What is the Wheel of Time?

Well, the Wheel of Time is…

The Wheel of Time is a series of fantasy books written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, published by Tor Books. Tor Books is a subset of Macmillan Publishing. It is an epic fantasy series, and is one of the most popular and widely-read epic fantasy series to date. (Or maybe we’re biased. Oh well.) The first novel, The Eye of the World, was published in 1990. The series now has twelve books, with the most recent being The Gathering Storm, published in 2009. Sadly, Robert Jordan passed away in September of 2007 before the series could be completed. He left extensive notes and chapter excerpts for how the series would end, however, and Brandon Sanderson was selected by Tor Books and Mr. Jordan’s editorial team (which includes Harriet McDougal, his widow) to complete the series. It is projected that two more books will be written to bring the series to an end.

The Wheel of Time series is based in a fictional world where the Dark One and the Creator face off every few aeons for control over the lands and people. The Wheel of Time is a metaphor for the turning of time and passing of the ages, and speaks to reincarnation and patterns of history. The Wheel is turned by the One Power, which is separated into yin and yang-like forces called saidin (the male half) and saidar (the female half). Certain people are born with the ability to ‘channel’ these forces, and institutions such as the White Tower train these channelers to use these abilities for good, and no small amount of political power, too.

The lands within the Wheel of Time are home to many cultures and races, from the warrior Aiel to the peaceful westland farmers to the mercantile Atha’an Miere and the Seanchan Empire. Robert Jordan’s development of the Wheel of Time setting is little seen in other series, earning him great acclaim and comparisons to J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

It’s taken Mr. Jordan and Mr. Sanderson twelve books, a prequel, and a guide book to develop the Wheel of Time to the extent at which we role-play within it. To join this site, it is highly recommended that you have read at least the first three books of the series, though all are preferred. If you haven’t read all of the books, be prepared for some spoilers! The books are readily available from local bookstores and libraries.

It should also be noted that the Wheel of Time that we use for writing is not exactly the same as what is found in the books. We follow the series as closely as possible, but have made several artistic changes to suit our needs as well as to avoid interfering in Robert Jordan’s main plots, or taking liberties with his characters.

Want to read a bit more about the series? Check out the following links.

For more information on ‘our’ Wheel of Time, visit the Library.