Robert Jordan

The grotesque debacle over the graveyard-slot screening of the Wheel of Time-derived series pilot Winter Dragon on February 9th is escalating into one of the most despicable examples of how Hollywood and rights-mining companies treat creative properties and franchises. Now we have a lawsuit from the originating company, claiming that Robert Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal […]

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The Hobbit earned nearly $85 million in theaters this weekend, setting a new record for December box office performance.

Capitalizing on Hobbit-mania, Tor/Forge Books played a book trailer for The Wheel of Time series before The Hobbit in some theaters. A Memory of Light comes out January 8, 2013, the fourteenth and final book in Robert Jordan‘s beloved Wheel of Time series.

As someone who reads a lot of fiction books, and enjoys a good fantasy novel every now and again, I feel there is a great deal to be said about J.R.R Tolkien. Lord of the Rings has had a lasting effect on the genre. Best known, of course are the fantasy races other authors have used again and again.

However, one of the other effects has been the ubiquitous use of reference material. Fantasy, especially epic fantasy, loves its reference material the way a research paper loves its citations (of reference material).

J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has had a lasting effect on the fantasy genre. Best known are the fantasy races other authors have used again and again. One of the other effects has been the ubiquitous use of reference material (maps, glossaries, etc). Fantasy, especially epic fantasy, loves its reference material the way a research paper loves its citations (of reference material). I won’t say it’s difficult to find a fantasy novel that doesn’t have reference material, but it does seem to be something that many authors do, given the chance.