A Memory of Light

"James Oliver Rigney Jr, author of the long-running fantasy series The Wheel of Time and better known to millions of fans by the pen name Robert Jordan, died on 16 Sept 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. Jordan announced he had been diagnosed with the disease in March 2006 and vowed to beat the odds, but determination and gumption sometimes just aren't enough in the face of a disease with a median survival time of just over two years. Jordan was in the process of writing the twelfth and final book in the Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light, but the book was not slated for release until 2009 and is still incomplete. While there is hope that the book will still be finished from Jordan's notes, this is devastating news to all of us who have been reading the series since 1990."

For those of you who don't know Robert Jordan, he is the author of one of my favorite fantasy series, "The Wheel of Time". The series was introduced to me in high school by my friend Jeff, who had also introduced it to a lot of our other friends. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I got started, I couldn't put it down. And I continued to follow the series up until the latest book. Most of my friends had quit by now, mostly because Jordan had started writing too many plotlines with too many characters that have yet to be resolved. Add to that the last few books had stories that happened in ONE day, with nothing of significance happening. It was at this point that people realized that Jordan was simply milking the series for all its got. Despite this, a lot of people (myself included) still follow the book to know what happens next. The world that Jordan had created is quite rich, with its own lush history that he even wrote an encyclopedia for it. The initial stories were quite good too. Nowadays, it's hard to remember what happened to who. Not to say that Robert Jordan isn't still a good writer. He's a great writer, and a lot of fantasy series authors point to his work as the one that brought modern fantasy series novels to where it is today.

Anyway, a few years back, Jordan found out that he had cardiac amyloidosis, and it was gradually getting worse. He had started a blog where he communicated with his fans, and most realized that he may not be able to finish the series. He vowed that the next book, "A Memory of Light" would be his last, even if it had to be 1500 pages long. He tried to work on it during the free times he had, and unfortunately, he wasn't able to finish it.

I'm quite sad at his passing, and although my thoughts and condolences are with his family, I'm more upset that I'm not able to read his last book. I know it's very selfish of me, but I think if he hadn't wasted his time writing those past few books where nothing significant happened, and simply concentrated on finishing the book, he would've have left more people at peace with him. But such is life. Hindsight is always 20/20. But I am happy for him because he's no longer suffering, and I know he's a Christian. He's admitted it himself on his blog, and has been seeing his pastor often during his last days. Therefore, I know I'll be seeing him in Heaven, and I'll have a few choice words for him. :) RIP Robert Jordan.