WoT pwns LotR

[True Source Creator]

I imagine a lot would agree here since this is a "WoT" fanboard. But I think some people who haven't bothered to read the "WoT" books unfairly call it a rip-off of "LoTR"...and it's so much better than that trilogy.

[Elgee]

Would you say an apple is better than an orange?

[moratcorlm]

It's silly to claim that WOT is a "rip-off" of LOTR. It's also silly to say "WoT pwns LotR". No, I wouldn't agree with that.

[GaseousAnomaly]

It's silly to claim that WOT is a "rip-off" of LOTR. It's also silly to say "WoT pwns LotR". No, I wouldn't agree with that.

Agreed.

[Krakalakachkn]

LotR > WoT

[GaseousAnomaly]

LotR > WoT

LotR would have been better if it had a few scenes of Galadirelle giving penance to Arwen.

[fikkie77]

It's silly to claim that WOT is a "rip-off" of LOTR. It's also silly to say "WoT pwns LotR". No, I wouldn't agree with that.

agreed.

I doubt that RJ would have written WoT as it is without LOTR, but both have their own right of awesomeness and are too unique to be compared.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

i don't know about the relative merits of tolkien vs jordan, but i can say with certainty that oranges are objectively much better than apples. not that you wouldn't enjoy a nice apple now and then. but seriously, if you can get a nice orange, you'd be better off.

[Elgee]

LotR > WoT

 

Bad Krak.

 

Cindy, I prefer apples to oranges. Does that make them better? No. It means I personally prefer them. It's subjective, just as taste in books are subjective. As long as the writing is reasonably good (ie the author can spell, string a sentence together and doesn't put anyone with an IQ above that of a deck chair to sleep), there is no possible way to make an objective choice on such a subjective matter.

[GaseousAnomaly]

i don't know about the relative merits of tolkien vs jordan, but i can say with certainty that oranges are objectively much better than apples. not that you wouldn't enjoy a nice apple now and then. but seriously, if you can get a nice orange, you'd be better off.

Nothing like a nice warm orange pie.

[Feral]

Firstly I'd like to say I don't believe WoT rips off LotR in any way. Yes, there are a few similarities, but I see these more as deliberate tributes by RJ to Tolkien, and the similarities are very vague and mainly occur in the early books anyway. Secondly while I do love LotR, WoT is my favourite series.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

you may prefer apples, and you may prefer pie. but fruit to fruit, oranges are better. sorry, that's just how it is. (also, cold orange pie is as yummy as key lime pie, but you need some lemon juice in the mix or it won't set; and don't forget a little zest; meringue is better than whipped cream on this pie, objectively. feel free to let your personal preference guide your personal pie journey).

 

pomegranates are better than either, of course, and are themselves outdone by plums, apricots, mangoes, coconuts, bananas, and cherries. in that order. again, your personal preferences may differ, but this is the objective order of goodness, exluding berries and ground-fruit.

 

(really, did i need the italic "s" for sarcasm? i know people like different fruit and different books. . . not that i don't believe there are objective standards of quality that can be applied. . . to fruit)

[Stricklg91]

Well, I really don't see how you could compare them, they're just so different in so many respects. And yeah, it's all completely subjective. Personally I enjoy reading Wheel of Time more. But I think Tolkien's writing and world construction is a lot more impressive.

 

Firstly I'd like to say I don't believe WoT rips off LotR in any way. Yes, there are a few similarities, but I see these more as deliberate tributes by RJ to Tolkien, and the similarities are very vague and mainly occur in the early books anyway. Secondly while I do love LotR, WoT is my favourite series.

 

This isn't strictly true... I mean the entire setting for Eye of the World is quite similar to the Fellowship of the Rings. The small village, unlikely hero etc. Plus the myrddraal? Very very similar to the black riders. And Taren Ferry vs. the Buckleberry Ferry. Tom seems to fulfill a sort of Gandalf role too. Although that's not really so clear. There's actually a lot of similarities, these are just some off the top of my head. But they occur in many other fantasy stories created since Tolkien. And if I'm not mistaken, Robert Jordan confirmed that these similarities were intentional? Although I can't remember where I read that. And Eye of the World is still my favourite book in the entire series and the similarities don't bother me at all. Like I said, two very different series.

[Feral]

Firstly I'd like to say I don't believe WoT rips off LotR in any way. Yes, there are a few similarities, but I see these more as deliberate tributes by RJ to Tolkien, and the similarities are very vague and mainly occur in the early books anyway. Secondly while I do love LotR, WoT is my favourite series.

 

This isn't strictly true... I mean the entire setting for Eye of the World is quite similar to the Fellowship of the Rings. The small village, unlikely hero etc. Plus the myrddraal? Very very similar to the black riders. And Taren Ferry vs. the Buckleberry Ferry. Tom seems to fulfill a sort of Gandalf role too. Although that's not really so clear. There's actually a lot of similarities, these are just some off the top of my head. But they occur in many other fantasy stories created since Tolkien. And if I'm not mistaken, Robert Jordan confirmed that these similarities were intentional? Although I can't remember where I read that. And Eye of the World is still my favourite book in the entire series and the similarities don't bother me at all. Like I said, two very different series.

 

To be honest I always thought the Gandalf figure was Moiraine lol.

[Stricklg91]

To be honest I always thought the Gandalf figure was Moiraine lol.

 

Yeah she definitely fits the role. Thom fits the character. And wow, Lan and Aragorn? Could they be more similar, even in back story.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

when the stones "threatened" to sue rolling stone magazine over the title, their response was, "tell it to muddy waters."

 

by which i mean - tolkien wasn't that original himself, nor did he claim to be. he freely used extant mythical creatures and ancient and not so ancient stories in writing LoTR, and there's nothing wrong with that. it's what shakespeare did. it's what chuck lorre does. it's what bob dylan does. as ecclesiastes teaches, there's nothing new under the sun.

 

i think it's kind of obvious that RJ throws in bits and pieces from everywhere, but still makes them his own.

[Stricklg91]

when the stones "threatened" to sue rolling stone magazine over the title, their response was, "tell it to muddy waters."

 

Hahaha such a good example. Yeah, most of what Tolkien wrote was based on mythology. But there are obvious elements that Jordan clearly borrowed from Tolkien. And it enriches the story and adds a usefully familiar kind of setting from which to begin such an epic book series.

[Feral]

To be honest I always thought the Gandalf figure was Moiraine lol.

 

Yeah she definitely fits the role. Thom fits the character. And wow, Lan and Aragorn? Could they be more similar, even in back story.

 

Well I actually think Lan is much the better character, simply becuase I've never understood why Gondor's line of kings would just give up the thrown like that. At least Lan had a good excuse, his country had been completely consumed.

[True Source Creator]

That's what I'm saying. Wheel of Time, while it does combine elements from other fantasy sources (and while Eye of the World is so similar to Fellowship), is unique in how it blends those elements. It crafts a very complex epic, but it's just better than Lord of the Rings. I have read reviews that call it a rip-off of Lord of the Rings and just thought that to be so absurd. It's very good, but this is like the kettle talking to the tea pot.

[True Source Creator]

Would you say an apple is better than an orange?

Definitely. Oranges taste funny. ;)

[Lupy]

Well I actually think Lan is much the better character, simply becuase I've never understood why Gondor's line of kings would just give up the thrown like that. At least Lan had a good excuse, his country had been completely consumed.

 

Gondor's line was wiped out by civil war, plague, and the Witch King of Angmar... They did not give up the throne.

 

That aside, I think that we need to consider comparing Apricots to Oranges, as apples are greatly inferior to both and cannot represent LoTR or WoT>

[Feral]

Well I actually think Lan is much the better character, simply becuase I've never understood why Gondor's line of kings would just give up the thrown like that. At least Lan had a good excuse, his country had been completely consumed.

 

Gondor's line was wiped out by civil war, plague, and the Witch King of Angmar... They did not give up the throne.

 

That aside, I think that we need to consider comparing Apricots to Oranges, as apples are greatly inferior to both and cannot represent LoTR or WoT>

 

Well they weren't wiped out completely otherwise Aragorn wouldn't be the rightful king.

[Lupy]

Well I actually think Lan is much the better character, simply becuase I've never understood why Gondor's line of kings would just give up the thrown like that. At least Lan had a good excuse, his country had been completely consumed.

 

Gondor's line was wiped out by civil war, plague, and the Witch King of Angmar... They did not give up the throne.

 

That aside, I think that we need to consider comparing Apricots to Oranges, as apples are greatly inferior to both and cannot represent LoTR or WoT>

 

Well they weren't wiped out completely otherwise Aragorn wouldn't be the rightful king.

 

Aragorn is descended from the Kings of Arnor. Elendil was the High King of Arnor and Gondor, when he died he split his empire in half and gave Gondor to Isildur and Arnor to Anarion. Isildur's line died out, Anarion's line lost their kingdom to the Witch King but did not die out. Aragorn is of the line of Anarion, and thus Arnor. He is the rightful king of Gondor because Elendil was the High King of both kingdoms and Aragorn is his rightful heir.

[htarcan]

 

 

To be honest I always thought the Gandalf figure was Moiraine lol.

 

What you mentioned and also the similarities of the story to the other epic fantasy books are caused by the story structure.

Writers adopt the same formula since Homer wrote the Odyssey. Read about it and you'll see how much it is used in

all of the movies, books and plays. Not just epics, even Fincher's "Social Network" has its own share from the Odyssey.

 

The reason Moiraine and Gandalf are similar is that they share the same role in the story structure.

They are called "mentor" like Obi-wan in star wars. A mentor is usually a wise person who encourages the hero

for the journey and guides them in their first steps.

 

This is one of the reasons that we like Moiraine and anticipate her return so much

(Well, I'm not sure yet, I've just begun reading the ToM),

because she was the one who came to the village and brought us this adventure.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

 

That aside, I think that we need to consider comparing Apricots to Oranges, as apples are greatly inferior to both and cannot represent LoTR or WoT>

 

 

i would have to agree that apricots and oranges are much better comparison points. i would go so far as to say that apricots are among the finest pastry fillings ever created, though that's another category. this may bring us around to the consensus that both authros are pretty darned good, and stand on their own individual merits as well as a rich, shared history of fine stories. and that each author doubtlessly enjoyed the proper fruit in its season, because they were both men of taste and showed an appreciation for fine foods of all kinds.

 

and i'm sorry for the poor blighter whose confluence of sensory organs cause him to misapprehend the inherent superiority of oranges over apples. there should be a charity for that :)