Robert Jordan was the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of
James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling
The Wheel of TimeThe Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the late American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, it now consists of eleven published novels, with one more book to come, which will be published in three...
fantasy series. He also wrote under the names
Reagan O'Neal and
Jackson O'Reilly.
Jordan was born in
Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
. He served two tours in
VietnamThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
(from 1968 to 1970) with the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
as a helicopter gunner.
The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.
Tagline in all the books of the series.
All I have is a sword, and a war I cannot win, but I can never stop fighting.
You can either have an hour of hope or an hour of despair.
The Creator made women to please the eyes and trouble the mind.
The grave is no bar to my call.
Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather
I am Rand al'Thor! I am the Dragon Reborn!
I am the Lord of the Morning. I was the Prince of the Dawn.
Robert Jordan was the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of
James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling
The Wheel of TimeThe Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the late American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, it now consists of eleven published novels, with one more book to come, which will be published in three...
fantasy series. He also wrote under the names
Reagan O'Neal and
Jackson O'Reilly.
Biography
Jordan was born in
Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
. He served two tours in
VietnamThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
(from 1968 to 1970) with the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the
Distinguished Flying CrossThe Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
with bronze oak leaf cluster, the
Bronze StarThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. When awarded for bravery, it is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. Armed Forces and the ninth highest military award in the order...
with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two
Vietnamese Gallantry CrossesThe Vietnam Gallantry Cross is a military decoration of South Vietnam which wasestablished in August 1950. Also known as the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Gallantry Cross is awarded to any military personnel who have accomplished deeds of valor or displayed heroic conduct while fighting an...
with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
. After graduating he was employed by the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting. He described himself as a "
High ChurchThe term "High Church" refers to understandings of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the Anglican tradition....
" Episcopalian and received
communionThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with
Tor BooksTor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. Tom Doherty...
; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.
Illness
On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with
cardiac amyloidosisCardiac amyloidosis is a medical disorder, a type of amyloidosis, caused by deposits of an amyloid protein in the heart tissue, resulting in decreased heart function.-Symptoms:* Palpitations...
, and that with treatment, his
medianIn probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the number separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest...
life expectancyLife expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e
x, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life, working for another 30 years.
He began
chemotherapyChemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen...
treatment at
Mayo ClinicMayo Clinic is a non-profit organization and internationally renowned group medical practice headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota. Its headquarters consist of the Mayo Medical School, the Mayo Graduate School, the Mayo College of Graduate Medical Education, and several other health science schools...
in
Rochester, MinnesotaRochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, it is perhaps best known as the home of Mayo Clinic and is also home to the largest IBM facility under one roof in the world...
in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for
multiple myelomaMultiple myeloma , also known as MM, myeloma, plasma cell myeloma, or as Kahler's disease is a cancer of the white blood cells known as plasma cells. A type of B cell, plasma cells are a crucial part of the immune system responsible for the production of antibodies in humans and other vertebrates...
but not yet tested on primary
amyloidosisIn medicine, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions in which amyloid proteins are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues. A protein is described as being amyloid if, due to an alteration in its secondary structure, it takes on a particular aggregated insoluble form similar to the...
.
Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m.
EDTEastern Daylight Time may refers to:* Eastern Daylight Time , UTC-4.* Australian Eastern Daylight Time, UTC+11....
on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. His life will be subject of the feature length documentary
The Wit of the Staircase: The Life and Works of Robert Jordan. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried at an Episcopal church plot outside Charleston.
The Wheel of Time
Jordan published eleven books of a projected twelve total in the main sequence of the Wheel of Time series. Reviewers and fans of the earlier books noted a slowing of the pace of events in the last few installments due to the expansion of scale of the series as a whole.
Due to his health problems, Jordan did not work at full force on the final installment
A Memory of LightA Memory of Light is the fourteenth and final book of the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, written by American author Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson...
(later split into three volumes beginning with
The Gathering Storm), but blog entries confirmed that he continued work on it until his death, and he shared all of the significant plot details with his family not long before he died. He maintained that in doing so the book will get published even if "the worst actually happens". On December 7, 2007 Tor Books announced that
Brandon SandersonBrandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in Provo, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was college roommates with Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings. He has been nominated twice for...
had been chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series. Jordan's widow chose him after reading
Mistborn: The Final EmpireMistborn: The Final Empire is the first novel of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. It was followed by Mistborn: The Well of Ascension...
The Wheel of Time series consists of:
- The Eye of the World
The Eye of the World is the first book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 15, 1990...
(15 January 1990)
- The Great Hunt
The Great Hunt is the second book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on November 15, 1990...
(15 November 1990)
- The Dragon Reborn
The Dragon Reborn is the third book of American author Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time. It was published by Tor Books and released on September 15, 1991...
(15 October 1991)
- The Shadow Rising
The Shadow Rising is the fourth book in American author Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time. It was published by Tor Books and released on September 15, 1992...
(15 September 1992)
- The Fires of Heaven
The Fires of Heaven is the fifth book in American author Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time...
(15 October 1993)
- Lord of Chaos
Lord of Chaos is the sixth book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan...
(15 October 1994) -- Locus Award nominee, 1995
- A Crown of Swords
A Crown of Swords is the seventh book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan...
(15 May 1996)
- The Path of Daggers
The Path of Daggers is the eighth book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 20, 1998...
(20 October 1998)
- Winter's Heart
Winter's Heart is the ninth book of the Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on November 7, 2000...
(9 November 2000)
- Crossroads of Twilight
Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth book of The Wheel of Time fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 7, 2003...
(7 January 2003)
- Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams is the 11th novel in the fantasy series The Wheel of Time by American author Robert Jordan. It was published by Tor Books in the U.S...
(11 October 2005)
- The Gathering Storm
The Gathering Storm is the title of the 12th book of the The Wheel of Time fantasy series. The book will be based upon the notes and limited text contributions from late author Robert Jordan, with the majority of the text to be provided by Brandon Sanderson...
(27 October 2009)
- Towers of Midnight
Towers of Midnight by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan is the title for the sequel to the novel The Gathering Storm. It is the thirteenth book in the Wheel of Time series. The title was proposed by Mr. Sanderson...
- A Memory of Light
A Memory of Light is the fourteenth and final book of the fantasy series The Wheel of Time, written by American author Robert Jordan with Brandon Sanderson...
In addition to the main sequence, Robert Jordan also wrote some accessory works:
- The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time (6 November 1997, reference book, written in collaboration with Teresa Patterson)
- This reference book includes "The Strike at Shayol Ghul", a short story published online in 1996 which was republished in print as part of this reference book
- New Spring
New Spring is a prequel novel in the Wheel of Time fantasy series by American author Robert Jordan.-Background to publication:...
(October 1998, novellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. While there is disagreement as to what length defines a novella, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count...
, published in Tor's Legends anthology, edited by Robert SilverbergRobert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.-Life and work:...
; the story is located in the third volume of the paperback edition; the hardcover is one volume)
- New Spring (January 2004, novel
A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, an expanded work superseding the earlier novella)
- From The Two Rivers, a repackaging of the first half of The Eye Of The World for a younger market, includes an additional prologue titled Ravens.
- To the Blight, a repackaging of the second half of The Eye of the World for a younger market.
- The Hunt Begins, a repackaging of the first half of The Great Hunt for a younger market.
- New Threads in the Pattern, a repackaging of the second half of The Great Hunt for a younger market.
Fallon
(under the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
"Reagan O'Neal")
- The Fallon Blood
The Fallon Blood is a novel written by fantasy author James Oliver Rigney, Jr. under the name Reagan O'Neal. It is typical of the genre historical romance. It is the first book in the Michael Fallon trilogy...
(1980)
- The Fallon Pride (1981)
- The Fallon Legacy (1982)
Conan the Barbarian
Jordan was one of several writers who have written new
Conan the BarbarianConan the Barbarian is a fictional character in books, comics and movies. He is a hero, a well known and iconic figure in American fantasy, and the most famous barbarian in fiction.Conan is often associated with the fantasy subgenre of sword-and-sorcery and heroic fantasy...
stories.
- Conan the Invincible (1982)
- Conan the Defender
Conan the Defender is a fantasy novel written by Robert Jordan featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian...
(1982)
- Conan the Unconquered (1983)
- Conan the Triumphant (1983)
- Conan the Magnificent (1984)
- Conan the Destroyer
Conan the Destroyer is a 1984 film directed by action/fantasy veteran Richard Fleischer . It is a sequel to Conan the Barbarian, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako returning to resume their roles as Conan and Akiro the wizard , along with a new cast, such as Grace Jones as Zula...
(1984)
- Conan the Victorious (1984)
Some bibliographies also include
Conan: King of Thieves; this however, was actually the working title of the second Conan movie,
Conan the Destroyer, and hence Jordan's novelization. Jordan had already been hired to do the novelization and Tor had already applied for an ISBN when the title was changed to
Conan the Destroyer.
They were packed into two separate volumes:
- The Conan Chronicles
The Conan Chronicles is a collection of fantasy novels written by Robert Jordan featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard. The book was published in 1995 by Tor Books and collects three novels previously published by Tor.-Contents:* Conan the...
- The Further Chronicles of Conan
The Further Chronicles of Conan is a collection of fantasy novels written by Robert Jordan featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard. The book was published in 1999 by Tor Books and collects three novels previously published by Tor.-Contents:* Conan the...
(The Conan Chronicles II The Conan Chronicles II is a collection of fantasy novels written by Robert Jordan featuring the sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, created by Robert E. Howard...
in the UK, different contents)
Jordan also compiled a well-known Conan Chronology.
Infinity of Heaven
Jordan mentioned several times that he planned another fantasy series set in a different kind of world. He said that it would be a
ShōgunShōgun is a 1975 novel by James Clavell. It is the first novel in the author's Asian Saga. It is set in feudal Japan in the year 1600 some months before the critical battle of Sekigahara, and gives an account of the rise of the daimyo "Toranaga" to the Shogunate, seen through the eyes of an...
-esque series about a man in his 30s who is shipwrecked in an unknown culture (which would be similar to Seanchan culture in his Wheel of Time series and world. The books would detail his adventures there, and would have been titled
Infinity of HeavenInfinity of Heaven was a planned book series by the late Robert Jordan. Jordan was famous for his bestselling high fantasy series The Wheel of Time; Infinity of Heaven was to be his next major project after completing that series. The author believed that the series would consist of two sets of...
.
He said that he would have begun writing these after finishing his work on the twelfth and final main sequence book of
The Wheel of TimeThe Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels written by the late American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, it now consists of eleven published novels, with one more book to come, which will be published in three...
. Jordan said, "Infinity of Heaven almost certainly will be written before the prequels, though I might do them between the Infinity books." Also according to Dragonmount.com, Jordan planned to write some side-story novels, before completely abandoning his decades-long work. Jordan had particularly stressed that this series would be significantly shorter than
The Wheel of Time saga (about 6 books long and essentially two trilogies).
Further reading
External links