Re-reading The Great Hunt
In which we meet a lot of New Folks, Verin RULES, and the Seanchan make their debut. Ewww.
After the Tolkien-ness of TEOTW, The Great Hunt (TGH) is where Jordan really starts developing this into his own unique world. And immediately, it's much larger than what we saw last time. TEOTW was pretty linear, told almost entirely from Rand's point of view, with detours into Perrin's and Nynaeve's heads during the split after Shadar Logoth. Here, within the first few chapters, we're flitting between Moiraine and Egwene and even Fain and Liandrin, and the dramatis personae also expands significantly.
Despite all that, we are nowhere near the multi-thread madness of later books just yet. We have only two main threads - the hunt for the Horn, and the girls in the White Tower - and they intersect pretty neatly in a Big Ending there.
In the first Big Event of the book, Siuan turns up at Fal Dara bringing half of the Aes Sedai Who Will Turn Out To Be Important with her. This is lucky, because wow, Moiraine disappears for basically this entire book, doesn't she? Our Aes Sedai in residence is Verin instead. I had forgotten how much Verin is in this book, but I have no complaints, because Verin is probably - no, definitely - my favourite WOT character of all. Every time she is on the page I have to stop myself from laughing out loud delightedly. Look at her go! From that first scene where she stuns Moiraine and Siuan and their dissing of the Brown Ajah (full disclosure: I would totally be Brown), she's just Pure Awesome from start to finish. (I love how Mat is the only one to kind of pick up on how devious she is.)
We get other cameos from the Fal Dara entourage, too. Carlinya, of all people, is there, and we kind of get to know Anaiya a bit too. Oh, and we see Alviarin for about a sentence! (I love Alviarin, but since she's barely in this book we'll talk about her later. What I will say is this: compare what she does in this book with what Liandrin does, and you'll see why she is such a Superior Villain.)
Nynaeve is still my favourite Emond's Fielder by a significant margin - look at her taking charge at Falme at the end there! - but I liked both Egwene and Elayne more than the first time around here. I kind of love how Elayne turns her princess-ness to her own benefit, without being all snobby about it. And I forgive myself for hating on Mat the first read, because it wasn't just TEOTW he was annoying in - he's even worse here. I mean, yes, the taint, but I cannot wait until he gets healed at Tar Valon.
The Seanchan make their appearance here, too. I cannot tell you how much I hate the Seanchan. Everything about them - what a horrible, horrible culture. I hope Artur Hawkwing is suitably chastened. The damane, the High Lords and the grovelling they demand - and then, of course, we meet a Darkfriend Seanchan about five minutes after they claim they got rid of them, which, big surprise. BOO. (This is generally directed at the Seanchan as a culture, since I vaguely remember liking Egeanin eventually. We'll see.) Mind you, it's a challenge figuring out who you want to win when it's Seanchan vs. Whitecloaks, because if there's a group I hate as much as the Seanchan, well, it's them.
Jordan was a bit more free with swinging the Grim Reaper's scythe earlier on, too, wasn't he? Ingtar got a standard Redemption in a Blaze of Glory, but it was still pretty touching. Then Geofram Bornhald at Falme - earlier than I remembered him carking it - and Dena, Barthanes and Galldrian all dead in Cairhien! (Not that we ever met Galldrian, and he sounded like an idiot, but still. That's a lot of people by WOT standards!)
Also: enter Lanfear. Wow is she annoying in this book. I don't remember much about her, apart from the whole Moiraine thing and the returning as Moridin's pet, but I hope she gets a bit more to do. Having said that, watching her try to make Rand fit her image of Lews Therin was pretty darn funny.
So what I said about Loial last time sounds pretty silly now, doesn't it? But I am pretty sure he fades away eventually. Just not yet, I guess. And Hurin kind of disappears right about now, doesn't he? A shame - I liked him.
After the Tolkien-ness of TEOTW, The Great Hunt (TGH) is where Jordan really starts developing this into his own unique world. And immediately, it's much larger than what we saw last time. TEOTW was pretty linear, told almost entirely from Rand's point of view, with detours into Perrin's and Nynaeve's heads during the split after Shadar Logoth. Here, within the first few chapters, we're flitting between Moiraine and Egwene and even Fain and Liandrin, and the dramatis personae also expands significantly.
Despite all that, we are nowhere near the multi-thread madness of later books just yet. We have only two main threads - the hunt for the Horn, and the girls in the White Tower - and they intersect pretty neatly in a Big Ending there.
In the first Big Event of the book, Siuan turns up at Fal Dara bringing half of the Aes Sedai Who Will Turn Out To Be Important with her. This is lucky, because wow, Moiraine disappears for basically this entire book, doesn't she? Our Aes Sedai in residence is Verin instead. I had forgotten how much Verin is in this book, but I have no complaints, because Verin is probably - no, definitely - my favourite WOT character of all. Every time she is on the page I have to stop myself from laughing out loud delightedly. Look at her go! From that first scene where she stuns Moiraine and Siuan and their dissing of the Brown Ajah (full disclosure: I would totally be Brown), she's just Pure Awesome from start to finish. (I love how Mat is the only one to kind of pick up on how devious she is.)
We get other cameos from the Fal Dara entourage, too. Carlinya, of all people, is there, and we kind of get to know Anaiya a bit too. Oh, and we see Alviarin for about a sentence! (I love Alviarin, but since she's barely in this book we'll talk about her later. What I will say is this: compare what she does in this book with what Liandrin does, and you'll see why she is such a Superior Villain.)
Nynaeve is still my favourite Emond's Fielder by a significant margin - look at her taking charge at Falme at the end there! - but I liked both Egwene and Elayne more than the first time around here. I kind of love how Elayne turns her princess-ness to her own benefit, without being all snobby about it. And I forgive myself for hating on Mat the first read, because it wasn't just TEOTW he was annoying in - he's even worse here. I mean, yes, the taint, but I cannot wait until he gets healed at Tar Valon.
The Seanchan make their appearance here, too. I cannot tell you how much I hate the Seanchan. Everything about them - what a horrible, horrible culture. I hope Artur Hawkwing is suitably chastened. The damane, the High Lords and the grovelling they demand - and then, of course, we meet a Darkfriend Seanchan about five minutes after they claim they got rid of them, which, big surprise. BOO. (This is generally directed at the Seanchan as a culture, since I vaguely remember liking Egeanin eventually. We'll see.) Mind you, it's a challenge figuring out who you want to win when it's Seanchan vs. Whitecloaks, because if there's a group I hate as much as the Seanchan, well, it's them.
Jordan was a bit more free with swinging the Grim Reaper's scythe earlier on, too, wasn't he? Ingtar got a standard Redemption in a Blaze of Glory, but it was still pretty touching. Then Geofram Bornhald at Falme - earlier than I remembered him carking it - and Dena, Barthanes and Galldrian all dead in Cairhien! (Not that we ever met Galldrian, and he sounded like an idiot, but still. That's a lot of people by WOT standards!)
Also: enter Lanfear. Wow is she annoying in this book. I don't remember much about her, apart from the whole Moiraine thing and the returning as Moridin's pet, but I hope she gets a bit more to do. Having said that, watching her try to make Rand fit her image of Lews Therin was pretty darn funny.
So what I said about Loial last time sounds pretty silly now, doesn't it? But I am pretty sure he fades away eventually. Just not yet, I guess. And Hurin kind of disappears right about now, doesn't he? A shame - I liked him.