[The Great Serpent] Introduction to Robert Jordan and The Wheel of Time

Parts of this page is from the rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan FAQ.

Who is Robert Jordan?

Robert Jordan is actually a pseudonym for James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he has written the Wheel of Time fantasy series as well as seven books of the "Conan" series. Other pseudonyms are Reagan O'Neal ("Fallon" series; historic fiction), Jackson O'Reilly ("Cheyenne Raiders"; western), and Chang Lung (contributions to various periodicals including Library Journal). [Source: Contemporary Authors vol. 140]

You can find some more information in the short Robert Jordan biography put together by Tor Books.

What is The Wheel of Time? What are the book titles?

The Wheel of Time (TWoT) is an in-progress series of fantasy books with a very complex plot that has gathered a large following of very devoted fans, as well as a very large community on the Internet. The books in The Wheel of Time series are (so far; in order):

  1. The Eye of the World (TEotW)
  2. The Great Hunt (TGH)
  3. The Dragon Reborn (TDR)
  4. The Shadow Rising (TSR)
  5. The Fires of Heaven (TFoH)
  6. Lord of Chaos (LoC)
  7. A Crown of Swords (ACoS)
  8. The Path of Daggers (TPoD)
  9. Winter's Heart (forthcoming)

Jordan claimed pre-TpoD that he will need at least three more books to end the series. In an interview after the release of TPoD he still thinks this haven't changed. *Ouch*

And no, I don't have any better idea of when Winter's Heart will come than anyone else outside Tor Books.

What is the state of Jordan in Sweden?

Natur och Kultur is currently publishing The Wheel of Time in Swedish under their Legenda imprint, naming the series Sagan om Drakens Återkomst ("The Tale of the Dragon's Return"). So far the following books have been published:

  1. Farornas väg ("Way of Perils", first half of The Eye of the World, cover [16k JPEG])
  2. Tidens hjul ("The Wheel of Time", second half of The Eye of the World, cover [24k JPEG])
  3. Valeres horn ("The Horn of Valere", first half of The Great Hunt, cover [17k JPEG])
  4. Tomans huvud ("Toman Head", second half of The Great Hunt, cover [18k JPEG])
  5. Drakens flykt ("The Dragon's Flight" or "The Dragon's Escape", first half of The Dragon Reborn, cover [17k JPEG])
  6. Tears klippa ("The Stone of Tear", second half of The Dragon Reborn, cover [19k JPEG])
  7. Skuggan växer ("The Shadow Rising", first half of The Shadow Rising, cover [16k JPEG])
  8. Tornets fall ("Fall of the Tower", second half of The Shadow Rising, cover [13k JPEG])
  9. Klanernas Uppbrott ("The Clans Marching", first half of The Fires of Heaven, cover [18k JPEG])
  10. Stormen vaknar ("The Storm Stirs", second half of The Fires of Heaven, cover [21k JPEG])
  11. Fursten av kaos ("The Lord of Chaos", first half of Lord of Chaos, cover [10k JPEG])
  12. Svarta tornet ("The Black Tower", second half of Lord of Chaos, cover [17k JPEG])
  13. Vindarnas skål ("The Bowl of the Winds", first half of A Crown of Swords, cover [15k JPEG])

The cover links uses Natur och Kultur's images, so the credit for them does not belong to me. You might also be interested in reading about the Swedish Darkfriends Socials.

How do I discuss Robert Jordan on the Internet?

Through Usenet News and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan (rasfwr-j for short). The hows and means depends on your local environment and assets. Ask your systems administrator or more experienced friends - I can't help you. It's a good idea to read the posts in news.announce.newusers - you can find a lot of help on most aspects of Usenet News there. You should also have read the rasfwr-j FAQ and taken a look at The Wheel of Time FAQ.

You should be aware of that virtually all discussion on rasfwr-j assumes that you have read ACoS. If you haven't, there's no really good alternative for discussion on the Internet.

That's great. How do you like the books?

Personally, I think the best thing about TWoT is rasfwr-j. That shouldn't be taken as if the series doesn't have qualities, it does. A particular strength is the intrigue (or rather intrigues, and that Jordan has at least a basic grasp of politics, history and sociology. Another strength is the myriad of references to existing mythology and legends.

The prose of the books is workmanlike, it works and is often effective without being exceptional. His characters are better than what most other fantasy authors can manage, but again without being exceptional in any way.

I can also offer an interview with Robert Jordan where he expands upon his view of fantasy and how he built his books.

The great serpent icon is copyright © Tor Books and used with permission.

HTML 4.0 Checked! Karl-Johan Norén, kjnoren@hem3.passagen.se
My Robert Jordan page
Last modified/Senast ändrad: 28 Dec 1999