Robert Jordan Books In Order

Publication Order of The Wheel of Time Books

Publication Order of The Wheel of Time - Graphic Novels Books

Publication Order of Wheel of Time Companion Books

Publication Order of Fallon Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Legends Books

Publication Order of Adventures of Conan Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Born on 17th October 1948, Robert Jordan was a great author and wrote the highly acclaimed fantasy series ”The Wheel of Time” that went on to become a bestseller. However, Robert Jordan was just one of the pseudonyms that the author used. His real name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Jordan was taught how to read at the tender age of five by his elder brother. Not surprisingly he wanted to become a writer when he grew up. To describe him as a good writer would be an injustice to a writer who was and still remains a legend in the fantasy genre of writing.

The Life of Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan started out in a military career where he served as a helicopter gunner in the US Army for almost two years. He served in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses and the Bronze Star. After the war he enrolled into the Military College of South Carolina and was awarded a Bachelors Degree in Physics and Mathematics. He went on to work as a nuclear engineer in the United States Navy. Jordan lived with his wife Harriet McDougal who was his editor and continues to work as an editor. His past time activities were fishing, sailing, hunting, playing poker, chess and pool.

Robert died on 16th March 2007 after battling with a rare blood disease known as cardiac amyloidosis. He had informed his fans of his ailment the previous year and assured them that he had every intention of fighting the fatal disease. He underwent various treatment programmes including chemotherapy at Mayo Clinic. He had been working on the eagerly awaited final book in his series ”The Wheel of Time”.

The Writing Career of Robert Jordan

Robert’s writing career began in 1977 with his first unpublished book being Warriors of the Altii which he completed in a record thirteen days. The story was inspired by his travels and his love for magic and rich culture. He later went on to write the fantasy series, ”The Wheels of Time”. Inspired by his love for epic stories, Robert chose to write on the raging battle good and evil. His book engages the readers and brings them to a fantasy world that is somewhat surreal. In addition, Robert is very thorough in his understanding of his character’s personalities. It is this attributes that saw his books become bestsellers and sell more than 44 million copies worldwide.

In his book ”The Eye of the World”, Robert writes, ”The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. In one Age called the Third Age by some…” This unique start to his books is what captivates and draws the reader to read on.

The first book in the Wheel of Time series introduces the characters: Rand, Mat, and Perrin farm boys. The story starts out as the village is under attack by the Dark One who tries to kill one of the boys in the village. The other characters in the book include Egwene the mayor’s daughter, Thom the Master Bard, Moiraine, Lan and Padin the peddler. The story of the fight between good and evil unfolds after Moiraine and Lan flee the village accompanied by the rest of the boys and a brave Egwene. The boys get separated into three groups by the evil and some of them are captured but eventually rescued. The story ends with way gate being opened and the boys barely escaping the evil and traveling into the Blight. They also find the Green Man and the Eye of the World. The next book in the series picks up from here and continues the plot. The last book to the series has been co-authored by Brandon Sanderson as Robert Jordan’s untimely death sadly left the book unfinished. He had however narrated to his family the story’s ending and all they had to do was to get a great fantasy writer to complete the series.

Apart from his famous fantasy series, The Wheels of Time, Robert Jordan has also published some great books such as Cheyenne Raiders and The Fallon Saga in which he uses the pen names Jackson O’Reilly and Reagan O’Neal respectively. In addition, Robert Jordan wrote Conan the Barbarian series in the early 80’s which included Conan the Invincible, Conan the Defender, Conan the Unconquered and four more Conan stories. The Conan Chronology was a novelization and continuation of the second Conan movie.

Robert Jordan’s Genre of Writing

Robert’s favorite genre was fantasy as he was very creative and could make his thoughts come to life in his books. His inspiration was the diverse cultures of the world and a passion the imagery world. He drew a lot of insight from European and Asian Mythology with an affinity for Hinduism and Buddhism. His novels revolve around the concept of attaining a state of balance on a personal and world level. In addition, the concept of good and evil is very prominent in his writing and he brings this out quite vividly. His Christian background also played a great part in the creation of various characters in his books.

The soft spoken American author is a legend in his own right. His writing skills were great and his creativity phenomenal. He had the unique ability to engage his readers and his characters making his books very popular. Even though his books were quite long, he was able to retain his reader’s interest through the book series. His lengthy fantasy series ”The Wheel of Time” remains a great read for most people across the world.

4 Responses to “Robert Jordan”

1. Celtic Lady: 2 years ago

   It was the Amazon series that got me started. As with all series they don’t follow the books much. Just a FYI. The 4&5 books drag. But you do need the set up in those books for later. Then it picks up again. Don’t give up on the series. I almost did. As so many series start out very good and petter out like a stream in a drought.
   Also you should know the book “New Spring” is a prequel. Start with it.

   Reply
   • Don Mackey: 9 months ago

     Good comment. I saw the first few episodes of “Wheel of Time” on Amazon. I thought it had potential but disliked a lot of the way it was done and gave up on it. I feel this way about a lot of recent move and TV productions.
     Even though I’ve been a heavy fantasy and science fiction reader for decades I never got around to reading the Wheel of Time. Someone I knew gave a very positive recommendation of this series to me so I decided to take a look at the books even though I disliked the show.
     I started a week ago and once I started I could hardly stop reading once I began, and I’m now on book 4. It’s funny that I found your comment about books 4&5 being a slow read today, because I’m now about a quarter of the way through 4 and that is how I’m feeling right now. But I can see how Jordan seems to be laying down more foundation and I will definitely finish the entire series.
     Your comment about the Amazon series not following the book is also accurate. After reading book 1, I went back and re-watched the first episode to see why I disliked it so much. Other than names and places, I felt like the show had almost nothing in common with the book. I disliked the show even more the second time around even though I am totally loving the books.
     Also, I will mention that this BSIO website is AWESOME. Keep up the good work. I just discovered it, but I will use your Amazon link for future book purchases.

     Reply
2. Celia: 3 years ago

   Thank you, Graeme and your team, for including The Wheel of Time series by the late, great Robert Jordan. I read most of the series in paperback in the early 2000’s when there was time for sitting still and reading. In 2021, before the release of Amazon’s Prime Video release of The Wheel of Time video series, I began listening to the fantastic performances of Kate Reading and Michael Kramer via Audible. I highly recommend the audiobooks for anyone too busy to sit still, like me. Your BSIO website is awesome and I plan to explore it with gusto! Love, joy and blessings to all. Namasté

   Reply
   • Graeme: 3 years ago

     You’re welcome 🙂 Thanks for the kind words it is much appreciated!

     Reply