Robert Jordan (1948-2007), “The Wheel of Time” series, 2003

Robert Jordan (1948-2003), author of “The Wheel of Time” series of fantasy novels, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky on January 13, 2003 in the KPFA studios, during the tour for book X, “Crossroads of Twilight.”

​​​​​Robert Jordan, whose real name was James Oliver Rigny, Jr.n, is today best known for his high fantasy series, “The Wheel of Time”. He got his start in the 1980s, first with a pair of historical novels and a western, and then a series of novels featuring Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian..

But it wasn’t until January, 1990, with the publication of “The Eye of the World”, first installment of “The Wheel of Time,” that his career took off. At the time of this interview on January 3, 2003 in the KPFA Studios, he’d published the first ten volumes of what was projected to be a twelve book series, and was on tour for that tenth book, “Crossroads of Twilight.”

On March 23, 2006, Robert Jordan announced he’d been struck with a fatal heart illness and had at most four years to live. He continued work on the final book, “A Memory of Light,” and revealed plot details to his family in the months before he died. That final book was split into three books, starting with “The Gathering Storm,” and was completed by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, who had been chosen by his wife to finish the series. He died on September 18th, 2007, one month before his 59th birthday. The entire series was completed and the last volume, “A Memory of Light,” was published in 2013. This interview has never been heard in its entirety.

On November 19, 2021, the first three episodes of the eight-episode first season of an adaptation of “The Wheel of Time” appeared on Amazon Prime, with the five episodes following one at a time over the following weeks.

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