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Robert Jordan

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\'\'Alternative meanings: Robert Jordan (lawyer) for the former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Robert Jordan (character) for the character in Hemingway\'s \'\'For Whom the Bell Tolls\'\'.\'\'

\'\'\'Robert Jordan\'\'\' is the pen name of \'\'\'James Oliver Rigney, Jr.\'\'\' (born October 17, 1948). It has been speculated that the pen name is from the main character of Ernest Hemingway\'s novel \'\'For Whom the Bell Tolls\'\', but Robert Jordan has since clarified on his blog [1] that his pen names were chosen from three lists of names using his real initials, and that \"Robert Jordan\" contains all three of his initials in a first name and a surname. He is best known as the obese author of the bestselling \'\'The Wheel of Time\'\' fantasy series. Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina and holds an undergraduate degree in physics from The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. He is a history buff and served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army.

Bibliography

Fallon

(under the pen name \'\'Reagan O\'Neal\'\')

Conan the Barbarian

Jordan is one of several writers who has written pastiches of the original Conan the Barbarian stories.

  1. \'\'Conan the Defender\'\' (1982)
  2. \'\'Conan the Invincible\'\' (1982)
  3. \'\'Conan the Triumphant\'\' (1983)
  4. \'\'Conan the Unconquered\'\' (1983)
  5. \'\'Conan the Destroyer\'\' (1984)
  6. \'\'Conan the Magnificent\'\' (1984)
  7. \'\'Conan the Victorious\'\' (1984)
  8. \'\'Conan: King of Thieves\'\' (1984)

Although some bibliographies list it, \'\'Conan: King of Thieves\'\' does not exist. It was the original title of the second Conan movie. Robert 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\'\'. (http://encyclopaedia-wot.org:8008/main/biblio/nonwotbib.html)

They were packed into two separate volumes:

  • \'\'The Conan Chronicles\'\'
  • \'\'Further Chronicles of Conan\'\'

The Wheel of Time

Eleven books of a projected twelve total comprising the main sequence have been published thus far. Many fans of the earlier books have been disappointed by a change in Jordan\'s style over the course of the series. In particular, the pace of events has slowed significantly, with a greater focus on minor characters and politics at the cost of action. This is perhaps most evident in the tenth book, \'\'Crossroads of Twilight\'\'.

You can find chapter summaries for the first ten Wheel of Time books here. The eleventh, titled \'\'Knife of Dreams\'\', was released on 11 October 2005 and has not yet been summarized.

  1. \'\'The Eye of the World\'\' (15 January 1990)
  2. \'\'The Great Hunt\'\' (15 November 1990)
  3. \'\'The Dragon Reborn\'\' 15 October 1991)
  4. \'\'The Shadow Rising\'\' (15 September 1992)
  5. \'\'The Fires of Heaven\'\' (15 October 1993)
  6. \'\'Lord of Chaos\'\' (15 October 1994)
  7. \'\'A Crown of Swords\'\' (15 May 1996)
  8. \'\'The Path of Daggers\'\' (20 October 1998)
  9. \'\'Winter\'s Heart\'\' (9 November 2000)
  10. \'\'Crossroads of Twilight\'\' (7 January 2003)
  11. \'\'Knife of Dreams\'\' (11 October 2005)
  12. \'\'A Memory of Light\'\' (working title) (2007 - if his publishers pressures him, or most likely middle-late 2008, considering his 2.5+ year release pattern)

In addition to the main sequence, Robert Jordan has also written some accessory works:

  • \'\'The World of Robert Jordan\'s the Wheel of Time\'\' (13 November 1998, 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\'\' (February 2000, novella, published in volume three of Tor\'s \'\'Legends\'\' anthology, edited by Robert Silverberg)
    • \'\'New Spring\'\' (January 2004, novel, 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\'\'.

Jordan also has spoken of plans to write two other prequels after finishing the main sequence[2].

Final Volume

In October 18 at a book signing at West Chester, Jordan gave a working title of the 12th book as \'\'A Memory of Light\'\'. Apparently this is only a working title, as it most probably is going to change. He also threatened that the final volume of the saga \"could be 2000-page monster\" as one of the visitors told Dragonmount.com. Jordan also said that he has already been working tightly on the installement. He also mentioned the possibility of several \'outrigger\' novels, a reversal on previous comments, that he will conclude his work on the world with the prequels. After he finishes work on the main plotline, he said that he will think about the idea and then if he find it suitable - he will start work.

According to Tor publisher, with the end of the series is finally in sight, Jordan\'s agent Nat Sobel says that he and the publisher are pressuring Jordan “in the nicest way possible” to try and complete Book 12 so that it can be out within 18 months.

Infinity of Heaven

Jordan has mentioned several times that he plans another fantasy series set in a different kind of world. He has said that it will be a Shogun-like series about a man in his 30s who suffers a shipwreck in an unknown culture and world. The books will take detail his adventures there, and will be titled \'\'Infinity of Heaven\'\' [3].

He has said that he will begin writing these after he finishes his work on the main sequence books of The Wheel of Time after \'\'Book 12\'\' (presumably in early-middle 2008, considering the 2.5+ year pattern release for his latest novels). It is unclear at present whether the remaining \'\'Wheel of Time\'\' prequels will be written after, or during, the \'\'Infinity of Heaven\'\' series. Also according to dragonmount.com Jordan plans to write some side-story novels, before abandoning completely work on his decade-long work.

Thus work on this saga isn\'t expected to begin before 2010 at best. Jordan has particularly stressed that this series will be significantly shorter than the \'\'Wheel of Time\'\' saga (about 6 books long and essentially two trilogies), despite the resulting irony in the series title.

Other works

  • \'\'Cheyenne Raiders\'\' (1982, under the pseudonym \'\'Jackson O\'Reilly\'\')
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