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Werthead
03-24-2006, 19:39
A repost of this sad news I just passed onto another forum:

Robert Jordan, author of the phenomenally successful (and controversial due to its length) Wheel of Time series, has announced that he is suffering from an exceptionally rare blood disease called amyloidosis. This disease is invariably fatal, but with treatment can be held at bay for many years. The treatment he is undergoing will extend his median life expectancy to over four years, with a high likelihood of him living longer than that.

This news can be found here:

http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Features/03JordanLetter.html

and additional information from Robert Jordan here:

http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?p=38

The final Wheel of Time book, A Memory of Light, is slated for publication in late 2008 and The Wheel of Time Encyclopedia shortly afterwards, so the WoT main series at least will be finished (crosses fingers), but the prequels, the side-novels and the Infinities of Heaven series may be more in doubt.

This is seriously bad news. After discovering Tolkien the next few authors I read were the likes of Eddings and Brooks (and Goodkind's first book) and for a while I wondered if epic fantasy was entirely just BS. Then I read the first six volumes of The Wheel of Time and was blown away by it. The sheer scale of the story, the constant inventiveness and clever re-use of old ideas and, yes, the deeper level of detail than was normal in an epic fantasy story all drew me in to the world. I've probably spent more time talking and writing about this series than any other, even my current favourite, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. As with many I began to lose faith around the eighth book and by the tenth I was pondering if the story was ever going to be ended. Then Jordan brought the plot threads back together in the eleventh volume and restored hope the series would end soon and, hopefully, in a worthwhile manner.

Jordan may long have been replaced in my appreciation by the likes of Martin and Erikson, but he thought big at a time when few writers would do so and paved the way for both the above authors and countless others since. Best wishes to him and his family.

Ripipip
03-25-2006, 10:35
Well, let´s just hope he will finish the books... But I can´t seriously say that i´m surprised that he may not finish all the books.:sweatdrop:

nic_vee
03-27-2006, 10:07
How old is Robert Jordan

Andreas
03-27-2006, 20:48
57, Iirc

Werthead
03-28-2006, 02:01
He was born in 1947, so he's currently 58.

NagatsukaShumi
03-29-2006, 14:16
It is sad news, all great writers seems to never get to finish their work. :no:

DragonR.
03-30-2006, 17:29
He said he'd live for at least another 30 years, and i hope and beleve he can make it, if anyone can it's him...

Werthead
03-30-2006, 17:35
He's a fighter, but his condition is very serious. So, major breakthroughs aside, the best I think he can hope for is another 10 years at best. Let's just hope for that major breakthough, eh?

matteus the inbred
03-30-2006, 17:44
noooo, he can't flippin' die yet, the WOT series must be finished...

in all seriousness, it would be very sad and frustrating to lose such an incredible writer and creator at such a relatively early age.

Lord Shand
03-31-2006, 02:56
This is seriously bad news. After discovering Tolkien the next few authors I read were the likes of Eddings and Brooks (and Goodkind's first book) and for a while I wondered if epic fantasy was entirely just BS. Then I read the first six volumes of The Wheel of Time and was blown away by it. The sheer scale of the story, the constant inventiveness and clever re-use of old ideas and, yes, the deeper level of detail than was normal in an epic fantasy story all drew me in to the world. I've probably spent more time talking and writing about this series than any other, even my current favourite, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. As with many I began to lose faith around the eighth book and by the tenth I was pondering if the story was ever going to be ended. Then Jordan brought the plot threads back together in the eleventh volume and restored hope the series would end soon and, hopefully, in a worthwhile manner.



Forget Jordon, and all those others, go out and buy the first book in the "Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson, it sh!ts all over Jordan, Martin, Feist and all the rest.

First book is, "Gardens of the Moon", then "Deadhouse Gates" , Then "Memories of Ice", "House of Chains", "Midnight Tides" with the latest in the series recently released "The Bonehunters" (which i've yet to read :embarassed: )

http://www.malazanempire.com/site/index.shtml

Werthead
03-31-2006, 20:17
Read 'em all, including The Bonehunters. Steven Erikson even critiqued a map I did of the Malazan planet on the www.Malazanempire.com forum. Erikson is great, but he isn't as good as Martin, who is king (Martin has much better characters). Erikson is firmly in second place at the moment, although prevailing opinion is that R. Scott Bakker has trumpeted Erikson (just) with his Prince of Nothing Trilogy, which is next on my reading list.

Ashton
04-01-2006, 23:05
Sorry but please read the title of the thread, its ever so slightly serious and this is defiantly not the place to be trumpeting about another author.

DragonR.
04-02-2006, 13:24
I agree. RJ is in serious trouble and you start saying to forget him and read another author...

Pewe
04-20-2006, 20:41
It was many years since I've read the books, I stopped at...I don't remember (I unlike many other swedes read them in swedish and of some reason the split every translated english book i two halfes and released them seperatly) but I read most of them and I just wish that Jordan will live his last years as well as possible.

Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
04-26-2006, 14:07
Well I have the same love/hate relationship with the books as most but the man himself is truely great. I remember on his blog him talking about his prefered method for a silent knife kill. He's been there and now he writes about, well except for the magic and stuff.

As to other writers, IRRC all those guys are American, Try David Gemmel. Particually "Legend" "Waylander" "Sword in the Storm" and "Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow." Be warned though, in places they're more like a saga than a novel.

Werthead
04-26-2006, 20:39
I think further discussion of other/alternate authors can be done on Wotmania's Other Fantasy (http://www.wotmania.com/fantasymessageboard.asp) section or on the Westeros forum's Literature (http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showforum=11) threads, both of which are pretty good (especially the Westeros one).

(Although I would say that Gemmell is a solid author, but better British epic fantasy authors include Paul Kearney and JV Jones :2thumbsup: )

BHCWarman88
05-20-2006, 04:21
Forget Jordon, and all those others, go out and buy the first book in the "Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson, it sh!ts all over Jordan, Martin, Feist and all the rest.

First book is, "Gardens of the Moon", then "Deadhouse Gates" , Then "Memories of Ice", "House of Chains", "Midnight Tides" with the latest in the series recently released "The Bonehunters" (which i've yet to read :embarassed: )

http://www.malazanempire.com/site/index.shtml

like mutiple people said, Read the Title.. This is not the Place to dis A Author, One of my Favortie Ones, who is Sersiouly Ill. if you don't like him,make a different topic Bud..Btw, I never read that guy's books,but they proably not as good..


Anyhow,


I hope he finsihed the WOT Series. I only got 3,mabye 4 books in the WOT Series,but I love the books though..

4th Dimension
05-20-2006, 09:36
No he still needs to finish the last Book 12: A memory of Light

BHCWarman88
05-20-2006, 16:17
Yea.. What one of the Books you guys like the most??

Werthead
05-20-2006, 21:11
The Shadow Rising (4) is the best one, followed by Lord of Chaos (6), in my opinion. A word of warning: the series takes a serious turn for the worse around the eighth book and the tenth may be one of the worst epic fantasy novels published in the last decade. The eleventh and penultimate volume was a serious return to form though and hopefully the series will come to a good ending.

Some good news! Robert Jordan has survived the first (and most dangerous) stage of his treatment. Even better, he has recovered in record time and his doctors have discovered they may have misdiagnosed his condition. It's still a serious condition, but it wasn't as advanced as they had feared. Robert Jordan is apparently celebrating his good fortune by considering buying a Harley. After a break he should be back to writing Book 12 soon.

BHCWarman88
05-21-2006, 02:09
I don't mind Book 8 or 9.... So,Book 10 isn't that well written or what??

4th Dimension
05-21-2006, 10:54
There is no progres in the bloody book. RJ style is unchanged but he concentrated on small things.

Werthead
05-21-2006, 12:47
Nothing happens in 10 at all. I'd recommend skipping it and just reading an on-line summary. The first half of the book has people talking about something big that happened at the end of Book 9. The second half has people getting into place for the start of Book 11. Even Robert Jordan admits it's cack but claims his publishers wouldn't let him go back and rewrite it because of time issues.

BHCWarman88
05-21-2006, 17:04
ok.. how about book 9 and 11 (got 9,didn't read it yet,don't got 11)

Werthead
05-22-2006, 00:09
9 is a bit odd in that in the middle of lots of important stuff, Rand suddenly stops and goes off and does a weird side-mission that only serves the purpose of filling in some more of the map. However, Mat is back and there's a good storyline with him meeting someone he's waited for a long time to meet.

11 is the best book since 7 in the series. Lots of events come to a head, there are several major battles and confrontations and basically RJ sets everything up for the Last Battle. Basically, he manages to stop the series' decline and reverse it quite some way.

BHCWarman88
05-23-2006, 22:09
ok thanks..