Three years ago, I sat down in front of a camera, unsure of my lighting, unsure of my delivery, but certain of one thing: I needed to talk about The Great Hunt.

I had just finished re-reading it after a long time away from the series, and something about it wouldn’t let go. Not just the pace, the characters, or the sprawling world that Robert Jordan begins to fully stretch open in this second volume, but the feeling that, finally, the Wheel had begun to turn with purpose.

That’s what I tried to capture in that video.
And even now, years later, I still wonder:

Is it the better book?

The Eye of the World : The Necessary Spark

The first book is the beginning of everything, of course it matters.
It introduces Rand, Mat, Perrin. It gives us Emond’s Field, the mysterious Moiraine, the first flight from the Shadow.
But The Eye of the World is also cautious. It mirrors Tolkien in many ways. It plays safe to establish the unfamiliar.

It’s not until The Great Hunt that Jordan stops whispering and starts shouting.

The Great Hunt: The True Opening of the Wheel

This is where the chase begins.
The Horn of Valere. The portal worlds. Selene.
It’s faster, stranger, and far more ambitious. The world suddenly expands, not just in geography but in consequence.

And Rand… Rand begins to become someone you can’t ignore.

When I rewatch that video (yes, it’s still up), I see a younger version of myself trying to articulate this exact turning point. How The Great Hunt didn’t just build on the first, it transformed it.

The Verdict?

If you’re asking me now?
Yes, The Great Hunt is the better book.

But The Eye of the World is the better beginning.

And maybe you need both, the spark and the storm,for the Wheel to turn the way it should.

🎥 Watch the Original Video
If you’d like to see where my mind was back then (lighting quirks and all), the original video is still live on my YouTube channel.

What do you think?
Does The Great Hunt outshine its predecessor or is the charm of The Eye of the World too powerful to beat?

Let me know in the comments, and if you enjoy this kind of reflection, subscribe to the blog. I’ll be revisiting more classic fantasy as I build my own.