Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice & Fire?

[Marc]

It's hilarious to see people bash GRRM, it's his world, he can do what he wants. Also Jordan died before his work finished so complaining GRRM "might" do the same is irrelevant as he still has time to finish. He is only 68 years old, and while he's not in the best of health, he has only 2 books left to write. Spending time to develop his universe is not a waste, just because people are obsessed with the main story they crave him to cave to their demands. Until this book GRRM was on a per word basis consistent with any writer, including JK Rowling with the Harry Potter series, but he writes epic tomes. His world has depth unmatched by any world but Middle Earth. The wheel of time is good and all, but for high fantasy ASOIAF is better in all facets. All I can say is "all good things in all good time" just enjoy the ride and stop trying to bash George for having a life while being an author.

[Shawn]

Marc wrote: "It's hilarious to see people bash GRRM, it's his world, he can do what he wants. Also Jordan died before his work finished so complaining GRRM "might" do the same is irrelevant as he still has time..."

What is truly hilarious are the people that defend martin.

Jordan died.. and yet had the forethought and the dedication to his craft to prepare enough notes and outlines so that sanderson was able to pick up the series and finish it in less time than it has taken Martin to write book 6. Mind you, that was also a 14 book series that took 23 years to write.. in almost the same amount of time.. Martin hasn't even finished 6 books, and he has said in the past that he has zero plans to let anyone else finish his series if he dies. (and to claim he only has 2 more books to write.. is a joke. The idea of him finishing ASoIaF by book 7.. is highly doubtful.. especially for a series that was meant to be a trilogy and has been bloated far beyond that)

No. Developing his universe is not a waste. But there is a difference between avoiding your story because it has grown past your skill to complete it, and 'fleshing out your universe'.

You are absolutely joking if you think that martin's world has 'unmatched depth'... or that his are 'epic tomes'.. what a fucking joke. There are hundreds of books that have more depth. Dune alone buries martin's garbage. Wheel of Time offers a far greater world and so do countless other stories. There is very little that is special about martin's world.

As for High fantasy... that is very debatable. I would call it Low Fantasy, as magic is understated and limited, especially as of book 5. And there are definitely better examples of High Fantasy.

And as I have said before.. People aren't bashing him for no reason. He has repeatedly said he can't write except at home, and yet rarely spends time at home. He sold the rights to the show, and it has nearly finished while he has been hardly -- no, I didn't spell that wrong, working on a single novel, spoiling the rest of the book series and potentially influencing the direction he goes with his writing. There is valid cause to be disappointed. Especially since it was the readers of his books that got them to the point where he had any fame at all.

But hey.. keep defending martin. It does just as much good as when people complain about him. Just something to pass the time until he either dies or gets off his butt and finishes the series.

[Nikki]

Asoiaf all the way!! I liked wheel of time, it was epic and interesting read, but its incomparable with Martins books.
First of all wheel of time is more of a “cliche” fantasy, it reminded me of LOTR and some other series. In other words it didnt really differentiate much from other epic fantasies. Asoiaf has a much better writing, plot and its more realistic. Some moments and dialogues in WOT seemed super childish, u know as if it was written as childrens book and not for adults. Plus the characters there are not as complex and interesting, they are either good or bad while all of Martins characters are grey and not flawless. Lets also remember all the plot twists and all these small hints that Martin throws throughout the books, seriously this guy is a genius. The plot is super complex and interesting.
Thats why I definitely choose Asoiaf.

[Jamaal]

All this serious and heated debate about a matter of personal preference. I have read both series, and I strongly prefer Wheel of time over Asofai. I prefer the sense of morality, the detail oriented world that Robert Jordan gave life to. Martin's writing, while entertaining, is tacky and shock driven. Which is fine, but not at all appealing to me. I like the naivety and innocence of Robert Jordans character's, and I appreciate the time given to accurately describe and set up his plots and storylines. Wheel of time is rich with sentimentality, yet is colored with tragedy and brutality as well, and time and attention to detail is appreciated here. Martin's books are great reads, but I bought in to WOT, while Asofai I read in between releases of WOT books. To each his own, but only LOR is in WOT category of epic fantasy to me. Is Asofai even fantasy? Debatable. Oh well.