Robert Jordan's passing

 I learned yesterday that Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time series, died.  

The first book of the Wheel of Time series is what launched me into my reading of Fantasy lit.  So say what you will about the series, it was a great story.  And the success of it opened up many doorways for other authors in fantasy.  Yeah, the series went on a little too long, and yes, I did quit reading them -- but I have a caveat on that one.  I decided to hold off on reading the books after -- I dunno, book 6, maybe, because of the time frame involved in waiting for the next book to come out and trying to remember plot details from year to year.  So I have all the books that have been published so far, with the promise to myself that once the last book was due to be released, I would read them in order from start to finish.  I still will.  I hear -- and I hope it's true -- that he had started book 12, the last in the series, and has left legions of notes and outlines for someone to finish it up.  

I hope so.  He created characters you cared about and rooted for and some very imaginative plotlines.  I was enthralled and couldn't wait to read more.  Loved the idea that the story didn't end but kept on going (ok maybe it got a little too engergizer-bunny towards the middle and kept on going when it should have ended).  I didn't have to pull my head out of the story, and I loved that.

So thank you Robert Jordan, for your legacy.