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.

7 people found this helpful

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.

26 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.

32 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.

82 people found this helpful

Michael Kramer!

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

18 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.

25 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

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.

3 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.

9 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