Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

Hello, all

I'm about to take the plunge into another epic fantasy story. I've narrowed it down between these two but I am planning on reading both WoT and MSaT, my only question is which one should I start with? I was leaning towards MSaT because it is the shorter series, although I'm pretty sure they are longer individually, but for some reason I'm drawn to WoT more. Is it because it is the more popular series between the two or is it better? Like I mentioned earlier, I am going to read both, I would just like some advice here from people that know better than I.

Thanks. 

Casey wrote: "I'm about to take the plunge into another epic fantasy story. I've narrowed it down between these two but I am planning on reading both WoT and MSaT, my only question is which one should..."

Welcome to Goodreads and the group, Casey.

That's a tough question for Saturday night, especially since it will eventually boil down to a matter of taste. Personally, I preferred Wheel of Time, your mileage may vary.

If you care about size, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorne is by far the shorter series. It's a trilogy. Total page count is around 2500. Wheel of Time is 15 books, running between 650-950 pages each. Total page count is around 12,000.

WoT's world has more magic than MSaT. WoT's story has way more politics, and lots more characters and inter-character relationships than MSaT. (Of course, it's longer length may have something to do with some of that. Certainly MSaT has some of those, too.) WoT also likes to pile up mysteries: who was that guy? Who killed so-and-so? What does that obscure prophecy mean? It's been said WoT gets a little slow in the book 9-11 range (either that or fans were getting really impatient for the payoff. We waited 20+ years. Lucky you get to binge read it all at once.)

OTOH, if you wait before starting WoT, the The Wheel of Time Companion comes out in November. Might save some trips to Dragonmount.com when trying to keep all the characters straight. :)

G33z3r said it really well - being able to get your paws on all of the WoT makes it supremely appealing. It's one of my favorite series, but both epic sagas are excellent representations of the genre. I'd go for WoT time, MSaT requires a lot of patience (as do most of Tad Williams' fantasy books) and just doesn't have the action WoT does, or the magic, as G33z3r mentioned. However, they are similar as far as plot archetype goes: Classic Bildungsroman, evolution of the hero (a la Michael Campbell).

If you want comparisons to more recent publications, MSaT is more like Daniel Abraham's writing, or even Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy - it's more introspection and emotion. WoT probably lines up with Game of Thrones just because of the scale of the books (Jordan isn't quite as bloodthirsty as GRRM).

Plus, depending on how fast you read, it will take you MONTHS to finish WoT - that's a lot of quality entertainment. *tugs braid*

I really enjoyed Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (though it's been many years since I read it). On the other hand, I gave up on Wheel of Time somewhere around book 5 or so, when I realized that not only did I not know what was going on, I didn't care. I understand the last handful of books in the series, the ones where Brandon Sanderson stepped in to finish the series, are much better. Like Leo says, MSaT has more emotion and introspection; as far as I can recall, the two series are very different in that and other ways. Plus also, MSaT is a lot shorter.

But, you know, read what you're really feeling drawn to read, and if it turns out you don't like it, there's no rule says you have to keep reading it. (Though I'd suggest if you're going to buy the books, only buy one at a time so you aren't out a whole bunch of money on books you're going to end up not reading.)

Thanks, all. Appreciate the feedback. I think I'll start with WoT. I'll be sure to keep you posted with how my read goes. :)

Wheel of Time, I tried reading the other series(started with Stone of Farewell) I lost interest in the book due to one very dark scene in the book.

Brian wrote: "Wheel of Time, I tried reading the other series(started with Stone of Farewell) I lost interest in the book due to one very dark scene in the book."

Yeah... The Dragonbone Chair leaves you ready for more, and then the second book just... well it lays that scene on you.

Good luck with WoT! It's a great adventure!

Great, now I want to know what happens in Stone of Farwell to turn one away from the series. It'll have to wait I guess.

wot is a classic everyone should read =)

Having, in a sense, grown into adulthood on the Wheel of Time Series, I am inclined to recommend it. My geeky friends and I first started reading the WoT series in high school and continued reading it during my years as Active Duty Navy. Personally, I view it as a modern day classic!

Royce wrote: "Having, in a sense, grown into adulthood on the Wheel of Time Series, I am inclined to recommend it. My geeky friends and I first started reading the WoT series in high school and continued readin..."

100% accurate. I remember ditching a final to get my copy of "Towers of Midnight." It's certainly one of the first "Epic" fantasy series that have grown into popularity and is a cornerstone of the genre as it is today. I say "Epic" primarily because of the books' individual lengths - they're deliciously thick books. However, this really wasn't a trend back in the 70's and 80's. WoT is a relatively new series compared to what exists within the genre. Look at some of the older books from the Gods of Fantasy - Leiber, Moorcock, Zelazny (Tolkien doesn't count, LOTR was meant to be read as one giant book split into three parts), etc. - they're super thin compared to what's considered a "novel" today. But there are still some great parallels, you can tell Jordan was a fan as well as an author.

I've been reading some of the older stuff - Fahfrd and the Gray Mouser - and have found the matrons of Cold Corner even scarier than a village Wisdom! These ladies could give Nynaeve lessons.

I had the same experience as Kyra. I loved MSaT as teenager and was reading WoT at same time. Tad William takes his time telling a story but his endings are always worth it and he wraps up threads beautifully. I like his Shadowmarch series too. I lost interest in WoT in middle of sixth book or somewhere around there. The women in WoT are all incredibly annoying and petty. And granted it's been awhile since I read WoT but I seem to remember that the women always ended up naked and spanked somehow.