The Wheel of Time Companion: A Big Book of Spoilers

Last updated on 23 February 2025 at 08:59 pm

The Wheel of Time Companion brings together the people, places, and history of Robert Jordan’s fantasy world in an epic alphabetic glossary. It is a behemoth of encyclopedic wisdom, but do you really need it?

Is this fat book a conglomeration of what we already know and can find elsewhere? Does it add value to the fabulous books we already own and have devoured many times? Is it as dull as someone who uses the word “conglomeration” in a sentence? And will buying it make you a super fan?

I’ll answer these questions in my review, but the Companion is your next purchase if you love the books, follow YouTube channels about them or the show, and want to feed yourself morsels of Wheel of Time joy from time to time. The book dives deep into Robert Jordan’s expansive world, and it’s worth your investment.

“Cenn Buie. A grumpy old thatcher in Emond’s Field and a member of the Village Council. Cenn was born in the summer of 932 NE. He was as gnarled and dark as an old root with a scratchy voice, beady eyes and thinning hair. He sometimes used a gnarled walking staff.”

The Wheel of Time Companion

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This post is aimed at those who have completed The Wheel of Time series and can’t get the books out of their head. It contains spoilers for the series, so be forewarned.

The Wheel of Time Companion Review

The Wheel of Time Companion is a definitive encyclopedia for the series. With 815 pages, entries for every named character, an Old Tongue dictionary, maps, histories, and lore, there’s plenty for fans to pore over. It enhances your experience of the world, aids rereads, and helps you cheat on online quizzes.

Robert Jordan’s Wit and Wisdom

The Wheel of Time’s depth makes it impossible to remember every detail, so this companion book gets you closer to the world’s people by sharing delightful nuggets of characterization alongside an entrant’s role in the story. You’ll wear an affectionate smile as you read through the entries and sometimes laugh out loud.

The Companion shines brightest when it draws from Robert Jordan’s notes. His flair, humor, and care for characters have always been evident. It’s in the yanking of Nynaeve’s braid, Thom Merrilin’s mustache, Bayle Domon’s thick accent, and Loial’s long-winded descriptions. Yet here, as the lens focuses on one character at a time, we appreciate their personalities more.

Fagar Neald was “a fop and a dandy, his pitiful mustache waxed to a semblance of points.” Moiraine’s grandmother was “not a nice woman… her name was still used to frighten children.” These, and many more, are delightful finds.

The Wheel of Time Companion is full of personalities, and having Robert Jordan’s scent on the product gives the book its own unique character. We get background information that never made it into the series, adding idiosyncracies that compel us to go back to the scenes of minor characters again. We live and breathe the world in granular detail in a way that the novels can’t accommodate.

Illustrations: A Welcome Bonus

While not overflowing with visuals, the Companion does offer lovely maps, character portraits, and full-page artwork. These are a welcome bonus, but don’t expect a picture book. The real value lies in the text.

The days of the maps being unique are long past, and much of the artwork is already canon for anyone who browses the internet. I take nothing away from the inclusions, though. Ariel Burgess brings the main cast to life with portraits of Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nynaeve, Moiraine, and Lan. We can compare the attractiveness of Rand’s love interests (Aviendha ticks it for me), and we’re also treated to artistic impressions of Cadsuane and Verin.

Edsel Arnold’s “Pink Ribbons” is a fun piece under Tylin Mitsobar’s entry. However, it would be best to accept the illustrations as a bonus rather than a reason to buy the book. You’ll be left wanting otherwise.

How To Read (and Love) the Companion

The most often asked question about The Wheel of Time Companion is where do you start? There’s a temptation to use it like a dictionary and only dip in and out when needed. However, doing so means missing out on hidden gems and never getting a whole book experience.

I suggest waiting until the illustrations and maps are a pleasant surprise rather than consuming them hungrily as soon as the book arrives. I understand that not everyone has those levels of restraint, and the Last Battle maps are there to be studied and enjoyed, especially if you’ve just finished the series. However, I recommend reading it front to back first.

There’s more fun to be had in stumbling on sword forms and Lini’s sayings than hunting them down. However, you’ll still be inclined to jump about the pages as the book sparks your interest out of turn, so keep a bookmark handy.

Ultimately, The Wheel of Time Companion is a reference book, but it’s also a treasure chest. Read from A to Z first to inspect every piece of its bounty.

Lasting Impressions: A Must-Have for Rereads

Owning The Wheel of Time Companion doesn’t make you a super fan, but devouring every scrap of information it holds makes it hard to argue otherwise. It’s also a wholesome, witty, and intelligent book that understands its readers and gives them what they want, plus stuff they didn’t know they needed.

Nothing is earth-shattering beyond its brief account of the Breaking, but there is plenty of intrigue and insight. The book isn’t without mistakes, either. For example, some of the Aes Sedai power rankings seem off, and what you read isn’t necessarily canon. In most cases, you’ll already know more than you actually learn and can quickly fill any gaps by searching online. Almost all the information shared in the Companion can be found at A Wheel of Time Wiki or other fan sites.

However, The Wheel of Time Companion is a comprehensive guide to the world of Robert Jordan and achieves its objectives. Criticisms are easy to find, but the quality of the work done in compiling this depository is undeniably excellent and incredibly thorough. It must be in your possession if you’ve completed The Wheel of Time and intend to reread the series. Once bought, you’ll wonder how you ever managed to have a Wheel of Time conversation without it!

Star Rating

The scores on the board are solid, and that’s to be expected from a book that doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a reference tool. However, as a candid and thought-provoking encyclopedia, the Companion succeeds beyond this expectation. These are my ratings:

Features of The Wheel of Time Companion

The Wheel of Time Companion boasts a catalog of the bestselling series’ people, places, and history. It rises to the challenge with features not limited to these incredible inclusions:

Maps

You’ll be poring over the six maps of the Last Battle, showing the position of forces as events unfold. A map of the Fields of Merrilor plainly indicates the significance of the Mora and Erinin rivers. Other intrigues are found in the maps of Cairhien (the River Alguenya looks formidable), Far Madding, and Malden.

The book was eagerly anticipated because it contained the first published map of the Two Rivers. Many eyes will go to that page first and recall the White River and the whereabouts of Watch Hill and Deven Ride, which felt so familiar many books ago.

Aes Sedai Power Rankings

Robert Jordan kept notes on the magic abilities of his One Power users. They are revealed in The Wheel of Time Companion for the first time. If you need help understanding the notation, there’s a valuable guide on Saidar and power rankings at a similar source of worldly things, the A Wheel of Time Wiki.

In a nutshell, Robert Jordan initially assessed the Aes Sedai on a 21-point scale but modified this twice. The first was a 60-level scale to represent seniority before the return of the Forsaken and the discovery of Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne’s potential (amongst others). This would have Moiraine, Siuan, and Elaida ranking at No. 1, with Romanda and Lelaine amongst others.

Another 12-point system was appended to accommodate the power girls, the Chosen, a returning Cadsuane, and other magical madams. Lanfear and Alivia are top dogs, of course.

The Old Tongue

You can learn a new language with The Wheel of Time Companion, which contains a dictionary of all the known words in the Old Tongue. This stretches to an impressive 26 pages, including letter forms and phrases. If you fancy making sentences, please share them in the comments (keep it clean).

Every Named Character in The Wheel of Time

Yes, all 2,782 named characters have an entry in the Companion. From Rand al’Thor to Doilan, every moving piece has its place in history and lore. Find your favorites and enjoy their entries:

“Lamelle. She was one of the three worst at mothering Rand; she made him soup but was a terrible cook, so it tasted bad.”

The Wheel of Time Companion

This book has lots of fun stuff, as you’ll see with Bela in the video I’ve shared below, and it’s not just the characters. We have entries for dogfennel, dogwort, dogweed (considered a cure for moping), and many more delights.

About the Authors

The three collaborators for The Wheel of Time Companion are enormously significant to Robert Jordan’s life and works. More than just his editor and staff, Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons were Robert Jordan’s wife and beloved friends. They accomplished much in bringing us the Companion, and, as an Ogier would say, their names ring in my ears.

Harriet McDougal

Robert Jordan is survived by his wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, née Popham. She carved out an editorial career after working as an archivist in South Carolina and became Tom Doherty’s top editor by the 1970s. She later formed her imprint, Popham Press, where she edited and distributed Robert Jordan’s first published novel, The Fallon Blood.

The couple met in a bookstore, and Robert Jordan was devoted to his wife. He dedicates many of The Wheel of Time books to her with heartfelt use of the words “always” and “forever.” He once said that all of his female characters held at least one trait possessed by his wife. His warmth for her was palpable.

Without Harriet McDougal, there may not have been the Robert Jordan we remember so fervently. Nor would we have The Wheel of Time as we know it today, as she hand-picked Brandon Sanderson to finish the series.

Harriet McDougal protects Robert Jordan’s legacy to this day. She is a consulting producer for the TV series, has attended fan conventions, and speaks enthusiastically about the books—always with a smile and a passion in her eyes. Always.

Alan Romanczuk

Alan Romanczuk joined Team Jordan in 2001 as a research assistant, responsible for keeping each character’s timeline in order (it is The Wheel of Time, after all). Suffice it to say, he did a fantastic job and earned himself the moniker “the Time Lord.”

Robert Jordan also leaned on Alan Romanczuk’s knowledge of military history, consulting with him for the many battle scenes we enjoy in the books.

Maria Simons

Maria Simons worked as Robert Jordan’s editorial assistant for over a decade. She also worked with Brandon Sanderson after he took over writing The Wheel of Time following Robert Jordan’s death in 2007. She is credited with helping to maintain continuity and consistency throughout the series.

It is often celebrated that Maria Simons knows more about The Wheel of Time than anyone else. Robert Jordan would sometimes say at book signings that fans should RAFO (read and find out) but would joke that it could also be AMFO (as in “ask Maria and find out”).

The Big Book of Spoilers

Harriet McDougal playfully calls The Wheel of Time Companion “the Big Book of Spoilers.” She’s not wrong – it inevitably spoils the series’ entire plot. So, only read the book if you’ve finished all 14 novels and, ideally, the prequel. That said, and in the spirit of this tome’s unabashed revelations, here are two Companion spoilers that might surprise or delight you:

Bela Spoiler

Sadly, Ta’veran Tees, once an officially licensed seller of Wheel of Time merchandise, closed in 2019. However, an old video of theirs from a launch event has Harriet McDougal, alongside Maria Simons and Alan Romanczuk, reading Bela’s Companion entry:

You’ll see it demonstrates how the book’s creators haven’t taken themselves too seriously. I believe Harriet McDougal when she says this is canon, though!

Who is Nakomi?

Out of respect for Michael Livingston, I didn’t spoil Nakomi’s identity in my review of Origins of The Wheel of Time. But since the revelation also relates back to the Companion, which was also published after the series ended, I will do so now.

In the Big Book of Spoilers, Nakomi is described like this:

“A mysterious Aiel woman whom Aviendha met in the Waste. Bair told Aviendha that she knew no one named Nakomi but that it was an ancient name.”

The Wheel of Time Companion

Origins of The Wheel of Time tells us that Brandon Sanderson’s inclusion of Nakomi was based on an instruction left by Robert Jordan. It was noted that a mysterious woman would appear to Rand as he left Shayol Ghul and say, “Yes, that’s good, that’s what you need to do.”

Brandon Sanderson decided on the name Nakomi and that she is of the Jenn Aiel. She’s an “entity” that counters the Dark One’s Shaidar Haran—not the Creator, but a vessel or avatar. She exists in balance to Shaidar Haran, about whom the Companion says:

“Shaidar Haran did not have nearly as much power as the Dark One, but the Dark One was able to project a shadowy form of himself into it.”

The Wheel of Time Companion

From this, I surmise that Nakomi is touched by the Creator in some way, and Brandon Sanderson implies as much. What he doesn’t say, but I will, is that this means the Creator must be an Aiel!

Ha! I won’t bore you with the linguistic algebra that proves my point, but this is just one example of how the Companion sparks fascinating connections and theories.

Where to Buy The Wheel of Time Companion

The Wheel of Time Companion is available as a hardcover or paperback, and there’s also an e-book version. For your convenience, I’ve provided links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Blackwell’s so you can choose the edition and bookseller you prefer. These are the links you need:

Hardcover

Paperback

The Tor Books edition is best for readers in the United States and Canada. The Orbit edition is preferred if you buy the paperback in Australia or Europe.

Tor Books Edition

Orbit Edition

Kindle Edition / NOOK Edition

You can also keep this book in its electronic format. Expedite your browsing with the “Search” function on your reader to accelerate your gathering of Wheel of Time knowledge. The same recommendations apply depending on your country of purchase.

Barnes & Noble e-books can be read on compatible NOOK devices and free NOOK Apps. The Amazon Kindle editions can be downloaded and read on Kindle devices or the Kindle apps for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android. The Kindle Cloud Reader app allows you to read content online.

The file sizes for The Wheel of Time Companion Kindle editions are 9,704 kilobytes for the Orbit version and 17,605 kilobytes for the Tor Books edition.

I hope you’ll share your thoughts on my review of The Wheel of Time Companion and the book itself. I always respond to contributions.

Until next time, may the Light shine on you, my friends!

Russell