Farewell, Dragon

"Robert Jordan" (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.) October 17, 1948 - September 16, 2007
-Author of the Wheel of Time series.

Official Blog Announcement
Tor-Forge Obit/Announcement

I feel as if a chunk of my life is missing. Or at least it's lost a little of it's appeal.

I certainly never met the guy. But through his writing, I met an entire world of characters that saw me through high school, a year of college away from home, and my entire married life. I've had Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, and Perrin Aybarra as brothers; Egwene al'Vere, Nynaeve al'Meara, Elayne Trakand as sisters (albeit annoying ones) for the past 15 years.

I can't imagine the money I've spend on his books. Mostly because the silly paperbacks kept falling apart, so I just kept buying them, until I figured out it'd be cheaper to buy one $25 hardback than 5 $8 paperbacks. The paperbacks kept wearing out because I reread the entire Wheel of Time previous to the current release every time a new book was published. And sometimes just for fun. When you know there are 11 main series books and one prequel currently, I'll let you do the math as to just how many 1500 page Wheel of Time books I've read.

About a year ago, RJ (as he's affectionately known by the uber-abbreviating cyber-community) announced that he'd been diagnosed with Cardiac Amyloidosis - which came as somewhat of a shock, even to a community that had been rife with "RJ is dying" rumors for over a decade. This is a very serious disease. However, up to the end, RJ's attitude remained positive, and for the same typically cynical WOT community which had uncharactaristically become accustomed to his positive, upbeat, and generally "I'm beating this" themed posts on his blog, it was the ultimate dashing of hope.

As far as the series goes, the aptly named "A Memory of Light", the 12th and final book in the Wheel of Time epic, was approximately half written at the time of his death. From his blog, we know he revealed the entire plot line, as well as the ending to his wife Harriet and brother/cousin Wilson near the end. It has yet to be decided if the work will be ghostwritten and published poshumously. RJ has said many times, in many interviews, that he knew the final scene of the final book from the time he first wrote EOTW. I, very selfishly, hope with all my might that he wrote it down in his own words before the end.

For those who may hesitate to read him because they don't like the "Dungeons and Dragons" genre, I say "read". The world he creates is so real, so believable, and the mechanism of "magic" that he employs has rules and laws, like physics. The sheer scope of plot; the breadth of characters; the intelligence it must have taken to create such a world makes the series worth reading, simply to appreciate the mind that created it. To compare it to "Dungeons and Dragons" of the stereotypical connotation is, quite frankly, insulting.

I have done my share of criticism of RJ's works, and my complaints still hold true (snort, cross arms under breasts) but the nitpicky things I find irritating about his series holds no water when compared to the sheer magnitude and scope of entire work.

I think I may be jealous. Fans who have passed on now know the ending. I'll have to wait.

So, Mr. Rigney:

"May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home."

GRRM reaction
Series Future

Prospecting Trip

Had fun in Pine this weekend!

We camped in our wall tent and slept on our new Cabela's air bed, with our Mr. Heater indoor-safe propane heater to keep us toasty warm!

Nolan had a great time with the kids in the next campground, and shared his 4-wheeler with them with no problem.