3.5/5 - When I was at Books-A-Million buying the series, a random man walked by and informed me that "it's the greatest series ever." I'm waiting to confirm that opinion until I'm done, but BAM stranger aside I have only heard good things about it. So, I decided to take the plunge even though it's a sprawling fourteen books, between 500-900 pages each. 
 Book Two finds our band in Shienar, where Padan Fain (the guy who led the Trollocs into the Two Rivers in Book One) is being held in prison. Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat (president/leader lady of the Aes Sedai), has come from Tar Valon and identifies Rand as the Dragon Reborn. He's basically a reincarnation of one of the most powerful male sorcerers to ever live, and it takes him a while to accept this, because the original Dragon destroyed the world. The fortress they're staying in is attacked by Trollocs and Fain escapes, stealing the Horn of Valere that was recovered at the end of Book One. The dagger that is still parasitically connected to Mat was stolen too, so Mat, Perrin, and Rand all head off with Shienaran soldiers to get them back. Nynaeve and Egwene go to Tar Valon with Moiraine to begin their Aes Sedai studies. There, Nynaeve and Egwene meet Elayne and Min. Min's not an Aes Sedai-in-training but she has a prophetic gift that the Amyrlin Seat wants to study and use. More summary under the spoilers tag: 
 (view spoiler)[Rand accidentally transports himself to another parallel world via portal stone along with Loial. There, he meets Lanfear, a Forsaken in disguise. Perrin leads the rest of the Shieran group on after they lose Rand, using his telepathic wolf abilities. Eventually Rand rejoins the real world, but they end up ahead of the Shienarans so they continue the search. Rand meets Thom Merrilin, whom he previously thought dead. Eventually the two groups connect, and they learn that the Horn was taken to Falme, the port city of Toman Head. Rand decides to try using a portal stone to save travel time but ends up losing weeks. 
 Meanwhile, Elayne, Nynaeve, and Egwene are tricked by Aes Sedai Liandrin into leaving the White Tower and they're captured by the Seachan at Tomen Head. (Seriously, they should've seen that one coming from miles away, Liandrin all but wears a sign that says "I am a bad person.") Seachan have tools called a'dam, which control women who can channel but they escape. In Falme, Rand kills the Lord of the Seachan to retrieve the horn and dagger. The Seachan attack, the Whitecloaks attack (they're a sort of military religious group), and Mat blows the Horn of Valere for help. Legend comes true when the horn resurrects heroes from thousands of years in the past; Rand fights the Dark One again and everyone lives to fight another day. Or, rather, in twelve more books. (hide spoiler)] 
 Random thoughts...(These were on my Book 1 & 3 Goodreads reviews, I reviewed 1-3 together on my blog so pardon the similarities. The rest in the series will be reviewed separately.) 
 Perrin's abilities are my favorite, even if they're not the most powerful. I was indifferent about Rand (until the end of book three) and I strongly disliked Mat for a while but Perrin is cool. His character development is the most steady, in my opinion. 
 Not all of the female Aes Sedai have a Warder, but if I were an Aes Sedai I totally would. Who doesn't want a strong warrior man who follows you around, guards your back, and keeps you company as you spend your days as badass sorcerer? 
 These books could easily lose 100+ pages each if they'd had a more thorough editor. Seriously, it reads "Moiraine looked coldly at Rand," and then a few paragraphs later, "Rand felt Moiraine's ice-like stare" constantly throughout the book. I am not stupid. Jordan seems to think I am and that I will forget things I JUST READ. I do not need to be beaten over the head with the same phrases over and over again. I love long books and I'm not intimidated by them, but there has to be a reason for it. 
 The One Power is very Yin and Yang. It has two halves that are only reached by either male or female channelers. I like that part, the dual forces have moments throughout the book where they clash or connect and the dynamic plays out well. However, I think Jordan tried too hard to create defined male and female characteristics in this series which resulted in stereotypes. The channeling women are untrustworthy and the channeling men are dangerous. The women have tempers, the men are constantly wondering why the women are so difficult, etc...it sometimes feels like I'm reading about adults who have a high school mentality. These people are powerful and cool otherwise; I wish they would stop exclaiming "Men!" or "Women!" and sighing that they will never understand the other. 
 I like the story and characters well enough that I can overlook the stereotypes, repetition, and Nynaeve's attitude. It'll take me a while to finish because of those issues, but I'll get it done.