The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan – Readalong & Book Review

Reading The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan…

30% into the book:

With all the mixed feelings The Eye of the World left me with, I was cautiously optimistic about The Great Hunt. More cautious than optimistic, to be honest. But I’m happy to say I was pleasantly surprised.

From the very beginning, The Great Hunt felt better than the first book in the series. Though I can’t say I connected much with the characters in the first book, I was happy to see them again. I got a bit of that going-home feeling I sometimes get with sequels.

The story grabbed me right away, it was so much easier for me to sink into it. I was also pleasantly surprised we got some more information about the magic system, the lore, and the world in general. I finally have an idea, as vague as it is at this point, of what The Wheel of Time series is going to be all about.

Plus, a lot of intriguing things are going on where I’m at. The Aes Sedai intrigues. Half-truths, schemings and betrayals. Dark prophesies. Something huge coming. Plenty of small hints and setups to keep anyone engaged.

And the part I’m at currently – so good! I didn’t expect at all what they just came across, but it raised a lot of questions in my head. I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s sure making me turn the pages faster.

Of course, there is a chance I’m enjoying The Great Hunt this much because my expectations were pretty low after the first book. Can’t tell for sure yet. But either way – I’m truly excited to see what’s coming next.

70% into the book:

I came to the conclusion the quest trope might not be for me after all.  Because somehow everyone gets separated, and in general I enjoy more the parts when they are all together, gathered in the same spot.

That said, this is not bothering me in The Great Hunt. And it’s mostly because I am liking this book so much more than I expected, it’s hard to be nitpicky about anything.

I can see more than before how amazing this series must be on a reread. Lots of little clues and hints, but I have no idea what they mean! But they are intriguing. They make me wonder and question everything, which is how I always know I’m deep into something.

But, there are still many small things randomly thrown around that I feel I should know more about to be able to follow along with the natural flow of the story. Sometimes it feels as if the author is telling the story to himself and, knowing what he knows, he doesn’t always feel the need to explain it to the rest of us.

I’m not sure if this was an overlook or if it was done intentionally, as a way of tease. But I wish it wasn’t. Sometimes it feels like I started reading the series from book three and so no wonder I have no idea what these people are talking about.

Still, I’m enjoying my reading, and that’s what matters. I find it very engaging, which I would never have assumed based on my time with book one.

The only question is – is it engaging enough to get me through 14 books? I mean, I’m having fun and all. But what can possibly be taking so long to finish the story?

100%

So… the ending was fun. I really didn’t expect what just happened to happen. Not for maybe 10 next installments. I guess in my mind I made this particular part much bigger than it ended up being.

And on one hand, it was epic, but on the other… Well, it kind of felt unnecessary. Like the very meaning and importance of the whole thing was somehow lessened.

And again. There are these… details. That don’t. Quite. Make. Sense. Aaaaaaa!

Yeah. I honestly don’t know how I feel about it.

But hey – I just finished The Great Hunt and I liked it way more than The Eye of the World. and that’s great! I just need to collect my thoughts for a moment, and then I’ll mention a few more things that I think deserve mentioning.

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan – Final Thoughts

The Wheel of Time is such a beloved series, I feel nervous talking about it. Because I think I’m starting to see why the fans love it so much. But I also see how hard it is for the new readers, such as myself, to truly appreciate the story for what it is.

Because on one hand this series is epic. On the other – it has it’s flows.

It’s still too early for me to form an opinion about the story as a whole. But here are just a few thoughts about its bits and pieces.

One of the things that jumps at me the most at this point is how much emphasis is put on destiny. ‘The wheel weaves as the wheel wills’, we are often told, and in my mind that leaves the impression none of the characters really has any choice.

And as we all know, choice is one of the most crucial things in any character’s arc. In any genre, but especially in fantasy.

Then again, we are only at book 2 and there’s plenty of time for this point to be twisted and turned around, so. I really hope there’s a twist somewhere in there, a lot of fun stuff could be done around it.

But honestly, it’s also a little bit annoying. The wheel wants this, the wheel does that… I mean, we are still not explained what this wheel exactly is. We know nothing about it. Is it a thing, an idea, or more like a god-like entity? Does it care? Does it have compassion, or is it cold, logical precision that’s driving it?

The wheel controls everything, and yet I still know nothing about it. Not even if I should be rooting for it or hate it.

Another thing that keeps preventing me from getting fully invested is that, even though a lot happened in book #2, it all still feels more like sidetracking to me. Like I’m still waiting for the real story to begin.

But at least I’m more engaged with everything that is going on. And after The Great Hunt – I mean, I’m not there yet, but I can see myself becoming a fan eventually. Once I piece a few more things together.

Book 2 got darker and gorier than the first one. That may be one of the bigger reasons why I liked it more. And I did start to connect with some of the characters a little bit.

Unfortunately, one of the weaker points of The Great Hunt for me was still Rand. He’s still just so bland and kind of like a popet. He keeps repeating – I’m not going to let myself be used, I’m not going to let them manipulate me, and in my head I’m like – dude, you are so going to be used and manipulated.

I’m also not buying the whole ‘his gonna go crazy and murder everyone he knows’ thing just yet. And yes, I’m aware how naive and unfounded this feeling of mine is. But there’s just something about it – people keep talking about it, but the books haven’t convinced me yet that is what is going to happen. I can’t explain it better than that. There’s just something about the whole thing that keeps missing me.

Anyway. Not much more to tell. I am looking forward to book #3, I think it’s going to put some things straight for me, one way or another. I’ll be starting it very soon, and it might decide whether I’m going to finish this whole series or not.