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

The Great Hunt is the second novel in Robert Jordan’s 14-book The Wheel of Time series. Is it worth the read? A Wheel of Time veteran and newbie are here to provide the definitive answer.

DAN: As with The Eye of the World, overall I liked reading The Great Hunt. But as with The Eye of the World, I had some issues, more than I did with the first book. A lot of the The Great Hunt seemed to be marking time. I know it’s hard to see where a 14-book series is going just two entries in, but at least a third of this novel seemed to drag pretty hard.

I enjoyed the opening, with Rand al’Thor working through the aftermath of besting Ba’alzamon (or so he thought) and training at Fal Dara, the last major city the group visited in The Eye of the World. I liked meeting the Amyrlin Seat and learning more about the Aes Sedai, since as important as they clearly are to the series I felt like we didn’t get a ton about their history and organization before.

But once the quest to recover the Horn of Valere got underway, I found my attention wandering. A lot of this stretch was devoted to Rand learning to use his powers, which I’m sure is very important, but it was sorta dull.

Also, Rand, buddy, this Selene woman is clearly evil. I know he’s, like, 16 or something, but watching him make moon eyes at Selene — who fit into a pretty obnoxious “super-beautiful seduction goddess” stereotype, by the way — when she was obviously trying to manipulate him into being some kind of Dark Lord was frustrating. Although it’s probably easier to spot that from my vantage point as a long-time fantasy reader. Should I cut Rand some slack there?

For me, the book didn’t really get exciting until Egwene and Min were captured by the  Seanchan, a people who enslave Aes Sedai and anyone else who can use the One Power. Now here was someone I could root against, and for; I loved watching Egwene, Min, Nynaeve and Elayne figure a way out of this impossible situation. I thought the final third or so of the book was very strong, but getting there could be a slog.

What parts of The Great Hunt stood out to you, Corey?

COREY: Oh boy Dan, do I have bad news for you. If you feel like The Great Hunt dragged in sections, wait until the circus shows up in couple books. I’m currently on the sixth book in the series myself, and thus far I’d consider The Great Hunt one of the more action-packed entries into the series.

Overall, I quite enjoyed The Great Hunt. For me, this was the first book in the series where the scope really began to expand. From introducing the Seanchan to the portal stones to the Aiel, it felt like the scope was growing to pretty epic proportions. I remain fascinated by the Forsaken, as they appear to be less of a cohesive team and more of a collection of powerful evildoers out for themselves. They trust each other even less than they trust our heroes.

For sure, it was immediately clear to everyone but Rand that Selene was not on the level, but it didn’t bother me too much. As you said, Rand was a simple country farm boy thrust into the big bad world, and Selene is called one of the most beautiful women in all of history. What teenager wouldn’t be blinded by that?

At any rate, The Wheel of Time is full of segments that become more believable as you learn more about the characters, and this is one of those times.

And yes, when the Seanchan show up properly, the book really does kick off. The only thing I didn’t like about that plot was how it seemed to introduce the old fantasy trope of needing to visit every corner of the map for some random reason. While I appreciate exploring new countries or cultures, at times it can feel a bit ham-fisted.

Like Padan Fain, the Seanchan were interesting to me because, while evil, they weren’t aligned with the Dark One. Making everyone black or white is dull sometimes, so I like the wild cards.

As for the Aes Sedai, I’ll admit I’m fairly bored of them at this point. If I have to hear one more person say the Aes Sedai are mysterious and whatnot, I’m gonna tug my braid. I get it, they’re aloof, but aside from Moraine, who’s clearly an outlier among them, we hardly ever see them do anything with their powers. You’re telling me that out of a thousand Aes Sedai in the world, Moraine’s the only one out in the world doing anything? That sounds like an organization living off its past accomplishments, not one actively contributing to the world around it.

I’ll also admit, I was fairly surprised that Mat ended up blowing the Horn of Valere. That seemed like the sort of ‘break the glass in case of emergency’ weapon that wouldn’t be used until the last book of the series.

Overall though, I felt like this book also played it fairly ‘safe’ in much the same way Eye of the World played it safe. Sure, there are some original concepts introduced here, but it’s not until later in the series that the books really start to diverge from some of your typical fantasy trappings. Did you get that impression as well?

Also, THOM!

DAN: Do I think the book played it safe? Not really…I dunno if I know what you mean by “safe.” I mean, it didn’t kill any important characters, but that’s not really this series’ thing, is it? I agree that it expanded the world nicely, with the Seanchan being a particularly interesting addition. And it was way less like The Lord of The Rings than the first book…so no, it didn’t really strike me as “safe.”

Although speaking of killing characters, and of Thom, it was kind of lame that he was back. I remember his death from the first book being a powerful moment, but it ends up that he’s just…fine? And living in Cairhien with his new girlfriend Dena who is very quickly killed off? It felt like the book was doubling down on bad tropes: it resurrected a character without paying much of a cost (strike one) and then immediately fridged a woman to set him on a new path (strike two). Can’t say I loved his appearance here.

I wonder how much they’ll change in the show, y’know? Like, I have no idea what Thom gets up to later in the series — maybe he’s irreplaceable — but at the end of the second book I think it’d be better if he died back in Whitebridge defending Rand and Mat from the Myrddraal.

I have more complaints, but I’m gonna pivot back to the positive for a bit. I thought the whole climax was great and didn’t mind Mat blowing the horn. Why not? The book had been setting it up since the start; I’d have been irritated if no one used it.

The heroes of old coming back from the dead was cool, and the battle between Rand and Ba’alzamon (I wonder how long before I can spell that without having to use Google) had more weight than the battle between them at the end of The Eye of the World; that one had a bit of a goofy Dragon Ball Z feel to it, with beams of energy flying around. Here, I liked the image of the two of them fighting in the sky, and I understood the stakes: now even if Rand wants to deny that he’s the Dragon Reborn, the rest of the world won’t let him. I thought his arc dragged a bit throughout the book, but this was a good end for him.

And all of this was mixed in with Egwene and company getting the better of those asshole Sul’dam, which was very satisfying. The revelation that Ingtar was a Darkfriend kinda came out of nowhere, but I still bought it, and they gave him compelling reasons, and I was surprised. Ingtar, no!

So yeah, the big finish really worked for me. What did you make of it?

COREY: Is it good or bad that I’ve read ahead? It certainly changes my perspective on things, especially with a character like Thom, who does have a lot of story left to tell. It did annoy me slightly that Thom survived after how powerful we were told Myrddraal are, but ultimately he’s such a fun character that I can look past it.

I’d agree, the last battle was entertaining. The heroes of old coming back to help kind of reminded me of the army of the dead arriving at the Battle of Pellenor Fields in The Lord of the Rings. Rand’s second round with Ctrl+V Ba’alzamon was indeed a lot of fun. Like Mat blowing the Horn, Rand losing his heron-marked blade was a bit of a swerve for me. They spent a lot of time talking about how that sword was unique, made during the Age of Legends, etc, and then it just gets destroyed. I guess Jordan has something against Macguffins.

And yes, the women taking down their captors was quite satisfying. Ingtar being a Darkfriend I sort of picked up on since he just seemed a bit too fanatical throughout the novel. Also, they made it clear that someone had to have let the Trollocs into Fal Dara early in the book, and then boom: there’s Ingtar coming round the corner.

I’ll add that I enjoy the whole Darkfriend concept as the series moves on. Some Darkfriends are painfully obvious, but others are more subtle. It adds a nice element of suspense to the story.

Back to the introduction of the Seanchan, the structure of the story reminded me a bit of A Song of Ice and Fire, with Westeros and Essos. All the major events are happening on the continent where Rand and his friends are, but there are whole other civilizations out there completely uninterested in the war against ultimate evil. I dig that.

The Great Hunt also shows off Jordan’s refusal to leave any character behind. Bayle Doman, the riverboat captain from The Eye of The World, shows up here for a bit. Sometimes it can be great; other times, it just necessitates boring trips to Wikipedia. In the sixth book, Lord of Chaos, a guy Rand punched in a bar in The Eye of The World shows up for a scene. That’s a bit much.

Okay, let’s get into the dirt; what didn’t you like about The Great Hunt?

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?

DAN: Well, I noted that both Eye of the World and The Great Hunt sort of slowed down in the middle but really picked up in the final third, although I think the first book had the stronger middle section and the second the better ending.

I don’t like hearing that Jordan makes a habit of separating characters by sex — this is just the second book, so it’s too early for me to recognize it as a pattern, but it doesn’t bode well.

That brings me to my final criticism: after Rand has won his battle, he’s comatose, and who should be mooning over him but…Min? I remember with the first book I thought the passion between Lan and Nynaeve came almost out of nowhere. But Min being into Rand came completely out of nowhere.

And worse, a lot of the women spent time talking about how much they like Rand. Min, Elayne and Egwene are all into him, from a distance, together? Stuff like that…it’s one of those moments that takes me out of the experience and makes me realize I’m reading a story written by a person, someone who apparently thinks the lead character he’s created is so irresistible that every woman he meets can’t help but fall for him. You can explain it away by calling Rand ta’veren or whatever, but it doesn’t mean it’s not uncomfortable.

And yes, I’ve heard the story leans into some of this stuff as it goes on, but I’ll get there when I get there. For now, this stood out as a moment that made me go, “Wait, what?”

I know I’ve criticized the book a look, but that’s just because complaining is way more fun than giving praise. Overall I did enjoy it, and I’m looking forward to reading The Dragon Reborn. Do you think I’ll enjoy that one like I have the last two?

COREY: I think that’s my sentiment on the series overall: I enjoy most of it, and Jordan really knows how to create a massive fantasy world, but I have my quibbles. You’re dead on as far as the Rand and Min situation goes, though. There are some romances in the books that grow organically, but Rand’s romances for the most part do not. There is one exception that you’ll read about later, but often they they do come out of the blue.

Looking at it from the vantage point of someone pretty deep into the series, I think Jordan’s handle on relationships, be they romantic or platonic, is pretty weak. From romances that blossom out of thin air to “friends” who constantly fight with one another, you’re only in for more of that. I remember in Hunt thinking it was jarring how much longtime friends Mat, Perrin and Rand were bickering. In the later books it gets even worse, especially with the female characters. I know you enjoy Nynaeve so far, and in a vaccuum she’s a great character, but holy hell she has entire chapters where she can’t think anything but negative thoughts about her friends.

At any rate, I do think you will enjoy The Dragon Reborn, especially if you don’t enjoy Rand as a character. The Dragon Reborn continues the trend of sidelining major characters that started in Hunt, which has very little for Moraine to do. I suppose that’s fine if there’s a narrative reason, but sometimes it feels like Jordan just didn’t know what to do with the characters for the whole book, so he just drops them.

Again, I don’t want it to sound like the books are bad, but they certainly aren’t perfect. Still, the good outweighs the bad, and I would say Hunt is the last book that feels like a stereotypical fantasy novel in some ways. From here on out, Jordan’s world begins to truly feel unique, and it turns into quite a ride.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels