An Introduction to Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

 

The Wheel of Time is a fourteen book fantasy series from Robert Jordan which began publishing in 1990 with the release of The Eye of the World.  Jordan had already published throughout the 1980s with installments in Conan the Barbarian, as well as novelizing Conan the Destroyer and proposed The Wheel of Time in 1984 to Tor Books and attained a six-book contract.  Jordan took six years to complete the first installment and by the time the first release was published the second was nearly complete.  This speed would continue until the seventh installment, A Crown of Swords, where the pace slowed to every two years.  After Crossroads of Twilight, the tenth book in the series, Jordan took a break to pen a prequel, the first of a planned trilogy to be completed after the final two installments: Knife of Dreams and A Memory of Light.  Knife of Dreams would be published in 2005 and shortly after Jordan would be diagnosed with primary amyloidosis in December 2005.  Jordan fought the disease for two years, passing away on September 16, 2007, leaving the series unfinished.  While fans were devastated with the death of the series creator, Jordan’s widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, hand-picked from several options Brandon Sanderson to complete the series from Jordan’s extensive notes, fragments, and progress.  A Memory of Light was saved, but not in the format Jordan intended.  The scope of the final novel and numerous plot threads which needed closure, the book would be split into three, published in 2009, 2010, and 2013, bringing the series to a close with an epilogue from Jordan himself.

 

This is a series which has touched people worldwide and provided a gateway and framework for much of the modern fantasy genre, taking its roots in Tolkien and growing beyond that with the same depth and characters, though presented in a way that modern readers can truly grasp it.  It’s a series of which I have read once, falling in love when a friend recommended the first book.  It’s a story that has something for everybody, making several choices along the way to build on different themes and ideas while the characters grow and fulfill their role in the world.  It’s also one of those great epics which doesn’t end the story when the final book is over, the characters still have their lives which are implied to continue.  The goal of this series is meant to split things into portions that are safe for first time readers while also showing insight from someone who knows what is coming, though when spoilers will arise they will be properly divided, going in depth on each book and themes.  As Jordan said when asked to summarize “Cultures clash, worlds change; cope”, something he said specifically about being long winded and giving us that framework to work from as well as looking into what changed things at the time from the original vision and eventually what Brandon Sanderson completed.  This will also look at each episode of the Amazon adaptation once it is released and compared to how it adapts things and where Jordan and showrunner Rafe Judkins’ visions differ, so let the Wheel of Time turn, let ages come and pass.