own creativity to imagine certain scenes. Honestly, I cannot see any reason to spend over half a chapter describing characters that may only appear four times in minor roles throughout the entire series. There is absolutely nothing wrong, in my opinion, with crafting a description for a major or minor character that is less than one paragraph that conveys all important information. It almost seems as if Robert Jordan wanted to publish a list of physical statistics for each character covering blood type, height in centimeters, weight, shade of eyes, history of their wardrobe, a summary of their genetic lineage and perhaps a list of personality quirks. Nothing wrong with that either, as long as the overall story benefits from this information.

After reading the entire series and going back to read the first books, Mr. Jordan's flaws become more and more apparent. I find myself wishing that Tor had used an editor that could give the writing in this book enough direction so that the major events themselves don't become the only reasons for reading.



Rating:
Summary: Its getting better!
Review: This was good, some of the best fantasy that I have ever read. It is an improvement to the Eye of the World. It continues to follow the tradtional fantasy guides that the Eye of the World started with. The plot improves and gets more complicated. There are new forces, enemies, whatever you may call them that enter the book and the idea of the Hunt for the Horn of Valere was good. The end of the book also has good drama and action. Three forces come together in battle, and the battle scene is awesome. The final charge, the invaders from over the sea and...well I won't spoil it, you should read it for yourself. If you have read the Eye of the World, you will have to start with that. The Great Hunt is good and anyone who enjoys traditional fantasy should try this.