The Wheel of Time crosstalk: Is The Great Hunt a good book?

DAN: I think it’s definitely a good thing that you read ahead; I like our perspectives clashing.

As for what I didn’t like, I already mentioned that I thought the middle third of the book dragged. It wasn’t that these bits were terrible, just not interesting enough to justify how much time we spent on them.

There was definitely an episodic feel to Rand’s adventures. There’s the episode where he crosses into an alternate dimension, the episode where he gets mixed up in the political games of Cairhien, the episode where he visit’s Loial’s steading, and so on. I liked some of these bits more than others — I’m always happy to learn more about Loial — but there was a persistent sense of, ‘Let’s move this along.’ I was happy when the team turned their attention towards the final confrontation at Toman Head.

I guess I was a little annoyed with Rand for most of the book. I don’t quite get his refusal to engage with the Aes Sedai, or at least with Moiraine. I once read an interview where Robert Jordan said that he thought people in epic fantasy stories were way too quick to accept the idea that they were “the Chosen One.” He thinks it should take more time, and I get that.

But Rand is outright hostile to Moiraine, vowing never to work with her, or to “let the Aes Sedai control me.” Well, my dude, you’re clearly an important person whether you wanna be or not, and sooner or later everyone’s gonna come asking you for this or that, so you might as well learn what you can from someone like Moiraine, who’s proven she’s good in a tight spot and is way cooler than you.

I wouldn’t mind this if Rand’s short-sightedness were framed as wrongheaded, but I feel like we’re supposed to be on his side and I’m just not. Mat bugged me at the beginning, too; there was a stretch after Rand snapped at him in anger when he was acting aloof and begrudged, refusing to hear Rand out and generally behaving like a petulant child. Perrin was cool but he didn’t have much to do in this book.

I know I may get pushback from you, but if I had to name an MVP from The Great Hunt, it would unquestionably be Nynaeve. I don’t like how much she distrusts Moiraine either, but at least Nynaeve is supposed to be kind of angry and confrontational. And she was a straight boss during the Seanchan incident. She took charge when she and Elayne were on the run, and she leashed one of those awful Sul’dam and still had the decency to feel bad about it. I was in her corner.

What characters stood out to you in The Great Hunt, for good or bad?

COREY: I think there’s a general societal distrust for Aes Sedai that rolls down to Rand, but I think Moraine’s refusal to ever be completely level with Rand is the main cause of his hostility. Aes Sedai have a reputation for manipulating others to their own ends, and they also hunt down every man who channels, so I think Rand struggles to shed those preconceived notions. Now whether or not Moraine is correct in withholding information is up for debate, but it certainly leads to a strain on their relationship.

I enjoy the fact that Rand doesn’t immediately embrace being the Chosen One. Even when Rand does accept his role in things later in the series, he still won’t follow other people’s ideas about what that means, or what he should be doing. Jordan attempts to pass it off as simple stubbornness that everyone from the Two Rivers inherits, but I’m not sure I buy it. Either way, I like the reluctant hero more than the eager one.

As for Nynaeve, she’s certainly not my favorite character later in the books, but here I do agree, she gets things done. Honestly, this is one of my favorite arcs for the women in the books so far. They aren’t quite as catty as they get later in the series, and it was interesting to see them interacting with the completely alien Seanchan.

I found Ingtar to be pretty interesting, along with all of the Shienarans. Like the people of Gondor from The Lord of the Rings, the Shienarans live in a country dedicated to holding back the darkness, literally. I love how at night the whole country has to remain lit so that those pesky Myrddraal don’t slip in through a shadow. I wished we’d spent more time in Fal Dara, but Jordan takes us around the map fairly quickly. But I like Ingtar’s arc, and found it similar to Boromir’s in LotR. Saving their people meant so much to both that they opened themselves to despair, but were redeemed before the end. I don’t know if Jordan intended it as a direct homage, but I enjoyed it.

I do find it interesting how Jordan tends to lump his characters into groups by sex, though. The Eye of the World kept the main group together for the most part, but here in Hunt, you see the beginning of a trend that carries through a lot of the later books. Every author has tendencies that start to emerge over long fantasy series like this one. Have you noticed any yet?