Is it just me? - Wheel of Time

[koolness123]

Well, I decided the other day that I couldn't call myself a fantasy fan without reading WoT, so I went to Barnes and Nobles and pick up a copy of The Eye of the World. I'm about 400 pages into it, and so far I see soooooo many things that are similar to Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. I'll list a few of my observed similarities, probably tons more I can't think of:

Spoiler alert (probably redundant, as I'm only 400 pages into the series haha)
1) The protagonist (I think he is the protagonist anyways), Rand, is a boy from a small village in the woods..... Very similar to Richard the wood guide.
2) Rand's father isn't really his father..... Same goes for Richard.
3) People are born with magic in WoT..... Same goes for Sword of Truth series.
4) Those born with magic will die unless they are properly trained.... Same goes for Sword of Truth series.
5) Both Rand and Richard were born with magic, and Rand will probably deny it in the same way Richard did. (I haven't read anywhere yet that Rand was born with the one power, but the signs are clear.... I might be completely wrong here haha but that's the way I'm predicting it will be)
6) Also they both use a form of concentration (Richard pulling the image to himself and Rand with the flame and void), which I think Richard's father taught him but I'm not sure.
7) Both of the protagonists lived in secluded areas and everything in the book is brand new to them.
8) Both Rand and Richard have light grey eyes.

Thos are a few of the things that I think are major similarities, and there are many other minor similarities that I won't list. Anyways, a few of these may be the same for alot of fantasy novels, but I thought the two series seem very similar so far.

A bit off topic, I just wanted to say that so far I'm pretty pleased with WoT and will probably finish the series happily. But god damn, I hate the women in this book more than I've hated any character since Felisin from MBoTF.... Anyone else feel the same way?

[clockwirk]

It's not just you. Prepare to find similarities with Dune, Tolkien, and Star Wars, to name a few.

[Gareth Bryne]

I'm not sure if you're saying this or not, but your post kind of reads like you are implying that Jordan copied ideas from Goodkind. If I'm not mistaken the eye of the world was released earlier than Wizards first rule. You might not be implying that at all though...so if you're not I guess you can ignore this part of my post.

And yes, there are certainly similarities to other books as well. I'm still waiting for a truly all original fantasy book in this day and age though

[Michigan]

I think most of your similarities you pointed out are a stretch at best. Sure they are similar but that's like saying they both have two eyes and a nose. They are rather generic staples of epic fantasy so no surprise they are similar. However, as you continue to read there are many ideas that Goodkind flat out stole from Jordan. Except Goodkind isn't a good enough writer to insert the ideas as seamlessly as Jordan did. Not that Jordan is a perfect writer either.

[Michigan]

A bit off topic, I just wanted to say that so far I'm pretty pleased with WoT and will probably finish the series happily.

Good luck. Millions have probably read the first book with stars in their eyes and by book 7 or 8 were giving up in disgust. I'm determined to finish it someday, i'll pick it up again when Sanderson finishes it, but I had to give up when it started going nowhere.

And yes, everybody hates the girls in WOT.

[ChrisW]

Hyperbole Alert!!!!

[Whiskeyjack]

A bit off topic, I just wanted to say that so far I'm pretty pleased with WoT and will probably finish the series happily. But god damn, I hate the women in this book more than I've hated any character since Felisin from MBoTF.... Anyone else feel the same way?

Actually, I kind of grew fond of the Felisin character toward the end and...

...was sad to see her die at the hand of her own sister in House of Chains.

But I agree about the WOT women. They started to get a little irritating and drawn out over time. As for the WOT series itself, I ran out of steam after book 5. Right now I'm about halfway through book six, but am only reading 1-2 chapters every 6 months or so. I just can't seem to rediscover that special spark the series held for me when I first started reading it. And from what all I've heard, the series keeps going downhill from there, such that I have little interest in trying to see it through to its conclusion. Given so many other good books in the genre, I don't know about WOT anymore.

[Fred Gallney]

The Eye of the World in my opinion was an utter masterpiece. Unfortunately it was the only book in the Wheel of Time series to be thus. However, The Great Hunt, and The Shadow Rising were also reasonably good as I see it. Overall the series is exceptional for some other worldly reason - but thats just me.

[KatG]

And yes, everybody hates the girls in WOT.

I don't. I think the women in Wheel of Time are very complexly drawn and provide some of my favorite characters of the series, though I could probably do without some of the more minor, bickering Aes Sedai characters, especially in those later books. The gals tend to be more interesting than the guys in Wheel of Time, whose character transformations/development tends to be slower and less layered, except for Rand and a few others. Jordan gets a bit one-note with the guys. It's one of my complaints about him, along with often not making effective use of his enormous cast of minor characters despite narrative time on them, and spending too much time describing armor and heraldry. (Martin does that too, and quite a few other authors -- drives me crazy.)

[Werthead]

I see soooooo many things that are similar to Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series

The first six books of Wheel of Time were written before TG published his first novel so it should be the other way around

And yes, everybody hates the girls in WOT.

I don't 'hate' them, and in fact Nynaeve and Egwene develop satisfactorily as the series progresses. However, Robert Jordan seems to think that adults continue to relate to members of the opposite sex the same way they did when they were about 14 (being generous). He has some very peculiar views on the way men and women interact with one another which gets a bit grating after a while.

[goldhawk]

The Eye of the World in my opinion was an utter masterpiece. Unfortunately it was the only book in the Wheel of Time series to be thus. However, The Great Hunt, and The Shadow Rising were also reasonably good as I see it. Overall the series is exceptional for some other worldly reason - but thats just me.

I disagree completely; the Eye of the World is bad and the rest are worst.

It starts with Rand going to the White Tower to determine if he is the Chosen One. Partly through, Jordan goes off on a tangent and Rand discovers the Eye of the World. Since then, the story never gets back on track.

[Althax]

However, Robert Jordan seems to think that adults continue to relate to members of the opposite sex the same way they did when they were about 14 (being generous). He has some very peculiar views on the way men and women interact with one another which gets a bit grating after a while.

That pretty much nails it. Everyone grows and matures through the series except when it comes to dealing with members of the opposite gender. It's not just the women, the men in the book can be fine one minute but the second someone in a skirt (or Min's pants) comes near them they start getting paranoid and stupid.

[MadPiper]

If anything, Goodkind read Jordans series and decided to remake it as his own, just with rape scenes. I enjoyed Jordan's Wot series, although I think books 9,10,11 should have had all the unnecessary stuff cut and made into one book. I enjoyed the first three books of Goodkinds series. The rest was kinda a bonus, but not really needed. Although a few books had their moments.

My two zeni.

[Werthead]

I disagree completely; the Eye of the World is bad and the rest are worst.

It starts with Rand going to the White Tower to determine if he is the Chosen One. Partly through, Jordan goes off on a tangent and Rand discovers the Eye of the World. Since then, the story never gets back on track.

If Rand had gone to the White Tower, the story would have come to a screeching halt there and then. The 'tangent' was necessary.

[koolness123]

Well, I didn't know that The Sword of Truth was published later, but to be honest that seemed irrelevant to me haha. Well, I just finished the book and it was really good to say the least. For all the complaints I've heard about to book I think most people don't give it the credit it deserves. Anyways, I already bought the entire series (with the exception of the last one of course) after finishing the first book, so I have no choice now but to read it (so I tell myself....).

As for the replies about TG taking ideas from WOT and adding rape scenes, that pretty much hits it dead on the spot ahha. I've read The Sword of Truth to Soul of the Fire, but I always get fantasy ADD and start a new series in the middle of others so I haven't had a chance to finish it. For all the complaints I see on this forum, I loved that series.

Thanks for the replies, I'm just getting ready to start The Great Hunt. Cheers