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Thursday, April 11, 2013

J is for Robert Jordan

I Love Sci-Fi/Fantasy Because...

...of Robert Jordan.

I'm indebted to James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (aka Robert Jordan) because he inspired me to write fantasy.

Robert Jordan
The man was a creative genius. Oftentimes accused of being verbose, not to mention writing huge books comprising a huge series, he possessed a priceless talent.  He had a way of grouping and arranging twenty-six little letters that fired my imagination. Paint a picture with words? Jordan was a master at it.

One would be hard-pressed to find another world so fully rounded, so intricately detailed and yet so incredibly fascinating as the world he created for Wheel of Time.

I still recall the day I read of his passing. I was eating lunch at my desk at work and literally gasped.  A titan had fallen.  And he is sorely missed.

Robert Jordan, with the entertaining characters and immense world he brought to life, is high on my list for why I love science fiction and fantasy.
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25 comments:

  1. Sheena-kay GrahamApril 11, 2013 at 12:53 AM

    If he inspired you Jeff, he must be great. Sad he passed, I read it was from a rare blood disease.

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 7:53 AM

      Very sad. I would love for him to have been able to complete the series himself. Brandon Sanderson had his work cut out for him finishing WoT.

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  2. mooderinoApril 11, 2013 at 5:10 AM

    I I keep meaning to read the wheel books but they seems so long i've never got round to it. One day...

    mood
    Moody Writing

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 7:54 AM

      Now that the series is complete, it's a good time. I sometimes hesitate to begin a series that hasn't concluded yet.

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  3. S.P. BowersApril 11, 2013 at 7:14 AM

    I really enjoyed the first few books in the Wheel of Time series but couldn't finish the series. Still, I applaud his world building, characters and hard work.

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 7:55 AM

      The length of his books--not to mention the series--is intimidating to many.

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  4. Al DiazApril 11, 2013 at 9:46 AM

    Another one to my list. I don't know him but then again this should not surprise me anymore. I didn't use to read in English until very recently.

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 6:52 PM

      Just make sure you set aside enough time once you've put him on your list. All the Wheel of Time books are huge. (But worth the read.)

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  5. Suzy, The Grey BrunetteApril 11, 2013 at 10:57 AM

    I'm sorry to say I never heard of him, I'm afraid. But he must have been good if he inspired you so much :)

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 6:53 PM

      Yes, he painted some awesome imagery in my mind's eye.

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  6. Tyrean MartinsonApril 11, 2013 at 11:31 AM

    I enjoyed his first books in the Wheel of Time series immensely. He did have a wonderful gift of writing and storytelling.
    Great tribute!

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  7. jaybirdApril 11, 2013 at 11:38 AM

    I almost passed out when I heard he was gone. I'm ashamed to admit my first thoughts were, "OH NO we will never have an ending!"

    His mind will surely be missed. And I think they did a great job ending his series in book 14. What about you?

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 6:54 PM

      If I were to be honest then I'd admit the same thing. If I were honest. :)

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  8. Elizabeth SeckmanApril 11, 2013 at 1:31 PM

    You know, that's why sometimes...I hate critiquing. What I hate, someone else may love. What's verbose by one standard isn't by another.

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 6:55 PM

      But that's why no one should ever give up too. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

      Delete
  9. Alex J. CavanaughApril 11, 2013 at 5:08 PM

    Now that the series is finished, I need to pick it up again. I think I got discourage halfway through because there was no end in sight.

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 6:55 PM

      I really can't blame you for waiting. I'm doing the same thing with at least one other series right now.

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  10. klahanieApril 11, 2013 at 10:17 PM

    Greetings human,

    Yes and yay, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!

    And thus, Robert Jordan has inspired you. A motivation in your fantasy writing. Nothing like a bit of fantasy. Which reminds me, must tell my human, Gary to remove his rubber body suit with the tube that goes into his mouth.

    Pawsitive wishes, human Jeff. Happy alphabeting!

    Penny :)

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 11, 2013 at 10:37 PM

      Greetings, noblest of canines,

      On behalf of all the humans who love Gary, I wish to thank you for your unending dedication to looking after your human. We realize it must be an impawsible task, but you do a pawsitively brilliant job at it.

      - Jeff

      P. S. Please work some more with your human on his A-B-Cs. He's still got the sequence completely backwards. :)

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    2. klahanieApril 11, 2013 at 10:42 PM

      Backwards and uʍop ǝpısdn

      Delete
  11. Erin ShakespearApril 12, 2013 at 10:51 AM

    Oh! I agree. He was an amazing author. We lived far from libraries when I was young so I was often left with my father's reading collection to choose from. Luckily, he was a huge fan of Robert Jordan. So, I was well supplied! :)

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 14, 2013 at 1:27 PM

      It must have been great to have a parent into sci-fi/fantasy. My introduction into the genres came much later.

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  12. Liesel K. HillApril 13, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    Thanks for this tribute to Jordan, Jeff. When I was doing my blog tour, I got asked a lot what my favorite book/author is, and I always said Jordan/WoT. I always tell me that his WoT series influenced me more as a writer, a reader, and a person than most other books I've read combined. He is very missed! ;D

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    1. Jeff HargettApril 14, 2013 at 1:28 PM

      Definitely missed. While most everyone says Brandon did a great job finishing the series, it still would have been nice if Jordan had been able to complete it himself.

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