The Great Hunt

By: Robert Jordan

Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer

Length: 26 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Wheel of Time turns and ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the age that gave it birth returns again.

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.

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)

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.

24 people found this helpful

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.

80 people found this helpful

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.

28 people found this helpful

Michael Kramer!

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

17 people found this helpful

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.

24 people found this helpful

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.

3 people found this helpful

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.

2 people found this helpful

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.

2 people found this helpful

Better than the first

I just finished this one in the series and it was more exciting that the first book. I can't wait to get started on the next and the next and the next. It is a great series.

8 people found this helpful

I liked it

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The characters sometimes appear a little too dumb, argumentative and mulish - I need to know what makes them so special.

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert Jordan? Why or why not?

Yes - I will buy book 3 because I need to know...

What three words best describe Kate Reading and Michael Kramer ’s performance?

I did not like Kate's voice.

18 people found this helpful

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!

10 people found this helpful

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.

3 people found this helpful

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!

3 people found this helpful

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!!

3 people found this helpful

great but flawed

What did you like most about The Great Hunt?

the underlying story is conceptually great and engaging, very impressive. I just find the character models very basic...the interplay between men and women can be frankly irritating and somewhat juvenile. That aside the books each drive forward well, with each book marking a distinct step towards the end.

Who was your favorite character and why?

i guess Matt, just because he's the gambler/rogue type. Perrin is too much the boyscout, and Rand too much the brooding hero. Matt seems able to have a little irreverent fun.

Have you listened to any of Kate Reading and Michael Kramer ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

i have and they read them as well and professionally as others i've heard. I'm not particularly a fan of either's style, particularly Kate's to be honest...a little too stilted and dry, but that's a personal taste and isn't disliked enough to put me off.

Any additional comments?

these books are great, but let down a little by too many character threads that are never tied up and closed off, and poor female/male interplay/dialogue.
I've read all the books and am just re-listening to them at work in the background, as i don't need to pay full attention, already knowing the story...the books leave me occasionally enthralled and sadly sometimes annoyed.

2 people found this helpful

Average

Done it! Listened while working through the whole 14 books. Not bad - not brilliant either. Too much describing of what are people wearing, limited dictionary of dialogues and male-female relationships/interactions painfully similar, predictable -boring (Mr Freud would find it certainly interesting though :)

Maybe because English isn't my first language, maybe I'm spoiled by other writers or maybe Robert Jordan just isn't my type of author but haven't I been working at the time of listening I would considered it time wasted.

2 people found this helpful

Really enjoyable

A fitting sequel to the Eye of the world, the Great Hunt carries the tale to new depths of imagination.

2 people found this helpful

a well written story with ups and downs

i liked it thou the book drops the ball sometimes,
Well preformed youst haveto push trough.

just gets better and better

loved it! The books just get better and better and can't wait to get on to the next one! highly recommended!

Great 2nd Book

Slow but interesting start, then lots of great moments written at a good pace. Fantastic ending. I find kates voice to be so nice to listen too but sometimes a little fast, so i recommend her chapters to be slowed down to x0.95 (this is being picky). Im reading and listening and love listening on my dog walks and car journeys. Michaels variety of voices is spectacular.