The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (1991) – BR00278 (2025) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪
Plot or Premise
At the start of the book, Rand is in hiding for the winter with Moiraine, Loial and Perrin. But his powers as a ta’veren (fate changer) start to affect those around him in both good and bad ways. Meanwhile, the three new novices return to the White Tower to face a (fake) punishment for their absence and for Mat to be healed.
What I Liked
The novices start to play Nancy Drew for the Amrylin Seat, trying to figure out if the 13 Black Ajah who left the White Tower were the ONLY Black Ajah, or if others remain. The mystery is challenging to investigate as they can’t let anyone even know they are investigating. At the same time, Egwene starts to learn how to DreamWalk. However, eventually their investigations take them to Tear.
Mat is at loose ends for most of the book, trying to figure out what his role is, how HIS status as ta’veren is affecting the environment around him — like that almost every game of chance begins to tilt in his favour. However, the best scene is a fight against Gawyn and Galadedrid who have been boasting about their abilities a little too much for his taste, so he knocks them down a peg, literally. It shows a “better” side of Mat than you normally see, and even one that he isn’t sure he recognizes, even with its dark edges. His hookup with Thom leads to an adventure that takes him to Tear,
However, the main focus is on Perrin as he makes his way in search of Rand, who has run away on his own to face his destiny without affecting the rest of the gang. Along the way, he is joined by Faile who is in search of the Horn, not realizing it has already been found (and blown, by Mat).
Ultimately, everyone has to storm a castle with Rand inside, for a final battle complete with Aiel joining in. It takes a long time to get there, but it’s a great transition.
What I Didn’t Like
The editing didn’t seem as bad with this book, but the repetition is still annoying. If a certain novice grabs her braids another 500 times in a book, I might just give up. Or the constant clichés about whether you can trust an Aes Sedai. Seriously, the author thought people were picking up these books mid-series and would be able to follow them? It’s almost impossible to follow them if you read them in ORDER, you would have little chance joining mid-series, so the constant explanations of things that are already explained over and over and over is, umm, disruptive.
And yes, the constant complaints and in-fighting for Egwene and Nynaeve is as tedious as ever.
However, the thing that bothered me the most is how little of the story is about or with Rand. You know, the Dragon Reborn? The one that THIS volume of the series is NAMED AFTER? Yet 80% of the book is about everybody else.
The Bottom Line
It should be called “Friends of the Dragon Reborn”
Here is my cheat sheet of characters in the novel.
JotD: Spiders (PWH00031)
QotD: Regret (PWQ00055)
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (1992) – BR00277 (2025) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪
Plot or Premise
The Horn of Valere was found and then stolen, and the Fellowship has to go get it back, while backing each other up as they learn what the wheel has in mind for them.
What I Liked & Didn’t Like
As with the first book, I see a lot of abysmal editing…references repeated over and over and over (about how the Aes Sedai can’t lie but they don’t always tell you what you think you heard, or you make a deal with them but it isn’t always the deal you think, or how most Wisdoms can’t tell anything from the Wind but claim to anyway, or how one particular character pulls on her braids EVERY SCENE SHE IS IN!). It’s really annoying. Not to mention discontinuities in spelling of names (Hawkwing/Hawking, Bryne/Byrne, etc.).
But, at the beginning, there is a giant plot hole for the premise. At the end of Book 1, at the Eye of the World, they found the Horn of Valere. They have it at the Castle Keep. In a strong room. And yet, the head of the keep is setting everyone up to go off and look for it. Sure, they’re keeping it quiet, but still? The Hunt is about to begin and the big honourable Lord is about to send his men off to look for something they already have? Then it is stolen, so they DO have to go look for it, after all, but he makes it seem almost a side quest to recapture the Dark Friend, Padan Fain, who stole it but that nobody except a few actually know stole it since they didn’t tell anyone they had it. Shh…it’s a secret. Yet they need it for the final Battle, and they don’t set EVERYONE after him. Umm, okay. Sure, whatever.
After that, we have stupid angst stuff with Mat and Perrin towards Rand (yawn), Rand acting like an child (yawn), and the women also acting fairly childish around each other.
The book could have been about a third of its length and really SANG with a focus on Padan Fain escaping, the women of the fellowship going off to train as Aes Sedai at Tar Valon, Rand and the gang travelling around the countryside following him, and everyone ending up at the end in the same area to fight the Dark forces, the Seanchan, and perhaps some of the Children of the Light too.
It’s a great epic battle and — spoiler alert — I love how the two baddies fighting ended up being blasted across the sky for all to see, along with Mat being the one to blow the Horn of Valere to bring the Heroes of Legend back to help everyone. And I like Elayne’s addition to the Fellowship.
I mentioned in my review of the previous book that I was having a terrible time keeping characters straight, and I went back and created an “index” card with all the names of the big players from Book 1 so I knew what was going on at the start of Book 2. It worked. I had 15 clear “good guys”, 13 clear “bad guys”, and then another 6 where it wasn’t clear to me. 34 in total. For this book, we’re up to at least 20 good guys, about 11 clear bad guys, and another 20 that are leaning one way or another, aka 51 characters to keep track of while reading. A couple from book 1 disappeared, mostly cuz they’re dead or were in a city we didn’t revisit, so about 20+ new ones added. The list of “grey” characters in the middle is getting a bit long, particularly some of the Aes Sedai, Seanchan and Children of the Light.
The Bottom Line
Come for the quest, ignore the angst, wait for the battle
My cheat sheet for characters in Book 02:
