I'm already in part 7 of these wonderfull books written by Robert Jordan. Who else knows his work?

I read the first two. It couldn't hold my attention. It seemed like a Tolkien rip-off to me. I'll take the Dark Tower books anyday.

some people i know used to play a D&D ripoff based on those books

Holy fuck man. I read the first book when it came out like 15 years ago. Is it still ongoing?
I read the first 4 books or so, which I liked back then, but then I just kinda lost interest for whatever reason. It IS a Tolkien ripoff in many respects, but there are also plenty of original elements. But it drags on a bit much.

I don't quite agree with that, in opposition to what you say I really don't think Tolkien is such a great writer, I read lord of the rings but i didn't think it was that fantastic. Well, of course it's good but I just don't liked it. It's too slow... while Robert Jordan's books are more 'speedy'. And I certainly don't think it's a rip-of. It has lots of elements of Tolkien in it but that is because Tolkien set the standard for fantasy.

I didn't mean that Jordan is a bad writer. And if anything, he's perseverent.
I don't remember everything, but what I meant was that basically, the entire premise and many of the events in the first book are directly similar to the Fellowship of the Ring. Totally. Not things that have to do with fantasy alone, but with the plot in general. Not in a bad way, but it's evident. But like I said, he has plenty of original elements on his own and the story really does go off in many interesting directions...
Anyway I wasn't saying it was bad, but that I couldn't believe it if it's still ongoing--it's been a while. Like I said, I enjoyed them back then.

Lots of authors 'rip-off' Tolkien. And yeah, that can strangle some interest. But Jordan just seems too dry for my taste. I can't remember the last book I left off at but it's been quite some time since then.

I'm aware of his works but havent yet read one of his books.
Has anyone read Terry Brooks, The Sword of Shannara that is a blatant rip off of LOTR.

i bought the first book , eye of the world, after suggestion from my friend because i am a huge LOTR freak, and he said i would like it

but for some reason i cant get through the first chapter, its so difficult to understand . but i promised after christmas i will put full focus on it

So he died. Did he ever finish this series?

Just checked. I guess not. Too bad it wasn't a trilogy like it was supposed to be!

Indeed.

If I read just one more paragraph about women walking in circles, whispering intrigues that no one gives a shit about, while tugging their braids in annoyance (please, let me wrap that around your throat, ok?), I'll burn down the nearest library. He's written some really bad female characters.

What a disappointment these books became. This was an original idea but he didn't have the skills (or editor) needed to make it work.

One of the biggest pitfalls for fantasy writers, and one that Tolkien avoided so brilliantly, is the (ab)use of language. They don't think about modes of speach, class, names, or cultural influences in language. and because of this, their world construct fails.

Jordan violates a natural law. This makes his series a difficult read and it isn't because the books are challenging. They're just fucking difficult.

Everyone does not have a unique name. In human cultures world wide, this is not a phenomenon we observe. Humans are tied to the past, to the land, to events, to family and so our names are rooted in those things. We do not use name generators. Jordan does. From surname to given name, everyone's name is unique. It's absurd.

The best fantasy writer today is G.R.R. Martin. His books are brilliant. Realistic, multilayered characters play on a rich cultural landscape with terrifying battles scenes, realistic (and sometimes equally terrifying) sex scenes, intrigues, love, pain and death, he's a writer who shocks you with human truths but never leaves his fantasy construct to do so.

I can't recommend him enough. Start with Game of Thrones.

Jordan sucks next to this guy. But just about everyone does so....

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Jordan rips off the "let's go and a quest" device, but not much else. Tolkien ripped it off too from ancient legends.

One of the things that makes Tolkien great is his use of language. Ever character speaks as they should. The Elves and Aragorn speak in arch language, Sam speaks from his class, Frodo, Merry and Pippin from theirs. He's also brilliant in how he names things. The names of things make sense within the languages and cultures he created. No one has come close to creating a world as believable as his because he based his upon fully developed languages and the cultures he created around those languages.

From religion, to art, speech, history and place, Tolkien is on target 100%. The only time we see him off is when we read the many different versions of "other" stories he wrote. Some of the historical background he created was in conflict depending upon what version you read, but come on! Who even bothers to write that shit anyway? He wrote thousands of years of history, from the creation of the world right through to the indices in LOTR about the beginning of the age of men.

But the reason LOTR succeeds as it does is because he did write it. He did think about it. The Silmarillion mattered more to him than anything. It's a shame he had to grow old.

There are some people who should be given a pass on the death thing either for the sake of art or for humanity. He was one of those people. I would have loved to read the Silmarillion complete in story form. When one thinks about the foibles of men, betrayals, needless wars and love... this shit is the shit, because it's history. Pretend history, but it is history and very human.

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I totally agree about this series. I stopped on it after the fourth book, which was well after I stopped enjoying it, really.

I much prefer the Sword of Truth series. Not many fantasy series really pull me in, although my stepdad loves them and literally has a library full of obscure-to-popular fantasy novels. His collection is literally a room full. He gives me a lot of them to check out, and I'll read anything, so I am always working on one or two in the background. Sword of Truth is the only such series that I read solely because I'm into it.

This tells me all I need to know about this author, and his fan base.

God help me I kept reading.

This explains why I'd rather die than braid my hair.

Have you tried Martin?