Famed fantasy writer Robert Jordan is dead
The author of the “Wheel of Time” fantasy series and many of the Conan books died at the young age of 59 after his battle with the debilitating condition known as cardiac amyloidosis. He would have celebrated his 60th birthday next month.
Jordan’s real name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr. and the author also wrote under the pen name Reagan O’Neal. Under the O’Neal name he wrote the “Fallon” series of stories.
His Conan books totaled seven in all and the “Wheel of Time” series contained eleven books. A twelfth book was proposed and started, but due to his illness was never completed.
Jordan had plans for a new series of books titled “Infinity of Heaven,” an adventurous “Shogun-style” fantasy, but the project never got off the planning stage — again due to his illness.
Robert Jordan passed away on September 16th. His genius will be missed in the wonderful world of fantasy fiction.
Dang… that sucks.
.
.
hope book 12 was completed, this sucks.
Crap, wikipedia is saying he didn’t finish “A Memory of Light” but “he shared all of the significant plot details with his family not long before he died”… bummer
I will admit to losing interest in his Wheel of Time series as it went on. However he will still be missed.
As soon as I read this, I immediately thought of a bumper I’d seen on Dragon*Con TV:
http://dragoncontv.com/videos/205/
In the list of unfinished series (serieses?) is Wheel of Time. Weird coincidence…
I’m sorry to see him go so young.
This kind of thing, though, is pretty much why I’ve been sticking to my “wait until you know the series is over” policy with books. I can’t imagine reading thousands upon thousands of pages, just to see the author get sick and die before getting the final volume done.
And I’m especially wary after seeing what happened with “Dune”…
sad news. he was and always will be one of mine and darcy’s favorite writers. I always had a great deal of respect for him. he brought back the conan and Robert E Howard stories, and did them justice. His own series, including the civil war novels, had such richness in detail and characters. We are lost a truly gifted man, and heaven has gained a great story teller. Have a great rest Mr Jordan. You will be missed.
tim and darcy
I’m so very sad to hear about this! I really REALLY loved the first few “Wheel of Time” books, but I, too, wanted to wait until the seres was finished before delving into it further. Now I wonder if I’ll even want to read them 🙁
Very sad news for us all 🙁
Very sad. I’m about halfway through “The Dragon Reborn” and I’m enjoying it immensely. I hope that Book #12 is completed by his family as he had hoped, since it’d be a darn shame for his great series to remain incomplete, or, worse, picked up and finished by some other author with his/her own view on the series.
Well that just sucks if there was one consitent fantasy writer out there robert jordan would have been if not at the top very near it he will be missed and rememberd through his writing as a true visionary and myself as well as many others are saddend by his passing
R.I.P. Robert Jordan
I was truly bummed out to hear this today. While I had also felt that the quality of the series dipped and seemed to drag for several books, it had picked up again in the last few and seemed to be back on track. It’s a damn shame that he fell while trying to finish this landmark series.
I’m torn regarding having someone else in his family finish the story. I never read the last two Dune books, mostly because I hear they were awful. I would hate to see that happen to the WoT.
RIP, indeed, Mr. Jordan.
Very sorry to hear that, that’s very sad for his family and the fantasy-reading community.
I was eagerly awaiting the final WoT book, like many others, so I really hope it’s completed by a ghost writer. I started the series in the mistaken belief that it HAD been finished, as I thought it couldn’t possibly have more than 10 books. But I didn’t check before starting, and then #11 came out. D’oh.
The first couple were excellent, but he dragged things out for the next five or six to the point where I thought he’d need 20 books in total to finish the story. I guess he realised that too, because everything sped up later in the series, maybe even too much. I still couldn’t see one last book wrapping it all up (considering what was still to come according to the prophecies), but I hoped it would. I will be very annoyed if it is never completed!
I will really miss him, such a sad thing to see. Also sad that we may not get to see the final “chapter” to the Wheel of Time.
I know myself and many of my friends will miss him.
I was very sad to hear of RJ’s passing. He was my introduction into High Fantasy. Whatever people may think about the direction the series took, the world of the WOT was wonderfully complex and engaging. The time I spent delving into those early books will remain among my favorite experiences in reading fantasy books. RIP!
the wheel of time books were great and have kept me company for the past 8 years or so. I was glad that there were so many books. It meant that once it was all finished you cold slowly enjoy the intricacies of the plot. They allowed us to escape the realities of life into a wonderfully created world. he will be greatly missed.
I was very sad to learn that RJ passed away. My husband and I love his books, and I am currently in the middle of listening to the books read on audio book. If you have not experienced the WoT on audio, you are missing something. The narrators do an excellant job with the characters that help bring the world to life. It is a shame he did not finish the final book. I understand his wife helped him a lot with the book, telling him what sounded good, etc, so perhaps she will finish the book for him off of his notes, and we will not be able to tell the difference?
R.I.P. Robert Jordan. Suffer no more. My prayers and condolences to his family.
I really enjoyed his books. I was still in middle school when I started reading them… My fandom was limited to reading the books (several times) and I did not know that he was ill – I was shocked to find that he had passed. I trust that the last book will be what he wanted and look forward to it’s completion. He was ta’veren, and has made an impact in my life – For that I thank him, and his family for supporting him.
I was very sorry to hear of RJ’s passing yesterday from a friend. I am reading the first book in the WoT series at the moment, and hope that his wife is able to finish the series, as others above have suggested. My best wishes go to his family at this difficult time for them.
f*#K! im on book 6. ive been reading these blasted books for ages! i found out about his illness around the 4th book and thought he’d pull out of it. hes probably disappointed beyond belief if theirs a heaven. his family has got to be interviewing ghost writers! some ones gotta continue this story, it took me forever to get where i am. things like this shouldnt happen to men like him. its not fair, but then again who said life was fair?
Last I checked RJ was hopeful, that must have been some time ago… Very sorry for his family and friends. All the books I’ve read since 11 was to fill time waiting for 12. I hope RJ’s spirit sticks around to help…
the world has lost one of it’s greatest artists. RJ painted with words what only few could do with a paint brush or pen. i have read the wot series several times over and it is truly as if he was observing and reporting wrather than creating. his agony over every line was a gift we must, as fans, never forget. my prayers to his family.