Wheel of Time, or His Dark Materials?

I have been looking up on some good Fantasy books to read and came across these two series. Both look good and seem to have the same flavor. So which one is better, in your opinion? List your praises and peeves about the two series if you have read them and help me decide which one is better...

 

I haven't seen or read of the wheel of time, but I'd go with His Dark Materials Those books were great

 

I'm the opposite. I've never read His Dark Materials, but am a big fan of Wheel of Time! So I would say, buy Wheel of Time. But I am planning to read His Dark Materials..someday. Whenever I finish reading the stacks of fantasy books I got from various bookstores and used bookstores.

 

Well, what are the pros and cons of the books? If each of you have read one, tell me about the books...

 

Wheel of Time:
Cons:
Women. They're all the same and unrealistic.
Character Development. They're all snot-nosed kids who don't mature, they're all stereotypes.
Pros:
Absolutely kickass battles.
Asha'Man
Awesome World Building.

If you read it as one huge novel, you'll get more out of it than if you read it as a series different stories. I REALLY enjoy, but it's not exactly great.

 

I have to agree that the world of Wheel of Time is awesome. Each country is very different and distinct, with different accents and everything. I really don't know how to explain it... but it's very interesting. Then there is the Aiel (warriors that live in a wasteland, basically..) and the Sea Folk (sort of gypsies mixed with pirates), oh and the Seanchan! Yes, the women are almost all written the same (with a few exceptions) and get annoying very easily. But there are several interesting characters: Mat is the best one, he's hilarious. Umm... well anyway you should read it, it's very good!

 

Is Wheel of Time rather dark? Or is it more of a Narnian type fantasy?

And I would like some pros and cons on HDM if anyone can post them...

 

Well, Wheel of Time can definitely be dark. There are some very disturbing parts, too (Moiraine's explanation of Padan Fain, for one, is rather disturbing). And there's some graphic violence too. But they are definitely very good books. If you like really long stories. So, cons of WoT: it's extremely long (the 10th book is coming out this year, and all the books are thick), and if you don't read them all back-to-back it can get hard to follow. Pros: it's extremely well-written (probably the most well-written books I've ever read) and the character developments, plot developments, and world-building are wonderful.

Also, nearly everything in all the books is important in some way to the story. For me, that's a pro, since I like really long and involved plots.

As for the women of WoT...yeah, they can be annoying. Some, in fact, are truly hate-able (is that a word? Cadsuane...I HATE Cadsuane). But they're not all so bad (read: Birgitte, Min, Verin, Moiraine...IMHO, at least). And some kinda swing back and forth between likeable and...not.

Anyway, hope that helps. Trust me, if you read WoT, you will not be disappointed.

 

I know this is a bit off-topic, but if you're looking for a good fantasy series, this one is a favorite of mine.

 

His dark materials!!

p.s theres liek 4 threads about this series floating around


pps, who wrote the wheel of time?

 

One last question: Is it pretty "inner spiritish"? Or not?

 

Robert Jordan aka James O'Rigney Jr aka Reagan O'Neal aka Jackson O'Reilly

 

That series of yours sounds good, Eva.

 

Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence is quite fantastic, but not very sophisticated. They're YA books, not "adult novels."

 

The best fantasy series in progress right now is George R. R. Martin?s A Song of Ice and Fire. As you might be able to tell, I?m a big Tolkien fan. And I think that Martin is better than Tolkien. His characterizations are amazing, every scene has meaning, and he had a tendency to do what you?d least expect. The end of the latest book in his series (actually, the last 250 pages) had my jaw on the floor the entire time.

But between the two choices you?ve named, I?d go for Jordan. His books are like a cross between Lord of the Rings and Conan the Barbarian. The books are very entertaining; Rand al?Thor is one of the coolest heroes ever written.

 

Gandolf beat me too it.

I'm a big fan of WoT, but the books are becoming neverending.

You'll be better off reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

 

Mr. pullman is pretty famous around here
and im probably the first that read the trilogy, and im readin sally lockhart now, and i read nearly all his books and hes my favourite writer and you are probably waiting for me to end this sentence and i will. Phew...

 

i thought you were referring to the David Wingrove? series, Chung Kuo

 

Wheel of Time rocks. Your lucky if you start the series now. You have nine books of the series immediately available for your reading pleasure.

The Pros: Great world. Great variation in the cultures. Good charcater development. Good battles. Excellent magic. Great Hereos: both male and female. Very Evil Villains.

The Cons: Very very long: takes forever to get to the point in some instances. Lack of understanding between men and women gets annoying. Coming back to life syndrome.

 

Well, I checked out a Song of Ice and Fire and it seemed rather dark and had lots of dark sorcery. I am getting the wrong impression? It just seems darker then LOTR even was...

 

I prefer the WoT series.

 

HDM!!!