Author Robert Jordan Dies
One of my favorite authors has passed on. Robert Jordan, author of the popular fantasy series The Wheel of Time passed at 2:45PM, Sunday September 16th, after a long and grueling fight against Cardiac Amyloidosis.
This truly is a sad day for me, and for many many others. It’s almost hard to believe. I first picked up a Jordan book back in 1990. I had visited an old dusty Army thrift store with my mother, and while she was off looking for whatever she was after, I found myself at the two ratty book shelves in the very back of the building. My penchant for reading had just recently developed, and I was now on a crusade to look for and buy every interesting book I could get my hands on.
That day I happened to find a book called The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan. It was only the 2nd fantasy book I had ever bought, and I started reading it as soon as I got home that day. 18 chapters later — without having ever paused — I had the horrible realization that the book in my hands wasn’t complete. It was in fact a sample book. In reality, the title of the book I was holding was called “The First Part of Book One Of The Wheel Of Time”.
It was a promotional item, and I just happened to buy it. Just my luck, I find a book I loved, and it wasn’t even a full book.I of course had to go out the very next day and buy myself a “real” copy of the book, and for the next few years it became almost a yearly ritual: when the new books would come out, me and my mom would make a trip to the towns one book store to pick it up. She just loved the fact that I was suddenly a book lover.
I have to say, Jordans’ books are a big part of why I still till this day love reading so much. I’ve been reading the WoT series now for 17 years, and never once (even knowing the author was ill this past year) did I ever think the series wouldn’t reach a conclusion. I saw an apt comment from a reader, explaining why this is such a tragedy for us fans. He likened it to the prospect of J.K. Rowling dying just before she finished writing the final Harry Potter novel. Imagine that.
This is what this feels like for all of us who have been reading the Wheel of Time books. I’ve been waiting half my life to see how the story will finally end, and now it may not happen. I’m sure a final book will come out, in one form or another, but it won’t be the same.
I still have that little promotional book. All these years later, it’s setting on my shelf right above me as I type this. I can’t even say how much Mr. Jordan will be missed. It seemed almost as if he was a member of the family, after all these many years reading and rereading his works. I’ve read his books while at school, while I was supposed to be working. I’ve read his books while in planes, and trains. I’ve read his books while on lunch breaks. I’ve fallen asleep with them in hand, and even introduced non-fantasy readers to them, in hopes they would enjoy the story as much as I do (yup, I’m thinking of you Niknik).He is going to be greatly missed. I never met him in person, but I felt like I knew him. What a sad day.
