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Lord of Chaos

(The Wheel of Time #6)

Robert Jordan

4.13 · Rating details · 120,841 ratings · 2,496 reviews

In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world ...

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 1011 pages

Published November 15th 1995 by Tor Books (first published October 15th 1994)

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· 120,841 ratings · 2,496 reviews

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Feb 28, 2016 Kaora rated it liked it · review of another edition

Guide: How to Female in Wheel of Time:

-Learn something new. Assume you then know everything and make sure everyone who also knows how to do it is aware that you know more. Establish dominance by making something up and insisting on it.

-When first seeing another female be sure to judge her neckline first, followed by face, clothing and finally where she comes from.
-If a woman flirts with your man, get angry at him for being present while that occurred.

-If your man attempts to keep you safe or ...more

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Mar 28, 2018 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, fantasy-all

What a damn idiot! I accidentally put both audios of book 5 and 6 on hold at the library. This one came through before the 5th book! I was thinking I missed something! Oh well, I loved it anyway. This effing cancer shit has me all messed up!!! And I feel like shit on top of it and apparently don't know what I'm doing 😡

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Dec 31, 2016 Hannah Greendale rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy

Lord of Chaos is 900+ pages of people posturing for power by standing (or sitting) around talking. Painfully slow pacing with very little tension that ultimately arrives at a limp ending. It's quite possible this book could be removed from the series altogether and none would be the wiser.

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Dec 18, 2013 Markus rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, 2015, wheel-of-time

"The lions sing and the hills take flight. The moon by day, and the sun by night. Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool. Let the Lord of Chaos rule."

There is no going back. The Wheel of Time is now officially one of my favourite series of all time. At times while reading I got this weird, amazing feeling that only two other works of fantasy have given me before. There was something this sixth book had that took me over the edge and far down the other side. Or more specifically, something this book ...more

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Mar 31, 2009 Kat Hooper rated it liked it

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I could almost copy and paste my review for Fires of Heaven right here and it would be mostly suitable because Lord of Chaos is more of the same. This is another metropolitan-city-phonebook-sized novel with a potentially interesting story that is bogged down by its excruciatingly slow pace, regular insertions of backstory, constant descriptions of the garb of every major and minor character (garb which keeps getting smoothed, straightened, or otherwise ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I could almost copy and paste my review for Fires of Heaven right here and it would be mostly suitable because Lord of Chaos is more of the same. This is another metropolitan-city-phonebook-sized novel with a potentially interesting story that is bogged down by its excruciatingly slow pace, regular insertions of backstory, constant descriptions of the garb of every major and minor character (garb which keeps getting smoothed, straightened, or otherwise adjusted), and too many mentions of expanses of bosoms, spankings, sitting on knees, sniffing, snorting, and braid yanking. (I swear, if I have to read "good stout Two-Rivers woolens" one more time...)

In Lord of Chaos some of the most interesting WOT characters are absent (e.g., Egeanin and Lan), some of the formerly interesting characters have become almost intolerable (e.g., Siuan and Aviendha), and some who should have grown up by now just won't (Nynaeve and Faile). At least we get to visit a new city -- Ebou Dar .... in which everyone looks and acts the same and all the women are looking for fights (with knives).

The only really entertaining parts of Lord of Chaos were Lews Therin's mumblings in Rand's head -- I thought this was clever and amusing:

"Where are all the dead?" Lews Therin whispered. "Why will they not be silent?"
Rand chuckled grimly. Surely that had to be a joke.

There is a climax at the end of the book that truly changes the course of the story (and I hope will serve to pick up the pace in the next novel), but it took entirely too long to get there and involved a sudden change in some of the characters' normal behavior. Rand's got a horde of Aiel maidens and wise ones around him everywhere he goes and then they suddenly decide to take a coffee break when a group of Aes Sedai come to visit? Huh? Well, I was puzzled, but at least there was finally some action, even if the events around it seemed contrived.

Robert Jordan is a smooth writer who's got an interesting story to tell (thus, three stars), but he dilutes its power by drawing it out. This book's plot should have been combined with the previous two books' plots and then 75% of the words should have been removed. (There was so much repetition that we probably wouldn't have missed anything!). Then, instead of three slow and repetitive novels, we'd have one great novel. Read more Robert Jordan book reviews at Fantasy literature. ...more

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Jun 12, 2019 Sean Barrs The Ultra Vegan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 1-star-reads

I am done!!!!

That's it. I'm out. I will not be reading anymore of this series because it is so annoyingly repetitive. The story has not moved forward for three books and the chapters and monologues all feel the same. The paragraphs feel the same, the sentences feel the same. It's almost like Robert Jordan is more interested in hitting a massive word count rather than writing a good story.

I was still curious to see how the series ended so I googled it and read the spoilers. A solid ending, if ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorite-books-or-series, dastardly-villainesses, buddy-reads, branwen-likes-you-book, georgia-would-be-proud, the-wheel-weaves-as-the-wheel-wills, 2017-reads

I've completed Book 6 of the epic Wheel of Time buddy read with my amazing friend Branwen!

While the awesome parts of this book made it all worth reading (particularly that exciting battle at the end) I must confess this was my least favorite novel in the series so far. Still, the Wheel of Time books just get better from here on out...right? Right?!
(Umm...why did all the Wheel of Time fans start snickering at me just now???)

FULL REVIEW TO COME
Wheel of Time ranking photo from favorite novel to ...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ Rabid Reads-no-more rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, rabid-reads-reviews, cover-whore, book-outlet

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

NOTICE: this reread is in preparation for finally biting the bullet and reading book 14. That means I HAVE NOT read book 14 yet. Please be mindful of this in the comments, both for me and for others who may or may not have progressed past this point in the series. Thank you.

SO . . . I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, shit goes DOWN in this book.

There's the Morgase situation, which is one unfortunate event after another.

We've watched the Pattern rearrange itself for Rand, Mat, ...more

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Jun 01, 2016 Robin (Bridge Four) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-5-stars, ya, fantastic-fantasy, witches-warlocks-and-magic, awesome-audio, buddy-read

A new month a new Wheel of Time book with the fantasy fanatics of Buddies Books and Baubles.

This book is both engaging and infuriating. If I were to write 30 words or less that sum up my feelings about the series so far they would go something like this.

Never have I read a series that I like so much based mostly on worldbuilding, plot and cultures while disliking or struggling with most of the characters.

The continuing fight against The Dark One or Lord of Chaos and his chosen is really A new month a new Wheel of Time book with the fantasy fanatics of Buddies Books and Baubles.

This book is both engaging and infuriating. If I were to write 30 words or less that sum up my feelings about the series so far they would go something like this.

Never have I read a series that I like so much based mostly on worldbuilding, plot and cultures while disliking or struggling with most of the characters.

The continuing fight against The Dark One or Lord of Chaos and his chosen is really well done. I love all the details of the different cultures and the histories of how they were shaped that way. I think some of the reveals that are doled out here and there are masterfully in how they are planned and played out. The surprises that come in ever book again and again surprise me like they are supposed to and yet I can see the hints along the way. Overall the story and world building are great and yet the characters infuriate me 73.89% of the time.

Let’s just hit on the female characters first. There were a few that started off really good in the first few books and I thought they had a ton of potential but in this book I only like Min, Avienda and the Maidens the rest of the women spend their time hiding, making ridiculous statements, infighting and a plethora of other eyerolling actions that just make me cringe. Nynaeve who I adored in the first few books spent the majority of this one either pulling her braid, avoiding facing ANYTHING or just saying ridiculous things. *sadface* I loved her and now she is just a shadow of what she could have been. The same goes for Elayne, Egwene and Faile for that matter.

Rand has the worst friends ever. I think the only people truly on his side all the time are the Maidens. I get that they don’t understand and are not sure how to deal with a man who can channel but Perrin and Mat were his best friends growing up and knew him before he was The Dragon Reborn. You would at least think that they would throw a little trust his way. As is it almost seems like each is ready to bolt the first chance they get and neither seems to have much trust for him. Poor Rand he is really mostly alone.

But let’s get to my favorite moments in this one.

ღ Loial finding out his mother and Erith are searching for him. Since he needs a wife to take him into hand and get him settled.

ღ - Perrin finally meeting his in laws and finding they are just as hard and manipulative as his wife can be. They were funny though and it might have been my favorite happier moment this book

ღ - Min getting her shot at Rand. It is about time and I love the way she has decided to go about it.

ღ - Avienda and Elayne meeting up again after the Avienda spent some time with Rand….Man you would think that guy was Casanova instead of a woolhead that has no clue what to do with women.

ღ - The big battle at the end and why Perrin had to take the fight to them. It was intense the the buildup was supurb.

ღ - Egwene getting pulled into a very handsome mans dreams about her and *cough* getting her groove on *cough*

Honestly it is a good thing that the story is really good or else the stubbornness and obstinacy of characters would really deter from everything else. There is some set up for some things to go either really right (doubtfully) or horribly wrong (more likely) in the next book and I’m really looking forward to that.

I was a little sad that we didn’t get to see Lan in this book except for a moment. The Warder was one of the characters that I really loved in the beginning but he is getting less and less page time and I almost forgot about him completely except Nynaeve is also wondering what has become of him.

All and all these while long are pretty entertaining stories and I have really enjoyed taking on one book a month of this fantasy series.
...more

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Apr 22, 2011 Eric Lin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Took you long enough to stop your main characters from sucking, RJ. Truthfully this was 3.5 stars, but I gave 3 stars to all the other books (and somehow am still reading them), so I gave this one the benefit of the doubt (and 4 stars).

But this book was over 900 pages!

A few things RJ could have stopped repeating:

- The men/women dynamic
- How much the maidens think Rand is either their son, or brother
- How much Warders look like wolves
- How much Aiel look like wolves
- How complex names of actual ...more

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Jul 19, 2016 Choko rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: wheel-of-time, fantasy

*** 5 ***

A buddy read with my Fantasy Addicts at BB&B! May the Wheel weave as the Wheel wills!!!

Amazing! More than amazing! Have I covered it all?... Yes, I have! I have run out of superlatives for this series and I do not care! The pacing of the story is very deceptively slow, but it builds on itself, fiber by fiber, and by the end of each book you find yourself holding your breath, barely able to take in air, because it is an energy outward transmutation of a million plot lines coming *** 5 ***

A buddy read with my Fantasy Addicts at BB&B! May the Wheel weave as the Wheel wills!!!

Amazing! More than amazing! Have I covered it all?... Yes, I have! I have run out of superlatives for this series and I do not care! The pacing of the story is very deceptively slow, but it builds on itself, fiber by fiber, and by the end of each book you find yourself holding your breath, barely able to take in air, because it is an energy outward transmutation of a million plot lines coming together and creating an explosion!!! And you would think there is nothing left to write about after this, but the series is barely getting to its middle... I am in Awe of Robert Jordan! How he weaves all those settings, cultures, characters, plot lines, and creates a world so real it is palpable, I can not even imagine! Little details, which seem negligible, characters you might have noticed mentioned in the first book showing up now or at times you least expect it, every pebble on the path to every following book is there with a purpose and you truly get the schizophrenic sense that you live in the Real World at the same time as you live in the world created by Robert Jordan... And despite the feeling of a split, you enjoy every moment of it and want more, and more, and more...

Now, don't get me wrong, Robert Jordan's world is not perfect, nor are the people and other creatures inhabiting it. We still follow mostly our five youths of The Two Rivers with the added from the first book constant companions, and they realy need to go to school on "How to communicate with the people I am closest to!", because they ALL SUCK AT COMMUNICATION!!! If they only stopped feeling sorry for themselves and start looking more on the big picture, things would be movie perfect. But, as most of us, they get stuck on the chicks or dudes they like-like, who is jealous of whom, power struggles, showing or not showing favors, love, guilt, shame, and fear... They feel real, flesh and blood, and are lovable, hated, or as annoying as anyone in our everyday life... The annoying thing does prevail at times, but it does give character to the books:):):)

As always, I will not get into the plots of the books, since it is both impossible and it would be so much more fun to find it on your own... I will say that it starts slow and ends with a sprint. I can not wait to see what happens in the next one, which I am about to start ASAP.

I wish you all Happy Reading and may reading expend your world and help you fly!!!
...more

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Apr 05, 2011 seak rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2012, reread, 2017

To review this book, I have to start by telling a little story about my history with this series, and more specifically with this book.

It was in the great year of ought 7 (2007) when I was first reading Lord of Chaos, the sixth book of The Wheel of Time. It was also the same year that Harry Potter was finishing up and sadly when the author himself, Robert Jordan, died of a rare disease.

I decided, not only did I want to make sure there was an ending (sorry, I know that was insensitive of me), ...more

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Aug 30, 2018 Em Lost In Books rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-star, 2018, br-with-ini, 1990-99

This was a slooooow book and took almost 50-55% to actually get started. So you can imagine how frustrated I was while reading this at snail's pace, kept thinking when will things start happening. And even after all my grumbling, this was a necessary book because here we see characters coming out of their shells. I will keep this review short.

About the boys - Rand just keep improving his game of politics. getting stronger at making people obey and follow him. He is so much different from the This was a slooooow book and took almost 50-55% to actually get started. So you can imagine how frustrated I was while reading this at snail's pace, kept thinking when will things start happening. And even after all my grumbling, this was a necessary book because here we see characters coming out of their shells. I will keep this review short.

About the boys - Rand just keep improving his game of politics. getting stronger at making people obey and follow him. He is so much different from the boy that we first met in Eye of the World. The best thing I like about him is that he's accepted what he is and knows what he has to do. Future of the world depends on him. There is no softness about him, even though he feel sad whenever someone sacrifice his or her life for him but there is no time to be sappy and cry. And he is excelling at this with each book.

I was so happy that Perrin's back and I was thinking of all the ways in which he could help Rand but too bad that Perrin drowned himself in worry over his wife, Faile.

Mat was so much fun. He made this book bearable for first half with his jokes and what would he do if any of the girl disobeyed him. Of course, girls proved to be a tougher opponents than he was expecting.

About the girls - this book belongs to Egwene. So much power at her dispense and I am eager to see how she would use it or she would be just a puppet of other Aes Sedais.

Nynaeve and Elyane should be best friends as they are together since book 4. Sadly they are not. I am disappointed in Nynaeve in this book. What happened to the fierce girl that I love? She was so meek here.

Min and Aviendha, felt like secondary characters. I am not a fan of Aviendha, so am just happy that she was not here much. Min finally made her way back to Rand and it was good to see them together and Min always keep things interested with her prophecies.

As usual I loved the final battle and the slow pace of the book was forgotten/forgiven. So much happened in the last few chapters that I was constantly on the edge. The way things ended here I am so eager to start A Crown of Swords. Hoping against hope that it would be better than this book. ...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Evgeny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book contains much more different point of views than the first five; we even get to see the inner thoughts of some of the Forsaken. Each POV usually contributes to a different plot, subplot, or thread which makes a really complex overall story, so if you thought the one in the first five books was way too simple (I am kidding), this book really makes matters much more complex. This is also the point where the number of named characters became too great for all of them to be in the glossary This book contains much more different point of views than the first five; we even get to see the inner thoughts of some of the Forsaken. Each POV usually contributes to a different plot, subplot, or thread which makes a really complex overall story, so if you thought the one in the first five books was way too simple (I am kidding), this book really makes matters much more complex. This is also the point where the number of named characters became too great for all of them to be in the glossary at the end.

As usual to avoid the spoilers I will give the analysis of the character development and my thoughts about them. Any mention of the plot at this time would be a spoiler.

The Dragon Reborn himself is an interesting study about his true identity. Is he really reborn, reincarnated or his own person completely independent from Lews Therin? Do not expect an easy answer to this question.

Rand spends most of his time jumping between Caemlin and Caerhien while trying to hold the throne of the first until Elaine comes back, but she is not a big hurry to do it; I will comment on her later.

Perrin finally shows up, but I am sorry to say he is reduced from a person to a rug by Faile who firmly guides him. He has his brief moment of glory by the end of the book, but even then the scene is stolen by other characters.

Mat is interesting, as usual. His plot line makes an interesting and unexpected turn by the middle of the book. The way he gets treated by Wonder Girls (Nynaeve, Elaine, and Egwene) is inexcusable. Rand uses him as well, but at least he realizes it and feels regret doing this; most of the time he really does not have a choice. The Wonder Girls (ab)use his without a second thought.

Nynaeve at least has decency to avoid Mat most of the time. She also begins to shine as a healer who can hold on her own even compared to the great healers from the Age of Legends. She is directly responsible for one of the most emotional part of the book.

Anybody with the last name Trankand should be shot with belfire - simple as that with Galad being one possible exception: his is not in this book. Morgaise betrayed her kingdom - yes, what she did was a betrayal regardless of what her motivations were. Elaine does not care about her kingdom much as well: she prefers Aes Sedai intrigues to going back to her throne which Rand has real troubles holding for her. Do not even let me start on Gawyn, he moved to bad guys' camp in my book and firmly rooted in there.

The book is interesting and good enough to warrant easy 4 stars. The reason for 5 star rating? Two words: Dumai's Wells. This has got to be one of the most memorable battles in fantasy literature with even more exciting and interesting aftermath. This also happens to be the last book of the series which deserves five stars before the infamous slowdown; a must-read.

This review is a copy/paste of my BoolLikes one: http://gene.booklikes.com/post/753100... ...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, books-i-own, acquired-in-2013, must-read-in-2015

Was the whole world really burning up?

Thank goodness for the Wheel of Time Wikia page. At this point in the series I cant really differentiate too clearly between books; everything is just blurring together. I suppose it would help if I read the books back to back, but that is not a realistic option. I honestly need a break between instalments.

That said, I do believe I enjoyed this book more than The Fires of Heaven. It felt, to me, like a return to form, but all of this is pretty relative ...more

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Feb 27, 2016 JAIME rated it it was amazing

HOLY HELL. Some shit went down in this one!

Rand - FINALLY feels like he finished with his whining and getting on with stuff - his stuff being manwhoring. And, I LOVE IT.

Egwene - WHAT IN THE HOLY HELL?!

Loial - LOVE YOU

Elayne - I just like you less and less every book. Shut up. You have basically switched places with that other idiot, Egwene.

Aviendah - is growing on me. Still kind of a weirdo, but I like it.

Mat - I can't remember when I started liking you. Don't ever change

Perrin - Your wife ...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Gavin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This was another enjoyable instalment in the Wheel of Time series. It was an improvement on The Fires of Heaven, but did not reach the heights of The Shadow Rising( the best WoT book so far ).

It though Jordan did OK when it came to advancing the plot in this instalment. Not a ton happened, but it felt like a lot of stuff got set into motion. This meant a lot of focus on politics and scheming, but I've always been happy enough with such story arcs.

The characters proved a mixed bag:

Rand: I ...more

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Jan 28, 2014 Olivier Delaye rated it it was ok · review of another edition

THIS IS MEANT AS A LIGHT, NOT-TOO-SERIOUS BUT HOPEFULLY FUNNY REVIEW, SO PLEASE TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS. AND NOW, ON TO THE SLAUGHTER!!!

Nyneave tugged her braid as hard as she could bear it. Any harder and she would surely rip her scalp off. How am I supposed to review this book? she muttered, holding a copy of Robert Jordans Lord of Chaos in her left hand. Her right was busy pulling at her braid. The authors first three books were really goodwell, if one turns a blind eye on the fact that they THIS IS MEANT AS A LIGHT, NOT-TOO-SERIOUS BUT HOPEFULLY FUNNY REVIEW, SO PLEASE TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS. AND NOW, ON TO THE SLAUGHTER!!!

Nyneave tugged her braid as hard as she could bear it. Any harder and she would surely rip her scalp off. “How am I supposed to review this book?” she muttered, holding a copy of Robert Jordan’s Lord of Chaos in her left hand. Her right was busy pulling at her braid. “The author’s first three books were really good––well, if one turns a blind eye on the fact that they are LOTR ripoffs, which, don’t get me wrong, is fine by me, just as long as the story is revisited in a captivating way and makes you turn the pages faster than it takes for my right hand to reach up and tug my braid; speaking of which…––but book 4 and 5 were pretty hard to slog through and I’m afraid the same can be said about book 6. The ending is pretty good, though. Quite unexpected, you might say. Ah, men!”

Elayne listened to her friend, the faintest ghost of the beginning of a smile slightly spiced up by the undeniable tinge of mockery embodied in the ever so feeble and elusive yet very much there glint in her left eye which, much like her right eye, was the color of the sea and the sky when it is not yet noon although the eleventh hour of the day is well nigh passed and gone. “My dear sweet good friend Nyneave, what troubles you so, pray tell your dear sweet good friend Elayne?”

Nyneave glared at Elayne, a pearly thread of saliva dangling from the left corner of her mouth whose full lips were the color of the sky when it is not yet dawn although dusk is long passed and gone. She had never been so angry in her life! Well, not since five minutes ago, anyway. “Are you deaf, woman? Woolheaded perhaps?” She gave her braid another tug, this time hard enough to make her scream in pain. It felt good, though. Indeed, it felt quite pleasurable. Like, pleasing. The opposite of unpleasant. Or that of disagreeable. You know, like, good. For the pain reminded her she was alive and had hair to tug at. And so she tugged at it one more time for good measure. “I just said out loud that I didn’t know what to make of book 6 in the Wheel of Time series. I warned you time and again not to listen to your iPod so often, woman. And what did her Highness do? You kept on listening to that woolheaded contraption of a thing and made yourself deaf. Ah, women!”

Elayne chose not to answer to that ill-founded accusation. She put both her bejeweled hands palm up on her lap, smoothing backhandedly the delicate fabric of her dress which was made of a multitude of silk and damask and cotton and acrylic and elastane cloth leaves, each perfectly and masterfully and skillfully sewn together and each having its own particular hue which very often reminded the onlooker––or for that matter the bearer, for dresses were meant to be worn in this part of Randland and not only admired and wrote about for thousands and thousands and thousands of pages––of the color of an autumn sky when summer is definitely passed and gone but winter is not yet there and bides its time dozing patiently at the corner of November and December, and said, “I think you should know by now that the author––the Gods rest his soul––only wrote books 6 through 11 of his series because his editor, who also happened to be his wife, had thrown in the towel well before the Breaking of the World. So he basically wrote whatever he wanted for as many pages as he wanted, not giving a rat’s ass about moving the plot along or shutting it up about what this and that Aes Sedai is wearing in this and that scene. Image how fun it must have been for him! Quite a treat, really. Not so much for us readers, though… So here’s what you should do, sweet beautiful Nyneave: don’t bother reading book 6 through 11––I know I won’t; just Google the plot summaries (ah, ah, ah, the plot! That’s a good one!) and then move on to book 12 The Gathering Storm by Brandon Sanderson. Here, you can even use my iPod. That way you’ll have your hands free to do as much braid pulling as you want while listening to the audiobook. Aren’t I a great friend, sweet beautiful gorgeous Nyneave?”

“Burn you, woman, burn you and your fancy gadgets to the hundred hells below!” In her rage, Nyneave went on tugging at her braid like a demented Quasimodo pulling at the bell rope of Notre-Dame on a wedding day. She tugged hard. Oh boy, did she. Really, really hard. A little too hard perhaps. For in the end she broke her cervical spine, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.
...more

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May 30, 2016 Eon ♒Windrunner♒ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Review: Reread done!

Lord of Chaos is one of my favorite books in this series so far, purely on the amount of things happening. Sure, the story does not move much in any direction, (nothing much resolved) but there is quite a bit of stirring and simmering until the pressure builds up to a boiling point and BAM! The lid is blown at Dumai Wells!

Spoiler-filled notes:
(view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Hasham Rasool rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, robert-jordan, science-fiction, favourites, fiction

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again.

What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow."

I am so glad to read this series again. When I read it I always feel like I am on the journey.

I am glad to see Perrin again in the book! He is one of my favourite characters.

I find the society in the book really intriguing.

I feel I have learned ...more

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May 27, 2012 Christie Skipper Ritchotte rated it did not like it

Shelves: failure-to-finish, needs-more-cowbell, fantasy, epic-in-scale, doorstopper-book

On my future grave, I swear, the following is true.

Once upon a time there was a book series called The Wheel of Time, which, when piled each volume upon the other, could reach past an elephant's rheumy eye. Once upon a time, after searching for a good new fantasy series, I began tWoT with a healthy gleam in my eye. What a blithe fool. What a tWoT.

I turned pulped wood pages by thousands, read a very-many lot-of words, until one day an annoying pattern manifested. Though I pressed on, it had On my future grave, I swear, the following is true.

Once upon a time there was a book series called The Wheel of Time, which, when piled each volume upon the other, could reach past an elephant's rheumy eye. Once upon a time, after searching for a good new fantasy series, I began tWoT with a healthy gleam in my eye. What a blithe fool. What a tWoT.

I turned pulped wood pages by thousands, read a very-many lot-of words, until one day an annoying pattern manifested. Though I pressed on, it had become impossible to ignore the characters' skimpy appeal. The volume of unmanicured words kept drowning out the righteous words. Meandering plotlines had doubled back on each other, and I found they spelled out a mystic code to rival Davinci's own: Nyah, nyah, nyah-nyah, nyah.

Dizzied and dismayed, I knew I had entered one of the circles of Hell, voluntarily; had been there months, perhaps even years. I peered woefully ahead to the four ponderous volumes (now seven) that waited with an infinite, mad patience, and realized my own hands had helped build this hell. I knew the only way to end the madness was to shot put Lord of Chaos across the room.

With a vast effort and aching, calloused hands, I pushed the book away. The volume slammed the wall, leaving a great gash that flared alight and gaped like a page burning from the inside out. The gash in the wall became glass; a window (open!), revealing the glorious world beyond.

I stumbled to the window, fell through the gap onto dewy, crisp grass. I walked into the reward of raucous birdsong and a biting wind that said, "You are alive." Alive! That day I left The Wheel of Time far behind me.

Last week, I found the stash of nine volumes in a dusty basement box. Years had passed, and still tWoT waited. Shakily, I taped the cardboard flaps, triple taped them. I placed a long-distance call to my younger brother, a fantasy novice, who had just finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time. "Have you been introduced to The Wheel of Time books?" I inquired. He hadn't been. Of course he hadn't. Whenever I start to feel guilty, I remind myself: I didn't like my brother much anyway.

...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Kaila rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-aficionados-challenge-2012, 2012, so-fucking-epic

So you made it to book 6! Now that you're here, that means you finished book 5. Have this not really spoiler-y lolCat based off the second to last page of The Fires of Heaven!

Stolen from this comedy goldmine thread. It is hilarious but beware spoilers.

Rand finally has some real chapters in this book. Since book 2, The Great Hunt, he hasn't figured much as a point of view. Sure he had some chapters in the Aiel Waste, and the climax of book 5, but he was all caught up in becoming a man out of legend and stopped being interesting. He shows us how wrong that feeling was in Lord of Chaos. He is BATSHIT CRAZY in this book and it is awesome. Anytime you're in the middle of a Rand scene and voices in his head start talking to him, I highly recommend trying to picture it from an outsider's view point. He is insane. No wonder all these people tiptoe around his rooms; he mumbles and yells at some dude who has been dead for a very long time. All of the Rand scenes make this book memorable, and I can see why I had it in my head that this was my favorite of the series. (For the record, my favorite of the series is definitely book 4) For the first time, you feel bad for him.

The climactic battle of book 6 is one of the most well known and iconic scenes of the series. After how long the book took in getting there, I was hoping it would be longer. Like a lot of Wheel of Time, there's a lot of build up to a very quick pay off.

I understand now why I have read books 1-6 of this series so many times, but 7-9 only once. Though I was just halfway through this book, I wanted to start the series completely over again. I was actually nostalgic for the characters; I just wanted them to go back to Emond's Field and be happy and simplistic. I wanted to watch them grow into their power all over again, instead of having these crazy complicated lives that involve constant fear and death around every corner. Unfortunately, for many readers, this is why book 6 sounded the death knell of the series. At this point, it feels more satisfying to go back than it is to go on.

I still resoundingly argue that this is a great series. It is definitely not for everyone, but if you can find it in you to enjoy it, it is one of the most addicting fantasies out there. ...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Eric Allen rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Lord of Chaos
Book 6 of The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan

A Wheel of Time Retrospective by Eric Allen

Ladies and Gentlemen, whether you like it or not, allow me to present...

THE
BORING

Ok, well, actually, this book is not all that bad compared to later volumes of the series when it comes to boringness. I do think of it as the beginning of a long stretch in this series where nothing really seems to happen. When you look at this book and the two or three that follow it as a whole, you can see how a ...more

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Feb 16, 2017 Ashley rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, treasure-and-adventure, violent-and-epic, shop-on-your-own-shelves-2017

I can already tell that this series is going to eat my brain, and not in the super special fun way, but like in the way where some things about it annoy the hoobedy-boobedy out of me, but other parts of it compel me to persevere. I will spend the next five books (before Brandon Sanderson takes over) being yo-yoed back and forth between moments of "yes, give me more of that!" and "NO MAKE IT STOP." I know this because that was what started happening to me while reading Lord of Chaos. I can only I can already tell that this series is going to eat my brain, and not in the super special fun way, but like in the way where some things about it annoy the hoobedy-boobedy out of me, but other parts of it compel me to persevere. I will spend the next five books (before Brandon Sanderson takes over) being yo-yoed back and forth between moments of "yes, give me more of that!" and "NO MAKE IT STOP." I know this because that was what started happening to me while reading Lord of Chaos. I can only imagine it will get worse.

I'm going to hold off on writing a full treatise on my very complex feelings regarding the way gender is portrayed in this series until I have a fuller picture of the story, which may mean waiting until the last book, but may be as early as book eleven (the last one Jordan wrote--worth noting I have had zero issues in any of Sanderson's books regarding the portrayal of gender, and sexism). I am holding off because one of y'all tried to convince me all this sexist nonsense going on was done by Jordan on purpose. I reaaaaally do not get that feeling, but I'm willing to be open to it for now.

What I will not hold off on judging at this point is how tired I am of 99% of all the characters in these books being so combative and untrusting with each other, and when trying to win arguments or positions of respect or power, making unilateral moves that in no way consider their opponents or people they are against/with as actual human beings with skills and valid ideas and viewpoints. A classic move for a character in Wheel of Time who wants to seen as powerful and respected (read: wants everyone to do what they say at all times no matter the situation) is to get in the faces of the person they want to respect and obey them and completely dismiss them as a human being. YOU WILL RESPECT ME BECAUSE I AM BEING VERY BELLIGERENT. THE MOST BELLIGERENT NON-LISTENER OR THINKER IN THIS ROOM!!!!!!!

Mat's behavior in this regard was the worst in this particular book. He completely dismisses Nynaeve and Elayne and Egwene as capable people, insists on treating them like "women" and "Aes Sedai" (at the same time dismissing them as "not real Aes Sedai") rather than individuals. He spends the last quarter of this book acting like an asshole, insisting he needs to protect the "girls" from themselves, when those "girls" know WAY more about practically everything than he does, and they could LITERALLY hand him his own ass. (He also spends that time mistrusting them and thinking they are dangerous to him, even as he thinks they are incompetent. He needs to open his damn eyes. He's so good at battle and strategy, but he can't spot a trustworthy, capable ally when they're a foot away from him.) MOST of these characters need to pull their heads out of their butts and look around at reality for a change, rather than the scenery from inside their own intestines. I could probably name at least five instances of similar behavior from other characters in about ten seconds, but I should move on. I could easily write about 1,000 words on this, and that seems like effort I could better spend elsewhere.

Really, though, the main problem with this book, and why it's the first since The Eye of the World to get less than four stars from me, is that a great deal of the events that happen in this book could have been cut entirely and nobody but the most die-hard worldbuilding fans would even notice. This is a 986 page book with about 450 pages of plot-relevant prose. And that might be on the generous side. There is mostly no DOING in this book, only characters talking about doing, or planning it, or going about tasks that we don't need to read about. Rand spends the entire book Traveling from place to place, checking in with his various territories. It's basically an entire book of status updates from Rand. Here is a list of most of the actual important things that happen in this book:

(view spoiler)

And that's really it. Anyway, this trend towards treading water doesn't bode well for future installments, but I will try to remain optimistic. Good news is I actually like Nynaeve now! I will always like a character or person who learns to admit their faults.

[3.5 stars] ...more

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Aug 15, 2019 Danny H rated it it was amazing

I cant stop giving these books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Although Im on a re-read I still cant get enough!! ...more

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Aug 10, 2009 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, read-2013

4 Stars

This was the start of the tougher side to the Wheel of Time series. There are some real highs in this book, but there are also quite a few long and drawn out lows. The wiki page states that there are 47 freaking povs in this book and it sure felt like it at times. I hate when authors pile on more and more characters, it does not actually correlate to a better story most times. This was my third time through this book, and it is the last of the books that I actually read cover to cover ...more

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Nov 30, 2019 Merphy Napier rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, three-stars, adult

The end was FANTASTIC but man it was tough getting there. Here's my video review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn9XD...

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Aug 29, 2013 Matt Brady rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013, wheel-of-time-reread

Part 7 - Canned Rand

This is a reread of the entire Wheel of Time so therell be spoilers for the whole series ahead.

Well that was a real slog. If Fires of Heaven was brightened by the warm glow of nostalgia and affection Id retained all these long years, Lord of Chaos increased the glow to a harsh and grating fluorescent flicker. Sure, Dumai Wells is a great sequence, possibly the high point of the series itself and Ill go into more pointless detail on that later, but there is a TON of bullshit Part 7 - Canned Rand

This is a reread of the entire Wheel of Time so there’ll be spoilers for the whole series ahead.

Well that was a real slog. If Fires of Heaven was brightened by the warm glow of nostalgia and affection I’d retained all these long years, Lord of Chaos increased the glow to a harsh and grating fluorescent flicker. Sure, Dumai Wells is a great sequence, possibly the high point of the series itself and I’ll go into more pointless detail on that later, but there is a TON of bullshit before that. Rereading this, as opposed to reading it for the first time, feels like several hundred pages of characters kicking their heels and wasting time before the Awesome Stuff starts happening in the last quarter. At least three quarters of this book feels like filler and silly nonsense.

It starts off badly with a longass prologue. I actually lost my place about halfway through it. I was trying to remember where I was, chapter 2 or chapter 3, then I turned the page (or clicked the ‘next’ arrow anyway) and it said ‘Chapter One’ and I’m not going to lie, my heart sank a little bit. But, this is the life I chose.

Then a lot of stuff happens without much actually happening. In my review for Fires of Heaven I said that the bloat was a part of Wheel of Time’s charm in a weird way, but man did that sentiment didn’t come back to bite me on the ass. Rand flits back and forth between Caemlyn and Cairhien about a dozen times for no discernible reason. Elayne and Nynaeve are keeping Moghedien as a prisoner - well, a slave, to be more accurate - for reasons that are unconvincing at best, and then get dispatched to Ebou Dar to search for a bowl - a storyline that will take multiple books to resolve. Strap yourselves in for that.. Mat is marching, involved in some intricate plan against Sammael that gets aborted on the flimsiest of pretexts, thereby ensuring that all the buildup to it is a complete waste of time. Mazrim Taim shows up and commences trying so hard to convince the reader that he is Demandred in disguise that there is absolutely no way he is actually Demandred in disguise. Egwene’s storyline is pretty cool - both her coming clean to the Wise Ones finally, and her rise to the Amyrlin Seat - but she also hooks up with Gawyn, who I remember liking back in the day, but this time around find extremely dumb and tiresome. Perrin and Faile reappear because, taveren I guess, and launch the absolute nonsense that is the Perrin-Faile-Berelain love triangle, a sub-plot that achieves the impossible in that it actually makes Faile WORSE. The Forsaken continue to hold their Bad Guy meetings where they snark back and forth at each other and don’t achieve a hell of a lot. Oh, and some of the dead Forsaken get resurrected. Because why wouldn’t you want to give Balthamel, who got killed by a TREE, another chance?

I’m finding all the major characters borderline unlikeable at this point. They’re all just so petty and childish. The Perrin-Faile-Berelain “love triangle” (I don’t want to call it that because it isn’t a love triangle - Perrin shows absolutely zero interest in Berelain whatsoever) is the prime example of this, but all the other characters engage in similarly silly behaviour that usually doesn’t even come close to how actual human beings would behave. Some of this is a cumulative effect, I know, but I’m not trying to rate these books objectively and individually, and Lord of Chaos can’t really be looked at on it’s own anyway, as the majority of the storylines and subplots simple end arbitrarily, to be continued in the next instalment.

It wasn’t all bad though. I always enjoy Pedron Niall, for example. Between him, the Shaido, the Elaida-led White Tower and the Seanchan, I wonder if the series might have been better served if the whole Shadow aspect was removed. The Forsaken are one dimensional, though entertaining in a Bond villain way, and the Trollocs, Myrdraal and so on very quickly ceased to be any sort of credible threat. The ‘normal’ human opponents that Rand faces are so much more interesting to me. I don’t know if Wheel of Time really would have worked without the looming threat of Tarmon Gaidon, but I’m weary enough of the Dark One and his cronies at this point to wonder. And to his credit, Jordan does abandon his tried-and-tested formula in Lord of Chaos. Not only are there no random Trolloc attacks, the book also doesn’t end with Rand smacking around one of the Forsaken. Instead, we get Dumai Wells, which is easily the best climax of the series to date, and almost saves the entire novel. Ashaman, Kill still sends a bit of a shiver down my spine. I just wish I didn’t have to wade through 800 pages of crap to get there. ...more

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Feb 15, 2016 Maria Dimitrova rated it it was amazing

Shelves: wheel-of-time, fantasy, br-bbb, br-bbb-2016

Monthly buddy read with the lovely people over at BB&B

Almost halfway through the series. And I can't be more exited! I should have read this ages ago.

Finally I can see why all the old timers say that Mat's awesome. Don't get me wrong he still gets on my nerves but he's no longer that spoiled little brat that though only about gambling, wine and women. And he knows how to lead an army. Even if he tries to convince himself he's not cut for the whole hero/warrior thing. Part of it are the Monthly buddy read with the lovely people over at BB&B

Almost halfway through the series. And I can't be more exited! I should have read this ages ago.

Finally I can see why all the old timers say that Mat's awesome. Don't get me wrong he still gets on my nerves but he's no longer that spoiled little brat that though only about gambling, wine and women. And he knows how to lead an army. Even if he tries to convince himself he's not cut for the whole hero/warrior thing. Part of it are the memories he got from his encounter with Eelfinn. But a bigger part is Mat himself. He always had the potential but it was buried under that annoying attitude combined with his utter selfishness that made me want to strangle him for the better part of 6 books. And now he's in an even bigger mess running after Elayne and Nynaeve and trying to protect them from their own stupidity. Mat being the reasonable one is a totally new experience. Such a big difference from the beginning of the series when I could always count on Nynaeve to be the voice of reason.

Lately Nynaeve, as well as the other main female protagonists, is acting really strange. It's as if the old Nynaeve has been replaced by a whining, cowering and brainless doppelganger. The same goes for Elayne who is progressively getting more and more irritating. Elayne claims to love Rand but also plans to (view spoiler) Good luck with that! And instead of helping him by assuming the Lion Throne she runs off to do whatever she wants. I honestly don't know what Rand sees in her. And feel sorry for him.

This instalment was both good and bad for Rand. He's growing into his role as The Dragon Reborn and as a leader. He gains confidence with each passing book as well as knowledge about the use of saidin and his own strength in it. But he's also suffering from the effects of the taint. More and more he argues with the voice of Lews Therin in his head and it seems that Lews Therin is growing stronger and might displace Rand's personality from his own body. Lews Therin's knowledge is incredible and extremely useful but it comes at a greater price each time. And with the events at the end of the book I'm worried that that displacement is inevitable. Personally I think that Rand's biggest mistake so far was trusting his school for male channelers to Mazrim Taim. That guy spells trouble. Way too ambitious and ruthless I think that he's either a darkfriend (even maybe one of the Forsaken in disguise) or he'll become one. Either way he'll betray Rand sooner rather than later and considering the army of men channelling at his disposal that Rand gave him things will go down badly for our heroes. I'm hoping that Logain will help balancing the situation. I like him and really, really want him to be one of the good guys. But I'll have to wait to see which side he will choose.

Perrin and Faile are awesome as always. Except when Faile is jealous of Berelain. Poor Perrin is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's not his fault that Berelain has fixated on him but for some reason Faile blames him instead of the real perpetrator. *sigh* In the last few books the women act like idiots all the time. I loved their meeting with Faile's parents. That was priceless and I laughed so hard that tears ran down my face.

The Aes Sedai are becoming my number one people to hate. More than the White Cloaks and the Seanchan. With their constant meddling, manipulation and outright bullying of everyone they meet they make me want to kill the all. Even the ones that are supposedly on Rand's side. And with their latest bullsh*t move they killed any chance of Rand ever trusting them. They're so deep in their own scheming that they're going to ruin any chance of victory at Tarmon Gai'don if they're not brought to heel. Rand needs to teach them a lesson and soon!

Even though there was almost no progress on the overall plot of the series this instalment was a great addition to the series. It sets the stage for the next few books and gives us a greater understanding of the complexities of the world and the characters inhabiting it. ...more

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Dec 15, 2019 Shaun Hutchinson added it

My god. This book really could've done with about 500 fewer pages. But that's not what really destroyed this book for me. It's that Jordan's characterization of the dynamics between men and women becomes utterly ludicrous in this book. In the beginning, Jordan took a very "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" approach, which while regressive was typical for the time. However, by the time we get to book six, all of the women act like harpies or manipulative succubi (or sometimes both) while My god. This book really could've done with about 500 fewer pages. But that's not what really destroyed this book for me. It's that Jordan's characterization of the dynamics between men and women becomes utterly ludicrous in this book. In the beginning, Jordan took a very "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" approach, which while regressive was typical for the time. However, by the time we get to book six, all of the women act like harpies or manipulative succubi (or sometimes both) while all of the men act like aggressive fools with superiority complexes. At this point the plot, which hardly moves forward, feels secondary to Jordan hashing out his issues with the relations between women and men.

Additionally, some things really stood out as Jordan just being gross. Was it actually necessary for every woman to prove they were a woman by lowering their tops during Egwene's ceremony? No. I get that the Aes Sedai are all women, fine, and that during this ceremony they want to make sure only women are there. I wonder, though, in a room full of women who can channel what other way they might have accomplished this other than flashing their breasts at one another. Oh, right, they could have all just embraced saidar since only a woman could channel could've seen the glow around another woman who could channel. But, clearly, Jordan just wanted an excuse to get them naked.

And all of this ignores the inherent flaws in Jordan's gendered magic system which I'm not even going to get into because it sucks.

Finally, there's the spanking. Look, I'm not going to rail against anyone's kink, and clearly Jordan had, if not a kink, then a severe preoccupation with spanking. But it's a little much that just about every single female character has been spanked at some point. Naked.

Anyway, once you remove the spanking, the men complaining about women and women complaining about men, this book would've been about half the size. And it should have been. Either way, I'm definitely taking a little break from my reread of this series because I refuse to let this garbage be the last thing I read in this decade. ...more

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Fantasy Buddy Reads: Lord of Chaos [Dec 2, 2020]	1	6	Dec 21, 2019 01:23AM
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About Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan

10,723 followers

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston. ...more