Malazan or ASOIAF? Prose or Plot? Manga or Books? - Either/Or Part 1 

It's HAMMER TIME LOL

Comparing Malazan to Berserk is tough for me. They’re both so long, dark, complex, thematically dense-but the hardest part of comparing them for me is the fact that I haven’t read either series.

One thing you gotta give Erikson props for is the fact unlike most other epic fantasy authors he fully completed and delivered his entire series within 12 years with no real significant breaks or delays. The man gave 10 high quality novels of an enormous size consistently in less time than it has taken George to write just The Winds of Winter.

Dwarves? Are there Dwarves in The Way of Edan? Oh, you mean Dweorgs! 😁

I do hate how purple prose has almost become an automatic negative in many circles. It's just another dimension for the writer to be creative, and one I appreciate.

Great video! It was a fun video! I look forward to the next part!

Television? No one will have television in the post apocalypse.

When it comes to plot vs. prose, my answer is always secret option number 3: characters! 😝 This was a fun video, I’m glad there’s a part 2 :)

Oooof, some real tough choices here. Loved hearing all your answers and reasonings though :))) I saw all the Allen vs Philip questions and was wondering how you were gonna handle that one, but I think you nailed that answer hahah. Also, I feel you on being an endings person. I can forgive a lot if the ending is absolutely outstanding! Looking forward to more of these types of videos 🤩

A great video! Happy reading to you!! 😊😊

This was awesome! Thanks

I've always believed that it's not the story that matters, but how you tell it. I don't blame Sanderson in any way but I believe his stardom has catapulted this wave of fantasy that has almost no personality, since his writing is so basic. There are an innumerable amount of great ideas with newer fantasy but it feels like I'm just reading a plot synopsis or a textbook at times. There's no magic or flare to writing nowadays to the point where magic isn't even magic any more, it's basically science with fantasy lingo. Purple prose and soft magic needs to make a comeback.

Great video idea and great execution! Good jobby jimmy

Hahah bring out the hammer 😂 love this idea man, great video. Can’t wait for part 2

In the spirit of GRRM, this was content as it aught to be presented. Thanks, really enjoyed the idea!

Great answers. My favourite is your reason behind picking mid hero.

Quality questions. Great video mate. Ed

Amazing video Jimmy! Yes, purple prose for me is not overwritten, nuanced villains, ASOIAF rules, and for me physical books forever!

Totally agree with your answer on the mid hero vs mid villain question. A good example of this is what happens in the Ajin manga. The protagonist Kei is nothing special but the main villain is basically what would happen if you put John Wick, Wolverine and the Joker in one body. Said villain changed what could've been a boring, forgettable experience into one of the best scifi action thrillers I've ever read.

Hey! Don’t do my WoT like that, Jimmy! 😆 Great video and I look forward to the next part!

This is a good Either/Or content. You have fantastic choices. Jimmy Nutts is one class act .

Malazan may be a pillar, but ASOIAF is part of the foundation. ASOIAF was the first fantasy that I ever read (after watching the first season of GOT), and I was like “Oh! Is that fantasy is? I’ve been missing out. I need more like this.” That search for great fantasy is what sent me to Booktube. I didn’t realize that I had tasted the best with my first bite.

malazan is deep down your favorite series of all time but i’ll let you go today…

Super fun video Jimmy!

Love this format. So much to unpack. Unfortunately, you’re wrong about Macho Man vs Stone Cold. ;)

ASOIAF bring on Winds!. Ouch the Hammer thats rough 😂. This was a great idea for a video. Ill have to think up one for your part II. Cheers!

YESSSS Love the WWE Rep here! Currently reading a book on WWE 😅

Hope dunking on the 20k youtuber doesn't come back to hurt you! This is gonna be a fun series of videos, already excited for the next one :D

You can't compare ASOIAF and Malazan. It's obviously Malazan because it's finished. Even if Malazan is still being fleshed still, at this point ASOIAF will never be finished. The great plot points will never come to fruition. The final character developments will never happen because GRR takes 10 or more years per book. Erikson started Malazan at the same time, i think even a year earlier IIRC. Also Malazan isn't stained by a TV series that was drastically altered and left a huge sour taste with many on the horrible ending choices that were made. It's not even a comparison. The character development, world building, magic, history, lore of Malazan are so far beyond ASOIAF it can't even be measured. ASOIAF had potential, if it had an author that could write in a manner that's acceptable for publishing. It could be unrivaled if GRR is 25 and not pushing 80 years old. Sadly we will never see the end of the series. But we will have a bunch of TV series that will drastically change everything because it became a popculture sensation. It will slowly fade away from any source material and will turn into another politically charged HBO/Amazon series that divides audiences more than unites them. Also I know it's your fave series and that's ok!!!! My post came off more intense than I wanted lol. We all love different things and that's what makes the community great

Omg Jimmy!!!!! You have got to seek Hobb i need this in my life ❤❤❤❤❤❤

YEEES ! This was the right answer :) I also love Dwarves :)

I am big Bakker fan and even I would want Winds of Winter before No God. STOP!!! Hammer Time 🕺🕺🕺. Starting my Manga Journey this month with Uzumaki. I'm in the middle of Unholy Consult and I need a break from the Meta/Abstract....my brain hurts. lol Excellent video man.

Fun watch!

Lol I love your little huge world of fantasy which you created behind you Btw, about that question villain or hero as a main character--are there're any fantasy books where the villlain is the main character?

Really fun video! What kind of weightlifting do you do? i do powerlifting myself

What a great video!

Good answers. 😁. You said you had a story that you wrote, I'm curious as to how much you did, words or pages.

Great video! Can I still suggest either/or’s?

“In a post apocalyptic situation…which is how I rank all my friends.” 😂Same.

Omg, I couldn't possibly make definite decisions between Malazan and ASoIaF, because..::takes out the all the charts and lists and essays on the subject::

Will you ever do your fav fantasy series list Jimmy? 😊

I would like to hear your evaluation of me in a post apocalyptic situation? How do you balance if one person might be really good in one specific situation, but bad in most, compared to someone who is pretty good at everything?

Gonna love watching this after I am chill from all the alcohol my brother bought for me

Great video Jimmy! ASOIAF and GRRM for the win always. This was a fun idea.

No TV Mr Chase? What do you point the furniture at. Haha

Wait wait wait what was your wrestling name? I need to do a light googling.

Malazan or ASOIAF? Second apocalypse 😊

DYING @ Allen is also combative and loud 😂😂😂😂

Prose is a tough one as it also relies heavily on the story. Imagine Bakker writing Lions or GGK writing Great Ordeal. And I do agree a fleshed out villain makes a better hero. Wanting to destroy everything just because they are evil doesn't always work.

The problem with the nuanced villain is that authors must delve into the complexity really well. I find that many or not most writers fail to do so and leave us with shallow and unsatisfying works.

Fun topic! I think I disagree with the bad hero or bad villain answer, because I've read a LOT of fantasy in the 80's and 90's with ho-hum villains that were pretty great stories. You could argue that Lord of the Rings falls into this category as Sauron by his nature isn't a great villain, at least by today's standards. (No hate for Lord of the Rings here, just one example!)

"Careful Ned"

😂😂Hammer time. It will Have to be Bobbys war hammer😂😂

You should read and review Book of the New Sun. Its so great.

Being a Malaz fanatic, I will say Malazan is better

Elves or dwarves is an impossible question. Dwarves are cool but scary elves (how they are in The Way of Edan, at least in the first 150 pages) are unmatched and I'll choose them every time.

Jimmy r u related to you tuber "the potter collecter"

When comes to magic systems, harder is not better, no matter what the ladies say.

My opinion: Malazan is too complex compared to ALL other fantasy series. It is the final boss of fantasy imo. Prose gets better further on. Berserk I stopped at volume 21 because it got too “villain of the week” for me after Golden Age. ASOIAF - well written characters but overall, i only liked reading about 4 of them. Everyone else was like “damn I gotta read this person now 😒” Just didn’t care too much about what most people were doing. Martin has more accessible prose to Erikson.

what you are saying l books 1 through 6 aren't the slog? I guess it's hammer time!!! 🔨🤣

Bobby re: WoT. 😅

I am SO GLAD you mentioned Theon as an underrated character. I think his character arc is one of the most dynamic in the whole series.

Berserk or Stormlight

If you have to hit yourself with a hammer instead of reading WoT, just borrow RJ's since it sees a lot of use!

Is it pronounced Data or Data?

how could you ever make a decision like this?????? anyway it's asoiaf for me grrm all day every day

So let’s see. You think Erikson is the better writer than GRRM. You prefer a strong ending to a strong start. And you would rather miss the first 50 pages than the last. And yet, somehow you still prefer ASOIAF? I’m guessing that if the either/or was nostalgia/recency bias, you would go with nostalgia?

Head on a stick, bruh

OBVIOUSLY ASOIAF > Any other fantasy book ever written