0. Administrivia

This is for the Administrivia section.

0.01: RJ says the FAQ is only 1/3 right. Why should I bother reading it?

RJ's standard comment on the FAQ is that it was "about one-third correct, one-third close but not quite, and one-third dead wrong" [e.g. post-ACOS signing in Charleston, South Carolina, 21 June 1996, report by Brian Ritchie]. If it's so incorrect, why bother reading it? Bill Garrett explains:

  1. The FAQ isn't intended as a benchmark of absolute truth. It's a collection of frequently asked questions and our best answers to them, right or wrong. It's there so people with questions can find out what our answers and ideas are, all organized in one convenient place.
  2. Of course the FAQ isn't 100% correct. Much of it is devoted to describing opposing viewpoints on key questions. For example, consider the "Who killed Asmodean?" entry. Numerous theories are presented, but at most one of them is correct and the rest are wrong -- unless Asmodean was killed by a posse consisting of various Forsaken, Myrddraal, darkfriend Aiel, Padan Fain, and Bela.

You should read the FAQ because it will give you an idea of what has been said before by many people. Chances are, if you want to know what people think about a given theory, it's in here. Familiarizing yourself with other people's arguments will help you make your own more interesting and persuasive.

0.02: Acronyms and Abbreviations used in the FAQ

Abbreviations referring to books, newsgroups, etc.

 

 

Abbreviations and Jargon Referring to Stuff in TWOT

 

0.03: What are these Jordan Wheel of Time books?

The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan: U.S. Hardcover editions, from Tor Books:

U.S. Paperback editions, from Tor:

Related Books, all from Tor:

U.S. Trade Paperback editions, from Tor:

In January of 2002, The Eye of the World was split into two volumes and republished as part of Tor's youth-oriented line of books:

The text from the original is not abridged. FTTR has a new prologue chapter that features some of the characters a few years before the start of TEOTW; TTB includes a new glossary. Both books are illustrated.

In February of 2004, The Great Hunt was similarly published as two YA mass market paperback volumes by Starscape:

The books are illustrated by Charles Keegan, who also did the cover art for the YA TEOTW books. There are no extra chapters that we are aware of.

0.04: What should I do if I've become obsessed?

 

Judy G. gives us intelligent advice on treatment of Jordan fanaticism:

  1. Stop calling the nice lady at your local bookstore to harass her about when the next book will be out.
  2. Lay down.
  3. Stay laying down.
  4. Try to not think about things like wheels, knives, spears, swords, doorways, Piglets, fire, severed hands, plucked out eyes, tattoos, leashes, calendars, irons, pincers, still images, gentle breezes, FAQs, Towers, wolves, falcons, hawks, hammers, axes, Roy, and lastly, DON'T THINK ABOUT RIVERS!
  5. Now, pick up a copy of The Tao of Pooh and become an uncarved block.

(p.s. that will be 50 bucks...)
(p.p.s. The idea of not thinking about Roy while laying down is just a generally good practice, and might be applied to all the rest of you who won't admit you have a problem ...)

0.05: What is the deal with those shoddy Tor covers that keep falling off?

[Eric Ebinger, Aaron Gray]

 

No, you are not alone in having the cover fall off your PB copy of TDR. What can you do about it? Patrick Nielsen Hayden says that you can send the book to Tor, and they will send you a new copy. You can also write a (snail-mail) letter of complaint to Tor. The address is on the inside of the books. DO NOT SEND MEAN E-MAIL TO THE NICE TOR BOOKS MAN!!!! IT IS NOT HIS FAULT!!!

If you want to have a go at repairing them yourself, Eric Ebinger provides instructions:

Materials needed:

Instructions:

  1. If cover(s) are not yet completely detached, GENTLY and carefully detach them. A small, sharp knife may be helpful.
  2. Take sandpaper and briskly sand the back of the spine of the book (on the glue that failed to hold). Continue until the surface is slightly rough (don't over-sand). This should only take 10-20 seconds of sanding.
  3. Lay the cover down on a flat surface with the outside DOWN. Gently sand the inside of the binding (where the spine of the book would be, if the book was still in its cover) until the wax coating is removed. Do not over-sand! The objective is to remove the wax coating so that the glue can get a grip.
  4. Following directions on the package of Goo, spread glue on the binding area of the cover. Orient the book so that its orientation matches that of the cover. Press the book binding down on the cover,lift, wait two minutes, press the book binding back down on the cover, and hold for two minutes.
  5. Let dry overnight. The book should be better than new.

Aaron Gray offers a slightly simpler solution: "Ironing. You just stand the book on its edge (spine up), cover it with a towel, and iron the towel covered spine of the book. This will melt the glue underneath the cover without damaging the cover. I set my iron on high. So good luck..."

0.06 Who is Robert Jordan, really? What else has he written? And why isn't he finishing the series?--Revised

Robert Jordan is actually a pseudonym for James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he had written the "Wheel of Time" fantasy series as well as several books of the "Conan" series (Conan the Invincible, C.t.Unconquered, C.t.Magnificent, C.t.Victorious, C.t.Triumphant, C.t.Destroyer, C.t.Defender).

Other pseudonyms which he has used are Reagan O'Neal (the "Fallon" series of historical novels), Jackson O'Reilly (Cheyenne Raiders, a Western) , and Chang Lung (contributions to various periodicals including Library Journal). [Source: Contemporary Authors vol. 140].Many, if not all, of the Conan books are still in print. Tor Books has re-released the Fallon books under the "Forge" imprint, with covers done by infamous fantasy artist Darrell K. Sweet.

In 2006, Jordan announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare blood disease called Amyloidosis (Amy-LOID-oh-sis). In September 2007, he succumbed to his illness, leaving behind his wife, Harriet (who was also his editor), and his stepson, Will. Jordan spent the last year of his life working on the conclusion to the series and left behind a wealth of written scenes and dictated notes for the conclusion of "The Wheel of Time". In December 2007, Harriet selected up-and-coming fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, to complete the series using those notes.

Jordan had intended to write another fantasy tale set in a Seanchan-like culture as his follow-up. The main character would have been a more mature figure than Rand, and the tale involves him being shipwrecked in pseudo-Seanchan, where whatever is cast up on the shores of one's estate becomes one's property, even people. It is doubtful that this series will be written now.

0.07: What other resources are out there, besides the FAQ? --Revised

With so much time in between books, we need something to occupy our time, right? Fortunately, there are many, many WOT-related web sites, newsgroups, chat rooms, mailing lists, ftp sites, fanzines, MUDs, and so forth. It would be impossible to list all the places you can find WoT discussion on the internet, but here are some selected websites that you may find useful or at least interesting.

http://www.dragonmount.com/ Very large, multi-purpose WoT community site. Boasts
discussion forums, Social Groups patterned after communities found in the books (i.e
White Tower, Shayol Ghul, Seanchan, etc.), a play by post role play, and setting and character
references. It also hosts a very large gallery of WoT fan art, and Robert Jordan’s official blog,
which is still updated occasionally by his family. Dragonmount is now the home community of
this FAQ.

http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/ The most comprehensive reference site, full of setting
and character references for the entire series, plus the ancillary materials like the comics.

http://www.ageoflegends.net/ Website for JordanCon, the Wheel of Time convention that takes
place each spring in Atlanta.

http://wheeloftime.dragoncon.org/ Wheel of Time track at Dragon*Con, the very large popular
arts convention that takes place in Atlanta every Labor Day weekend.

http://www.theoryland.com/ Discussion forums for and archives of…you guessed it: Wheel of
Time theories and predictions.

http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=13372 Comprehensive
WoT re-read done by FAQueen emeritus Leigh Butler. Probably the most popular feature on
Tor.com.

http://www.tarvalon.net/ Wheel of Time themed service community that focuses on the White
Tower. Also hosts several large WoT themed parties worldwide each year and has a presence
at conventions. [It’s like the Klingon Assault Group, but with pretty dresses instead of bumpy
foreheads! –Jennifer Liang]

http://13depository.blogspot.com/ Fantastic blog done by former Wotmania admins. They
extensively explore the mythology and symbolism of the series, as well as produce original
maps tracing events in the series. A must for the Google Reader of any serious WoT fan.

http://www.dragonmount.com/Podcast/ The 4th Age podcast, hosted by Dragonmount.com.
WoT news, theories, and speculation.
 

0.08: How can I contact Robert Jordan's family? And how can I pester Brandon Sanderson?-- Revised

 Harriet and Brandon do not have public email addresses. However, all is not lost!

You can write to Harriet in care of Tor Books. They are happy to forward mail to her.

Harriet McDougal
c/o Tor Books
175 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10010

Brandon maintains a blog at http://www.brandonsanderson.com/. There’s a form you can use to email him, as well as a link to his official forum. He is also on Facebook (Brandon Sanderson), Twitter (BrandonSandrson) and Livejournal (mistborn). Keep in mind that Brandon is very busy writing and may not have time to respond to you personally. He uses these mainly to keep fans appraised on his progress with his various projects as well as his appearance schedule.
 

0.09: Is there a downloadable version of the FAQ?

 Not at this time. However, there may be one released later. Older versions of the FAQ
were released in a downloadable format and can probably be found scattered around if you
look hard enough. If you happen to be in possession of one of these documents, please email
wotfaq@dragonmount.com. We’d love to collect all of the older versions of the FAQ and post
them here for curiosity’s sake.
 

0.10 So who is this Sanderson guy anyways? What else has he written? How dare he touch my beloved series?!--New

Brandon Sanderson is the author of the Mistborn trilogy, as well as the standalone novels Elantris and Warbreaker. His last two solo novels were ranked on the New York Times bestseller list and he has been nominated for several prestigious awards. He teaches Creative Writing at Brigham Young University. Brandon lives in Utah with his wife and children.

Robert Jordan’s final request to Harriet was that she find someone else to complete the series for him. Tor sent Harriet samples of several authors’ work, and from those, she selected Sanderson as being the best person to complete the series in a manner her husband would be pleased with. Like many of us, Sanderson grew up reading WoT and was deeply saddened by the death of its author.

Brandon’s standalone novels are:

His series are:

The Mistborn Trilogy

The Stormlight Archive

Additionally, he has a Young Adult series: