Are there any fantasy series even remotely similar to WoT?

[cauthon123]

All of us in this community love and cherish WoT. I mean, its the most complete and intricate of fantasy series ever made. period. and yet, people would rather b*^& about the fact that its really long and that RJ has gone too much "into" the world, as it were. now lets back up a little. fantasy basically came to being majorly after lotr. All RJ did was further the genre, he breathed more and more life into it, and is still somewhat shunned by the so called 'experts'.

 

'Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books when he was ten years old, but was "frustrated" by the "absence of quality writing".'  (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eragon).

 

so i ask, are there ANY fantasy works similar to WoT?

 

ps: if this topic is a cliche, i apologize.

[Gentled Ben]

You mean other than the ones, like Dune, that RJ drew upon for inspiration?

[cauthon123]

not necessarily. i mean any fantasy book thats worth reading, after reading something as amazing as WoT

[Majsju]

In General Discussion, there are plenty of threads talking about other books, take a look at those, and you will get suggestions to fill your to-read list for years.

[Gentled Ben]

I would say that A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin, is on a par with WoT.

[dmanmiller34]

 

'Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books when he was ten years old, but was "frustrated" by the "absence of quality writing".'  (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eragon).

 

 

I smiled when I read this couse when I read the Eragon book by this guy I thought to myself Wow THis guy has really Rehashed alot of RJ's work.

[Sylvia]

The Amber series by Roger Zelazny is pretty awesome, as well as The Belgariad by David Eddings.

[CupofDice]

 

'Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books when he was ten years old, but was "frustrated" by the "absence of quality writing".'  (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/eragon).

 

 

I smiled when I read this couse when I read the Eragon book by this guy I thought to myself Wow THis guy has really Rehashed alot of RJ's work.

 

Agreed. RJ's work, and a few more authors. Even stole an actual action scene from Tolkien.

 

I recommend The Name of the Wind. Patrick Rothfuss seems to have the same flair as RJ for myth and probably world building too. There seem to be strong female characters at places like the University (think White Tower), and the magic system seems to be as well developed (maybe more so) as the one in WoT. The main character is a Legend in training, just like the 20 or so main WoT characters :P.

 

I only read the first book of Malazan since the second book pissed me off because of it's little relation to the first one (and I read that Garad or whatever his name wasn't in it, and he was my fav from the first book). Which pissed me off because I had to slug my way through that convoluted first book only to find out that I could have started on the second one. Anyway, if the Seanchan empire in WoT interests you greatly, then I think Malazan is the series for you. The first book was good, just bad writing and the author made things a bit too damn complicated for the first novel in a long series. Also a Mat Cauthon (two of them actually) type character in there.

 

There are also these two series I am thinking of reading. Both characters seem to be similar to Rand according to a Prince of the Shadow review at amazon and the reviewer here said Prince of Shadow was sort of like a RJ type story set in a ancient China type country (http://www.bestfantasybooks.com/good-fantasy-books.html). I think that is as close as you are going to get. Trust me, I search for WoT like series all the time >_<.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Ring-Chalice-Book/dp/0441007023/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245568060&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Shadow-Seven-Brothers-Book/dp/0756400546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245568326&sr=8-1

 

[Mr Ares]

so i ask, are there ANY fantasy works similar to WoT?

Similar in what sense? Do you want monomythic trappings? A well-developed secondary world? Epic scope? Good writing? Good characters? Conflicts between good and evil? What are you looking for? I would recommend the Prince of Nothing trilogy, by R. Scott Bakker. Prophesied figure, rise to power, well developed world, great characters, great writing, what's not to love?

 

I only read the first book of Malazan since the second book pissed me off because of it's little relation to the first one (and I read that Garad or whatever his name wasn't in it, and he was my fav from the first book). Which pissed me off because I had to slug my way through that convoluted first book only to find out that I could have started on the second one. The first book was good, just bad writing and the author made things a bit too damn complicated for the first novel in a long series.

You gave up on Deadhouse Gates? That's the best in the series, although Memories of Ice gives it a good run for its money. If you wanted more from Paran, the Bridgeburners and the rest of the Gardens of the Moon cast, you could have jumped straight to MoI. I don't think GotM was "too complicated", or badly written, although it's not his best work. It is, in fact, an excellent opener for the series, and Erikson does a good job of taking the second book off in a completely different direction, a mostly new cast of characters on a wholly new continent. You should give Deadhouse Gates another try, for the Chain of Dogs and Kalam running amok in Malaz City, if nothing else.

 

not necessarily. i mean any fantasy book thats worth reading, after reading something as amazing as WoT

If you just want recommendations for good fantasy, with no other similarities to WoT (meaning this thread has a very misleading title), try these:

First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings)

Best Served Cold by Abercrombie

The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows)

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien

The Hobbit by Tolkien

The Children of Hurin by Tolkien

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys by Gaiman

Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (too many books to list, but a few suggestions: Small Gods, Night Watch, Mort, Reaper Man, Guards! Guards!)

Nation by Pratchett

Second Sons trilogy by Jennifer Fallon (Lion of Senet, Eye of the Labyrinth, Lord of the Shadows)

Prince of Nothing by R. Scott Bakker (The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior-Prophet, The Thousandfold Thought)

The Judging Eye by Bakker

Year of Our War by Steph Swainston

No Present Like Time by Swainston

The Modern World by Swainston

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

The Scar by Mieville

Dying Earth series by Jack Vance (The Dying Earth, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga, Rhialto the Marvellous)

Earthsea trilogy by Ursula le Guin (Wizard of Earthsea, Tomb of Atuan, The Farthest Shore)

Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (Shadow of the Torturer, Claw of the Conciliator, Sword of the Lictor, Citadel of the Autarch)

Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice, House of Chains, Midnight Tides, The Bonehunters, Reaper's Gale, Toll the Hounds)

Novels of the Malazan Empire by Ian Cameron Esslemont (Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard)

Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake (Titus Groan, Gormenghast, Titus Alone)

That should be more than enough to get you started, but there's a hell of a lot more out there.

[hapazard]

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is great, also I have to chime in on the Malazan praise...

[albino_dog]

I'd recommend A Song of Ice and Fire and First Law trilogy as well.

 

Also, Mr Ares, how is Best Served Cold (compared to the First Law trilogy)? I will not have the chance to get the book in a couple of years probably, so I'm fishing for information wherever I can =D

[Mr Ares]

Also, Mr Ares, how is Best Served Cold (compared to the First Law trilogy)? I will not have the chance to get the book in a couple of years probably, so I'm fishing for information wherever I can =D

It's brilliant. Better than First Law, I'd say, the best thing he's written yet. I think if you haven't read First Law, you could still read it, as it doesn't really require any prior knowledge, although if you have you'll probably get more out of it. There's quite a list of recurring characters from First Law, including Cosca and Shivers as PoV characters. There's even a cameo from one of the First Law PoVs. Brandon Sanderson really has his work cut out for him now, because with that and the Judging Eye, producing the best fantasy book of the year will take something incredible. Plus, it's a standalone! No waiting around for the next one in the series. It's not overlong, nor is it too short. There's really precious little to complain about.

 

And thinking of Brandon Sanderson, I would like to add Mistborn: The Final Empire tomy earlier list of suggestions.

[CupofDice]

By similar I think 'THINK' he meant just the way RJ portrayed male/female relationships at large, with all the characters having a sort of legend, myth thing surrounding them, and maybe the inclusion of a lot of legends from our own world into the story itself. RJ even includes fictional legends from HIS own world into the story. I personally think RJ was the most unique writer in the genre for these reasons. ASoIaF is basically the elite of the elite when it comes to political and war fantasy. That said, there are others who are doing the politics/war thing, and the only thing that separates them from Martin is a more fully realized world, better characters, better plot, and Martin's prose. I really haven't come across a book that similar to WoT as other books like the First Law trilogy are similar to ASoIaF. Name of the Wind, and the few others I mentioned. I do read manga a lot, and I would probably throw in Naruto as being similar too, since RJ's m/f humor is similar a lot (all) of shounen manga.

 

You gave up on Deadhouse Gates? That's the best in the series, although Memories of Ice gives it a good run for its money. If you wanted more from Paran, the Bridgeburners and the rest of the Gardens of the Moon cast, you could have jumped straight to MoI. I don't think GotM was "too complicated", or badly written, although it's not his best work. It is, in fact, an excellent opener for the series, and Erikson does a good job of taking the second book off in a completely different direction, a mostly new cast of characters on a wholly new continent. You should give Deadhouse Gates another try, for the Chain of Dogs and Kalam running amok in Malaz City, if nothing else.

 

Complicated was the wrong word. I love epic fantasy. I love big living, breathing worlds. I love huge cast of characters. I don't love it when said huge cast of characters are all introduced in the first book. They should be introduced over time and the author can at least wait until after a few books, once we have a better handle on the world, to introduce them in large numbers. And no, it is not an excellent opener in my opinion. An opener does just that, and is supposed to give you a fundamental understanding of the world. If not a fundamental understanding, then at least focus on the characters and give them time to breathe and us time to know them. I am not the only one who thinks the author messed up with the first book. Just read the reviews, and you will find the same complaints. The fact that the second book goes in a completely different direction made me feel cheated too.

 

 

[Majsju]

Again, General Discussion have several threads concerning other books. This board is for WOT.