Robert Jordan was an American author known for writing the fantasy novel series The Wheel of Time . His works also include several Conan the Barbarian novels, and non-fantasy fiction such as The Fallon Saga.
Robert Jordan was an American author known for writing the fantasy novel series The Wheel of Time . His works also include several Conan the Barbarian novels, and non-fantasy fiction such as The Fallon Saga.
Jordan published 11 books of a total 14 in the main sequence of the Wheel of Time series. Reviewers and fans of the earlier books noted a slowing of the pace of events in the last few installments owing to the expansion of scale of the series as a whole. [1]
Because of his health problems, Jordan did not work at full force on the final installment A Memory of Light (later split into three volumes beginning with The Gathering Storm ), but blog entries confirmed that he continued work on it until his death, and he shared all of the significant plot details with his family not long before he died. [2] He maintained that in doing so the book will get published even if "the worst actually happens." [3] On December 7, 2007, Tor Books announced that Brandon Sanderson had been chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series. Harriet McDougal, Jordan's widow, chose him after reading Mistborn: The Final Empire . [4]
The Wheel of Time series consists of:
| 1. | The Eye of the World | (January 15, 1990) | |
| 2. | The Great Hunt | (November 15, 1990) | |
| 3. | The Dragon Reborn | (October 15, 1991) | |
| 4. | The Shadow Rising | (September 15, 1992) | |
| 5. | The Fires of Heaven | (October 15, 1993) | |
| 6. | Lord of Chaos | (October 15, 1994) | Locus Award nominee, 1995 [5] |
| 7. | A Crown of Swords | (May 15, 1996) | |
| 8. | The Path of Daggers | (October 20, 1998) | |
| 9. | Winter's Heart | (November 9, 2000) | |
| 10. | Crossroads of Twilight | (January 7, 2003) | |
| 11. | Knife of Dreams | (October 11, 2005) | |
| 12. | The Gathering Storm | (October 27, 2009) | coauthored by Sanderson |
| 13. | Towers of Midnight [6] | (November 2, 2010) [7] | coauthored by Sanderson |
| 14. | A Memory of Light [6] | (January 8, 2013) [8] | coauthored by Sanderson |
In addition to the main sequence, Robert Jordan also wrote some accessory works:
In 2010, with full permission of the Jordan estate, writer Chuck Dixon began adapting The Eye of the World into a comic books series published by Dynamite Entertainment. The individual comic books were later collected in volumes and released by Tor Books. [9] Notable illustrators who have worked on the series include Chase Conley, Marcio Fiorito, Francis Nuguit, and others.
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is an encyclopedia for the series about the unnamed world where the plot takes place, which is often referred by fans of the series as the World of the Wheel, otherwise nicknamed Randland. 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 Jordan, who also serving as overall editor on the project. While the information in the guide is broadly canonical, the book is deliberately written with vague, biased or even downright false (or guessed) information in places, as Patterson felt this would reflect a key theme of the series (the mutability of knowledge across time and distance). [10]
Jordan was one of several writers who have written new Conan the Barbarian stories. When Tom Doherty obtained the rights, he needed a novel very quickly, so Jordan's wife Harriet McDougal recommended him because she knew he had written his first novel, Warriors of the Altaii, in thirteen days.
So he thought I could write something fast, and he was right, and I liked it. It was fun writing something completely over the top, full of purple prose, and in a weak moment I agreed to do five more and the novelization of the second Conan movie. I've decided that those things were very good discipline for me. I had to work with a character and a world that had already been created and yet find a way to say something new about the character and the world. That was a very good exercise. [11]
Jordan wrote seven novels in the series:
Some bibliographies also include Conan: King of Thieves; this was actually the working title of the second Conan movie, and hence also the title of Jordan's novelization. Jordan had already been hired to do the novelization and Tor had already applied for an ISBN when the title was changed to Conan the Destroyer. [12]
They were packed into two separate volumes:
Jordan also compiled a well-known Conan Chronology.
Warrior of the Altaii is Jordan's first novel, which remained unpublished for more than 40 years; [13] it is 98,000 words in length, and he finished it in 13 days. Donald A. Wolheim at DAW Books made an offer for it, but revoked the offer when Jordan requested a small change in his contract. [11] When Harriet McDougal was Editorial Director for Ace Books, Tom Doherty hired Jim Baen to work under her. When Doherty left Ace Books to start Tor Books in 1980, Baen followed, working at Tor for a few years before starting his own imprint, Baen Books. [14] [15] Baen did not have a very high opinion of fantasy, and so he bought Warrior for Ace Books as a science fiction novel. When he left Ace for Tor, Susan Allison took his place and reverted the rights for the novel to Jordan. When McDougal returned to Charleston to start her own imprint, Popham Press, she met Jordan and published his first novel, The Fallon Blood . Twelve years after his death, Warrior of the Altaii was published on October 8, 2019. [16]
Cheyenne Raiders (1982) is a western published under the pen name Jackson O'Reilly, for the Forge imprint of Tor Books. [17]
The Fallon Blood (1980), published under the pen name Reagan O'Neal, was Jordan's second novel and first published novel. It was edited and published by Jordan's future wife, Harriet McDougal, for her personal imprint, Popham Press. After they finished promoting the book on tour, they began dating, and when Jordan asked McDougal to marry him, he began selling his books directly to Tom Doherty at Tor Books. [18] The following two books, The Fallon Pride (1981) and The Fallon Legacy (1982) were published under Tor's Forge imprint. Jordan originally planned to take the series much further:
I had intended to do a Southern arc of history. The general arc of history that is studied in the United States and recognized is the move out of New England—Pennsylvania and New York—into the Ohio valley, and from there west to California, but there was a southern arc, which was the move out of Virginia and the Carolinas into Louisiana and Mississippi, and from there into Texas, and from there through New Mexico and Arizona into California. And I wanted to follow that in a series of novels that I originally intended to go from the American Revolution through the Vietnam War, but I'll tell you the truth ... I got tired of them. They were doing nicely, but I just got tired of them and said, "I want to do something else."
Jordan mentioned several times that he planned another fantasy series, titled Infinity of Heaven, set in a different kind of world. He said that it would be a Shōgun -esque series about a man in his 30s who is shipwrecked in an unknown culture, which would be similar to Seanchan culture in his Wheel of Time series [19] and world. The books would detail his adventures there. [20]
He said that he would have begun writing these after finishing his work on the 12th and final main sequence book of The Wheel of Time. Jordan said, "Infinity of Heaven almost certainly will be written before the prequels, though I might do them between the Infinity books." Also according to Dragonmount.com, Jordan planned to write some side-story novels, before completely abandoning his decades-long work. Jordan had particularly stressed that this series would be significantly shorter than The Wheel of Time saga (about six books long and essentially two trilogies).[ citation needed ]
James Oliver Rigney Jr., better known by his pen name Robert Jordan, was an American author of epic fantasy. He is known best for his series The Wheel of Time which comprises 14 books and a prequel novel. He is one of several writers to have written original Conan the Barbarian novels; his are considered by fans to be some of the best of the non-Robert E. Howard efforts. Jordan also published historical fiction using the pseudonym Reagan O'Neal, a western as Jackson O'Reilly, and dance criticism as Chang Lung. Jordan claimed to have ghostwritten an "international thriller" that is still believed to have been written by someone else.
The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series at its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time came to span 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and two companion books. Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the final volume in the series. He prepared extensive notes which enabled fellow fantasy author Sanderson to complete the final book, which grew into three volumes: The Gathering Storm (2009), Towers of Midnight (2010), and A Memory of Light (2013).
The Eye of the World is a high fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the first book of The Wheel of Time series. It was published by Tor Books and released on 15 January 1990. The unabridged audiobook is read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Upon first publication, The Eye of the World consisted of one prologue and 53 chapters, with an additional prologue authored upon re-release. The book was a critical, and commercial success. Critics praised the tone, the themes, and the similarity to Lord of the Rings.
Winter's Heart is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the ninth book of his series Wheel of Time. 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. Winter's Heart consists of a prologue and 35 chapters.
Crossroads of Twilight is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the tenth book of his The Wheel of Time series. 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 best seller list for hardcover fiction, 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.
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese science fiction novels in North America.
New Spring is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, a prequel in the Wheel of Time series. New Spring consists of 26 chapters and an epilogue.
Karl Edward Wagner was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He wrote numerous dark fantasy and horror stories. As an editor, he created a three-volume set of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian fiction restored to its original form as written, and edited the long-running and genre-defining The Year's Best Horror Stories series for DAW Books. His Carcosa publishing company issued four volumes of the best stories by some of the major authors of the so-called Golden Age pulp magazines. He is possibly best known for his creation of a series of stories featuring the character Kane, the Mystic Swordsman.
Jody Lynn Nye is an American science fiction writer. She is the author or co-author of approximately forty published novels and more than 100 short stories. She has specialized in science fiction or fantasy action novels and humor. Her humorous series range from contemporary fantasy to military science fiction. About one-third of her novels are collaborations, either as a co-author or as the author of a sequel. She has been an instructor of the Fantasy Writing Workshop at Columbia College Chicago (2007) and she teaches the annual Science Fiction Writing Workshop at DragonCon.
Wild Cards is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors and are edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass. Set largely during an alternate history of post-World War II United States, the series follows humans who contracted the Wild Card virus, an alien virus that rewrites DNA and mutates survivors. Those who acquire crippling and/or repulsive physical conditions are known as Jokers, while those who acquire superhuman abilities are known as Aces, and those few who acquire minor, insignificant powers not worthy of being called aces are known as Deuces.
Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction title in 1953. This was successful, and science fiction titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns within a few years. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction, gothic novels, media tie-in novelizations, and romances. Ace became known for the tête-bêche binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this "Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres, bound tête-bêche, until 1973.
A Memory of Light is the 14th and final book of the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, written by American authors Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, and published by Tor books. Originally expected to have been published around March 2012, the book was delayed several times, and the hardcover edition was eventually released on January 8, 2013. The book reached No. 1 on several bestsellers lists.
Dabel Brothers Productions is a U.S. publishing company of comic books and graphic novels. It was founded in 2001 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is best known for its comic book and graphic novel adaptations of fantasy novels by major authors like Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, Laurell K. Hamilton, Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, R.A. Salvatore, Robert Silverberg, Tad Williams, Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, C.E. Murphy, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Dean Koontz.
Harriet Popham McDougal Rigney is an editor who worked on several best-selling fantasy books, including the Wheel of Time series written by her husband, Robert Jordan. Jordan often claimed that all major female characters in the Wheel of Time series have at least one trait that was inspired by Harriet.
The Conan books are sword and sorcery fantasies featuring the character of Conan the Cimmerian originally created by Robert E. Howard. Written by numerous authors and issued by numerous publishers, they include both novels and short stories, the latter assembled in various combinations over the years by the several publishers. The character has proven durably popular, resulting in Conan stories being produced after Howard's death by such later writers as Poul Anderson, Leonard Carpenter, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Roland J. Green, John C. Hocking, Robert Jordan, Sean A. Moore, Björn Nyberg, Andrew J. Offutt, Steve Perry, John Maddox Roberts, Harry Turtledove, and Karl Edward Wagner. Some of these writers finished incomplete Conan manuscripts by Howard, or rewrote Howard stories which originally featured different characters. Most post-Howard Conan stories, however, are completely original works. In total, more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard. This article describes and discusses notable book editions of the Conan stories.
The Further Chronicles of Conan is a collection of fantasy novels written by Robert Jordan featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard. The book was first published in hardcover in October 1999 by Tor Books, with a trade paperback edition following in September 2004 from the same publisher. It collects three novels previously published by Tor.
The Gathering Storm is a fantasy novel by American writers Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the twelfth book in the series The Wheel of Time. It was incomplete when Jordan died on September 16, 2007, from cardiac amyloidosis. His widow Harriet McDougal and his publisher Tom Doherty chose Sanderson to continue the book.
This is complete list of works by American science fiction and fantasy author Fred Saberhagen.
The Wheel of Time Companion is a reference book for The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series of novels by Robert Jordan. The book was released by Tor Books in hardback format on 3 November 2015. It was co-written by Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons.