Oct 23 2009
Why Robert Jordan was a master…
Robert Jordan (RJ) was the author of the Wheel of Time series of fantasy books. I say “was”, of course, because he passed away last year after a fight with amyloidosis, which was immensely sad. It was sad both because it was the passing of a legend, and also because he passed before he could finish the final book (which has become three books in the successor’s hands) in his epic saga, the Wheel of Time. But, as they say, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills.
Ultimately, however, the title of my post is meant to foreshadow its content. Apart from that brief explanation of his death, I won’t mention it again. I would like to mention that Robert Jordan was a true master of epic fantasy.
First off, in this post, I’m not meaning to slight Tolkien or his fans. Tolkien certainly is a master of high fantasy, but it’s easy to see that Tolkien’s skills lay in perhaps a different direction than RJ’s. Tolkient created languages first, and then told the stories to explain the languages. He created vast histories, which he detailed in his notes. For all of that, however, his writing remained mostly dry-ish, reading in many places like a history book, which it almost is, considering all the work that went into his books in that regard. And while Jordan’s world definitely has something on the order of 9,000+ years of history behind it, it is the organic creation of various people groups that really sets Jordan’s work apart in my mind.
In anticipation of the first of the final trilogy in the series coming out in a few days, I have begun re-reading the entire Wheel of Time (WoT) series, beginning with the prequel novel, A New Spring. In beginning this epic journey, I quickly remembered what held my attention with Jordan’s writing, and it wasn’t always thr story.
Jordan weaves mythology, history, and legend into his works to give them some of that epic scope that he succeeded in creating. Other authors have done this arguably more or less successfully than Jordan, but I don’t feel that this kind of storytelling is where he succeeds. The various characters have relationships with powerful mythological figures that tell us something of their purpose and goals in the series, but it’s not what kept me reading through 12 books.
Speaking of the characters, they’re certainly interesting, with flaws and strengths that are mostly believable. However, while there is some character development throughout the series, there is also a great deal of repetition in terms of phrases and sayings they each (over)use. I’m not saying there’s little character development…it’s just that there are other authors who have accomplished this more significantly in their works, and it is not what has captured my attention for so long.
The story itself is grand and compelling. But any story can lose its luster when you’re talking a dozen books. There were books where Jordan’s story seemed to lose its way. It was as though it had gotten too big for its britches…too epic. In order to continue the telling of a story that spanned the whole of his known world, he had to tell pieces of the story about characters who were not what most of us considered the “main characters”. At the very least, in order to get some sense of the story moving along, he had to leave certain main characters for an entire book in one case. When he had to start doing some of this, getting through his books became a little more tedious. For me, a low point was the book or two after A Crown of Swords. The increasingly longer wait between books certainly didn’t help. But while the story is compelling, and I want to know how it ends, I couldn’t class Jordan as the best storyteller of his age. This is all opinion, of course, and I’m sure there are those who would disagree, but I would say that enjoying books is a very personal activity, and I do not compel anyone else to share my opinion in their heart of hearts.
So what, if not story, characters, or research, would cause me to list Jordan as a master? His building of his world. When I came back to this series, I was immediately struck with the fact that I could tell the ethnicity of most characters he was writing based on a simple description of how they spoke, how they were dressed, or how they were otherwise adorned. Jordan did not have to say something as easy as “A man, obviously from Illian, approached me an began to speak.” It’s simple enough to use phrases like that, of course. But it seems that Jordan asked himself how he would recognize someone from a different culture, and developed cultures that were recognizable from speech or dress; and did a darn good job of it. For example:
As I approached the dock, a large man with a beard that left his upper lip bare barred my way.
Now, anyone who has read enough of Jordan’s work would recognize that man as an Illianer from the beard. (Also his proximity to ships, which Illianers seem more than fond of. Had he spoken, he might have said something to the effect of, “Where do ye be going?” That manner of speech smacks heavily of Illian.) See a man wearing a veil that doesn’t quite conceal thick bushy, mustaches? You’re looking at a Taraboner. A woman wearing a clinging silk dress that manages not to reveal anything while actually emphasizing everything underneath? She’s from Arad Doman. Topknots, bells in hair and on clothes, and braided cords looped over the head indicate men from the Borderlands, specifically Shienar, Arafel, and long-dead Malkier respectively. Dark skin with visible tattoos, and you are in the presence of one of the Atha’an Miere, or Sea Folk. In addition to fads and dress, Jordan’s use of commonalities in language and prejudices will also reveal the ethnic origins of any character in his stories.
Now, why does this make him a master? Well, in fantasy, fantastic races are the norm. Elves, Orcs, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Trolls are common. Emphasizing the differences in race is not even necessary. If someone says “there’s an orc”, there’s no question as to what gave the speaker that impression. The same holds true for any of the other races. Jordan’s world, however, is a world almost entirely dominated by humans. There are ogier (good guys), trollocs, and myrddraal (both bad), but none of them are exactly common. Yet Jordan’s humans are from many nations, and distinguishing between them is a very important aspect of his storytelling, and helps keep the human dominated landscape from going stale. What’s more, power struggles of the nobility and various racial preferences and enmities are also important in certain story arcs. Understanding that Tairen nobility are pretty dismissive of their commoners can become important to understanding Tairen character motivations and the like.
I feel Robert Jordan has created a political world with enough depth that I feel like I have spent some time there. While I may not be a native to Randland, as it is often called, I definitely understand its people in a way that I have never understood the people of any other world flowing from an author’s pen. I’m looking forward to the release of the next book, The Gathering Storm, and the eventual conclusion of this most epic story.
