I was twelve years old when I picked up ‘Eye of the World’, the very first Wheel of Time novel. I cannot for the life of me tell you what made me read it - I was eyeballs deep in the Sword of Truth series at the time, five books in and only stopping because the library at school didn’t have the next couple of books (it would be a good four years before I picked up where I left off with the Sword of Truth series). I suppose I was looking for something to read in passing, something that would ease off the ache of not knowing how the story continued in books I had come to thoroughly love.
It was in that slightly desultory frame of mind that I turned to Wheel of Time. It took about a hundred pages for that frame of mind to change into one of sheer delight. Fantasy - magic, creatures and great adventure. Reading the Sword of Truth series had turned me on to that and I was utterly charmed that Wheel of Time boasted the same thing. It took one book to make me realise that these books were not for the uncommitted. Three books in and I realised that everything about the Sword of Truth series paled in comparison to what Wheel of Time was. In five books, I had reached the conclusion that Robert Jordan was a master craftsman and I was simply addicted.
Now, we’re just days away from the final book. It’s a conclusion I’ve been hungering towards since I was a young girl. The fact that the books has been written by a different author is mere semantics - the story is alive and well in Brandon Sanderson’s hands and there are no words for my thanks. And my opinions have in no way changed over the last decade.
Robert Jordan is a master craftsman. He built a world that is as real and as tangible as the one I live in. He created characters that became beloved and hated in equal measure. He spun a story that took my breath away and created a world of magic and wonder that was present and here, but also reached far into the past and future. I never cease to marvel at the scope of Robert Jordan’s world and story. Cities, cultures, groups, histories - they are all present and complex within his storyline, which is as complex, individual stories threading this way and that beneath the scope of the larger plot lines, all screaming towards the final, overarching point.
He has taken what Tolkien has done with fantasy to whole new levels of skill. It is impressive beyond words.
More than that, his writing, his story and his world have been inspiring since the day I was introduced to them. As a writer, Robert Jordan has shown me that my imagination is limitless and within it, nothing is impossible, nothing is foolish and you can achieve anything. It’s the value of building your own world - it’s your world and what you say goes. You are the dictator, the ruler, the god of this little place you have created. The opportunities are endless.
When I heard that Robert Jordan had passed away, my heart suffered double breakage. First, that such a talented and iconic writer had left the world, a true loss for fantasy and writing in general. And second, that his story, it seemed, would not be finished. Ultimately, that didn’t turn out to be the case and now we have reached the final stage in Robert Jordan’s epic legacy, his gift to readers everywhere. I’m torn between excitement and sadness, but I have also been waiting for this for almost half my life.
It will be the end of an era. For me, for readers like me and the fantasy world all over. And by god, it’s likely to be absolutely marvellous.
It was in that slightly desultory frame of mind that I turned to Wheel of Time. It took about a hundred pages for that frame of mind to change into one of sheer delight. Fantasy - magic, creatures and great adventure. Reading the Sword of Truth series had turned me on to that and I was utterly charmed that Wheel of Time boasted the same thing. It took one book to make me realise that these books were not for the uncommitted. Three books in and I realised that everything about the Sword of Truth series paled in comparison to what Wheel of Time was. In five books, I had reached the conclusion that Robert Jordan was a master craftsman and I was simply addicted.
Now, we’re just days away from the final book. It’s a conclusion I’ve been hungering towards since I was a young girl. The fact that the books has been written by a different author is mere semantics - the story is alive and well in Brandon Sanderson’s hands and there are no words for my thanks. And my opinions have in no way changed over the last decade.
Robert Jordan is a master craftsman. He built a world that is as real and as tangible as the one I live in. He created characters that became beloved and hated in equal measure. He spun a story that took my breath away and created a world of magic and wonder that was present and here, but also reached far into the past and future. I never cease to marvel at the scope of Robert Jordan’s world and story. Cities, cultures, groups, histories - they are all present and complex within his storyline, which is as complex, individual stories threading this way and that beneath the scope of the larger plot lines, all screaming towards the final, overarching point.
He has taken what Tolkien has done with fantasy to whole new levels of skill. It is impressive beyond words.
More than that, his writing, his story and his world have been inspiring since the day I was introduced to them. As a writer, Robert Jordan has shown me that my imagination is limitless and within it, nothing is impossible, nothing is foolish and you can achieve anything. It’s the value of building your own world - it’s your world and what you say goes. You are the dictator, the ruler, the god of this little place you have created. The opportunities are endless.
When I heard that Robert Jordan had passed away, my heart suffered double breakage. First, that such a talented and iconic writer had left the world, a true loss for fantasy and writing in general. And second, that his story, it seemed, would not be finished. Ultimately, that didn’t turn out to be the case and now we have reached the final stage in Robert Jordan’s epic legacy, his gift to readers everywhere. I’m torn between excitement and sadness, but I have also been waiting for this for almost half my life.
It will be the end of an era. For me, for readers like me and the fantasy world all over. And by god, it’s likely to be absolutely marvellous.
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