The Dragon Passes

There are already countless news items, blog tributes, etc. to author Robert Jordan("RJ"), due to his recent passing. What most touched me were the following comments posted by Wilson, a family member and friend of RJ.

"He never waivered in his faith, nor questioned our God’s timing."

"Never, never lose faith. RJ did not. Harriet hasn’t. I haven’t. Going through what we have, our faith is only strengthened. Besides, if God didn’t exist, we would have never had Jim. We did. God does. Remember my Brother/Cousin, my friend, think of him fondly and glorify God’s name."

For me, RJ's The Wheel of Time series was the bridge from C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series to my current love of the fantasy genre. While there is no doubt the middle of the WoT series became weighted down by the incredible detail and many plotlines developed along the way, the first five books remain among my all-time favorites (and among very few that I've re-read and will likely read again).

Another of my favorite authors, George R. R. Martin, was among those posting tributes.