The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Title: The Great Hunt
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: High Fantasy

I purchased this ebook and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  Tom Doherty Associates neither requested nor are associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:            

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, the World and Time themselves hang in the balance. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of...Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages. And it is stolen.

Here's What I Thought:
I just finished The Great Hunt last night. The second installment in this epic fantasy has already blown The Eye of the World out of the water.  It was fantastic and filled with twists and turns!

As I don't like to write in books, I am actually really glad that I am reading it as an ebook.  I am easily able to add highlights and notes without actually wrecking a book.  By this point I am very highlighter happy--making notes by little details that seem trivial, but hint at importance.  The prologue was no different, depicting a summons of unnamed Darkfriends to receive orders.  This sets a Pattern for Jordan to begin his books with a glimpse of the bigger picture, but still leaves you with many questions. By the end of the book, I found that I had not only referred back to this prologue, but even to my notes from the first book. Foreshadowing and prophecy are a huge tool Jordan utilizes.

Speaking of prophecy, we are introduced to a suspected prophecy fairly early on in the book and had actual prophecy scattered throughout. You can't have an epic fantasy without it, right?   As I read the prophecies, like always though, I got frustrated and irritated.  Because they are always in poetry format.  Just once I'd like a prophecy written in prose. But hey, then you can't be super cryptic and ominous, right?

Back to the story.  In this book, the original party is split up.  Rand, Perrin, and Mat go on a quest to find the Horn of Valere and Nynaeve and Egwene head to Tar Valon to begin their training. The point of view shifts between a multitude of characters, but is still heavily focused on Rand.  As there were times I was more invested in other aspects of the story than his, there were parts that drug on, particularly when he was separated from the rest of the men on the hunt.

We were also introduced to many new characters (not surprising as there is a grand total of 2,782 named characters in the series).  Some, I have no doubt I will come to love and others I would like to see thrown into Shadar Logoth and let the shadows deal with them. And even that might be too nice.  If nothing else, this series can definitely spark your passions for characters. In the first book, Nynaeve irritated me with her crassness, but now I am in complete adoration of her. Through her eyes, you find out that achieving full sisterhood at the White Tower does not come easy. Rand was... Well, irritating most of the time.  It took me a long time to figure out how old everyone was.  Rand is 20 years old right now. At some points, I was seriously questioning if he wasn't 15 and new to hormones, if you catch my meaning.  Don't worry! Everything is PG. Just the inner monologue was eye-rolling at points. The rest of the characters had their moments as well, especially Egwene, but that is for you to read and find out.  With the mention of Egwene, I feel I should mention a trigger warning for abuse.  She goes through a lot and I am excited to see how she grows from her experience.

Throughout The Great Hunt, an epic adventure unfolds, friendships and loyalties are tested, hearts are broken, and betrayal is in their midst.  It really does have it all.  My final rating for this book is 4 stars.  Unlike the first book (remember, I gave it a boost due to it being the book to successfully pull me out of a slump?), this book truly deserves everyone of those stars.  If I would have had a little less Rand and a little more of everyone else, I'd be looking at a 5 star book!

Quote:

"In the Borderlands, sheepherder, if a man has the raising of a child, that child is his, and none can say different."

                                                             -al'Lan Mandragoran to Rand al'Thor

              

About The Author:

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.