Subject: Re: new book Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 22:53:22 +0200 From: Johan Gustafsson Organization: Free The Frogs Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan References: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 In article , maggie_sedai@darkfriends.net says... > Sean quietly murmured: [snip] > > Lay off the RJ bashing. > > Oh, wah. Lay off the whining about the RJ bashing. > > After 10 years, I'm more than ready to find out how this whole thing > turns out. > > In fact, after 10 years, I'm getting goddamned bored. It's time to wrap > it up, already. FANTASY AUTHOR ENDS HIS SERIES - FANS RIOT Dec 12, 2014 When "Eye of the World" was released in 1990 few suspected it would take twenty-four years before they would know how it all ended. Least of all the writer himself. "I honestly thought I could get this done in six or seven books," Robert Jordan says about his best-selling "Wheel of Time" series. "Man, was I off!" It was after the 2012 release of "The King of Beggars" that fans could rejoice in the knowledge that the next book, the sixteenth in the series, would be the last. The newsgroup dedicated to the work of Robert Jordan's had gone through five maintainers of the FAQ, and the mood in there was almost that of soldiers' at the end of a war. "The road was very long," FAQ maintainer Katrina Haines remarks, "but we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." Or so she thought. The week before the release of "The Second Dawn," Jordan held a press conference that sent shockwaves through the entire literary world. With a booming voice, the author expressed his deep disappointment with his fans. "I've dedicated nearly three decades to this project. Thirty years of my life was spent to make this story as great as it can be. And what thanks do I get? 'He's taking too long.' 'He's too wordy.' 'I'm bored.' 'The quality's gone to hell since book five.' The so-called loyal fanbase see reading my books as some kind of chore. All they want is a final scene so they can move on to greener pastures. Well, I've got news for you. You know that scene? That final scene I've been yammering about since the early nineties? It's out. I've cut it from the script I sent to Tor Books. Yes, that's right! Book 16 ends without a final scene. You'll never know! Never! Never!" At that point Jordan broke into maniacal laughter as reporters eyed eachother, mystified. The week that followed will live in infamy among bookstore people worldwide. "They all wore black masks and fake braids," an anonymous Barnes & Noble employee recalled, "as they smashed the windows, torched anything with Jordan's name on it and urinated in the espresso-machine." A scene that, with minor variations, was to be staged in bookstores all over America, Europe and Australia. Jordan's house was surrounded by protesters with signs exclaiming "We don't need Gareth Bryne to siege your ***!" Haines notes with sadness: "It was, of course, quite a shock for all of us. Several long-time regulars swore off all things Jordan. Some even crossed over to the dark side... started reading... Goodkind and Brooks... I'm sorry... can't go on..." After several minutes of sobbing, Haines declined any further comment. Amazingly enough, "The Second Dawn" still sold more copies than any other book in the series. It reached the no. 2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list, being kept from first place by George R. R. Martin's "A Nibble of Nipples." Jordan is cuurrently writing his new "Shipwrecked" series. He claims there will only be three books in it. -- Johan Gustafsson *** jgu@e-bostad.net