The Wheel of Time
From A Wheel of Time Wiki
- This article is about the series of books. For the Wheel as a concept, see Wheel of Time.
The Wheel of Time (abbreviated WoT or less commonly, tWoT) is a bestselling fantasy book series written by Robert Jordan. It is known for the extreme density of its plot, the intricate detail of its imaginary world, and complexity of relationships and interactions among characters. There are 11 books in the main series so far, not counting the prequel New Spring. Books 8-11 have each reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and most of the books have been on the list at one time or another. The series has spawned several games, and even a soundtrack.
Robert Jordan repeatedly said that the main sequence will conclude with the twelfth book, with a working title of A Memory of Light. Numerous times he has said he will hold to this statement even if it has to be 1500 pages long. he had planned to write two more short prequel novels, an encyclopedia, and possibly two or three other side-plot novels, before his death.[1]
Contents |
[edit] The premise
In the beginning, the Creator made the Wheel of Time, which spins the Pattern of the Ages using the lives of men and women as its threads. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it is rotated by the True Source from which the One Power, a source of magic, is drawn. The One Power is divided into male and female halves, saidin and saidar, which work in opposition and in unison to drive the Wheel; those who can use this power are known as channelers.
The Creator imprisoned Shai'tan, known as the Dark One, a powerful, evil being, at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel. At some point, however, the Dark One was given purchase in the world through the machinations of well-meaning people who unwittingly encountered his prison, and began his efforts to conquer the world, creation, even the Wheel itself. To counter this imbalance, the Wheel caused the Dragon, a channeler of immense power, to be born as the champion of the Light.
Due to the cyclical nature of the Wheel of Time, there can be no definitive victory for the forces of the Light; the war has been fought innumerable times since the dawn of Creation. The Dragon would defeat Shai'tan and seal him from the Wheel, only to have his work undone millennia later, necessitating his occasional rebirth to counter the continuing threat.
Robert Jordan's novels concern themselves with one incarnation of the Dragon in particular. About 3500 years have passed since the last war between Shai'tan and the Light, which the Dragon — Lews Therin Telamon in that life — ended by sealing the breach in the Dark One's prison with the help of a group of other male channelers known as the Hundred Companions. Unfortunately, while the breach was being sealed, the Dark One somehow managed to taint saidin, the male half of the One Power, with a counterstroke which brought madness and a wasting sickness to any man who channeled it. The taint quickly overcame Lews Therin and his companions and eventually drove every male channeler to insanity and death, with catastrophic results that radically changed the face of the world.
The rebirth of the Dragon, then, is viewed with hope and fear. On the one hand, the Dragon Reborn will be a channeler of saidin, vulnerable to the taint which led to the Breaking of the World, and the prophecies promise he will bring similar upheavals. On the other hand, he is the only one capable of defeating Shai'tan, who is once again reaching beyond his prison.
[edit] The books
| The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan | |
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Prequel: New Spring |
Book 6: Lord of Chaos |
| People | Places | Items | Events | Concepts | |
[edit] Offshoots
The online game 'WoTMUD' is the oldest authorized game based on the series (started 1993), and various commercial game adaptations have also been spawned, including a video game released by Atari for the personal computer, and a tabletop role-playing game based on wikipedia:d20 rules released by Wizards of the Coast. There is also a soundtrack album. There was also a collectible card game based on the books, but it has been out of print since 2002.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- Wheel of Time (concept)
