The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels written by American author James Oliver Rigney Jr., under his pen name of Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, The Wheel of Time spanned fourteen volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and two companion books. Jordan began writing the first volume, The Eye of the World, in 1984, and it was published in January 1990.[1]
Robert Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the twelfth and final volume in the series. He prepared extensive notes so another author could complete the book according to his wishes. Fellow fantasy author and long-time Wheel of Time fan Brandon Sanderson was brought in to complete the final book, but during the writing process, it was decided that the book would be far too large to be published in one volume and would instead be published as three volumes:[2] The Gathering Storm (2009), Towers of Midnight (2010), and A Memory of Light (2013).
The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism, the metaphysical concepts of balance and duality, and a respect for nature found in Taoism. Additionally, its creation story has similarities to Christianity’s “Creator” (Light) and Shai’tan, “The Dark One” (Shaitan is an Arabic word that, in Islamic contexts, is used as a name for the Devil or the Satan). It was also partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1869).[3]
The Wheel of Time is notable for its length, detailed imaginary world, well-developed magic system, and large cast of characters. The eighth through fourteenth books each reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. After its completion, the series was nominated for a Hugo Award.[4] According to Jordan’s French publisher, as of 2017, the series has sold over 80 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best selling epic fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings.[5] Its popularity has spawned an eponymous video game, roleplaying game, and soundtrack album. On April 20, 2017, it was announced that Sony Pictures will adapt the series for television, and on October 2, 2018, Amazon ordered the series with Sony as a co-producer.[6][7]
The prequel novel New Spring takes place during the Aiel War and depicts the discovery by certain Aes Sedai that the Dragon has been Reborn. The series proper commences almost twenty years later in the Two Rivers, a near-forgotten district of the country of Andor. An Aes Sedai, Moiraine, and her Warder Lan, arrive in the village of Emond’s Field, secretly aware that servants of the Dark One are searching for a young man living in the area. Moiraine is unable to determine which of three youths (Rand al’Thor, Matrim Cauthon, or Perrin Aybara) is the Dragon Reborn, and leads all three of them from the Two Rivers, along with their friend Egwene al’Vere. Nynaeve al’Meara, the village wise-woman, later joins them. Gleeman Thom Merrilin also travels with the group. The first novel depicts their flight from various agents of the Shadow and their attempts to reach the Aes Sedai city of Tar Valon. Thereafter the protagonists are frequently split into different groups and pursue different missions toward the cause of the Dragon Reborn, sometimes thousands of miles apart. As they struggle to unite the various kingdoms against the Dark One’s forces, their task is complicated by rulers of the nations who refuse to lose their autonomy; by the zealots styling themselves ‘the Children of the Light’, who do not believe in the prophecies; and by the Seanchan, the descendants of a long-lost colony of Artur Hawkwing’s empire. The Aes Sedai also become divided on how to deal with the Dragon Reborn. As the story expands, new characters representing different factions are introduced. Deriving its name from that of Armageddon in Christian eschatology, Tarmon Gai’don is the apocalyptic battle wherein the Dragon Reborn opposes Shai’tan, while their followers fight elsewhere. Events and portents that foreshadow the Last Battle take place in Knife of Dreams and The Gathering Storm. The Last Battle itself takes place in A Memory of Light, in the form of a single 202-page chapter.[8]
