Very sad - my favorite author died yesterday
 

Robert Jordan (author of the Wheel of Time series) died yesterday, with one volume left to go in the series, which I've been reading for almost 20 years.

He'd been fighting a terminal disease for a couple of years, and supposedly he's made provisions for completion of the series in the event of his death, but it's very sad to see a very talented author die relatively young (I'd say he's around 60), with so much talent still to offer.

He was one of the greats in the fantasy genre.

are they worth reading? I'm seeing very mixed reviews. Seems like many are frustrated by overly descriptive language, with a languid plot.

Wheel of Time series drags on forever. Pace is horribly slow.

The name of the series didn't tip you off to that huh?

Very complex series. Most of the real fans (like me) have read them several times - particularly when a new one comes out, I read the previous one again.

There have been complaints of the plot dragging in the recent books, but if you have the attention span, they are wonderful books.