hvacigar Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Hello to all. I am a newb on the board, and I am almost halfway through SOS as we speak. I cannot stand to read hardback books, so I will wait for Feast to come out on paperback (sorry, can't stand the hardcovers). ASOIF is the best and I have thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the depths of their personalities. The intricacies of the plots and the amazing ability Martin has to blur the edges of hero/villain is what I like most about the series. That being said, I want to start another epic series, but I want it to be a quality series for Adult readers. After reading this board and some others, I have narrowed the current list down to Bakker and Erikson. I am looking for some insight from those who have read all three or two of the three series to help determine what is best. My rationale at this point is that the Bakker series is set to be finished soon, and the Erikson series will go on. I think I will start Bakker after SOS. That is, of course, unless others can persuade me otherwise based on the concepts I gave above for enjoying ASOIF. Anyone with insight on the two??? I rank the following (greatest interest being #1) 1. Depth of character 2. Intricate plots 3. Adult themes (no Potter stuff here) 4. Battle action Thanks in advance for any insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBannon42 Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Bakker read this thread. it has a lot of comaprisons between the two. thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvacigar Posted December 29, 2005 Author Share Posted December 29, 2005 Bakker read this thread. it has a lot of comaprisons between the two. thread Thanks, I had read that thread, but I was not considering Williams, and I also have very specific tastes whish I do point out in my request. Trying to get a little more in depth on the fit between Erikson and Bakker with what I like about ASOIF. I guess I should probably move this topic within that thread for more specific discussion. Is there a Moderator out there to help possibly move this under the thread mentioned above??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Bakker definitely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolorous Edd Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Bakker definitely... Bakker has the advantage that his trilogy will be finished come January 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arakasi Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Bakker has deeper characters, so 1 goes to him. 2 and 3 are a wash. 4 is Erikson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathanael Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 I'd give 2 to Bakker as well. I've only read 1-2 of Erikson, which makes it more fair for comparison, but his plots have seemed relatively simple. As for 4, Erikson has more of them, but I prefer the way Bakker writes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arakasi Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 I'd have to disagree with Nathaniel. I've read all 5 and from what I've seen I think Erikson is better in plots. As for battle sequences Bakker did great in the first book. But imo the battles in the second were poorly described. While the Chain of Dogs is one of the best military sequences in a book ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Baelish Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Erikson, definitely. I just cannot get into Bakker at all, while Erikson is my favourite fantasy author of all. I love his plots, characters and the amazing world he has created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brys Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Difficult choice - both are excellent authors, easily at the top of epic fantasy along with Martin. I'd say that I prefer Erikson overall, but Bakker is the stronger writer in terms of characterisation and prose. Bakker is no match for Erikson in terms of scope or worldbuilding though, and IMO Bakker hasn't yet written anything close to being as moving as some of the moments in the Malazan series. Characterisation: Here Bakker wins hands down - his characterisation is almost as good as Martin's, complex, ambiguous and realistic. Erikson has a huge cast, but only some of those characters are done very well (eg Felisin and Itkovian), while the majority are only partially developed - not that this takes away from the reading in any way, but it means that the result is a less character focused novel. To me (ironic though it is) Erikson reads more like a history of a period than Bakker (despite Bakker's series being very similar to the crusades). Plots: Close, but I'd have to say Erikson in the end. Erikson's are genuinely more surprising and more intriguing to me, but Bakker has kept his plot tighter through the series. Erikson wins on the intricacy side as well - very complex and the many plotlines tend to be carefully interlinked. Battle Sequences: Erikson again here - his battle scenes don't start off that well, but by the third book, Memories of Ice, I think he's unmatched in terms of writing battle scenes. Bakker's are quite well done, but nothing spectacular. I think the worst problem you could have though is expecting either of the series to be ASOIAF. Both are very different from it, in their own way, and a number of Martin fans have been disappointed in Erikson, for example, because Erikson doesn't have the same depth of characterisation for all his characters. Also be aware that Bakker's series is a completed series, Erikson's has 5 out of 10 published (though 6 is complete and he's writing one a year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaco Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Read them both. Bakker has deeper characters, so 1 goes to him. 2 and 3 are a wash. 4 is Erikson. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arakasi Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Brys' post was spot on too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werewolfv2 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Brys' post was spot on too. yup, Ive found that in most cases I can just let him speak for me Bakkers main plus is that his series is done (though book 3 isnt out yet), Erikson is better over all...Im a magic whore what can i say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaco Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Can we really say Bakker's series is finished? Seems to me it'd more accurate to say that the first arc of the series is completed by next month's The Thousandfold Thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arakasi Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 No Bakkers work is not completed, and I wonder about the people who promote it as being finished, since Bakker has said there is 4 books more in the story. And since Erikson's works are mostly self contained, you would have to say Erikson is quite a bit closer to being done. Book 6 is out in a couple months and he is well into writing book 7 and he writes a book a year and has 4 books left. Bakker writes a bit slower, and has 4 books to go. I'd say Erikson will likely finish around a year before Bakker, but they should be pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 That's a good point. Both have 4 more books to come (in fact counting Thousandfold Thought Bakker has 5 more to come). The Prince of Nothing Trilogy is relatively self-contained, but then in the Malazan series books 1 & 3; 2, 4 & 6; and 5 & 7 form semi-complete story arcs in themselves (from the sound of it 6 and 7 are more linear with ongoing elements than the earlier boosk though). Haven't read Bakker. I deliberately chose to read Malazan in 2003 to help ease the wait for AFFC and was blown away by it. So that's who I'd go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werewolfv2 Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 No Bakkers work is not completed, and I wonder about the people who promote it as being finished, ack.. thats what I get for not paying attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Because while Bakker is planning on writing 4-6 more books in the Eärwa world, the next duology takes place 20 years in the future from the end of TTT. Most of the characters from TTT likely will not be playing major roles in this. Plus the Holy War arc ends in TTT. Yes, there are a few open ends that will carry on into The Aspect-Emperor, but the story will stand (mostly) on its own, as The Hobbit does in relation to LotR. In fact, that's the exact analogy Bakker has used for comparing PoN to the coming novels. But before that, Bakker might be having another book come out in late 2006/early 2007 that's unrelated. It's a near-future psychothriller called Neuropath. But that's a different story, right? Oh, and to answer the above question: It just depends on what the reader prefers. I enjoy both a lot, but for different reasons. I'd have to know the reader's preferences more before I could confidently say which to recommend and why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multaniette Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 Based on your criteria, you ought to go for Bakker, IMO. Erikson's books are all about action and grandeur while Bakker works on a more psychological level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobodymN Posted December 30, 2005 Share Posted December 30, 2005 No Bakkers work is not completed, and I wonder about the people who promote it as being finished, since Bakker has said there is 4 books more in the story Does anyone not know that? - The Prince of Nothing is finished. Thus the series is done. If the Aspect Emperor is renamed to Prince of Nothing book IV I will take back my own comments, otherwise there is very little to argue, and even less to understand. Nobody said it's the best story ever, I did say it's the best completed epic fantasy series IMHO. I fail to see the difficulty in comprehending that. Do we not think of Gene Wolfe's Short Sun. Long Sun and Book of the New Sun as different sequences? I know I do. Or as Dylan states: Because while Bakker is planning on writing 4-6 more books in the Eärwa world, the next duology takes place 20 years in the future from the end of TTT. Most of the characters from TTT likely will not be playing major roles in this. Plus the Holy War arc ends in TTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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