In the 1990s, a war veteran and historian named James Oliver Rigney, Jr.
began a massive fantasy saga
under the psuedonym of Robert Jordan. His internationally bestselling
series has reached its
11th volume.
Fans wait an average of two years between
books, but we can find new details, new predictions, and renewed excitement
with every re-read. New volumes always
hold something completely unexpected.
Is this series worth
such an investment of your time? Fans will tell you that it is, of course. You'll
even find bitter ex-fans who continue to buy each new volume because
they're hopelessly addicted. A word of caution:
There is something about reading this gargantuan story that will cause you to temporarily lose your sense of reality
and want to take notes.
People have created artwork,
music,
merchandise,
elaborate role playing games,
a video game,
fan fiction, and tons of
fan websites in homage to
The Wheel of Time . . . and the saga hasn't ended yet.
Perhaps you've avoided The Wheel of Time due to its size,
the genre reputation, or the
cheesy book covers. This saga, however,
breaks most of the stereotypes in the fantasy genre. Nothing about it is predictable.
The book covers are woefully inaccurate and do the opposite of selling the product. Not only
do they NOT depict scenes from the story, but they portray stereotypical
damsels-in-distress and other clichés that have nothing to do with the books.
Judging solely by the cover art,
I had concluded that the series would be predictable and dull.
I avoided The Wheel of Time for years.
One day, I wanted to try something new, and remembering
all of the recommendations I'd heard, I bought The Eye of the World.
Well, I had to force my way through the first part of
the first book--the beginning is ponderous, although important
to character establishment--and
then suddenly the story took off!
None of the things I had assumed would happen according to Tolkien-based
pulp fantasy formula happened. Instead, the world of
The Wheel of Time was revealed as something unlike anything I had
ever read or seen before. The characters were so engaging that
I had to get my hands on the next volume.
The Wheel of Time takes place in an Age of Exploration type of world;
"the late 17th century without gunpowder," according to Robert Jordan in his
interview with Locus Magazine.
Magical ability called the One Power is
practiced by a small percentage of humans with the
lucky genes (or unlucky genes,
depending on the culture).
Due to a mistake made by well-meaning scholars in the
distant past,
only women can wield the One Power without going insane. Men who are born with this ability get
exiled, tortured, or executed.
The saga centers around one
young man, a sheepherder's son from an
isolated region, who can wield the One Power.
His fate is to defend the world from evil forces (most of them human,
and each nearly as powerful as he is) while battling his own growing
insanity and the thousands of people who fear him,
want to use him, or seek to destroy him.
It's really a story about struggle, when all
is said and done. He hears voices in his
head. He has memories of a childhood experienced
by someone who lived and died
three millennia ago. He's afraid
to hurt anyone whom he considers a friend, and he's developing a stress complex over
it. What could make a better hero than that?
Okay, I'm through with my little
sales-pitch.
If you want more information and opinions, please read my article
Robert Jordan: Genius or Hack?,
and
check out the links below.
