Is WoT a long winded copy of LOTR?

Snagas Tender Blades said:
I have not read much of the series
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That would be why you think as you do. Jordan was very open in saying that he wanted the first book to remind one of The Lord of the Rings, in tone and style and substance. It was his goal. He wanted fantasy readers to feel a certain sense of comfort and familiarity heading into the saga. Going forward that all changes and the series becomes its own thing. A very good thing for a while. A very bad thing after that. But very much its own thing, quite removed from The Lord of the Rings.

So to answer the question in the thread subject: No.
 
The similarities to LotR in the first book nearly made me stop reading. He does move away from those similarities in later books, though.

Two Rivers = Shire
Mat and Perrin = Merry and Pippin
Lan = Aragorn
Moiraine = Gandalf
Trollocs = Lazy combination of trolls and orcs
Myyrdrahl = Nazgul
Dark Lord = Dark Lord

And that's without the similar plot structures and ideas.
 
Yeah I've just started reading, and I really saw the similarities, but I guess Jordan achieved his goal with me, because I found it really sort of comforting, and am definately going to keep reading, at least for a while :)
 
it does move away from the lord of the rings in the later books I love it there's been moments its cheesed me off but I always come back I've nearly read the 1st 10 twice but I taking a break in book 9 I would recommend it to all but you are in for the long haul
 
Ummn yeah but I like LoTR and I also like WoT. I don't really care if they can be compared I have enjoyed both stories. For me thats all that matters and I really don't try to make comparisons that in my mind make no difference to the enjoyment of the story.

And by the way I would rather go on a date with Moiraine then Gandalf and I have no real idea why I said that. Only that in my mind she is beautiful and Gandalf is just some old man who smokes pot and needs a staff to walk! :D

Rahl
 
The first book is very similar, but he does start to move away from Tolkien in the later books.
(Wait - I'm defending Jordan? What's happening?)
But it never becomes very original, and a lot is stolen from Frank Herbert's Dune later on, and when he finally stops being derivative, the writing becomes pretty awful and the pace slows to a crawl.

If you didn't enjoy the Eye of the World much, I'd suggest to stop reading, because it doesn't improve much more than that, and it definitely gets a lot worse - not because of similarities to Tolkien, but because of some truly terrible writing by book 10. The pace is about as fast as it gets in the Eye of the World, even if it isn't quite the best in the series. If you mildly enjoyed it, read the Great Hunt, and then decide.
 
I have enjoyed reading both series, despite the length of time waiting for the next volume of WOT.

As far as I can recall, I have never compared LOTR with WOT. To me they are completely different fantasy stories, both enjoyable in their own way.
 
Rosemary said:
As far as I can recall, I have never compared LOTR with WOT. To me they are completely different fantasy stories, both enjoyable in their own way.
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The only books I can think of that were more overtly "paint by numbers Lord of the Rings" than Eye Of The World are Terry Brook's The Sword of Shanarra and Dennis McKan'tspellhislastname's The Iron Tower trilogy.

After that first WOT book, of course, you're right, it becomes something completely different that LOTR.
 
I'm not even certain that Sword of Shanarra was like LOTR.

One thing I have considered is that this discussions will perhaps lead to comparing each book I read, when previously I didn't. I am not going to do start doing that, for I feel that it might take the enjoyment out of the story.
 
Rosemary said:
I'm not even certain that Sword of Shanarra was like LOTR.

One thing I have considered is that this discussions will perhaps lead to comparing each book I read, when previously I didn't. I am not going to do start doing that, for I feel that it might take the enjoyment out of the story.
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That was the only book that I ever tried to read by this author and I could not finish the book. Comparions to LoTR aside I thought the story was poor the writing I think pretty much anyone could do as good and I have a very hard time to see how Terry Brooks ever managed to be published. Maybe he paid the publisher enough? As you can probably tell I didn't like it and I won't be looking for anything else by this author...ever.:rolleyes:

Rahl
 
Rahl Windsong said:
That was the only book that I ever tried to read by this author and I could not finish the book. Comparions to LoTR aside I thought the story was poor the writing I think pretty much anyone could do as good and I have a very hard time to see how Terry Brooks ever managed to be published. Maybe he paid the publisher enough? As you can probably tell I didn't like it and I won't be looking for anything else by this author...ever.:rolleyes:

Rahl
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Actually I don't mind Terry Brooks. YES he's pretty generic and there's nothing that original in his writing but for some reason I enjoy reading his stuff, maybe as a break from the heavier work I normally focus on.

I also read Sword Of Shannara in the early 80s when I hadn't yet started on my major fantasy reading spree and have followed Brooks since then so maybe it's a loyalty thing, not sure?
 
Aye well if I need light reading I would rather David Gemmell but hey I can see if it was like the first fantasy author you ever read how you would be loyal and really after reading my post I hate it when I get so critical like that. I must have been just sipping my first coffee when I wrote that.

Sorry Mr. Brooks! :eek:
 
Hi! LOTR does have a lot of influence in fantasy today, however, WOT is not one of the worst copycats. As mentioned it actually is more influenced by Dune. If you want something less Tolkienesque I recommend Iron Dragons Daughter. It is quite different and has a great twist to it. David
 
Lol - when I read "something less Tolkienesque" I assumed you'd mean something still in epic fantasy, relatively traditional but with quite a few original ideas - like Bakker or Martin - but the Iron Dragon's Daughter is an anti-fantasy of the highest quality - completely subversive, takes all the stereotypes and turns them on their heads. An excellent novel, except I don't know whether I'd advise someone to go straight from WoT to Iron Dragon's Daughter.
 
Yeah, it is a wonderful novel. I thought the guy would like it. It's just that occassionally these people that keep complaining about Tolkien ripoffs get to me a little bit. I like a bit of originality myself, but I realize there are no new stories. Lotr itself is based on anglo/saxon lit, especailly beowulf. There's so much out there. Erickson, Bakker and Martin or just a few examples. talk to you later
david
 
STB and Shoegaze, I confess I've only read EOTW, so I may not be the most prepared person to speak on TWOT series.

I am going to give a brief synopsis of a story. You tell me if I am describing Tolkien or Jordan.

A quiet young man from a remote pastoral village is warned by a wizard that black fiends are coming to get him. The young man packs up with his three best friends and sets off to find the city of refuge... the wizard's hope is that a council may be convened and a plan may be devised regarding the Dark Lord. Anyway, as the black creatures close in, the young man and his friends escape by taking a ferry. On their journey, the young man and his companions are forced to flee from the first town after the young man accidentally reveals himself to the Dark Lord's spies. A ranger keeps the young man and his companions safe. It is revealed later that the ranger is really a prince, but that the prince is uncertain if he should continue as a ranger or pursue his throne. The wizard and ranger lead the party towards the lands of the Dark Lord, but they are pursued by enemies. Soooo, the party takes refuge by hiding in an old deserted city. The youngest and most inexperienced of the young companions foolishly awakens a nameless terror and the company is forced to flee pell mell.

LOTR or EOTW or both?
 
That sounds a lot like parts of Eddings' Belgariad, too. The similarities between LotR and EotW did stand out a lot in my mind as I was reading the first book, but as a lot have said the story does move away from LotR later in the series. I'll probably be able to better compare the whole WoT to LotR depending on if/when the last book is written.
 
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