The End is Nigh...More or Less

It was alsmost seven years ago that I picked up The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.  At that time I only had the first five of what was then an eleven book series.  I had inherited them from my late brother-in-law who spoke of them with great enthusiasm.  I thought to myself, "self, if he thinks they're worth reading, they probably are."  Well, I dove in.

It wasn't until I was in book four that I discovered how many more there were.  I got to be a little discouraged.  I had just read an 11 book series by Terry Goodkind and really wasn't up for doing it again with another high-fantasy novel series.  So I put it down for a bit thinking that I'd just hold out until the series was finished and read the rest.

Enter cardiac amyloidosis.  In 2007, Robert Jordan was diagnosed with this invariably fatal disease. It brought his books back into my attention and I started to read them again thinking that the more people he had on his side and hoping for him to beat the odds the better.  He fought hard, but this disease is a mean one and he fell in 2007.  With his passing I put the books down again thinking I didn't want to finish the last book that wasn't really the last book and be left hanging for an end to the story.

Now it looks like this story will finally have an end, or start a new begining (the Wheel turns and ages comes and go). 

Mr. Jordan had intended one final volume, "even if it were to be a 1,500 page" beast.  Brandon Sanderson has stepped in and brought that beast under control though it has taken three volumes to do so.  Apparently Mr. Sanderson took one look at the notes and outlines left behind by Mr. Jordan and realized that one volume was an impossibility.

I guess that the point of this little ramble is that come January 8, 2013 the last book will be released and roughly a month after that my journey through that world will conclude.  While I am very excited to see how all of the multitude of story arcs will resolve, I'm also a little sad that it will all come to an end.

Oh and as a side note, sometime in March I will have the complete 13 volume set for sale if anyone is interested.  (I'm kidding. I never sell my hardback books, and I just give away my paperbacks.)

Tole