Customer Reviews

Hunt Begins (Great Hunt)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Robert Jordan's "The Great Hunt" is a great book, undeniably, and as this book is simply the first half of it, it must be as well. However, I can't see any point in buying this, or its partner (the second half of "The Great Hunt," titled "New Threads in the Pattern"). Granted that the original book was a bit big and bulky, why buy two books that are merely the halves of one? They will cost significantly more. The pacing and flow of the books cannot help but to be skewed by the division. There is no upside to the deal that I can see. Again, I highly recommend the story; it's an excellent example of Jordan at his best. However, just buy the original, save yourself some money, and enjoy the book in its entirety, the way it was meant to be read.

Robert Jordan has an excellent plan here. Create a very good story with fun charecters, get everyone hooked and wanting to see the conclusion, spin the story out of control until no end is in site, rake in the cash, get more greedy, reprint the books in different formats, rake in even more cash.

I give this book 2 stars simply on the fact that this was when the story was still good. The original book warented 5 stars, but this being half of that original and a reprint really takes it down a few stars. If you have not started this series run away as fast as you can. If you are addicted currently, this is a reprint you have read and probably own, so it will not satisfy your fix. If you are Robert Jordan, Please finish this story so all of our lives can go on. Get us to the final battle and I promise you that people will buy the books in the spin off series about every third tier character that you feel needs a place in the main series.

Regardless of who you are, do not support Robert Jordan stealing from us by buying this book. We have to send a message that we want closure.

Okay, so this is NOT a new addition to the WOT series. It's the 1st half of the 2nd book in the Wheel of Time series.

As a parent who has enjoyed (at least up through Book 6), the Wheel of Time series, I have been pleased that the publishers have broken up the books-- otherwise, my teenage son would not even dream of tackling 700 or 800 pages. I purchased "From the Two Rivers" for him. He devoured that and moved onto "Into the Blight." Now it's time for "The Hunt Begins." Truthfully, I could never have gotten him to read "The Eye of the World" because of its girth.

To the other reviewers and prospective buyers-- you should be aware of what you are purchasing-- the title clearly states that this is Book 2, Part 1-- if you already have read Book 2 then you don't need to but this!

The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2) is the original second book in the Wheel Of Time series. It is an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in an enormous fantasy series.

This book is merely the FIRST HALF of The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2), if you already own The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2) DO NOT buy this book. Why it was ever released is a mystery to me, someone is probably trying to make more money from the series.

If you're a fan of the series, please use the above link to get to the REAL book, ignore this one.

Just wanted to say that I loved all the books. Yes some parts did run on and on, but what book that thick doesn't. Another thing is I have only found these books in the younger reader sections not in the adult sections of barnes and nobles. I believe they are marketed for a younger crowd. Robert Jordan died on sept. 16, 2007. So have a little respect.

I have been waiting for years to actually see a Robert Jordan book that follows what was in the first 7. All those books, while having some filler in them, were action packed. (...). Repackaging a book that has already been released into two books will end up [confusing] people who have already bought "The Great Hunt", and will end up annoying more people than it pleases. The greed in this stunt is disgusting, and I honestly feel that he has alienated many people with it.

An excellent, well written book that contains absolutely nothing new. All of it's content is found in the previous books, and the only possible reason for it's publication is to make money by pretending it has new material.

If you can, then retitle this book as the biggest money grabbing RIP OFF i have ever come across. I have been anxiously waiting for closure to TEN THICK NOVELS i have lived with, dreamt with and toiled with the characters within. Is the end of this series on the horizon??? Can't tell for sure since the author is too busy repackaging in small bites a cash grab from his once loyal fans. I understand he may be hoping to pull in the ages 9-12 youth readers, but why not FINISH THE SERIES first!!!
Please Goggle his fan page or website and LET HIM KNOW you are NOT WELL PLEASED.
Signed, Horribly Disappointed

Sometimes a hit isn't as good as the second time around. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series debuted in the slow, ponderous "Eye of the World." The follow up is "The Great Hunt," with a slightly better plot and some Machievellian intrigues, but the first half "The Hunt Begins: The Great Hunt, Part 1" only illuminates Jordan's many writing flaws.

Rand and company have arrived at the home of the Aes Sedai, the female sorceresses who now hold his fate in their collective hands -- because he can do magic, albeit by accident, they might "gentle" him. What he doesn't know is that Moraine and the Aes Sedai leader, the Amyrlin, are secretly plotting to keep him safe -- because they suspect he is the Dragon Reborn.

All the Aes Sedai intrigues are interrupted when the stronghold is invaded by trollocs and a Myrdraal -- and a message for Rand is scrawled on the wall in blood. Turns out that they were stealing the legendary Horn of Valere, which can raise dead heroes. So Rand and his friends -- including Mat, whose life is bound to a stolen dagger -- go out in search of the horn.

Robert Jordan's books are slow. Really slow. Incredibly slow -- the hero, Rand, spends a hundred pages fretting about something that never happens. He spends an entire chapter getting dressed. Long books -- Dosteyevsky, Thackeray, Tolkien -- are often good things, richly nuanced and full of intricate plotting. But Jordan just seems to be describing everything in detail.

The plot itself has promise -- the action scenes tend to be swift, gritty and tense; the idea of a stolen horn that can raise the dead is an intriguing one. But between it is endless pages of quibbling and personal tics, as well as dozens of minor characters who have no bearing on the plot. For example, Jordan introduces countless Aes Sedai, but only two other than Moraine have any plot purpose.

Sadly, Jordan's writing isn't up to the challenge -- he reads like a second-rate pulp writer. The force of ultimate evil is called Shai'tan (can't he come up with a better name?), and just stops short of cackling out loud. The characters all interact by flirting or bickering, usually with women expressing disdain for the men. Jordan devotes a great deal of attention to the jewelry and clothing of the characters, even devoting a paragraph to a piece of Moraine's jewelry.

The characters are more like a collection of tics and personality flaws than actual people -- Rand spends all his time worrying, but breaks out long enough to be a hero. Nynaeve and Egwene pull their hair and snipe, while Perrin feels inferior and Mat flirts. Of all the characters, Moraine is the only one who comes across as a person, especially since she keeps most of her plans to herself.

"The Great Hunt" is one of those fantasy books that could have been quite good if about three hundred pages had been whittled out of it. As for "The Hunt Begins: The Great Hunt, Part 1," it's half of a bloated fantasy sprawl.

New Jordan readers beware! As the prior poster mentioned, Jordan's greedy lust for a big payday has led him to splitting his novels in two and then selling both halves as separate books. Do not waste your money getting into this series only to have Jordan try to rip you off some more with his mediocre efforts on books 6-10.

With several of these books, 9 and 10 if memory serves, Jordan writes a whole lot of nothing and spreads it over two books. Both of these books take place at the exact same time, are voluminous in terms of number of pages, introduce multiple, meaningless story arcs and characters, and each only has about 150 pages of actual plot advancement.

Don't get me wrong, The Great Hunt was a fantastic book. Having to pay twice as much to read it is simply unacceptable.