Author Gush: Robert Jordan and The Wheel of Time

Go read The Wheel of Time.

Oops, sorry I usually toss out a bit of foreplay in these posts before I give that kind of recommendation. Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag let me ask you: why are you still reading this post instead of reading The Wheel of Time?

I’m only partially joking, dear reader.

There are few books or series in the world that I’d call truly life changing or works of art but this…this is one of them.

I’ll not lie to you, the series starts off with a bit of a slow burn. Not a boring start, mind you, but slow. While enjoyable the beginning of the series doesn’t even begin to hint at the wonderful themes, conflicts, and character development that occurs throughout the rest of the story.

It’s truly something to see some the internal conflicts or personal opinion of some characters clash with the others. The conflict of cycles, of light and Darkness, of impending madness: it all creates an epic tale that seamlessly combines themes from eastern philosophy with western sagas.

While initially there is a certain degree of what may today be called sexism in the magical system I’d say its evolution throughout the series portrays one of the most nuanced approaches to gender relations I’ve ever read.

Some of my friends who’ve also read these books have claimed that the series drags in the middle, that the sixth and seventh books in particular are a slog, but I disagree. There was a rather infamous instance where, and bear with me here, two characters run away to the circus. Yes, in an epic saga where the fate of the souls of every man woman and child is at stake of being eaten by the servants of Darkness two protagonists…run away….to the circus. But you see, while my friends were so stuck on the ridiculousness of the situation I was intrigued.

You see, dear reader, Robert Jordan had sold me by this point.

By book six I was able to look back at the story so far and think “ok this guy has a plan” and you know what, dear reader? I was right! That’s right, there’s actual significant payoff to the circus scene in the final couple books and it actually serves as a major plot point (so suck it, Rick, I was right. You owe me that beer and I will collect).

There’s something simply timeless about Jordan’s writing style that clicks when you read these books. It has a natural flow and rhythm, like a piece of music that hits golden note after golden note. The books themselves take on a particularly poignant aspect once you realize what was going on in Jordan’s personal life while he was writing them. The story behind how the final novels came to be…well, suffice it to say that story alone is worthy of a Hollywood biopic.

Most importantly, dear reader, this series has (and I don’t say this lightly) one of, if not the, single most satisfying, gut-punch endings I have ever read in my entire life.

I tell you now: if you haven’t picked up this series do yourself a favor and rectify that mistake as soon as possible.

Give it a chance. Settle into it. Become one with the book.

And, of course, you can thank me later.