The Great Hunt

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.

23 of 25 people found this review 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.

76 of 86 people found this review 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.

25 of 28 people found this review helpful

Michael Kramer!

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

15 of 17 people found this review 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 of 28 people found this review helpful

Great

It was a great read and just as fun listerning to is as a re-read! Good build up of characters and a smooth, gripping story.

6 of 7 people found this review 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.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great listening - detailed description

If you could sum up The Great Hunt in three words, what would they be?

Freedom meets prophecy

What other book might you compare The Great Hunt to and why?

Its a style on its own.

What does Kate Reading and Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like that they take various voice and intonation for the various characters. Makes the story more alive. Kudo's for a great reading on their part.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sad a few place. Poor guy fighting against a destiny towards madness and death. "Duty is heavier than a mountain"

Any additional comments?

Get this, its a good listening.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The saga continues

Picking up where the first book in the series left off, The Great Hunt is a bit slower on the get-go than the first one was, with the pace only picking up about a third into the book.
The readers resurrect the characters from the first book seamlessly, with the same voices and characterisations used of returning characters meaning that it is easy to pick up and listen to this audio book without having to get used to all the voices all over again and find out which character each belongs to. Kate Reading in particular seems to have gotten into her stride a bit more, and her voice is less grating than it was in the first book. Her narrations of the sections of the book that deal with the Aes Sedai are now precisely how these powerful women themselves are described: calm, collected, cool, wise... She has also fleshed out the vocal characterisations she uses for each of the characters and they are more easily discernible than they were in the first book.

5 of 6 people found this review 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.

16 of 21 people found this review helpful