THE GREAT HUNT (The Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written February 22, 2020)

It’s so exciting to find a series that lives up to the hype and delivers on so many fronts. What a refreshing feeling to read the first 2 of 14 and not balk at having so far to go. This series is legit.

The characters are going through so much noticeable growth, and each has their own specific and extraordinary hardships. There’s also a strong showcase in this book for the deep level of world and society-building that feels like it was pieced together before even the characters were written (two entirely separate and mysterious people from another land make appearances, what??). Maybe that’s the secret to good epic fantasy?

We’re also getting a smooth interweaving of plots and character trajectories that helps compound the intrigue and interest for new ones, while somehow keeping things simple enough it doesn’t feel stuffed or murky. Plus, there’s some prime applause-worthy Good vs. Evil moments to cap it all off (think Mrs. Weasley calling Bellatrix Lestrange a bitch in Harry Potter).

I truly don’t know what to expect with each page, though I wasn’t surprised there were small lulls in excitement due to a fair amount of roaming and “hunting” for the horn. The destinations and detours make up for any slow parts, and every time I felt the worry of boredom creeping in, the story would send a perfectly timed jolt to get it running again.

These aren’t going to be light, fast, summer-breezy reads, and I’m glad for that. These are truly an experience, one I’m already kind of sad has to come to an end. Hopefully none of the middle volumes change my view on that — as evidenced by the state of affairs on page 1 compared to 681, a lot can happen with a lot of pages.