Robert Jordan

So, I found out via text from Becky Rupp at 7:36am that Robert Jordan had died last night. It was kind of a weird bit of news for me to be honest. I mean, first I was shocked and disbelieving, but then I got to work and saw news stories and realized that it was true. Then I naturally thought of the long-running joke (though I guess less funny in the past year or two that he's been incredibly sick with some rare disease) that he had better finish up the Wheel of Time before he died, or he'd have a lot of angry fans to answer to. Sadly now he won't have to answer to anyone because he died while still writing the 12th book in the series, set to be the final one, wrapping up an epic that has spanned 73% of my lifetime. He published the first novel when I was 6, though of course I didn't read it until probably Freshman or Sophomore year of high school.

I can't even tell you how many days of my secondary educational career were spent with one of his novels gracing the corner of my desk, allowing me to sneak a few pages at a time whenever waiting for class to start, or after finishing busy work early, or while eating lunch. Since first finishing what was already written of the series at that point, I've re-read it with each successive book he has released, about five I believe. It's become almost tradition for me to read the whole series (9,353 pages, as of book 11) each year, just to refresh myself of its brilliance. Not that the series didn't have its low points or its problems, given that some of the later novels were a bit bogged down by the overabundance of plot and characters and advanced little of the story.

Regardless of that, though, the series he has crafted since 1990 is, to me, the landmark acheivement of fantasy writing. It contains the most complex characters, the densest plots, the most imaginative and immersive reality, that I have ever encountered in a fantasy/sci-fi novel. The characters that he brought to life for me as a teenager have remained with me, having been my constant companions during those years.

He built, using the tropes and standard elements of basically every fantasy novel ever, a unique and fully realized world that has not only entranced my imagination from the moment I opened The Eye of the World, but all things considered, probably absorbed a significant portion of the time I've spent on this Earth, whether through actual reading, online roleplaying (the truest form of geeky homage) or lengthy, passionate discussions with other fans.

It would have been hard enough next year to have said goodbye to the world, the characters, and the mythology of the Wheel of Time, but it is by far harder to say goodbye to the man who created the series that is one of those staples of fantasy writing that fans of the genre will continue to talk about for years. And harder still to think that he died before he could finish his greatest work, one that was so clearly close to his heart and one that helped him fight so hard during his illness.

I took a moment to read through the post his brother left on Robert Jordan's blog, announcing his death, and I confess that seeing Jordan's words used to describe people's loss in the comments section made me shed a few tears of my own for this great man:

“Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the Shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day.” - Ryan Breen

"Tai’shar Manetheren" - DZ

"May you shelter in the palm of the Creator’s hand Robert Jordan. And may the Mother’s last embrace welcome you home." - Gwydion Quatar

"Ars longa, vita brevis." - Vincent

‘Duty is as heavy as a mountain, Death is as light as a feather.’ - Roshan George

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Seventh Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind arose from the Final Breath of James Oliver Rigney, Jr.. The wind was not the ending. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was /an/ ending." - Kotan


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As the blog announcing his death says, "the Dragon is gone." Rest in peace, Robert Jordan.