The Great Hunt

Second in Jordan's overblown cyclic-history fantasy series (Eye of the World, 1989). Young sheepherder-turned-swordsman Rand, one of the few men who can Channel the One Power and survive, rushes off in pursuit of the stolen Horn of Valere - the fabulous Horn, you see, can raise the dead heroes of the ages to fight against the evil, world-threatening Ba'alzamon (he is striving mightily to escape an ancient magical trap). Meanwhile, invading Seanchan women and warriors are enslaving the magical Channeling Aes Sedai women. Moiraine Sedai maintains that Rand is the Dragon Reborn, a fabled warrior who is destined to defeat the bad guys before going mad and killing his friends. Rand hotly denies this, but nevertheless he will again Channel the One Power in an involved magical showdown with the fiery Ba'alzamon. As ponderous, portentous, and overstuffed as before, with everyone going around repeating meaningless aphorisms like "the Wheel wills," and too long by at least hall However, behind all the huffing-puffing heroic travelogue, the elements of a pretty fair yarn are discernible; Jordan's problem, like many of his contemporaries, is simply lack of control. (Kirkus Reviews)