The Great Hunt

Book Two of The Wheel Of Time

By: Robert Jordan

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 26 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

Robert Jordan’s number one New York Times best-selling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, continues as Rand al’Thor and his companions set out to retrieve a powerful magical artifact from The Dark One’s Shadowspawn in The Great Hunt.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of....

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

In pursuit of the thieves, Rand al’Thor is determined to keep the Horn out of the grasp of The Dark One. But he has also learned that he is The Dragon Reborn - the Champion of Light destined to stand against the Shadow time and again. It is a duty and a destiny that requires Rand to uncover and master magical capabilities he never imagined he possessed.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant number one New York Times best sellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.

The Wheel of Time®
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

By Robert Jordan
Warrior of the Altaii

By Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons
The Wheel of Time Companion

By Robert Jordan and Amy Romanczuk
Patterns of the Wheel: Coloring Art Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

Listen to more books in The Wheel of Time series.

©1990 The Bandersnatch Group, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Jordan creates a lush, sprawling tapestry of a novel in the tradition of Tolkien and Eddings." (Library Journal)

Can one relate to characters so clueless?

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was only mildly annoyed at the stupidity of the characters as it felt reasonable. It seems the second book saw a complete abandonment of any semblance of logic by several of the characters. It makes me sad that a series I have heard such good things about is so unpalatable due to a few truly stupid characters. On the bright side the narrators a exceptional in my opinion so while I am rooting for the bad guys to win I can at least enjoy the way the story sounds.

Great continuing intro

I'm adding my review as a pure review, and to encourage others. I've read the series four times and have just completed the first two audiobooks. Jordan has created a world that is similar to ours in many ways, in fact each 'major' nation is modeled after an actual nation, at some point in history. Jordan does borrow some ideas from other literary sources, but does a better job than other authors of actually explaining aspects of his world. The One Power, the Trollocs, Myyrdraal, Forsaken, and Aes Sedai; Jordan actually lets the reader in on how the Power works, as opposed to just saying, "These people are magicians. Deal with it."
To David in MA, who seemed a little bored with the series, I have one word of encouragement. Without going into specifics, Matt MUST be hated during the first two books, as you will find out in The Dragon Reborn. Things have happened to him, mostly self-induced, that you won't understand until Book 3, at which point he becomes one of the most interesting and likable characters in the series. If it helps, the first 3 books in the Wheel of Time are essentially foreshadowing the rest of the series. Every dream, side-remark, and ellipsis-ended comment really mean something. Having read the series as many times, I can tell you Jordan has woven so much into each book that I learn something new each time.
The Wheel of Time is long and not easy to read, but to date the most well thought-out and written series I've ever read. The Great Hunt has the best ending-sequence of any of the books, 1-10 so far. I hope this helps.

Very slow & mediocre start but finishes strong

At first I was only giving this book 2 stars because the majority of it was filled with annoying non-stop whining just like the first book, but a very strong ending changed that & I actually have hope for the 3rd book in the series. Several friends have basically been begging me to get into this series for years so I started it about 2 weeks ago & have been nothing but disappointed with it so far until now. What felt like a chore to read this series has actually changed into anticipation & I just hope the momentum carries over into the next book.

Disappointing after the first novel

I really wanted to like this book! I really, really wanted to. I loved the first novel and was looking forward to being able to have a long series to listen to for the next few months while I commute 2 hrs each direction. But, this one never really got going. It has some awesome moments and on the whole it was enjoyable, but the author spends far too much time giving the characters thoughts (he did it a lot in the first book as well, but it wasn't quite as annoying) and rehashing what we already know.

It just felt like this book had a LOT of filler. it would have been perfect if it was a third of the size.

Another problem with the book was Kate Reading. I usually love her, and I normally love her pairing with her husband Michael Kramer; the Stormlight Archive books are my favorites as far as narration. But, she really stinks here. I imagine that she gets better as the series goes on, but I found myself cringing when her part came and wishing that they would get back to Kramer.

I'm sure that I'll get the third book at some point, but I'm going to have to take a break for a long while before I do.

Even better than the first!

The narration was great although the two readers do pronounce something differently. The switching off between the two was annoying to me at first but I quickly saw the merits of it. After finishing this book, I wouldn't have it read any other way!

The story really kicks off here. It's not the best ending but certainly not worth less than 4 stars. A great read and a faster pace than book one.

Great Series, Great Readers

I am overjoyed to find audible choose to carry this Unabridged series. It is pretty much the only place anywhere you can find this extraordinary Unabridged audio series. The abridged version of this series is horrible; however this version is a true and rare audio gem. I have listened to literally a few hundred audio books in my life, most of which were either sci-fi/ fantasy and this series stands out as one of the best I've heard. It has exquisite readers both Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are among the best audio readers I've ever heard. As anyone who has heard audio can probably relate to, the quality of the reader is vital to the experience of the book and these are simple two of the best in the business. They capture the characters perfectly and draw you in like few other readers can. Another great and fairly unique thing this audio reading does is when the books comes from the perspective of a female character Kate gives you the female voice to match, where as if you are in the head of a male character Michael reads to give you that male feel. This makes a big difference in the whole experience and how much the reading brings the character to life and draws you into their books world. Speaking of which, Robert Jordan's WOT world is one of the most vivid, complex and original world I have experienced in fantasy. The world's complexity continues to grow throughout the huge epic series. It makes you want to know what is going on in different lands almost as much as what is happening with different characters. In the first half of this series each book is better then the one before as the main characters, the world and the adventure expands. If you get a chance, please request that audible carry the rest of this Unabridged series. As of now they carry book one (The Eye of the World) and two (The Great Hunt). I guess that's about it. Enjoy, I hope you have as much fun with it as I did.

It gets worse

I seriously don't understand what the fuss is about. So many reviews saying the series is 'Masterful' or 'Incredible'. It is not. Non of these characters are interesting or likable and non of the places they journey to are original or exciting. Eye of the World was mediocre at best, but I thought maybe the series would get better with The Great Hunt. It doesn't. It gets worse.

Now, I've read my fair share of bad epic fantasy and this is by no means the worst, but I can't let pass how dull the characters are or how little I care for them. Non of them have any of the strong personalities that George RR Martin instilled in Song of Ice and Fire or Joe Abercrombie did in The First Law Trilogy. Those were memorable characters. The ones in Wheel of Time are all so lifeless and boring that I gave up caring about their stupid problems about half-way through.

Spend your credits or money on something else. Robert Jordan is way over-rated.

just couldn't get into it

not a bad I just felt like I had to force myself to listen

Michael Kramer!

Best narrator(s) I've encountered, amazing story and audiobook. A great experience listening in.

Wow! Engaging intricate world with deep characters

Reading a novel like this I feel I should be kissing Jordan?s feet. How anyone can create such an immense intricate world filled with such deep, diverse characters is just mind blowing. I?ve listened to the first two books in this series and can?t wait for audible to come out with the rest. I was happy to find that this second book started right where the first left off with all the same characters to whom I had grown attached in the first book. Listen to The Eye of the World first.

After the incredible experience and the shattering end of the first book, Jordan expands on this world, having introduced many parts of the world in the first book which play a bigger part in this story. It makes the reader feel they have an intimate connection to the world as the stories that were introduced in the first book are explored in further detail here. New villains and old ones, betrayal and treachery, make you fear for the characters you feel close to.

Be forewarned that if you hate mental narratives, this book is probably not for you. You will spend long periods of time in minds of different characters, each giving you unique perspectives on the world and other characters. Like the first book, this book has some of the most thrilling action sequences I?ve encountered in my reading. In fact, there is a bit more action than in the first, though Jordan doesn?t neglect to continue developing the characters and world.

The readers are superb! There are two readers, a man for scenes where you?re following a male character and a woman for when you?re following a female. They capture perfectly the emotion of each character and scene. I?m relatively new to audio books, and these reader make a great case for how listening to a story is so far superior to reading one. Their voices paint the world with a clarity not possible when reading (written word is so primitive, huh?).

Great books! Can?t recommend highly enough.

As good as the 1st!

The Great Hunt takes up the reigns where the Eye Of The World leaves off, absorbing me into it's story and once again leaving me eager for more!

A story in it's own right, you could probably jump into this book without reading the first - but what a waste that would be!

Think 'Lord of the Rings' and you'll have an idea of the sort of book this is. Full of rich detail, complex, interesting, and exciting. The plot seems to twist and turn and unlike other books I've read the ending isn't transparent from the start.

Never a dull moment!

Excellent!

Narration ruins the enjoyment of the story

I was very excited to get on to book 2 after listening to book 1 and thoroughly enjoying listening to the epic journey read by Rosamund Pike……..in book 2 it appears the story is ‘read’ by a combination of a 1920’s black and white movie actor and a female Siri who rambles through the book in a monotonous American diatribe!

Why is this Troy McClure narrating this??

The narration is awful. Simply awful.

I can’t even express just how disappointed I am.

Do yourself a favour and stick with physical.

Appalling decision to have a thick American accent narrate a medieval fantasy. Just shocking.

Pronunciation confusion

Story is good, the 2 narrators could have communicated to each other before recording these books though, hearing the man pronounce stuff one way only for the woman to pronounce it another is ever so slightly jarring to the ears.
Is it More-ane? Is it Moi-rain? Please, between the 2 of you, choose!

Repetitive

I actually enjoy the story quite a bit but the narrative is so frustrating and repetitive. No wonder he took so many books and so long to write these things. I don't know how many times I've been told that the witches don't lie, what an Aiel man looks like, that Rand doesn't believe he's the dragon, that the 3 main boys don't like the witches, that this thing is evil, that that thing is bad. I can remember points from a few paragraphs ago and a few chapters ago, even a book ago. Alas the author doesn't think so.

Also the woman's voice is so samey. I can't tell who is meant to be speaking half the time.

Good story, bad narration

Narrators sound bored, especially the woman who sounds like a satnav. Should have gotten Steven Pacey or Simon Ambrose to redo them.

enjoyable but with proble s

enjoying the story, but there are issues with the narrator's. the pace, pitch and tone are quite poor. dlDifferent characters sound exactly the same and everything comes through rushed. If you are not paying full attention then you can easily become lost

Seanchan Rising

This 2nd book is where Jordan really starts to take the reins in this series. Much like Paolini does with his sequel to Eragon. The first Paolini book was written like a 16 year old, learning the craft of writing for the first time. In Jordan's case the first book had parts that were very much written as if an exercise in fantasy writing. With Paolini, the 2nd book read like it was written by a different author! So much better! In this case, you still know it is Jordan, but the ending of the first book could easily have been turned to stand on it's own, though clearly Jordan wanted the series to continue. One might be reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV. The first series was only half a series, designed to play out as it was, and if it did not continue, then so be it. Clearly a beautiful forray into TV story arcing resulted, and here the 2nd book in Wheel of Time is where the story really starts moving.
Rand needs to accept he is the chosen one, but really struggles with this. Forced into helping Mat save his life, bound to the fate of the Horn of Valere and the Ruby Hilted Dagger from Shadar Logoth, we see forsaken rise into the story, and visit old friends thought lost in the first book. And the battle on Almouth Plain towards the end with the Seanchan weaves the crossover to book 3 perfectly. As with all Wheel of Time books, this one can surely be listened to separately, but you should do the obligatory context thing, and not lose out on such a brilliant series. Book 14 comes out this year in April (2012), and you should either read, listen or both all of the books through 13!!

Surprised and Delighted by American Narrators

I am a fan of the series, but just don't have the time for a full re-read, so audiobooks it is!

I started with the Rosamund Pike narration of the Eye of The World - thinking to myself that I wouldn't be able to palate a high fantasy world delivered in an American accent. Yes, Pike's narration was excellent, but she has only narrated the first book (at the time of this review, January 2022). So, I was faced with the choice of not continuing my re-read (listen?), or take the plunge with the original audio. How thankful I am that I continued!!

I never imagined that I would be able to lose myself into the world of the wheel of time without that fantasy-safe RP English accent to guide me. I even saw some reviews saying the same here! however within minutes I had totally forgotten the earthly nationality of Kramer and Reading, and was enthralled by their telling of this second installment of a truely epic tale.

Kramer and Reading clearly know their characters very well, and subtly change their voices to differentiate between characters. True, there were a couple of instances where I was not too sure who was speaking (very few instances in the grand scheme), but no more that I would have myself when reading a dialogue heavy chapter.

I am proceeding to buy the next installment immediately, and am excited to have Kramer and Reading as my companions for this return to the Wheel of Time.

Happy listening to you all!! :)

Beautiful

My life has changed so much over the year I have read this series not so much the things that are in my life but my outlook on it. With a heavy heart I finish the last book and can confidently say with a tear in my eye this is the best book series I have read in my thousands of hours of reading and listening to them this is the first and likely the last book series that has made me cry at the end and if you are apprehensive about reading a 14 book series I can tell you now that you will not regret it at the end a phenomenal story all the way through with a pair of incredible readers makes these books my favourite of all time.