Robert Jordan died.
 

Per his semi-official blog at dragonmount , he passed today.

For fantasy readers, a lot of us read Jordan, then moved on during the interminable waits between books, but he was a good writer. Can't believe that, unless it is ghostwritten from his notes (probably a given), that I won't get to read 'Memory of Light' as the author originally intended it.

Obviously my sympathies lie with his family and friends. I was thinking about it, and I realized I've been reading his books since I was in the 7th grade, for over a decade. I guess I'm lucky that I decided to goto a book reading of his for his last book, and to get it signed by him.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

who?

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Did he ever finish the wheel of time series?

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Did he ever finish the wheel of time series?

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He did not, though he was working on the final book in the past months. Not sure how far along in the process he was.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Oh god no. I actually feel kinda sick to my stomach.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

this [censored] sucks

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9. I'm sorry to hear that Robert Jordan died, but, frankly, the books were starting to suck and I was starting to resent what I felt was him milking the series far beyond the point of reasonableness.

I was smart enough to drop the series at book ten, realizing the author would die before ever drawing the story to a close.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Did he ever finish the wheel of time series?

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He did not, though he was working on the final book in the past months. Not sure how far along in the process he was.

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He'd been working on the "last" book for at least four books.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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who?

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Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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who?

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Wiki

Should provide a general overview of who he was, exactly.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9. I'm sorry to hear that Robert Jordan died, but, frankly, the books were starting to suck and I was starting to resent what I felt was him milking the series far beyond the point of reasonableness.

I was smart enough to drop the series at book ten, realizing the author would die before ever drawing the story to a close.

SpaceAce

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Wow, I dropped out around book 5, he started out well, and then it just dragged on and on. Have you ever tried George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series? I think you might enjoy it much more. Anyway, RIP Jordan, and thanks for some good novels.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

wow, this is just terrible news. I was a huge fan of this series, I'd read each book twice...Really too bad, he was a great writer. Sad to hear about this.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Wow, I dropped out around book 5, he started out well, and then it just dragged on and on. Have you ever tried George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series? I think you might enjoy it much more. Anyway, RIP Jordan, and thanks for some good novels.

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As a matter of fact, I am packing for a big move and, just today, I packed away A Game of Thrones. There is no doubt that the Martin books are good (I have not read the whole series, yet), but I still think Wheel of Time is the best, up until the eighth (or maybe seventh) book. When I said up until book nine, I meant book nine was the first one I considered to be "bad", or, at least, unworthy of the series.

George R. R. Martin, in my opinion, is one of the greatest underrated science fiction authors (he is good at fantasy, too, but I am most familiar with his science fiction work) in the world. I have been reading his work for decades, and the best of it is right up there with Heinlein, Asimov, Ellison and other greats.

If you like Martin, don't miss his Sand Kings collection, especially the title story (The Sand Kings), Fast Friend, and The Way of Cross and Dragon.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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wow, this is just terrible news. I was a huge fan of this series, I'd read each book twice...Really too bad, he was a great writer. Sad to hear about this.

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The first book was given to me by a neighbor of my father's when I was in my early teens. I read it a couple of times, but it was quite a few years before I sought out the second book. After that I was hooked. I would reread the entire series up to the current book quite often while waiting for the next book to be published. I have probably read the first books as many as six or seven times each, and the eighth book probably three times. I am a voracious reader and I usually can't sit still for five seconds without looking for something to read.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

I lost all respect for Jordan when I realized that he was not trying to write a great fantasy series. Rather he was just trying to make money by dragging things along, book after book. It became almost impossible to follow, he kept adding character after character, the story became as convoluted as can be and became tiresome.

I'd heard that he was rushing to wrap it up once he knew he only had a short time left and apparently he didn't get it done. I dont' see how he could've finished in one book anyway, things had gotten so messed up.

I'm saddened that he's passed away but I have almost zero respect for his series.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

A number of posters so far clearly do understand the unwritten rules involving people who have just died.

I'd like to do my part to try and help this situation. Robert Jordan could have been one of the most amazing people I ever knew. He was truly one of a kind. He touched the lives of so many people, and his loss leaves a huge gaping hole in the world.

R.I.P. Rob

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

how did he die?

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

he was good i read all 10 of those damn books, but 6-10 really sucked hard core.

RIP sir.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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how did he die?

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Cancer.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Per his semi-official blog at dragonmount , he passed today.

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That's bad news for anyone who was waiting for the end of his (overlong) series.

There's a lot of braid tugging going on in Ren fests right now.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9.

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Up until about book 4. Then it was already clear he was meandering far too much and wasn't going to finish anytime soon.

The first three are quite good, though.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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The Wheel of Time is by far the greatest fantasy book series I have ever read... up until about book 9.

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Up until about book 4. Then it was already clear he was meandering far too much and wasn't going to finish anytime soon.

The first three are quite good, though.

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Right from the beginning, Robert Jordan was predicting eight (I think) books in the series, so no one expected a conclusion in or around book four. I think it's pretty unrealistic to say the books were meandering or off-track that early on. The story only really hit full steam around book four, in my opinion.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Even if we assume Jordan's motive for stretching the series was purely financial, how does that cause you to "lose all respect" for him? The characters are his, the story is his, the decision is his. If people keep buying the books, why shouldn't he keep writing them? Poker players of all people should understand pushing an edge.

I agree the books became tiresome, but how does that wreck the rest of the series? How does book seven or eight or nine or ten retroactively [censored] on books one through six? It's not like the suck in book ten can reach back in time and take the enjoyment out of book three.

SpaceAce

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Out of callous self-interest I hope that this prods George Martin into finishing A Song of Fire and Ice in a timely manner.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

This is sad. WoT is by far the best fantasy series I've read. Haven't read them all yet tho (haven't reached the "sucking").

Rest in peace.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

DAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!! !!!!!

that sucks.

he had a terminal illness and he knew his days were 'numbered'

in previous interviews he has said that his notes were extensive enough and that he had enough written that the series would be concluded if he didn't make it.

i think he really got the books back on track in the most recent 1 or 2.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

actually felt sad. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

rip robert jordan

ps. i own a t-shirt and a mug from www.wotmania.com :/

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Right from the beginning, Robert Jordan was predicting eight (I think) books in the series, so no one expected a conclusion in or around book four. I think it's pretty unrealistic to say the books were meandering or off-track that early on. The story only really hit full steam around book four, in my opinion.

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Actually, originally he stated that it'd be 5 books in the series. Then it became 8. And then 10. And well, you get the picture.

I think he reached his peak around book 4 ("The Shadow Rising"). Up until then, the constant expansion of his universe and the increasing number of plot lines were actually welcome additions. Then came "Fires of Heaven", which still is a pretty good book, but in retrospect you can see how he's starting to meander and lose focus. After that, it just got worse and worse with a few glimpses of light in between.

[censored] it. I wasted too much time on these books, and now I'll never know who killed Asmodean! Anyone here used to hang around in rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan? Here's some gems from the newsgroup that fellow Jordan fans might appreciate:

Titles for book 10-25
Tarman Gaidon Bowl
A New General For Rand
Wrapping Things Up

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

RIP Robert Jordan for sure. I'll buy the ghost-written conclusion to the series anyway. What an awesome writer.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

8000 pages of addictive crappiness.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Anyone who liked the Jordan books should read the George R.R. Martin series. The first book is good but then the story really takes off afterwards.

What I'm worried about is that Martin has something like THREE books left to write in that series and he ain't gettin' any younger

Also I would recommend Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

EDIT: Oh yeah... Rest in peace, Robert Jordan

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

I had no idea that Robert Jordan was terminally ill, and when I saw this thread, all I could think was "thank god is wasn't G.R.R.M."

I'm fairly afraid Martin will pass on before finishing Fire & Ice. He has no "notes" or anything to lead a ghost writer if he passes.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Here's what GRRM has to say about Jordan's passing

http://grrm.livejournal.com/

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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who?

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2p2er PITTM

RIP

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

For what it's worth to people. The last book was actually very readable and was clearly going somewhere. That said, the Martin and Goodkind series are overall better IMHO.

C-Dog

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

Crap!! I was waiting for the series to end before I picked it up again.

I am struggling with Martins books book 1 really enjoyed but book 2 just havent found as good, plus I do hate reading series that are not completed prefer to read form end to end in one go.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Crap!! I was waiting for the series to end before I picked it up again.

I am struggling with Martins books book 1 really enjoyed but book 2 just havent found as good, plus I do hate reading series that are not completed prefer to read form end to end in one go.

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I have to agree. Waiting for book 10 to come out in Jordan's series was painful. Waiting for book 11 was even worse.

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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For what it's worth to people. The last book was actually very readable and was clearly going somewhere. That said, the Martin and Goodkind series are overall better IMHO.

C-Dog

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OMFG the Goodkind series is absolutely horrible do not listen to this guy

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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For what it's worth to people. The last book was actually very readable and was clearly going somewhere. That said, the Martin and Goodkind series are overall better IMHO.

C-Dog

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OMFG the Goodkind series is absolutely horrible do not listen to this guy

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Most people I speak to disagree with this. As do the ratings on Amazon, and the sells numbers. While there was one book I didn't like in the series. I liked the rest. But then again you posted on a message board, so your opinion probably means more than the sells or Amazon ratings.

C-Dog

Re: Robert Jordan died.
 

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Even if we assume Jordan's motive for stretching the series was purely financial, how does that cause you to "lose all respect" for him? The characters are his, the story is his, the decision is his. If people keep buying the books, why shouldn't he keep writing them? Poker players of all people should understand pushing an edge.

I agree the books became tiresome, but how does that wreck the rest of the series? How does book seven or eight or nine or ten retroactively [censored] on books one through six? It's not like the suck in book ten can reach back in time and take the enjoyment out of book three.

SpaceAce

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I lost all respect for him as an author (artist, if you will). It seemed to me that he abandoned his artistic integrity (if he had any) for money. I once read an article where some person had asked him when the series would end and he said something like 'never'. Once I got to the point where the series became terrible I felt like I'd wasted my time reading the first of them even though I'd enjoyed them.

For someone in his field I'd prefer him to be thinking 'how can I make this great?' rather than 'how can I make a dollar?' If it's great it'll make the dollars anyway.

I was one of the ppl who kept buying the books and I became sick of him and them. I can't think of another author in the genre who wrote a series as long and convoluted as his. Even Terry Goodkind (mentioned above) is finishing his 'Sword of Truth' series in the next book. Btw: That series is acceptable, but not great, imo, because Goodkind keeps repeating the same themes.

I'd like to recommend Tad Williams. He writes both fantasy and sci-fi. I'd skip his early work and (for near-future sci-fi) the 'Otherland' series is excellent, his single volume fantasy 'War of the Flowers' is very good and his new series Shadowmarch is shaping up nicely.