[nickj]

Having not read a great deal of fantasy I have found that I cant find any books/series that are as good as the WOT. I have read some Fiest, Erikson and I am now reading Martin but they don’t seem to compare, I was hoping I could get some recommendations on books from people who also enjoy the WOT..

Nick

[Evil Agent]

There are several recommendation threads, I"m sure someone will point out.

However, many people on this forum (like myself) would have likely recommended Martin and Erikson. There are many readers who prefer those authors over Jordan. But if you're finding that they don't compare, maybe you can be a bit more specific, about what you're looking for. What elements of WoT/Jordan are you trying to find, that you can't find so far?

Tad Williams' series, Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn is pretty good. But not as good as Erikson or Martin, IMO, so I'm not sure what you'd think of it. Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy is one of my favorite series ever, but it's very different from WoT (it's written in the 1st person perspective), so again, I'm not sure what you'd think of it.

[ChrisW]

You could try J V Jones "Book of Words" trilogy and her second trilogy after that. Melanie Rawn's "Dragon Star" and "Dragon Prince" trilogies are also quite good. Neither are on the scale of WoT but both have mulitple PoV's similair to WoT and the world building is quite good.

Oh and WoT is my fav series:) .

[Bond]

WoT is my favorite too and as far as I know it is unsurpassed at what it does best. Despite the insinuations of detractors, there is nothing quite like it.

If what you enjoy are all the overlapping weaves of plots and subplots, mysteries and misdirection, and dramatic situations yearning for resolution, as far as I know you're out of luck. Martin does a fair job at spinning intrigue in his series but comes off as by the numbers next to Jordan. Erikson creates a sense of mystery all over the place but his style of abstract storytelling undercuts the reader's ability to make sense of it all and "solve" them. These two also write more dolorously. Some people seem to love the grim "grayness" of them. But if you prefer Jordan you probably prefer a wider color palette which includes brighter hues.

Feist doesn't really create as much mystery but I think gets close in Magician: Master to investing the reader as much as Jordan in the outcome of the story. So if you've only read his other stuff try that. I also think Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends might fill the bill a bit.

I read that the author of The Monarchies of God series is a fan of Jordan's and created something similarly complex and some Jordan fans have suggested it but I haven't read it myself.

[nickj]

Just to elaborate a little on my comments, I have only read three of Feist’s books Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon and I did enjoy them, I hear that they are his best so that is why I tried Erikson. After reading Gardens of the moon I thought this could be an awesome series, but after a few more books I found them a bit hard to follow and keep track of all the new characters. Now im reading book two of a Song of Ice and Fire and so far this is the next best series I have read to WOT.

I have noticed that people either hate WOT or love it, I just hope one day I read something I like as much as it…

Thanks for all the recommendations

[ChrisW]

I have only read three of Feist’s books Magician, Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon and I did enjoy them, I hear that they are his best

Personally i'd say his Empire trilogy with Janny Wurts is his best work then the riftwar saga.:) Be sure to give it a try.

[Werthead]

I've never heard of Paul Kearney being a Jordan fan (although he is a big fan of Patrick O'Brien and Steven Erikson), although his Monarchies of God series is excellent. Not sure if it's Jordan-esque, but it has some of the best fantasy battle sequences ever. I also really liked his unorthodox (for epic fantasy) use of gunpowder and cannons.

For the sheer scale and detail of the story, the only thing which really is similar to WoT is Tolstoy's War and Peace, which Jordan has admitted was a larger influence on his writing than Lord of the Rings. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing Trilogy has a magic system as intricate and detailed as Jordan's and power-battles that are more frentic and impressive, but his story is very, very dark and gritty, and he has been accused of unrelenting grimness. The writing is amazing, however. Frank Herbert's Dune is a clear influence on much of Jordan's writing and some of his cultures. Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy (which is SF though, not fantasy) has a similarly huge scope and vast cast of characters to WoT, but has the advantage of being finished and shorter (although at nearly 4,000 pages it's not a succint work by any means).

For overall 'feel', I agree that Feist's Empire Trilogy and Magician may be the closest you'll find to Jordan, although JV Jones' Book of Words and Sword of Shadows series aren't too far off.