after finally inishing AOTF i still prefer BMT.
the only one of the AOTF books i thought was as good as the BMT was VOTG.
i really enjoyed VOTG but thought POTW was too slow and boring. LOTW was ok, but nothing compared to BMT
I agree i found the bits to do with the siyee and Elai a bit tedious at times. I just wanted to know what was going on between Auraya and Leiard
The problem is that i wasn't really interested in anything but Lieard and Auraya.
Hmm, I see your point. Yes, that is probably the most captivating story line of the lot, however, I also find Emerahl and the other Wilds quite interesting. The Siyee and the Elai do nothing for me. The Pentadrians are better, I can't wait to see how the twist with their gods and the Cirilian gods develops.
I'm off to read some more :)
I found them interesting, but only in the last book. Otherwise I got a bit tired of them as well.
Well, I just finished LOTW - it is definitely better than POTW - and quite hard to stop reading. Can't wait to get VOTG, I have ordered it but it's stuck in the mail somewhere.
And by now, I have to say that I am finding Age of Five and BMT quite equal. Yes, perhaps BMT was a bit easier to read, but then it is directed at younger audiences. For example, I will recommend BMT to my brother who is ten years younger than me (he is 13), but I would not suggest he should try and read AoF. Children would simply find it too slow.
I didn't just find POTW slow i found it tedious at the start. The writing seemed to get better though. Just waiting for LOTW.
It's odd, because I think I enjoyed PotW more. I mean I wasn't flipping through the book to find the more interesting story line.
In POTW I could never have flipped through the book to find the more interesting story line because of the simple reason that during the first 10-15 chapters it was hard to understand, which story lines are the most interesting ones. They all had a similar amount of book space devoted to them - and as soon as I really got into one - another would pop up :)
In LOTW it was mostly a continuing story, so a smoother read.
I felt similarly about BMT, but only for the first five chapters or so. AOF definitely takes a bit of patience, it draws you in slowly and before you know it, you're addicted :D
POTW
I cannot find our interesting guesses as to what would happen in the third book back when only 1 and 2 were released. But I do remember that we had so many good questions and sadly only a few of them were answered. So to me POTW was generally dissatisfactory. Too many loose ends. I still feel that Trudi is capable of creating great characters only she does see clearly which ones to elaborate on and which ones not to. She needs a better editor!
BMT is my favourite by far of the two of them.
The problem is that i wasn't really interested in anything but Lieard and Auraya.
I get your point. But I loved Mairae and Emerahl too. ^_^
Plot was really well thought and planned.
Now that I have finished both trilogies, I can say that I found AOF to be more layered and the tone of it more mature. Different from BMT, yet with its similarities (the main heroine being attracted to a much older man, for starters :lol: ).
If I had to choose between the two, I'd probably say that my sympathies lie with AOF. It had a more realistic feeling to it and I particularly liked that it didn't have a clear antagonistic and protagonist side - we were shown pros and cons of everyone (Circlians, Pentadrians, the Gods, etc.). And everyone believes that their side is the right one. Of course, one could argue that the Gods were the bad guys in this, but then what about Chaia? He certainly represented the good part of that particular fraction.
The BMT seemed more one-sided in comparison. On the other hand, the part that I liked better about BMT was Sonea and Akkarin's relationship, it seemed more personal than Auraya and Leiard (and we didn't get to see any Auraya/Mirar romantic involvement, only the slow rebuilding of her trust in him).
I think AoF was far more mature in every aspect the BMT, but I just didn't find it as gribbing or the characer quite as endearing.
I'm as hooked on mirar auraya now I've just finished reading age of five than I was akkarin/sonea
I know! I love the couple. (from both trilogies)