Last updated on 20 October 2024 at 04:16 pm
If you want to know which book comes where you can use this post for a summary of The Wheel of Time series in order of publication. It includes the cover art and preface quotes from each book. I know they’ll be the pride of your bookshelf if you collect them all.
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A Brief Word About The Wheel of Time
Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series is famed and respected because of its relatable characters, complex magic system, worldbuilding, and descriptive prose.
Some critics balk at the last commendation as Robert Jordan loved describing fashion, furniture, and features of the world in exhaustive detail. I am not one of those critics.
The smoothing of skirts and the tugging of braids show us personalities and moods; the flowers that grow and the curves of the land build the world, and our reading experience is heightened wherever the wind rises or the snow falls. By doing all this, the author shows us the characters’ status, personality, and emotions without short statements of fact landing it bluntly.
Robert Jordan was a pen name for James Oliver Rigney Jr., who asked himself: “What would it be like if someone tapped you on the shoulder and told you that you’re the savior of humankind?”
The Wheel of Time series answers that expansively, exploring themes of good and evil, destiny, and existential balance. I highly recommend the series to all fantasy fiction fans.
If you’re not sure about getting started, perhaps read my review of The Eye of the World. I strongly suggest you start The Wheel of Time series with this book and save the New Spring prequel for a later read.
The Wheel of Time Series in Order of Publication
I’ve peppered this post with quotes from the preface of each book. These are generally book extracts, translations, or sayings and are all born from Robert Jordan’s imagination. I hope you enjoy their inclusion.
Please don’t be confused or put off by the sometimes archaic language in these quotes, though. The books are not written in this style.
New Spring doesn’t have a foreword as the main series does, so I’ve used Gitara’s Foretelling from chapter 2 of that book instead. From a spoiler perspective, it’s all reasonably light apart from this.
If you prefer to read book blurbs over these quotes, I’ve taken that approach in my similar list for The Wheel of Time paperbacks. Or stick around, as these are the books that make up The Wheel of Time series in order of publication:
Book 1: The Eye of the World (1990)
“…Let the arm of the Lord of the Dawn shelter us from the Dark, and the great sword of justice defend us. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.”
(from Charal Drianaan te Calamon, The Cycle of the Dragon. Author unknown, the Fourth Age)
Book 2: The Great Hunt (1990)
“…Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth.”
(from The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon, as translated by Ellaine Marise’idin Alshinn, Chief Librarian at the Court of Arafel, in the Year of Grace 231 of the New Era, the Third Age)
Book 3: The Dragon Reborn (1991)
“…His coming shall be like the sharp edge of the plow, turning our lives in furrows from out of the places where we lie in our silence. The breaker of bonds; the forger of chains. The maker of futures; the unshaper of destiny.”
(from Commentaries on the Prophecies of the Dragon, by Jurith Dorine, Right Hand to the Queen of Almoren, 742 AB, the Third Age)
Book 4: The Shadow Rising (1992)
“…he shall stretch forth his hands to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in the pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him.”
(from Commentaries on the Karaethon Cycle, Sereine dar Shamelle Motara, Counsel-Sister to Comaelle, High Queen of Jaramide, circa 325 AB, the Third Age)
Book 5: The Fires of Heaven (1993)
“…Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death.”
(fragment from The Prophecies of the Dragon, believed translated by N’Delia Basolaine, First Maid and Swordfast to Raidhen of Hol Cuchone, circa 400 AB)
Book 6: Lord of Chaos (1994)
“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.”
(chant from a children’s game heard in Great Aravalon, the Fourth Age)
Book 7: A Crown of Swords (1996)
“…He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the very skies to bow. Pray that the heart of stone remembers tears, and the soul of fires, love.”
(from a much-disputed translation of The Prophecies of the Dragon, by the poet Kyera Termendal, of Shiota, believed to have been published between FY 700 and FY 800)
Book 8: The Path of Daggers (1998)
“On the heights, all paths are paved with daggers.”
(old Seanchan saying)
Book 9: Winter’s Heart (2000)
“The seals that hold back night shall weaken, and in the heart of winter shall winter’s heart be born amid the wailing of lamentations and the gnashing of teeth, for winter’s heart shall ride a black horse, and the name of it is Death.”
(from The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon)
Book 10: Crossroads of Twilight (2003)
“And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides, when the right hand falters and the left hand strays, that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword, while the winds of the Shadow grow.”
(from The Prophecies of the Dragon, translation believed done by Jain Charin, known as Jain Farstrider, shortly before his disappearance)
Prequel: New Spring (2004)
“He is born again! I feel him! The Dragon takes his first breath on the slope of Dragonmount! He is coming! He is coming! Light help us! Light help the world! He lies in the snow and cries like the thunder! He burns like the sun!”
(Gitara Moroso. New Spring, Chapter 2 – A Wish Fulfilled)
Book 11: Knife of Dreams (2005)
“The sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat are alike a knife of dreams.”
(from Fog and Steel by Madoc Comadrin)
Book 12: The Gathering Storm (2009)
“…These have been our days. They rain upon us beneath a dead sky, crushing us with their fury, until as one we beg: ‘Let it begin!’”
(Journal of the Unknown Scholar, entry for The Feast of Freia, 1000 NE)
Book 13: Towers of Midnight (2010)
“…And I knew that unless I spoke true, humanity would be left alone to face the Shadow. In that moment, my nervousness fled. I felt only a stillness, a calm sense of purpose. I opened my mouth, and I began to speak.”
(from The Dragon Reborn, by Loial, son of Arent son of Halan, of Stedding Shangtai)
Book 14: A Memory of Light (2013)
“…The moon was as blood, and the sun was as ashes. The seas boiled, and the living envied the dead. All was shattered, and all but memory lost, and one memory above all others, of him who brought the Shadow and the Breaking of the World. And him they named Dragon.”
(from Aleth nin Taerin alta Camora, The Breaking of the World. Author unknown, the Fourth Age)
Until next time, may the Light shine on you, my friends!
Russell
