You got the horn so why don't you blow it?
Finished The Great Hunt yesterday. Wondering how the hell I'll manage to get through all of these books...
Plot summary:
Since the book is called The Great Hunt, and the Horn of Valere was found at the end of the last one, of course one of the first things to happen in this book is that the horn gets stolen, along with Mat's dagger from Shadar Logoth which apparently will kill him if he keeps it but will kill him even faster if he's not close to it. So... more riding across the country! Along the way Rand, Loial and a "sniffer" called Hurin manages to fall asleep next to a Portal Stone and gets transported to some weird parallell world. Here they encounter hilarious monsters called grolm (come ON!) and a woman called Selene whom they Rand trusts immediately which frankly is STUPID. They get back to the real world and end up in Cairhien where everyone thinks Rand is a lord, which leads to misunderstandings and in the end civil war. Anyway, he meets up with the rest of the team and they realise they have to go to Falme because that's where the horn is being taken.
Meanwhile, Egwene and Nynaeve has been taken to the White Tower where Nynaeve gets to take the test for Accepted without even training as a Novice (no real reason is given for this except that she's strong). They meet Elayne and Min here, and then they all turn extremely stupid and follow Liandrin (of the Red Ajah, of which we so far has not met a single symphathetic character) through a Waygate to... Falme. Where, surprise surprise, it turns out Liandrin betrays them to the Seanchan, invaders from a foreign land with ways diffferent from our own. Egwene and Min are captured and Egwene made into a damane. The other two escape. Then they manage to spring Egwene from her imprisonment at the same time that Rand & co arrives in Falme and steals back the horn. Since everyone is now at the same place and we're at the end of the book, it is now time for the Big Battle and time for the big bad evil one to turn up. In the end the Seanchan are driven from Falme and Rand fights Ba'alzamon in the sky (yes, it is as weird as it sounds.) Also, duing this Mat blows the Horn of Valere, summoning the dead heroes to join in the battle, which means that Birgitte is finally here.
Some thoughts:
Compared to the last book it is a relief to read a book where things actually HAPPEN. Sure, it is still occasionally very tedious reading (especially the dream scenes. Why do they have to be so bloody long?) but at least some of the stuff is interesting. Many things which will be important in later books are introduced (or at least embellished on) here, such as the Portal Stones and the Seanchan and their damane. We get to learn more about Perrin and his relationship with wolves, as well as more about the Aes Sedai. But why, WHY are everyone acting so stupid?? Let me present the top three stupid things in the book!
3. Rand meets a strange, beautiful girl in the other world. He trusts her at once, without really thinking HOW she came to be there and HOW she knows how the monsters hunt. Now, admittedly Rand is a complete idiot, but STILL! Meeting someone sho seems to know a lot of strange things just like that... a little mistrust would not be amiss.
2. The Red Ajah Liandrin comes talking to Egwene and Nynaeve, telling them they must leave Tar Valon NOW and not talk to anyone else. She specifically says that they shouldn't trust anyone because anyone in the Tower can be Black Ajah. (Somehow they don't realise this applies to LIandrin as well.) They follow her, never wondering why she's not bothered by the Black Wind in the Ways. Elayne and Min tag along just because. Okay, I can handle Egwene and Elayne being this stupid, and perhaps Nynaeve, but Min? She should know better.
1. Egwene again! So, Nynaeve, Min and Elayne have managed to free her from being a damane, and now they need to sneak though the city to a waiting ship in the harbour. The city is teeming with soldiers since Rand just stole back the Horn and Whitecloaks are coming. So what does Egwene do? Sneak along as was the plan? No. She stands in the middle of the street, using the One Power to tear up the freaking road in front of the soldiers. How, just HOW is that helping anything at all except showing every single enemy they have where she is? Of course, two seconds later she has a great fireball coming her way...
Funniest moment:
Not a moment this time either (I should rename this category), but the fact that the most grizzled, battle-scarred, one-eyed Shienaran soldier who can't say anything without cursing is called... Uno. No. Just... no.
Most annoying thing:
See last post. It continues! *tears hair*
Anyway. All in all a more enjoyable book than the first, and if I remember correctly a hell lot better than the later ones. (Which makes me fear for reading the rest...)