43-493: James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), 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 (finished by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death) 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
86-403: A book editor (currently with Tor Books ; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797. He listed John D. MacDonald , Jane Austen , Louis L'Amour , Charles Dickens , Robert A. Heinlein , Mark Twain and Montaigne as his favorite authors. On March 23, 2006, Jordan revealed that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis and that, with treatment, his median life expectancy
129-408: A broad term to include a number of different flavors of the fantasy genre, including epic fantasy , mythic fantasy, dark fantasy , and wuxia . It typically is not considered to include the sword and sorcery genre. High fantasy has often been defined by its themes and messages. " Good versus evil " is a common one in high fantasy, and defining the character of evil is often an important theme in
172-409: A childlike figure, but matures rapidly, experiencing a considerable gain in fighting/problem-solving abilities along the way. The progress of the story leads to the character's learning the nature of the unknown forces against them, that they constitute a force with great power and malevolence. The villains in such stories are usually completely evil and unrelatable. "High fantasy" often serves as
215-427: A common basis for many fantasy books and many other authors continue to contribute to the settings. A Memory of Light 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
258-543: A four with a critical summary saying, "A Memory of Light is "[a] fitting finale," concluded SFX. By and large, the critics praised this conclusion to the series". A Memory of Light was originally expected to be published around March 2012. On December 21, 2011, Sanderson announced on Twitter that "A Memory of Light—the final book in The Wheel of Time—has been finished". That same day, Sanderson also announced on Twitter that revisions would take "a good six months" and that
301-557: A huge weave of saidar , saidin , and True Power combined. Seeing this, Logain breaks open the Dark One's prison, and Rand uses the huge weave of three powers, first to capture the Dark One, and later to re-create his prison without flaw. Bereft of the Dark One's influence, the Blight dissolves. Mat reunites with Tuon, who reveals that she is pregnant by him; whereas Perrin locates Faile buried under Trolloc corpses, but alive, and inherits
344-660: A work of high fantasy, such as The Lord of the Rings . The importance of the concept of good and evil can be regarded as the distinguishing mark between high fantasy and sword and sorcery. In many works of high fantasy, this conflict marks a deep concern with moral issues; in other works, the conflict is a power struggle, with, for instance, wizards behaving irresponsibly whether they are "good" or "evil". Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons with campaign settings like Dragonlance by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis and Forgotten Realms by Ed Greenwood are
387-618: Is burned in the funeral pyre. No longer able to channel the One Power, Rand now has the ability to manipulate the Pattern directly, though it is unclear to what extent. He demonstrates this ability by lighting his pipe without the use of the One Power. On Bookmarks Magazine Mar/Apr 2013 issue, reported on reviews from several publications with ratings for the novel out of five: io9.com , Publishers Weekly , Christian Science Monitor , Onion A.V. Club , and SFX (magazine) gave it
430-562: Is mortally wounded. Later, his elder half-brother Galad Damodred is severely wounded in the same effort; but wounds Demandred before retreat. Mat's command post is attacked directly by Sharan forces, and Siuan Sanche is killed in the defense. Gareth Bryne loses reason and dies soon after. Elayne is waylaid by several Darkfriend Guardsmen including Doilin Mellar, who arrange a duplicate of Elayne to be seen dead. Faile's contingent arrive at Merrilor, but are almost immediately betrayed. Faile seizes
473-585: Is outlawed—and his plan to shatter the remaining seals of the Dark One's prison, lead to widespread argument; the latter resolved only when Moiraine Damodred quotes from the Prophecies of the Dragon, and convinces Egwene to break the seals herself. The Aiel , persuaded by Aviendha 's post-apocalyptic visions during Towers of Midnight , demand to be subject to the treaty, as arbiters of any dispute. When Elayne Trakand remarks that peace cannot be maintained if
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#1732772683721516-461: Is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements. The romances of William Morris , such as The Well at the World's End , set in an imaginary medieval world, are sometimes regarded as
559-490: The Seanchan are exempt, Rand agrees to persuade their cooperation, and appoints Elayne commander-in-chief of the armies formerly under himself. Elayne dispatches her forces to four different campaigns, whereof Caemlyn is to be retaken by Andoran and Cairhienin troops; Egwene commands an army of Aes Sedai to reinforce Kandor, while Lan Mandragoran and the resurrected nation of Malkier hold Tarwin's Gap. Rand himself will lead
602-622: The U.S. Army . He served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster , the Bronze Star with "V" and oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam in 1970, Jordan studied physics at The Citadel . He graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree and began working for
645-412: The U.S. Navy as a nuclear engineer . He began writing in 1977. Robert Jordan was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe-collecting. He described himself as a " High church " Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. Politically, he described himself as a " libertarian monarchist ". He lived with his wife, Harriet McDougal , who works as
688-642: The Aiel to face the Dark One. The four remaining "Great Captains" are attached to each campaign: Gareth Bryne in Kandor, Agelmar Jagad at Tarwin's Gap, Rodel Ituralde to Shayol Ghul, and Davram Bashere to serve Elayne directly. The campaigns turn to disaster when Graendal , now renamed Hessalam, Compels the commanders to err. Rand gains the support of the Seanchan by persuading Tuon in Ebou Dar that his authority, as
731-519: The Dark One's seals. Elayne's forces burn Caemlyn to force the Trollocs to pursue; but they are pursued also by a new force from the north, and saved by Logain and his loyal Asha'man . At Tarwin's Gap, the defenders are forced into a rout; while in Kandor, Egwene and the Aes Sedai are unexpectedly outflanked by the nation of Shara , under Demandred . Realizing that Mat's foxhead medallion makes him
774-475: The Destroyer : Jordan also compiled a well-known Conan Chronology . Epic fantasy High fantasy , or epic fantasy , is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters , themes , or plot . High fantasy is usually set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world , rather than the "real" or "primary" world. This secondary world
817-615: The Forsaken while his blade is thus engaged. Olver sounds the Horn of Valere, summoning legendary heroes to rescue Elayne. Mat uses the Heroes and reinforcements from the Seanchan to sweep the field. Outside the Pattern, Shai'tan and Rand duel by constructing their visions of what reality could be after Tarmon Gai'don , and ultimately achieve stalemate on the premise that the Pattern is incomplete in case of either's defeat. Perrin kills Slayer at
860-710: The Horn of Valere (capable of recruiting deceased heroes), which she gives to Olver . Androl and Pevara track down M'Hael and steal the remaining seals on the Dark One's prison. Egwene then asks Leilwin Shipless to be her warder and attacks M'Hael. M'Hael uses balefire to destroy a number of Aes Sedai. In the midst of her fight with M'Hael, Egwene creates a new weave, the "Flame of Tar Valon", capable of counteracting balefire, and sacrifices her own life to destroy M'Hael and his followers. Galad passes Mat's foxhead medallion to Lan, and Lan attacks Demandred, killing him in single combat by letting Demandred stab him, then decapitating
903-452: The Pit of Doom, and later kills Lanfear before she can kill Moiraine (later revealed by Brandon Sanderson to be a faked death by Lanfear) Mat kills Padan Fain with his own dagger. Olver and the resurrected heroes win the battle, while Aviendha mentally enslaves Graendal. Rand resumes his duel with Moridin, during which Rand, Moiraine, and Nynaeve take control of Moridin and use his power to create
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#1732772683721946-527: 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. Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina . He went to Clemson University after high school, but dropped out after one year and enlisted in
989-571: The book posthumously. Tor Books announced that Brandon Sanderson had been chosen to finish writing the book. The unfinished book was split into three volumes because it was believed a single volume would be too large to print. Initially it was planned that all three would be titled A Memory of Light , with distinct subtitles; eventually this plan was dropped, and the three volumes were titled The Gathering Storm (published October 27, 2009), Towers of Midnight (published November 2, 2010), and A Memory of Light (published January 8, 2013). In
1032-452: The book would get published even if "the worst actually happens". 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 . All paperback (PB) page totals given are for the most widely available mass-market paperback editions. The page count for
1075-401: The book would probably be released in autumn 2012. Tor released the hardcover book on January 8, 2013, although the e-book was not released until April 8, 2013. There was public backlash against the publisher, Tor, for delaying the electronic release. Backlash included the review bombing of the title on Amazon and other book seller websites. Brandon Sanderson stated that the decision
1118-580: The cannons out of the city, but Caemlyn is lost. The Light is bolstered by people coming from all over the world to fight, sensing the end of all things, while the Shadow welcomes a new Forsaken: Mazrim Taim , now called "M'Hael". Rand al'Thor prepares a meeting of all the nations on the Field of Merrilor, to persuade them to fight in Tarmon Gai'don. Mat returns to Ebou Dar to locate Tuon , only to find
1161-617: The city crawling with assassins sent by one of her generals. At the Black Tower, Logain Ablar is missing and Mazrim Taim is forcibly "Turning" people to the Shadow. The Asha'man still loyal to Logain, led by Androl Genhald and aided by Aes Sedai ambassador Pevara Tazanovni rescue Logain, defeating Taim and driving his Dreadlords from the Tower. Rand's "price" of allegiance—a treaty called "The Dragon's Peace", in which borders are fixed and war
1204-542: The first examples of high fantasy. The works of J. R. R. Tolkien —especially The Lord of the Rings —are regarded as archetypal works of high fantasy . The term "high fantasy" was coined by Lloyd Alexander in a 1971 essay, "High Fantasy and Heroic Romance", which was originally given at the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians in October 1969. Many high fantasy stories are told from
1247-529: The hardback (HB) editions does not include glossary or appendix page counts. 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 to by fans of the series as the World of the Wheel . It is published in the United States by Tor Books and in the United Kingdom by Orbit Books . The bulk of
1290-447: The hardcover edition was eventually released on January 8, 2013. The book reached No. 1 on several bestsellers lists. The title A Memory of Light was previously intended to apply to a book containing the material in what are now books 12, 13 and 14. The original book was incomplete at the time of Jordan's death on September 16, 2007, from cardiac amyloidosis ; his widow Harriet McDougal and publisher Tom Doherty chose to publish
1333-493: The last few installments written solely by Jordan owing to the expansion of the scale of the series as a whole. 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. He maintained that in doing so
Robert Jordan - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-486: The official e-book was available at launch. Harriet McDougal clarified her reasoning for the late e-book release of A Memory of Light in a March 18, 2013, interview with Tor publisher Tom Doherty. McDougal, the widow of Robert Jordan, explained that "the brick‑and‑mortar bookstores were very good to Robert Jordan throughout his career. They are having a hard time now. This was a chance for Robert Jordan to give back to people who had been very good to him for 20 years. That
1419-441: The only competent general immune to hostile 'Compulsion', Egwene gives him command of their forces, and Mat rallies the survivors at the Field of Merrilor. To lure Demandred into risking his resources, Mat stages a public quarrel with Tuon, and the Seanchan depart the field. Perrin continues pursuit of Slayer. At Shayol Ghul, Graendal opposes the Aiel. When Demandred challenges the absent Rand, Gawyn Trakand attacks him directly and
1462-662: The prologue, the armies of the Westlands assemble in preparation for Tarmon Gai'don , as do the forces of the Shadow. The Forsaken Demandred stages a raid on the city of Caemlyn, sending Trollocs to capture the cannons , developed jointly by Matrim Cauthon , Queen Elayne Trakand , and the Illuminator Aludra. Talmanes Delovinde and the Band of the Red Hand launch their own counter-attack and successfully exfiltrate
1505-580: The reincarnation of Lews Therin , supersedes hers. The Seanchan march to battle with Mat as one of their generals. Taking only Moiraine, Nynaeve al'Meara , and the sa'angreal Callandor , Rand confronts the Dark One's champion, Moridin ; interrupted only when Rand makes contact with the Dark One. Meanwhile, Perrin Aybara enters Tel'aran'rhiod to protect Rand from Slayer . In this he is assisted by Lanfear ; but wounded by Slayer and forced to retreat. Rand and Egwene learn that enemy agents have seized some of
1548-443: The text was written by Teresa Patterson based on notes and information provided by Jordan, who also served as the 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). Jordan
1591-610: The throne of Saldaea. King Alsalam of Arad Doman is revealed to be dead, and Ituralde succeeds him. Cadsuane Melaidhrin is elected the new Amyrlin Seat, while Moghedien is captured by a sul'dam . Thom, Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve wait attendance on Rand, who is slowly dying of his wounds. A funeral pyre is held, but it is revealed that Rand had exchanged psyches with Moridin, and is therefore alive in Moridin's body while Moridin, in Rand's body,
1634-427: 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. They were packed into two separate volumes par Conan
1677-415: The viewpoint of one main hero. Often, much of the plot revolves around their heritage or mysterious nature, along with a world-threatening problem. In many novels the hero is an orphan or unusual sibling, and frequently portrayed with an extraordinary talent for magic or combat. They begin the story young, if not as an actual child, or are portrayed as being very weak and/or useless. The hero often begins as
1720-479: Was four years. In a separate weblog post, he encouraged his fans not to worry about him and stated that he intended to have a long and creative life. He began chemotherapy at Mayo Clinic during early April 2006. He participated in a study of the drug Revlimid , which had been approved recently for multiple myeloma but not yet tested for primary amyloidosis . Jordan died on September 16, 2007, from complications stemming from multiple myeloma. His funeral service
1763-529: Was on September 19, 2007. He was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek , outside Charleston, South Carolina . Jordan's papers can be found in the special collections of the College of Charleston . Jordan published 11 books of 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
Robert Jordan - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-466: Was one of several writers who has written 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
1849-423: Was that of Robert Jordan's wife, Harriet, who was concerned that the book would not reach the top of the bestseller lists, as all the previous Wheel of Time books have done, if purchases were divided between e-book and hardcover. She felt that this would harm her husband's legacy; Sanderson claimed that she had originally pushed for a one-year delay. Various end users threatened to download a pirated e-book unless
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