The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Being the Fourth Post of my Project Reread...
I was slightly tempted to just write “more of the same” and leave it at that, but I can’t… I mean, in one aspect, Robert Jordan’s second book in the Wheel of Time series is more of the same - entertaining high fantasy, distinguished by excellent world building and enjoyable characters. On the other hand, this book is not more of the same - we watch the story grow and really get our first inkling that this isn’t your average fantasy trilogy which seemed to be the norm of the day (back when I first read it, I remember thinking “no way is this guy going to finish this story in the next book”, and I couldn’t have been happier about that).

The Great Hunt opens, more or less, where The Eye of the World left us. We are then thrown into your somewhat typical fantasy quest along with some other side stories. Our characters develop nicely and quite naturally throughout this book. I am going to eventually sound like a broken record, but I really just enjoy spending time in the world Robert Jordan creates here, and that is exactly what this book provides. We learn more of the legends and prophecies which play a large part in this series. We see and learn about new lands and meet the people of those lands. We meet new characters, and catch up with some characters that you might not think would be back in the story. We see Tar Valon and the White Tower for the first and learn a little more about the inner workings of the Aes Sedai (don’t worry, lots more to be learned about them as the series moves along). All in all, as satisfying of a sequel as I have read.

One thing I think I forgot to mention while discussing The Eye of the World, and which is also present in The Great Hunt (and something of very little note) is that the chapter titles do a nice job of describing their contents without spoiling anything. Yes, this is a small thing, but it is nice to be able to go back and just read the chapter titles to jog your memory on what occurred - sort of a nice thing as I am writing this almost two weeks after I finished.

Was it worth a reread? Yes, and in some ways more so than the first volume. The Eye of the World has such a strong place in my memory that it occasionally overshadows some of the books that follow. The Great Hunt was every bit as enjoyable as The Eye of the World, and in some instances much more rewarding and entertaining.
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Collector’s note - The Great Hunt is every bit as collectible as The Eye of the World, being the first edition was woefully under printed in relation to the popularity that this series eventually came to (that is not to say this was a fault of the publisher - it is not - it is just that, again I am pretty sure, no one involved dreamed that this was about to become “The” fantasy series of the 90’s).
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Up next on my Project Reread - I am still deciding between The Dragon Reborn and The Fellowship of the Ring (which I, for some reason, foresee as taking more time to get through than the other books I have reread thus far). I am really enjoying myself with this Project Reread, and I am quite happy that I have lots more rereading in front of me.