[ElektroDragon]

Hi, I'm a big Feist fan, and I've had the first 3 WOT paperbacks sitting on my shelf for a decade, unread! (Don't ask why I got 3 before even reading 1.) Here is what stopped me from reading initially: When I got book 3, I read the back of it (big mistake) and saw that Rand was "The Dragon Reborn". Now I'm sorry, but this seemed like some kind of HUGE SPOILER at the time for the first two books. Is it??

Now, I decided to try to start the series again after seeing the "New Spring" novel, which I just bought because I fell sucker to marketing saying "Begin the Adventure" and "the perfect introduction". Well, is it? Would you at all suggest that I begin with New Spring rather than Eye of the World? Keep in mind I'd rather read the shorter book first to decide if I even like this author. But does New Spring contain any spoilers for the rest of series? Will I be utterly confused having not read EOTW first?

Finally, how does Jordan compare with Feist?

Any help on these questions is much appreciated! :)

[Matrim]

It's best to start with the Eye of the World, and then read all the volumes from the main series and after that to read New Spring. Rand being the Dragon Reborn is a spoiler for the first volume, the damage is done but I still think you may like The Eye of the World. In the next book this spoiler is pretty much irrelevant since it's revealed in Book 1. New Spring is set some in a time period 20 years before The Eye of the World but it reveals quite a bit of info which may spoil some of the enjoyment of the first volumes, therefore it's not recommended to read it first.
I have only read Feist's Magician and I think The Wheel of Time is much, much better.

[lady_rose]

Finally, how does Jordan compare with Feist?

I've read the Talon series by Feist, and although I'm only just finishing Book 2 of Jordan's WoT, I have to say I think Jordan is a much more...thorough writer. There is much more detail, which I guess may annoy some people, but I found in Feist, important events skimmed by in about 3 paragraphs!

It really depends on what you like in a writer. I'm a fan of Martin, Hobbs and Cherryh's Fortress books, so I like all the rich detail that goes with their respective series'. And that was what I really missed in Feist.

Having said that, my brother in law, the one who turned me on to Jordan, loves both Feist and Jordan so.... :D

My advice tho', is don't base your judgement only on EoW. I was a little disappointed by it, having had it talked up to me, and it took me months to get to Book 2. But now I'm completely hooked!

[ChrisW]

Rand being the Dragon isn't much of a spoiler as it clear he is the main character. I agree about reading New Spring until after your up to book 11.

I envy all you new guys starting WoT now as you will be able to read straight through to "Knife of Dreams" with only a two year wait til the last book.

[Bond]

I actually think Feist and Jordan are very comparable writers. They have a style and tone that is similar. They write gripping adventures with fun characters. But yes lady_rose describes compares them aptly. I personally thought the first part of Magician (Magician: Apprentice) was okay, it was slow and generic but it hinted at perhaps something more. The Eye of the World can be described pretty much the same except slower and longer but also slightly more interesting at parts. Magician: Master was where Feist hit his stride and it was an enthralling adventure story that is among my favorites. Jordan when he hits his stride. . . is better. Books 2 to 5 of WoT for me is the equivalent of 4 books of Magician: Master.

Start the series at The Eye of the World but know that you have little idea of what Robert Jordan is capable of until you finish The Great Hunt.

[Psylent]

Start with the Eye of the World.

As ChrisW said, it's pretty obvious from the start who the Dragon Reborn is so don't let that prevent you from reading the books.

I like Jordan far more than Feist.

[JohnH]

I have to disagree with a couple of things.

First, I suggest reading the series starting with The Eye of the World. However, if you can get the shorter "New Spring" the novella that was in the Legends anthology, I highly recommend you read that following The Path of Daggers assuming you make it that far. There are little bits in the novella that Jordan throws in that tie directly to the ongoing storyline that takes place in book eight. If you can't get the collected novela form of 'New Spring', read up to and including book ten, then read New Spring: The Novel 9which you will need to then read even if you read the novella) then continue with book eleven. Jordan writes in a way that little hints and clues pepper the series in the order he wrote them. If you like his style of plotting, you won't want to read out of order.

I would also say, for me, Jordan and Feist are nothing alike. Feist is a very flat, linear straightforward story teller. His plotting comes directly from his gaming experience and has never veered from that course. There is little to no ambiguity. There is not much depth to the world itself despite its sprawl. Little to no sense of history and little to no sense that characters and lives and action occur off the stage for the most part. As an adventure story this works. Though I prefer, say, Gemmell or Larke or Cook or Kearney's new series in this regard. Feist writes a bit too rigidly and predictably for my overall tastes. His earlier work is okay but lacks sophistication or polish. His most promising work, the SerpentWar Saga, ends up falling back into the same formula he uses time and again. Relegating all his creativity for an overly simplistic grand finale and resolution.

Jordan, however, does something that no one since Melanie Rawn has done. And that is take intrigue and personal motivation and made it conflicting plotpoints. Unlike Rawn, though, Jordan adds epic fantasy to the mix with the ultimate threat quite well known and a force to be reckoned with. Jordan layers court intrigue fantasy with a little bit of quest at the start only to expand and convolute the whole mix with layers upon layers of character driven plotlines that mesh and yet are never quite converging, at least in the way you might think at times (in the first six books or so). Small things, almost throwaways as back story and world-building, suddenly take relevance and form latter on. If you like complexity that reveals itself slowly and subtley sometimes; blazing in the forefront in others, you might end up liking the series. It is detail oriented. What make sit work is that small obscure details might mean solving some rather large, important and perplexing matters. Then again, they may not.

Feist is a potato chip. Flat, relatively plain and straighforward. You can tell what you are getting by looking at it. Jordan is a twice baked potato. Larger, fuller, spanning much greater dimension. Even from the surface there are varied textures; within who knows how many layers and ingredients you might find until you are through.

[Bond]

JohnH you say you prefer Gemmell, Larke, Cook or Kearney's new series more than Feist's Magician? Thank you for the suggestions. :) By the way is the Larke you refer to the same one who has her own forum here on SFFWorld?

The current popularity of drab series set in grim worlds is making me rather ambivalent towards the genre. It's petrifying. Do these authors you mention offer a lighter touch?

I would also say, for me, Jordan and Feist are nothing alike.
Well I don't know about that. Modifying your analogy a bit, if Feist is like a potato chip and Jordan a baked potato, something like Moorcock's Eternal Champion and Erikson's Malazan could probably be seen as gourds in comparison while something like Carey's Kushiel series and Guy Kay's Sarantine Mosaic are like a tangerine and mandarin. Feist's writing may not be as complex as Jordan's but at least in the Riftwar it displayed an amiable zest and natural vitality that is something I also find in Jordan's WOT. On the other hand I do not sense something similar present in aSoIaF or Malazan or even Feist's own later work.

I make the link between them in case any might be turned off WOT because of the rather dry Eye of the World. I want to assure them that yes Jordan has an open and ingenuous sense of humor unlike the seemingly more studied and mannered humor of other others and yes he knows how to do action and spin a convoluted plot to say the least. I have not read as much fantasy as you have JohnH but among those I have, Magician I think actually comes closest to sharing the qualities I mentioned above that I find and enjoy in WOT. These qualities I believe are not displayed to good effect in the first book. In short I connect Feist and Jordan to assure the original poster that yes, if one likes Feist one is likely to like Jordan too, The Eye of the World notwithstanding.

Anyway, Jordan may be a better writer than Feist in the many ways you've outlined but considering the way he has meandered as of late, even though we should probably expect more, if Jordan were merely to uncork a scintillating finish to match that found at the end of Feist's Magician, I will be satisfied.

By the way on Serpentwar: I thought the prologue with the Saaur was wonderful. I waited in vain for most of the early part of the series for them to make an appearance again only to find them later on in the series barely worth a footnote. Feist is one of those authors that have struck me as getting worse as they gained experience and "learned" the craft (although I guess he's never really been that good at it) but lost the spark that made him popular to begin with.

[lady_rose]

Feist is one of those authors that have struck me as getting worse as they gained experience and "learned" the craft (although I guess he's never really been that good at it) but lost the spark that made him popular to begin with.

Agreed. There is nothing more tedious than a novel that is "over" written.

[JohnH]

Jordan and Feist both write adventure fantasy. So do Moorcock, Carey, Martin and even Kay. Fantasy in my analogy is the potato. Sorry that was not glaringly obvious.

Quite simply, Carey, Kay, Moorcock and Martin, in my opinion, all have closer ties in style and in exposition to Jordan's WoT than anything that Feist has written. I do not mean that in a qualitative way by any means. But simply in terms of style. Both narrative and developmental.

Once again, for me, Jordan and Feist are nothing alike. And I do know about that. Completely and utterly.