fantasy books

[steph]

I want to read this august fantasy stuff what is your suggestion i hesitate between A song of ice and fire of george rr martin or wheel of time of robert jordan........what is your suggestions what is the big differences between this two style and genre? and for you who is the better story? ty in advance

stef

[Curufea]

Re: fantasy books

 

Song of Ice and Fire is heavily influenced by the War of the Roses of the 15th century. It's brutal with lots of death, betrayal and politics. The setting is low magic, there are no magic users as such but there are some supernatural creatures.

Waste/Wheel of Time is a more fantastical setting where the main characters tend to use magic. There is an overall plot that the books occasionally recognise when they aren't busy following the minutia of every single named character and their dog in their daily lives.

The first few books are good - they have plot. But give up before it starts meandering all over the place.

 

Of the two - the Song of Ice and Fire is better written with a better plot, but Wheel of Time (at least to begin with) is more imaginative and fantastical.

[UltraRob]

Re: fantasy books

 

I suggest neither, read Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett if you haven't already. Reading one Wheel of Time book killed the Fantasy Genre for me for a while, but Guards! Guards! made me love it again.

 

It's a slightly humorous take on what it's like to be the members of the Town Guard in a particularly unpleasant city, but Prachett brings the whole place so much to life you can't help but fall in love with the characters and Diskworld setting's take on Fantasy.

 

Rob

 

P.S. if it's either/or for you, I suggest Song of Fire and Ice, which at least will give you something other than Jordan's....work.

[vagrant winds]

Re: fantasy books

 

ASoIaF is (really, really, good) Low Fantasy.

TWoT is (vastly over-hyped) High Fantasy.

 

The former is my favorite book series in the entire genre... the second my most hated, filled with hatred towards women and meaningless filler covering entire books. Alas, I'm heavily biased.

 

A Song of Ice and Fire takes my favorite. It's greaty, moving, character driven, has no concept of good or evil, and is not afraid to kill of or maim main characters for the sake of the story.

 

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell takes my second spot. It's been alluded to an adult 'Harry Potter' - but is a completly different entity. I describe it like a good red wine - it starts dry, quenches your thirst in a storm of flavor, and then leaves you wanting more.

 

Then there's The Myth Adventures series by Robert Asprin for pure comedy value. Terry Pratchet also writes some good comedy.

 

Vampires? Look at both Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and the old George R.R. Martin's book Fevre Dream.

 

High Fantasy? Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar books have not disappointed me.

 

Something different? Piers Anthony had a good 'serious' series called Incarnations of Immortality, told through the eyes of Death, Time, Fate, War, Earth, Evil, and Good.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: fantasy books

 

Of the two, I would recommend A Song of Ice and Fire, however The Wheel of Time lends itself to a more game-friendly style than Ice and Fire.

 

The difference between the two is mainly the writing style of Ice and Fire is far more mature than that of Wheel of Time. The Wheel of Time series is more traditional epic fantasy where Ice and Fire is more along the lines of Political Fantasy.