The Wheel of Time (01)

introduction

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose...

The Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy book series written by the late American author Robert Jordan. 

Originally planned as a six-book series, The Wheel of Time now consists of twelve published novels, with two more volumes to come. There is also a prequel novel and a companion book available.

Robert Jordan began writing the first volume, The Eye of the World, in 1984 and it was published in February 1990. He died while working on the final volume, which will be completed by his fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. The final book is to be split up into three volumes (books 12, 13 and 14).

The Wheel of Time is notable for its length, its detailed imaginary world, its well-developed magic system and a large cast of characters. Several books of the series reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. In 2008 the series has sold over 44 million copies worldwide.

"Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal."--The New York Times

The Wheel of Time (02)

Premisse

At the dawn of time, a deity known as the Creator forged the universe and the Wheel of Time, which spins the lives of men and women as its threads. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it is rotated by the One Power, which flows from the True Source. The One Power is divided into male and female halves, saidin and saidar, which work in opposition and in unison to drive the Wheel. Those humans who can use this power are known as channelers; the principal organization of such channelers in the books is called the Aes Sedai or 'Servants of All' in the Old Tongue.

The Creator imprisoned its antithesis, Shai'tan, at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel. However, in a time called the Age of Legends, an Aes Sedai experiment inadvertently breached the Dark One's prison, allowing his influence to seep back into the world. He rallied the powerful, the corrupt and the ambitious to his cause and these servants began an effort to free the Dark One fully from his prison, so he might remake time and reality in his own image.

In response to this threat, the Wheel spun out the Dragon, a channeler of immense power, to be a champion for the Light. In the Age of Legends the Dragon was a man named Lews Therin Telamon, who eventually rose to command the Aes Sedai and their allies in the struggle against the Dark One's forces. After a grueling ten-year war, which began a century after the Dark One's prison was breached; Telamon led his forces to victory in a daring assault on the site of the earthly link to the Dark One's prison, and was able to seal it off. However, at this moment of victory the Dark One tainted saidin, driving male channelers of the One Power insane. The male channelers devastated the world with the One Power, unleashing earthquakes and tidal waves that reshaped the planet.

Their leader, Lews Therin, killed his friends, his family, and finally himself in his insanity. Eventually, the last male channeler was killed or cut off from the One Power, leaving the human race all but destroyed and only women able to wield the One Power safely.

The Aes Sedai reconstituted and guided humanity out of this dark time. Mankind now lived under the shadow of a prophecy that the Dark One would break free from his prison and the Dragon would be reborn to face him once more, raining destruction upon the world in the process of saving it from the Dark One.

The Wheel of Time (03)

Plot summary

The prequel novel, New Spring, takes place during the Aiel War and chronicles the end of the conflict and the discovery by the Aes Sedai that one of the Prophecies of the Dragon has been fulfilled, that the Dragon has been Reborn. Aes Sedai agents (including a young Moiraine Damodred) are dispatched to try to find the newborn child before servants of the Shadow can do the same.

The series proper commences almost twenty years later in the Two Rivers, a near-forgotten backwater district of the kingdom of Andor. An Aes Sedai, Moiraine, and her Warder Lan, arrive in the village of Emond's Field with news that servants of the Dark One are searching for one particular young man living in the area. Moiraine is unable to determine which of three youths (Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon or Perrin Aybara) is the Dragon Reborn, so she takes all three of them out of the Two Rivers, along with their friend Egwene al'Vere. Nynaeve al'Meara, the unusually young village Wisdom, later meets up with them at the town of Baerlon. It is later revealed that both of them can channel the One Power and learn to be Aes Sedai. A mysterious old gleeman named Thom Merrilin also travels with the group. The first novel depicts their flight from various agents of the Shadow and their attempts to escape to the Aes Sedai city of Tar Valon.

The original group of characters from the Two Rivers makes new allies, gain experience and become figures of some influence and authority. As they struggle to unite the western kingdoms against the Dark One's forces, their task is complicated by rulers of the nations who refuse to give up their authority and by factions such as the Children of the Light, who do not believe in the prophecies, and the Seanchan, the descendants of a long-lost colony of Artur Hawkwing's empire. The Aes Sedai also becomes divided between those who believe the Dragon Reborn should be strictly controlled, and those who believe he must freely lead them into battle as he did in the earlier war.

Robert Jordan

Biography

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr, under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Robert Jordan was born in 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. He taught himself to read when he was four with the incidental aid of a twelve-years-older brother, and was tackling Mark Twain and Jules Verne by five. He is a graduate of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, with a degree in physics. He served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army; among his decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm.

After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer.

Robert Jordan began writing in 1977. He wrote “Fallen” under the pen name "Reagan O'Neal" and he was one of several writers who have written new Conan the Barbarian stories.

In 1984 Robert Jordan began writing the first volume of The Wheel of Time - The Eye of the World, and it was published in February 1990. He wrote 11 books for the series, a prequel book – “New Spring” and a companion book with Teresa Patterson – “The World of Robert Jordan”.

Due to his health problems, Jordan did not work at full force on the final book of “The Wheel of Time” - A Memory of Light (later split into three volumes, beginning with “The Gathering Stor” by Brandon Sanderson, who was chosen to finish the “Wheel of Time” series by Tor Books)

He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting

He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, in a house built in 1797.

Robert Jordan died on September 16, 2007, after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.

Books

The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time Series consists of:

A prequel book, “New Spring” (2004) by Robert Jordan

The eleven core books of the series, from “The Eye of the World” (1990) to “Knife of Dreams” (2005), by Robert Jordan

The twelfth book of the series was begun to write by Robert Jordan and continued by Brandon Sanderson. The final book was divided into 3 volumes: “The Gathering Storm”, “Towers of Midnight” and “A memory of light”. They are based on extensive notes and recordings left by Robert Jordan, as well as complete chapters and scenes already written, including the final chapter of the saga.

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is a reference book for the bestselling The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series of novels by Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson.

It is possible that a few more books of Wheel of Time series will be written.

Robert Jordan spoke with Tor (and even signed contracts) regarding some other books set in the WoT universe. The talk was originally centered on the three prequels Robert Jordan wanted to write (New Spring, which was published, was the first of these three.) Later, Robert Jordan shifted the discussion to something called “The Outriggers” which were within WoT continuity, taking place after the end of the series. They were to deal with some certain characters from the main storyline, expanding on their lives.

Title                                       Pgs.   Author                                               1st Edition

0. New Spring (Prequel)       332     Robert Jordan                                    January 2004

1. The Eye of the World        832     Robert Jordan                                    January 1990

2. The Great Hunt                 736     Robert Jordan                                    November 1990

3. The Dragon Reborn          704     Robert Jordan                                     October 1991

4. The Shadow Rising         1008     Robert Jordan                                     September 1992

5. The Fires of Heaven         992     Robert Jordan                                      October 1993

6. Lord of Chaos                 1024    Robert Jordan                                      October 1994

7. A Crown of Swords           896    Robert Jordan                                      May 1996

8. The Path of Daggers         704    Robert Jordan                                      October 1998

9. Winter's Heart                   800    Robert Jordan                                      November 2000

10. Crossroads of Twilight     864   Robert Jordan                                       January 2003

11. Knife of Dreams               832   Robert Jordan                                       October 2005

12. The Gathering Storm       784    Robert Jordan /Brandon Sanderson     October 2009

13. Towers of Midnight         976    Robert Jordan /Brandon Sanderson     October 2011

14. A Memory of Light          912    Robert Jordan /Brandon Sanderson     January 2013

CB.The World of Robert Jordan's      Robert Jordan / Teresa Patterson        January 2007

The Wheel of Time (Companion Book)

New Spring - Books

Wheel of Time Book #0

New Spring is a prequel book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

The New Spring novel was originally conceived of as the first in a trilogy of prequel novels. The second and third were to focus on Tam serving in the Illianer army and finding Rand, and Moiraine and Lan's journeys and discoveries to reach the Two Rivers just before the events of the first novel.

New Spring describes events which take place twenty years before the events of The Eye of the World. The story begins in the last days of the Aiel War, and the Battle of the Shining Walls around Tar Valon. It is set primarily in the Borderlands, specifically Kandor.

New Spring focuses mainly on Moiraine Damodred and Siuan Sanche, two Aes Sedai new to the sisterhood, and how a young Moiraine became Aes Sedai, met Lan Mandragoran and made him her Warder. The novel also explains how Moiraine and Siuan witnessed a prophecy of the Dragon's rebirth and came to begin investigating the Karaethon Cycle, the Prophecies of the Dragon, decades before discovering Rand al'Thor

The Eye of the World - Books

Wheel of Time Book #1

The Eye of the World is the first book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 15, 1990.

The Eye of the World was re-released as two separate books aimed at a young adult literature market, with larger text and a handful of illustrations. These were From the Two Rivers and To the Blight. The former included an additional prologue entitled "Ravens", focusing on Egwene al'Vere.

The books open with the doom of Lews Therin Telamon, known as the Dragon, and then fast-forwards three thousand years to begin the main story.

Strangers have come to the Two Rivers during the Bel Tine holiday. In this remote area three young boys, Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara, look forward to the coming festival. With the mysterious outisders come strange stories of war and of a man named Logain, who claims to be the Dragon Reborn, the one prophesized to save the world, and also to destroy it in his madness. For it is known that no man can channel the One Power without going horribly insane.

On the night before Bel Tine, Trollocs come and ransack the village where the young men live. Together with the mysterious Moiraine and Lan, an even stranger man, the young men escape with a few other companions into the night and make their way toward Tar Valon. There they discover that they all have roles to play, and that evil seeks them out. They learn that this evil will search anywhere for them: even at the Eye of the World.

The Great Hunt - Books

Wheel of Time Book #2

The Great Hunt is the second book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on November 15, 1990. In 2004 The Great Hunt was re-released as two separate books, The Hunt Begins and New Threads in the Pattern.

The lost Horn of Valere, able to raise the dead heroes of the past, has been discovered, only to be stolen. Rand al'Thor, struggling against the destiny which conspires to name him the Dragon Reborn.

There is a world of light and shadow, where good and evil wage eternal war. It is the world of the wheel of time, the greatest fantasy epic ever written.

The Forsaken are loose, the Horn of Valere has been found and the Dead are rising from their dreamless sleep. The Prophecies are being fulfilled - but Rand al'Thor, the shepherd the Aes Sedai have proclaimed as the Dragon Reborn, desperately seeks to escape his destiny.

But Rand cannot run forever. With every passing day the Dark One grows in strength and strives to shatter his ancient prison, to break the Wheel, to bring an end to Time and sunder the weave of the Pattern.

And the Pattern demands the Dragon.

The Dragon Reborn

Wheel of Time Book #3

The Dragon Reborn is the third book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on September 15, 1991.

The Shadow Rising - Books

Wheel of Time Book #4

The Shadow Rising is the fourth book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on September 15, 1992.

The Fires of Heaven - Books

Wheel of Time Book #5

The Fires of Heavens is the fifth book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 15, 1993.

Lord of Chaos - Books

Wheel of Time Book #6



Lord of Chaos is the sixth book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 15, 1994.

A Crown of Swords - Books

Wheel of Time Book #7

A Crown of Swords is the seventh book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on May 15, 1996.

The Path of Daggers - Books

Wheel of Time Book #8

The Path of Daggers is the eighth book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 20, 1998. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 position on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list, making it the first Wheel of Time book to reach the #1 position on that list. It remained on the list for the next two months.

Winter's Heart - Books

Wheel of Time Book #9

Winter's Heart is the ninth book of the Wheel of Time fantasy series. It was published by Tor Books and released on November 7, 2000. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 position on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list, making it the second Wheel of Time book to reach the #1 position on that list. It remained on the list for the next two months.

Crossroads of Twilight - Books

Wheel of Time Book #10

Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 7, 2003. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 position on the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list, making it the third Wheel of Time book to reach the #1 position on that list. It remained on the list for the next three months.

Knife of Dreams - Books

Wheel of Time Book #11


Knife of Dreams is the 11th novel in the fantasy series The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books in the U.S. and Orbit in the UK and released on October 11, 2005.
 
 

The Gathering Storm - Books

Wheel of Time Book #12

The Gathering Storm is the title of the twelfth book of the The Wheel of Time fantasy series. It was incomplete at the time of the death of its author, Robert Jordan, who died on September 16, 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis having written 50,000 words. Robert Jordan had instructed his widow Harriet McDougal and publisher Tom Doherty to continue the book posthumously. Brandon Sanderson was then chosen to finish writing the book.

Jordan originally intended to finish the series in a single volume titled A Memory of Light, but when Sanderson began writing the book it became clear a split was required as it was believed a single volume would be too large to print. The expected final book was then split into three volumes: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light. The books would be published a year apart with the first volume, The Gathering Storm, published on October 27, 2009; a week earlier than originally announced.

Towers of Midnight - Books

Wheel of Time Book #13

Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan is the title for the sequel to the novel The Gathering Storm. It is the thirteenth book in the Wheel of Time series. The title was proposed by Mr. Sanderson. The working subtitle for this work (when it was originally supposed to have been three books which made up unified book entitled A Memory of Light) was to be named Shifting Winds. It is due in late 2010 and is currently expected to be composed of 300,000 plus words.

A Memory of Light - Books

Wheel of Time Book #14

A Memory of Light is the planned fourteenth and final book of the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, written by American author Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson. The title was previously intended to cover the material in (what are now) the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth books.

The Wheel of Time

Encyclopedia

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is a reference book for the bestselling The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series of novels by Robert Jordan. It is published in the United States by Tor Books and in the United Kingdom by Orbit Books. The bulk of the text was written by Teresa Patterson based on notes and information provided by Robert Jordan, with Jordan also serving as overall editor on the project.

The book has been printed in several formats. The original release on 6 November 1997 was a large-format hardback with a predominantly white cover. This led to the book being dubbed 'The Big White Book' by fans. This edition of the book runs to 304 pages. The book was reprinted in a slightly different edition of the same size a year later. This edition has a different cover (a map of the Westlands) and the gallery has been expanded to include the cover of the eighth novel, The Path of Daggers, which was released at the same time. A large-format paperback edition followed in November 1999. On 6 June 2002 Orbit re-released the book as a 461-page mass-market paperback, stripped of all illustrations apart from the maps. This is the 'current' UK edition.


A second edition of the book, updated with information from the later novels, has been mooted several times by fans. However, Robert Jordan has confirmed that instead a new 'Wheel of Time Encyclopedia', written by his wife Harriett McDougal based on his raw notes, will follow on from the main series. This book will feature more maps, a list of every character to appear in the series and a 1,000-word vocabulary for his invented language, the Old Tongue. It will appear after publication of the fourteenth and final novel, A Memory of Light, currently scheduled for Fall 2011.

The book is an attempt to fill in the enormous backstory of the Wheel of Time novels and also serves as 'guidebook' to the world presented in the books. The original large-editions of the book were presented with full-colour art by Todd Cameron Hamilton and includes maps by Ellisa Mitchell, John M. Ford and Thomas Canty. The covers of the novels, painted by Darrell K. Sweet, were also included. The mass-market paperback editions only includes the Mitchell, Ford and Canty maps however. The original artwork by Hamilton was fiercely criticised on release.