Robert Jordan aka James Oliver Rigney, Jr. has Passed Away

[murphy]

Saw this on another board and was absolutely shocked. I was so hoping he would beat his problems.


http://www.dragonmount.com/

 

[Sephiroth]

I'm speechless. Condolences to his wife and family.

It's going to take a while to get my head around this...

 

[Giovanna Clairval]

I was reading R.J.'s blog after hearing the news.

The Dragon is gone, his brother said.
I read the previous entries. They insisted on the fact that he was feeling better.
This is too sad.

Farewell, Dragon.

 

[Sparks the Knave]

this is horrid, my gods

 

[Talysia]

I just found this out from by sister, before coming on here this morning (She's a big WoT fan), and I was completely shocked. I feel for his family. Rest in peace.

 

[Thadlerian]

Loved or hated, Jordan wrote Fantasy history. A monolith has passed away.

 

[Serin]

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will never be forgotten - his books are too great for that.

 

[Werthead]

Just did a career summary for him:

James Oliver Rigney, Jr., better known to millions of readers as Robert Jordan, passed away yesterday at 2.45pm EST. He was 58 years old. He had been battling cardiac amyloidosis since being diagnosed with the disease over eighteen months ago, and many of his fans had donated money to the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota (where he was being treated), in his name.

James Oliver Rigney, Jr. was born on 17 October 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam with the US Army and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. He later attended the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, where he received a degree in physics. He was then employed by the US Navy as a nuclear engineer.

He began writing in 1977, but decided early on to use his real name only on the 'definitive' novel of the Vietnam War he one day planned to write (he later chose not to pursue this project after other books about the conflict had emerged). Using the pen-name Reagan O'Neal, his first published work was The Fallon Trilogy, consisting of The Fallon Blood (1980), The Fallon Pride (1981) and The Fallon Legacy (1982), originally published by Ace Books but later reissued by Tor under the Forge imprint. This was a historical series set in South Carolina and southern states in the 18th Century and charted the life story of an Irish immigrant, Michael Fallon, and his family. He also wrote Cheyenne Raiders (1982) under the pen-name Jackson O' Reilly.

Rigney switched to the pen-name Robert Jordan to pen a series of fantasy novels set in Robert E. Howard's Hyborean Age and revolving around Howard's signature character, Conan the Barbarian. He wrote six original novels and a novelisation of the second Conan movie. These were: Conan the Invincible (1982), Conan the Defender (1982), Conan the Unconquered (1983), Conan the Triumphant (1983), Conan the Magnificent (1984), Conan the Destroyer (1984) and Conan the Victorious (1984). These books were later compiled as The Conan Chronicles and Further Chronicles of Conan. He also compiled a chronology of the Conan stories in 1987.

Whilst working on these books, Jordan was also creating his own fantasy story and world to set it in. He conceived of some of the ideas as early as the late 1970s, but didn't begin writing the book that eventually became The Eye of the World until 1985. It was a very tough book to write and the entire world, plot and protagonists shifted several times in the writing process. It was published in February 1990 by Tor Books, preceded by an impressive publicity campaign. Despite the delays on the first book, Jordan very quickly delivered the successive five novels in The Wheel of Time series before dropping back to a more sedate pace of one book every two to three years.

The Wheel of Time became an international bestseller, with every volume from the seventh onwards debuting at Number One on the New York Times bestseller list.. At this time only works by JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, Stephen King, CS Lewis and Terry Pratchett have outsold the series in the fantasy genre. Despite his enormous commercial success, Jordan found critical acclaim harder to come by, and the series has never won any of the major SF or Fantasy awards. Critical reception to the seventh through tenth volumes was mixed, but that for the eleventh volume in the series, Knife of Dreams, was highly positive as the series moved towards its conclusion. John Clute's Encyclopedia of Fantasy also gave the series a warm review, stating that "a sense of an intelligent creative enterprise is sustained throughout the sequence," and, "when complete, the sequence will almost certainly constitute one of the major epic narratives of modern fantasy".

Jordan was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis in early 2006, and announced it to his fans in May of that year. Despite often highly uncomfortable and painful treatment, he continued working on the twelfth and final novel in the series, A Memory of Light, until he passed away. Aware of his condition, he prepared more detailed notes than usual for the novel and discussed its plot with his wife Harriet and cousin Wilson, who posted to the Dragonmount.com website with updates and messages when Jordan was too ill to do so. The fate of the final novel is unclear at this time, but it is likely it will see print in some shape or form.

Jordan was a keen fan of literature in many different genres, but was more than happy to use his popularity to give other fantasy writers he enjoyed a good boost in sales through endorsements and blurbs. George RR Martin, author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire, has stated that he believes Jordan's endorsement of the first novel contributed to its sales. Jordan also approved of the works of Mike Ford (who himself passed away last year) and J.V. Jones.

The success of Jordan's series is widely believed to have opened the doors for subsequent fantasy series that were longer than the traditional trilogy. It is arguable that writers such as George RR Martin, Scott Lynch and Steven Erikson would have found a willing publisher to handle their lengthy series if Jordan had not blazed a trail there first. For that, his influence on the field of fantasy must be acknowledged.

Condolences to his family and friends.

The news of his passing was announced on Dragonmount.com here.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor Books has commented on Robert Jordan's passing here.

As has George RR Martin.

A brief comment by Dian Duane.

And the local press.

The Wheel of Time Series
1: The Eye of the World (1990)
2: The Great Hunt (1990)
3: The Dragon Reborn (1991)
4: The Shadow Rising (1992)
5: The Fires of Heaven (1993)
6: Lord of Chaos (1994)
7: A Crown of Swords (1996)
8: The Path of Daggers (1998)
9: Winter's Heart (2000)
10: Crossroads of Twilight (2002)
11: Knife of Dreams (2005)
12: A Memory of Light (forthcoming)

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time (1997, with Teresa Patterson)
New Spring: A Wheel of Time Novel (2004)
The Wheel of Time Encyclopedia (a planned collaboration with his wife, Harriet MacDougal)

 

[Giovanna Clairval]

Thank you, Werthead.

 

[the_faery_queen]

the first book in the wheel of time was and probably still is one of my favs. though i didn't like how the series progressed, a part of me still wants to know what happens in the end
and even though i knew he was sick, it's still a surprise and a shock that it happened now, like this. so suddenly
im in a daze really

 

[PhillB]

My deepest condolences to his family and friends. I have enjoyed the WoT series since first picking up EotW back in 1990, and it is with great sadness that this wonderful man has been taken from us.

 

[j d worthington]

Not particularly a fan of Jordan's work, no... but I am nonetheless sad at the man's passing. My best wishes to his family and friends, and condolences also to his fans; it is always a blow when you lose someone you respect, whether the person or the work....

 

[Allegra]

Shocking and sad. Condolences to his family.

 

[Rothgar]

I can't believe it. So sad. His passing will be felt by many people around the world. Many good stories will remain untold.

 

[Shoegaze99]

Very sad. Years ago, when I dropped Wheel of Time from my reading list, I and others joked that he would die before the story was finished. We certainly never hoped, wished or wanted for such jests to come true. All the best to his family.

 

[Aniri]

This is so sad

 

[Mark Robson]

Very sad. Years ago, when I dropped Wheel of Time from my reading list, I and others joked that he would die before the story was finished. We certainly never hoped, wished or wanted for such jests to come true. All the best to his family.

I can echo this thought, except that despite the joking I have continued on through Jordan's monstrous series, determined to see it through to the end. No matter what people thought of his writing, you have to admire someone who can create something on this scale. He took world-building to a whole new level. The world of fantasy fiction will be poorer for his premature departure.

 

[Rosemary]

What a tragic loss. Condolences to his family and friends. I have always been a keen fan of WOT and will continue to re-read his books.

 

[Storm Centurion]

I wish his family the best.

 

[potters_pimp]

I haven't read his books, though some time in the future, I have always known I was going to read it. My prayers go out to the family and to everyone who's been struck by this horrible news.
It came as a shock to me, he was so positive and strong about his disease. It also help me feel sorry for RJ, because he'll never get the chance to finish his WoT novels himself. and he'll have to leave it to someone else.