Solid Sequel: The Great Hunt

I know I'm in it for the long haul with The Wheel of Time series, and there's a real risk with the length of each of these books to become bored if the story is drawn out and the pace drags.

Thankfully, none of that is true for the second installment, The Great Hunt. The book picks up relatively where the first book leaves off, with Rand Al'Thor continuing to refuse to acknowledge that he can channel the One Power, and is very clearly the Dragon Reborn. A male who can channel can also break the world, again, so it makes perfect sense that Rand is terrified of this and refuses to use the power even though its call to him gets stronger and stronger.

This book did not lack for urgency, as the magical Horn of Valere that will bring back the heroes of the ages to fight for whichever side blows the horn is stolen, along with the dagger from Shayol Ghul that Matt is tied to and will die without. So dragon or no, Rand has to help his friends with all their current perils while also trying to figure out who he is, what he wants, and how he can avoid being strung along by the secretive/manipulative Aes Sedai Moraine. Which is hard, since he doesn't know what she wants, or how far below the surface her actions and words go.

The introduction of more Aes Sedai, who all feel differently about the Dragon Reborn and what should be done about him, added another layer of conflict and interest, as did the addition of new and powerful Darkfriends. All in all, this was a very tense volume, right up until the dramatic battle in the sky at the end, which is going to make it next to impossible for Rand to continue to insist that he is not Lews Therin come back to battle Shai'tan. You'd think that the Dark One being inside Rand's head while he dreams would be enough to dispel his doubt, but Rand is stubborn - a fine quality in a hero.

K. Rating: 5/5