4 / 5 Stars
August in Central Virginia means sweltering temperatures and an overabundance of mosquitos, thus, it's as good a time as any to sit indoors with the A/C running and read a lengthy, 714-page novel...........thus, I picked up the second installment in the 'Wheel of Time' franchise.
'The Great Hunt' first was published in November, 1990, by Tor books. It since has been reissued in multiple formats. I read the 'Hunt' volume included in the boxed set (volumes 1 - 3) released in 2019 as a tie-in with the amazon streaming series (airing late in 2021).
As mentioned, 'Hunt' is the second volume in what currently stands as 14 novels in the Wheel of Time franchise. My reviews of the prequel, 'New Spring,' and the first volume in the series, 'The Eye of the World,' are here.
'Hunt' starts off right where 'Eye' ended, with our protagonist (and Frodo Baggins counterpart) Rand al'Thor enjoying a respite from the violent confrontation with the (Sauron counterpart) Dark Lord Ba'alzamon, in the northern region of Randland known as the Blight. Rand and company are housed in the fortress city of Fal Dara, but things don't stay quiet for long, as the head sorceress of Randland (fandom's term for the world of the Wheel), a woman named Amyrlin Seat, has - along with a large retinue - arrived at Fal Dara.
Amyrlin has come to decide whether Rand is indeed the latest incarnation of a savior-like figure, the 'Great Dragon,' who arises every hundred years or so to combat the machinations of Ba'alzamon, and save the world from tyranny. Complicating the whole Dragon narrative is the fact that past Dragons have tended to cause chaos and destruction, via massive bursts of psychic powers, in the course of their endeavors.
Rand shrinks from any association with the Dragon, as he feels acknowledging he is the Dragon Reborn will make him a danger not just to his companions, but to the world at large.
The first one hundred pages of 'Hunt' are rather plodding as author Jordan expends considerable energy reintroducing the large cast of characters and their various personal intrigues, as well as the backstory to the events in 'Eye.'
Jordon is fond of exposition; for example, the reader is treated to detailed descriptions of the clothing, fabrics, styles, and accessories of the lead characters. There is considerable attention paid to tense conversations and mind games deployed among the fractious cliques of the 'Aes Sendai' sorceress clan. And Rand's constant bouts of self-doubt and apprehension over his fate as the Dragon, reminded me of the tedious psychodramas of the protagonist in the Stephen R. Donaldson 'Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever' fantasy novels......
This unnecessary exposition retards the narrative. Indeed, later in the book in the chapter titled 'Practice,' the reader must endure a lengthy passage, involving the female characters Engwe, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Min, that is a kind of slumber party at the School for Sorceresses. Excising these sorts of passages from 'Hunt' would have made the novel shorter and more engaging.
Anyways, after page 100 the eponymous Hunt gets underway, as the malevolent Padan Fain conspires with the forces of Ba'alzamon to steal the mystical artifact the Horn of Valere, and make for destination(s) unknown. Rand and his comrades set off in pursuit, and this pursuit occupies the main plot thread in the novel.
To me, the most interesting character in 'Hunt' indeed was the villain, Padan Fain. In marked contrast to the dithering Rand, Fain is self-assured and dedicated to his mission: any slights or insults Fain suffers will, he assures himself, be returned to the violating party with interest. While Fain may, for expediency, ally himself with Ba'alzamon, Fain has his own dark ambitions, and thus serves as something of a wild card in the overarching plot of the 'Wheel' franchise.
As if to compensate for the slow pacing of the first 100 pages, the final 100 pages of 'Hunt' provide considerable action and suspense as Rand and company must deal with an army from across the sea, an army on a mission to ruthlessly conquer Randland in the name of a long-dead legendary hero. The novel ends on a high note that left me interested in proceeding to the next installment in the series, 'The Dragon Reborn.'
As with 'The Eye of the World,' if you're partial to lengthy fantasy novels with intricate world-building, then you likely will find 'The Great Hunt' rewarding.
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