Robert Jordan, 1948 - 2007

I read that Robert Jordan has also passed. Jordan leaves his epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, unfinished, with the 12th and final book having been scheduled for a 2009 release.

The first book in the series, The Eye of the World, was originally published in 1990, and I read it the following summer when my dad brought it home from the book-mobile. Somehow the book captured my 14 year old imagination, and although I no longer read much fantasy, I always buy the new Jordan book on the day of its release. I'm not the only one to be excited about the new Jordan book: at the library we get multiples upon multiples, and the furor on release day is second only to that engendered by Harry Potter.

A recent blog post (which seems to have disappeared from the blog?!?) indicated that before he died he shared his vision for the final book of the series, A Memory of Light, with his wife and brother, and I've read elsewhere that he left notes as well. I have no doubt that his publisher, Tor, would choose to publish his final book, finished by someone else, posthumously--there's a lot of money to be made there--but I wonder what decision his wife will make.

In any case, a huge fan community has grown around Jordan and his books, and although I wouldn't consider myself part of this community, it's apparent from my infrequent perusals of Dragonmount and Jordan's blog that Jordan himself played an active positive role in the community. He will be missed by his fan community and by his family.