The making of Legends (The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
Date:	06/03/02 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: strong plot, good development of ideas from the first book, new elements as well

Disadvantages: you have tor ead book one to stand any chance of following this.

This is the second book in a series, and its the kind of series that isn't going to make a whole lot of sense unless you read the first book. With some series, (think Harry Potter) you can outline what's happened before to a passable degree, but these books are just too huge.

For reasons of my sanity as much as yours, I'm going to assume that either you've read the first book "The Eye of the World" or you don't mind being plunged in at the deep end. I'll try to make this make sense.....

A legendary horn has been found, the horn of Valere. The legend goes that when sounded, the dead heros of old will rise up to fight. The problem is, the fight on the side of the horn blower. The horn is first found by a group of would be adventurers (in book 1), and they are set on taking it to its rightful home, when it is stolen during a violent raid. The theif is known to be a particularly nasty peice of work who might or might not be working for the biggest bad guy we've seen so far. Other things are stolen as well, things that could casue the deaths of some of the friends involved.

Rand al Thor (might have a destiny but still thinks he's just a shepherd) Mat (who urgently needs to retrieve a dagger that's been stolen) Perrin, who can talk to wolves, and Loial, an Ogier (half giant sort of thing), set out with a magic user called Verin (Aes Sedia for those reading the series) a man who can sniff out violence, and a whole host of armed blokes. The chase leads them across country, into other worlds, different cultures and a huge political mess.

Meanwhile, several young women who are friends with the young men - Nynaeve, Elayne, Egwene and Min, are all tricked into leaving their training as Aes Sedia, and going on a mission to aid the lads. The trip has ' trap' marked clearly on it, but none of them seems to notice until its to late. Their plot is woven into the fate awatign the lads, and onl
y some serious smart thinking and courage is going to rescue them.

The book is littered with familair faces from the fist book, and expands well on the cultures and politics. The plot hops about all over the place, with no shortage of surprises, puzzles and openings for the rest of the series. Who will sound the horn, and what will happen when they do? Does sounding the horn really mark the beginning of the last battle before the destruction of the world, or is it going to be more complicated than that? Who is the mysterious woman in what looks like a nighty who appears on the front cover, and who crops up at unlikely moments to pester Rand?

On the whole very good - impossible to put down, enthralling, and now I'm going to have to start the next one....

Summary: