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(New Spring: The Novel) By Jordan, Robert (Author) paperback on
New Spring begins Moiraine and Lan's quest to find the Dragon Reborn that will lead to the events of The Eye of the World...and their fateful meeting with Rand al'Thor. New Spring is a perfect jumping-on point for fantasy readers wanting to know more about The Wheel of Time and the forthcoming TV show.
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About the author
Robert Jordan
662 books17.5k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.
Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.
He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.
Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."
On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.
He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.
Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.
Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.
He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.
Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."
On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.
He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.
Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 2, 2026
A wonderful little inside story about some of the founding characters of the over arching story. I read this between books nine and ten.
March 15, 2025
This book was written after the 10th and before the 11th installment of the Wheel of Time series. I had mistakenly read it first because it had “In the Beginning” on the cover, which actually referred to its status as a free floating prequel to the series.
This was a well-written, high fantasy novel that I’m glad to have read. It world building is subtle but robust; it doesn’t read like a dry history book, explaining only the pertinent points leading the reader imagine/visualize/organize the wars, factions, magic formations and whatnot.
That being said, there’s a lot of names to keep track of and just as many to forget. But if it’s important, their names/titles will be repeated a lot. I recommend taking note of the Aes Sedai’s names for later in the book - it makes the twist more twisty when you actually know who they’re talking about.
I enjoyed the fictionalized countries, the descriptions of clothing, and how the characters abided or worked around their codes and customs. I also enjoyed the layers of subterfuge and was caught off guard throughout the book.
This book progressed at a decent pace and finished with dramatic flourish. If I hadn’t known that there were 14 books in the series, however, I would have been disappointed in the lack of fast action. But since I was aware there were many other books, I made sure to enjoy the setting and characters’ motives/viewpoints and personal histories.
Another plus was that I learned new words while reading!
Because of my positive experience with the book, I decided to read the next in the series and that’s when I learned of my unfortunate mistake.
This was a well-written, high fantasy novel that I’m glad to have read. It world building is subtle but robust; it doesn’t read like a dry history book, explaining only the pertinent points leading the reader imagine/visualize/organize the wars, factions, magic formations and whatnot.
That being said, there’s a lot of names to keep track of and just as many to forget. But if it’s important, their names/titles will be repeated a lot. I recommend taking note of the Aes Sedai’s names for later in the book - it makes the twist more twisty when you actually know who they’re talking about.
I enjoyed the fictionalized countries, the descriptions of clothing, and how the characters abided or worked around their codes and customs. I also enjoyed the layers of subterfuge and was caught off guard throughout the book.
This book progressed at a decent pace and finished with dramatic flourish. If I hadn’t known that there were 14 books in the series, however, I would have been disappointed in the lack of fast action. But since I was aware there were many other books, I made sure to enjoy the setting and characters’ motives/viewpoints and personal histories.
Another plus was that I learned new words while reading!
Because of my positive experience with the book, I decided to read the next in the series and that’s when I learned of my unfortunate mistake.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews