Challenge Tuesday (on a Wednesday) – 40

I am going to do what I wasn’t going to do, and write about book 2 of the Wheel of Time Series. Mostly because I have had no time to read anything else…

I may do book 3 next week, but then I promise I’ll move on because otherwise you’ll get terribly bored!

Book 40 – The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.  Following on from Book 1, Rand Al’Thor, shepherd from the Two Rivers, has been named as The Dragon Reborn: the reincarnation of the man who Broke the  World.  As those who served the Dark One are escaping their eternal prison, there is a more immediate threat to Rand and his loved ones: Padan Fain, one-time peddlar, bitter Darkfriend, and twisted host of Mordeth.  He has stolen the Horn of Valere, and the dagger that Mat needs to stay alive.  Meanwhile, the women who are linked to Rand – Egwene, Nynaeve, Elayne and Min – face their own horrors when Egwene is caught and leashed by the mysterious Seanchan.  As the Seanchan Forerunners gain a foothold in Toman Plain, Rand’s battle with the Dark One comes ever closer…

This book is as engaging as book one, with strange magics, mysterious artefacts and terrible dangers.  There is a sense of the young people growing from naivety to a realisation that the world is not as clear and true as they would believe it to be, and the women, especially, have to pay for their innocence.

In this book, a few of Jordan’s ideas start to be a little more intrusive: all the men from the Two Rivers have a moment or two where they are unable to talk properly with a woman, and wish they had the skills of their friends in this area.  Nynaeve’s inability to use her powers without being angry means we see her constantly on the edge of irritation and pulling at her own braid is a short-hand for this so that happens a lot.

However, this is also one of the most effective books in the series for me.  Underlying everything are two key principles: you can’t avoid your destiny, no matter how hard you may try; and that true friendship, and true loyalty, is more powerful than an army. Many of the individual journeys each viewpoint character will take is also forecast from this book onwards, although I won’t say any more about that for fear of spoilers!

Overall, this is another strong book from Jordan.  The characters are growing, and the world they inhabit is becoming both geographically larger and more complex.  They are discovering it as we do, which seems to be a common technique in fantasy novels where the worlds the characters inhabit are not the same as our own.

Once you get to this point in the series, the likelihood is that you will read on, because you’ll want to know how the story progresses. I won’t say every book is as good as these fist ones, but the story remains as complex and multi-faceted throughout.

Happy reading,

EJ

🙂