Fantasy

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

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  • Create Date：2021-12-14 08:51:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert Jordan
  • ISBN：1250846404
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Summary

A stunning new hardcover edition of The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time， bursting with full-color art， legends， and stories from the iconic series that's soon to be an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine！

Since its debut in 1990， The Wheel of Time® by Robert Jordan has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope， originality， and compelling characters。

In this series companion book， over eighty full color paintings include maps of the world， portraits of the central characters， landscapes， objects of Power， and national flags。 The reader will learn about the exotic beasts used by the Seanchan， witness the rise and fall of Artur Hawking， peruse the deeper story of the War of the Shadow， and discover the tale of the founding of the White Tower， and the creation of the Ajahs。

The inner workings of the closed country， Shara， are revealed， as is the existence of a hitherto unknown continent called The Land of the Madmen。 This stunning volume also includes double-page spreads of the first seven book jackets by Darrell Sweet so that the art can be enjoyed without type， and all the known maps of the world， including maps of the Seanchan Empire， the nations of the Covenant of the Ten Nations， and the nations as they were when Artur Paendrag Tanreall began his rise to legend。

In a new hardcover edition with a beautiful updated cover， The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is a must-buy for devoted fans of the series and newcomers alike。

The Wheel of Time ®
New Spring: The Novel
#1 The Eye of the World
#2 The Great Hunt
#3 The Dragon Reborn
#4 The Shadow Rising
#5 The Fires of Heaven
#6 Lord of Chaos
#7 A Crown of Swords
#8 The Path of Daggers
#9 Winter's Heart
#10 Crossroads of Twilight
#11 Knife of Dreams

By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
#12 The Gathering Storm
#13 Towers of Midnight
#14 A Memory of Light

By Robert Jordan
Warrior of the Altaii

By Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

By Robert Jordan， Harriet McDougal， Alan Romanczuk， and Maria Simons
The Wheel of Time Companion

By Robert Jordan and Amy Romanczuk
Patterns of the Wheel: Coloring Art Based on Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

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Reviews

Eric Sullenberger ，

Certainly shorter than any of the books， but an enjoyable read （although it probably should be read in publication order）。 Even though it is fiction， it is placed in-universe and written to seem like nonfiction。 The artwork is basic （and a little disappointing）。 My biggest complaint is that the narrator of the audiobook pronounces many things differently than the audiobooks of the actual series。

Miss Antelope ，

None of this aged well。

Mordsith Cutler ，

I'm so hooked now。 I'm so hooked now。 。。。more

Brad ，

It is fitting that the last book in my reading challenge is this one。 As it has been said， "the Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass。。。" The Wheel of Time is what reignited my love for reading as an adult and I am so happy to have come across a used copy of this book in my reading journey。 In an age of detailed fan wikis a book such as this is somewhat irrelevant， but still holds appeal to fans of the series。 The only reason that it is not rated 5 stars is because of the multiple spelling It is fitting that the last book in my reading challenge is this one。 As it has been said， "the Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass。。。" The Wheel of Time is what reignited my love for reading as an adult and I am so happy to have come across a used copy of this book in my reading journey。 In an age of detailed fan wikis a book such as this is somewhat irrelevant， but still holds appeal to fans of the series。 The only reason that it is not rated 5 stars is because of the multiple spelling errors throughout and the frankly terrible art。I love the Wheel of Time so much。 。。。more

Leslie Ginn ，

This book is damn near Flawless with two complaints。 1） section 6 feels just a little bit too long and become slightly tedious because I read it in one sitting。 I think that if I had broken it up it would have been easier to get through。 2） Since this was printed between the release of book 7 and 8 it only covers the first half of the series。 I know we have the companion which has EVERYTHING in it， but this was so easily digestible it would have been nice to get a book 2。 Now the things I loved This book is damn near Flawless with two complaints。 1） section 6 feels just a little bit too long and become slightly tedious because I read it in one sitting。 I think that if I had broken it up it would have been easier to get through。 2） Since this was printed between the release of book 7 and 8 it only covers the first half of the series。 I know we have the companion which has EVERYTHING in it， but this was so easily digestible it would have been nice to get a book 2。 Now the things I loved about it。 The section on The Forsaken I think is so important to understanding the different layers of the story and something I may consider re-reading as I go further along in the series。 （At the very least I will turn back and reference it。） This book does a very good job of coalescing all of these scattered information that we've gotten throughout the series and putting it in one place。 I was able to identify some connections （ and confirm some theories） that I didn't see before which has me really excited about where the story is going。 Something I was not expecting and I want to make note for people that have not read these series。 There are so many elements of The Stormlight Archive that Brandon Sanderson has borrowed from The Wheel of Time that I am now convinced after reading this book that if you read The Wheel of Time you may get spoilers for Stormlight Archive （and vice versa）。 I plan on testing this Theory by having my husband read The Stormlight Archive and see if he can predict things as they come。Something else I would like to point out in the world section where he talks a lot about cultures it was so heartwarming to see so many references to so many real world cultures and religions。 。。。more

Liz Young ，

Not what I was hoping for but interesting enough to write D&D campaigns off of。

Gerard C。 Klug ，

Good but wish there was an updateOne of the strengths of this reference is how it is written as if a tame is being told to an audience。 Unlike a reference book， but rather like a Bard would explain the history。 But this book was completed before the series was finished。 It need an update。

Ceyna ，

3。5 out of 5 starsThis one's serves as a good recap to get ready for the the upcoming WoT TV series。 3。5 out of 5 starsThis one's serves as a good recap to get ready for the the upcoming WoT TV series。 。。。more

Franca ，

De serie al meermalen gelezen （ze staan in t Engels in mn kast）: het duurde zo lang tot er een nieuw deel uit was， dat ik dan elke keer weer alles wilde herlezen。 Heerlijk om dan weer een hele poos in die wereld te vertoeven。 Dit boek lijkt een encyclopedie， maar leest als een set losse achtergrondverhalen over de serie。 Ook leuk om nu eindelijk eens de goede uitspraak van sommige plaatsen， namen of zaken gehoord te hebben。。。 NB: Niet lezen voor deel 7！

Antonio Pastor izquierdo ，

Un libro con pocas ilustraciones pero mucha información sobre el mundo de Robert Jordan。 No se vende mucho， y pude comprarlo de oferta en la librería Gigamesh de Barcelona。 Os aconsejo comprarlo allí。

Kevin ，

I like that this companion book is written from the perspective of a historian of the time。 The information therefore may not be 100% accurate and is definitely not complete。 You won't get any info to spoil future books but you will get a much richer backstory for certain characters and a far deeper understanding of the world and it's history。 I like that this companion book is written from the perspective of a historian of the time。 The information therefore may not be 100% accurate and is definitely not complete。 You won't get any info to spoil future books but you will get a much richer backstory for certain characters and a far deeper understanding of the world and it's history。 。。。more

Ben ，

2。5 stars， it's not terrible but doesn't add too much outside of collating information that has already been detailed in the series at its time of publishing。 The art is laughably bad and the text style is a bit weird as it's presented as somehow written 'in universe' by an author who somehow knows everything that the omnipotent series reader does。Maybe worth a browse， and I guess it could be a good reference in the absence of the internet， but otherwise skip。 2。5 stars， it's not terrible but doesn't add too much outside of collating information that has already been detailed in the series at its time of publishing。 The art is laughably bad and the text style is a bit weird as it's presented as somehow written 'in universe' by an author who somehow knows everything that the omnipotent series reader does。Maybe worth a browse， and I guess it could be a good reference in the absence of the internet， but otherwise skip。 。。。more

Alva ，

3，5

Isabella ，

Rating: 5 starsSo I got the paperback version （the edition this is listed under） for myself sometime early December last year。 I started reading， and it was great。 Little did I know there was something way better。 My mum got me the large hardcover almost reference-like copy for Christmas （thank you second hand store for having books out of print） and it was just incredible！ Yes， the illustrations are downright laughable; I would even send pictures to my brother and he， who knows nothing about Wh Rating: 5 starsSo I got the paperback version （the edition this is listed under） for myself sometime early December last year。 I started reading， and it was great。 Little did I know there was something way better。 My mum got me the large hardcover almost reference-like copy for Christmas （thank you second hand store for having books out of print） and it was just incredible！ Yes， the illustrations are downright laughable; I would even send pictures to my brother and he， who knows nothing about Wheel of Time other than the words "Dragon Reborn"， the name Rand， and that Elayne sucks （I have taught him well） would find them hilarious。 But Robert Jordan and Teresa Patterson （who turned Jordan's notes into prose） were hyperaware of this， even so far as to titling the section displaying the cover artwork as "Some Narrative Paintings of Questionable Authenticity" which everyone knows is 100000% true。 This was amazing but I still took over a month to read it， mostly due to reading the required books for my library's reading challenge， and we all know how that went （five one-star books in a row is how it went）。 So even though my enjoyment of a book is usually reflective of how quick I read it， it isn't in this instance。Ok， kind of a rambly tangent here at the end。 Still related， but just a bunch of blah blah blah from my mouth that matters to no one but me。 It's to do with the Arad Doman flag （see？ I told you it was majorly trivial）。 The description of the flag is literally listed as "a silver hand grasping a silver sword by the blade， point down" 。 Simple enough， right？ So why does the picture look like this: Why？ Who proof read this？？ They got the direction of the sword wrong， and the hand placement！ All they had to do was draw a flag from a given description。 How hard could that be？ And then why did they put a wrong flag in the book？！ Especially when there's a perfect accurate depiction of the flag （which was probably drawn after this book was published， that I will acknowledge） that looks like this: Aaaaaaaaah。 。。。more

Jay Targaryen ，

The World of Robert Jordan’s: The Wheel of Time is a fantastic companion book to The Wheel of Time series which is filled with additional world-building， histories， lore and includes several illustrations of maps。 I loved that this book was a sort of in-universe history book as it’s written from the perspective of multiple scholars from this world and they informed the reader that all the information in this book was compiled from the earliest available records starting from the Age of Legends a The World of Robert Jordan’s: The Wheel of Time is a fantastic companion book to The Wheel of Time series which is filled with additional world-building， histories， lore and includes several illustrations of maps。 I loved that this book was a sort of in-universe history book as it’s written from the perspective of multiple scholars from this world and they informed the reader that all the information in this book was compiled from the earliest available records starting from the Age of Legends all the way through to the current New Era。 It adds an interesting dynamic because the scholars know a lot of secrets that we the reader don’t know， but at the same time， the scholar also doesn’t know certain information （such as information on the White Tower and Aes Sedai）， which we the reader know because we learned them from Egwene or Siuan’s POV chapters in the main series。 This will be a spoiler review （since this book was written around halfway through the main series） and it will be more of a free-flowing review rather than having a set format that I usually have for my reviews。Image: The Wheel of Time Map。This book is structured very well， starting with an introduction to the main aspects of The Wheel of Time series which is the Wheel itself， the Pattern of Ages and the One Power。 The 2nd section delves into the Age of Legends （my personal favorite chapter of the book）， the War of Power， and a breakdown of all the Forsaken and Shadowspawn。 The 3rd section covers the Breaking of the World and events after the Breaking such as the founding of the White Tower， the rise and fall of the Ten Nations， the reign of Artur Hawkwing， etc。 The first 3 sections talk about the backstory and the major events preceding The Wheel of Time series but the 4th sections goes in-depth into the world itself， but specifically the exotic/lesser-known lands such as the land of the Seanchan， Shara， the Sea Folk Islands， the Aiel Waste and it also talks about their culture， political hierarchy， and some neat tidbits/facts that were previously unknown。 The 5th and final section talks about the local nations on the main land such as Andor， Tar Valon （and the White Tower）， Cairhien， Illian， Tear， the Borderland nations， and so on。 There are so many awesome pieces of information you learn when reading this book， such as learning all of the Forsaken’s real names， what their occupations were during the Age of Legends and the reasoning as to why they turned to the Shadow。 It also gives exclusive information on the Forsaken that the main series doesn’t cover such as what each of the Forsaken were doing right after reawakening from their deep sleep caused by the Seals on the Dark One’s prison。 What also makes this book a must-read is learning the little details that are so mind-boggling， like learning that the Crystal Throne itself was actually a Ter’angreal that causes anyone who approaches it to feel an immense sense of awe and wonder， or the fact that not only did Artur Hawkwing send his son west to conquer Seanchan （which was already known）， but he also sent his daughter east to conquer Shara （but ultimately failed）。 It was great to learn more about Artur Hawkwing and the Second Dragon， Guaire Amalasan。 I also liked that this book gave more details on Shara。 I was fascinated by all the secrecy of Shara and the locals of Shara purposely lying to outsiders and merchants。 There’s a great conspiracy that the Ayyad channelers actually rule Shara， and not their traditional monarch （Sh’boan/Sh’botay）。 There was also some great facts on the Aiel such as a cool story on why the Aiel started wearing veils before they killed， and the cut of the Cadin’sor uniform that the Aiel wear is actually slightly different for each clan and sept， but the differences are so subtle that no one other than an Aiel can truly notice。 Image: An Aiel。There was also so much new information on the Seanchan。 This book explains why the Seanchan have their odd stance on leashing Aes Sedai: because the Aes Sedai in the continent of Seanchan were much different from regular Aes Sedai。 The Seanchan Aes Sedai freely used the One Power as a military weapon and were vicious and manipulating。 I found it fascinating to learn that the Seanchan beasts are not actually from Seanchan but were the offspring of beasts brought back from parallel worlds via the Portal Stones。 They were presumably brought in for aid against Shadowspawn during the years after the Breaking。 It was great to learn more in-depth on each of these Seanchan beasts/exotics， which includes a brief physical description and also talks about their abilities， strengths， weaknesses， other unique attributes， and how the Seanchan use them in their military strategies。 This book is also the only source that shows an actual map of the continent of Seanchan， its nations and major cities。There’s also some cool origin stories on certain aspects of the main series， such as the origin of the Waygates and what the Ways originally looked like without the taint and corruption of Machin Shin aka the Black Wind， the origins of why Tarabon and Arad Doman fight over Almoth Plain， the origins and material used to make the Warder’s color-shifting cloaks （which was commonly used in the Age of Legends） and the origin of the Sea Folk since the Breaking。 Image: Semirhage。[Final Thoughts & Rating]:This was a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes world-building/histories and also for the hardcore fans of The Wheel of Time series。 I found so much additional context and exclusive details that couldn’t be found anywhere else， so it will definitely enhance my re-read of this series when I get to it at some point in the future。 It really does change the way I look at several aspects of the main series， especially the Seanchan and the Forsaken。 It also answers a few of the mysteries that were set up in the main series， so there’s that as an added bonus as well。 Overall， it was a very quick and fun read。 Rating: 7/10 My Book Rankings: https://jaytargaryen。blogspot。com/p/b。。。 *My Rating System*5 Stars （9-10）: Amazing4 Stars （7-9）: Really Good to Great3 Stars （5-7）: Average to Good2 Stars （3-5）: Bad to Mediocre1 Star （1-3）: Terrible 。。。more

Alina ，

This is a companion book for readers of the Wheel of Time， as it reveals some previously unknown details from WoT history。 I enjoyed it a lot， as it enabled me to find out more about the Age of Legends， and the Breaking， and Arthur Hawkwing。 Unfortunately， it covers only half of the books， so the information from the last books cannot be found here， thus making it incomplete。 Downside: I was surprised by how ugly the illustrations are。P。S。1。 Make sure not to read this before you read at least to This is a companion book for readers of the Wheel of Time， as it reveals some previously unknown details from WoT history。 I enjoyed it a lot， as it enabled me to find out more about the Age of Legends， and the Breaking， and Arthur Hawkwing。 Unfortunately， it covers only half of the books， so the information from the last books cannot be found here， thus making it incomplete。 Downside: I was surprised by how ugly the illustrations are。P。S。1。 Make sure not to read this before you read at least to book 5， preferably 7， as it contains spoilers from previous books。P。S。2。 You can practically read everyting in this book here: http://jordan。co。zw/WoT/Guidev3/Guide。。。 。。。more

Thomas Boxall ，

For Wheel of Time fans only。

Melissa Koser ，

As everyone else agrees， the art in this is pretty awful。 But you read it to get a full timeline of the WoT history from the Age of Legends to the present， and to gain a greater understanding of the lands and cultures。 The most fascinating of course were the Seanchean and Sharans， but there were a few brand new surprises that even a complete fanatic like myself hadn’t known about。 The reason this doesn’t get 5 stars is because there were no prophecies actually listed under the chapter， “Propheci As everyone else agrees， the art in this is pretty awful。 But you read it to get a full timeline of the WoT history from the Age of Legends to the present， and to gain a greater understanding of the lands and cultures。 The most fascinating of course were the Seanchean and Sharans， but there were a few brand new surprises that even a complete fanatic like myself hadn’t known about。 The reason this doesn’t get 5 stars is because there were no prophecies actually listed under the chapter， “Prophecies of the Dragon，” and I was dying to learn more of them。 。。。more

Kevin ，

Quite a lot of info here。 A good resource to have on hand with maybe one of two others。 Recommended

Fiona Saunders ，

This was a great listening to as an auto book but that also meant that I did miss out on the illustrations。 It was a better way of exploring the world that Robert Jordan create without it been swallowed by the action/drama occurring through the series。 Also contains min stories of the history that is mentioned through out this saga。 A good read no matter if you read it during the reading of the saga or after。 I would not recommend it before you at least read first couple of books first due to a This was a great listening to as an auto book but that also meant that I did miss out on the illustrations。 It was a better way of exploring the world that Robert Jordan create without it been swallowed by the action/drama occurring through the series。 Also contains min stories of the history that is mentioned through out this saga。 A good read no matter if you read it during the reading of the saga or after。 I would not recommend it before you at least read first couple of books first due to a few spoilers。 。。。more

Trent ，

I listened to this book on audiobook and really enjoyed it。 My favorite aspect of the Wheel of Time is it’s world and history， and this book is essentially just a history of that world leading up to series。 Robert Jordan’s imagination truly was unparalleled in modern Fantasy。 His creation is rivaled only by Tolkien， IMO。 That said， I totally understand that others may not enjoy this book。 It takes a unique person - namely a Wheel of Time fanboy/girl that enjoys learning about the history of a co I listened to this book on audiobook and really enjoyed it。 My favorite aspect of the Wheel of Time is it’s world and history， and this book is essentially just a history of that world leading up to series。 Robert Jordan’s imagination truly was unparalleled in modern Fantasy。 His creation is rivaled only by Tolkien， IMO。 That said， I totally understand that others may not enjoy this book。 It takes a unique person - namely a Wheel of Time fanboy/girl that enjoys learning about the history of a completely fictional world。 Do with that what you will。 。。。more

Jim Henderson ，

A good encyclopedic reference

Tom Sheddy ，

Includes some knowledge that literally no one needs to know。 As a WoT fanatic， I do recommend every reader who is as big a fan of WoT as me to read it。

Lukas Lovas ，

Unless you are a huge Wheel of Time fan， this book probably won't bring you much joy。 It reads a bit as if someone grabbed a wikia on WoT， ordered it into chapters and published it。 COnsidering this came out in 1997， that's actually pretty impressive :） Still。。。the info contained here is。。。。nice to know。 There are some bits we know and are familiar with， but then again， especially with the chapters on the old world， some of it is extremely interesting and provides a lot of color to the series， f Unless you are a huge Wheel of Time fan， this book probably won't bring you much joy。 It reads a bit as if someone grabbed a wikia on WoT， ordered it into chapters and published it。 COnsidering this came out in 1997， that's actually pretty impressive :） Still。。。the info contained here is。。。。nice to know。 There are some bits we know and are familiar with， but then again， especially with the chapters on the old world， some of it is extremely interesting and provides a lot of color to the series， fleshing out details an history。 I mean。。。did you know there's another continent to the south with mad men on the loose？？ I didn't！ Worth a read if you love WoT。 Probably boring， if you don't and you haven't actually read WoT。 。。。more

Naomi ，

I enjoyed this and thought it was very informative！

Jonas Birk ，

A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW Despite having read the entire series， this book sheds light on things I didn’t know about the world of Wheel of Time。The parts must enjoyable—to me at least—are the background information provided on the Age of Legends， the Breaking of the World， and the time of Arthur Hawkwing。I wouldn’t recommend reading this book before or during a first read-through of the series， as it contains spoilers。 But obtaining a better understanding of the setting may increase the quality o A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW Despite having read the entire series， this book sheds light on things I didn’t know about the world of Wheel of Time。The parts must enjoyable—to me at least—are the background information provided on the Age of Legends， the Breaking of the World， and the time of Arthur Hawkwing。I wouldn’t recommend reading this book before or during a first read-through of the series， as it contains spoilers。 But obtaining a better understanding of the setting may increase the quality of a reread。Definitely worth checking out for a fan。 。。。more

MissKerri79 ，

I really would have given this a 5 star rating if it wasn't for the fact that some of the inserts， separated by lines above and below， are put in odd spots。 And a few other issues I have with this。 I know there's the Companion book now （which I gladly paid for to have on my Kindle-being able to search for specific people/things is wondrous） so this one is probably being shunted to the side， but it really should be updated。 If not with new information， at least typos and formatting， missing bits I really would have given this a 5 star rating if it wasn't for the fact that some of the inserts， separated by lines above and below， are put in odd spots。 And a few other issues I have with this。 I know there's the Companion book now （which I gladly paid for to have on my Kindle-being able to search for specific people/things is wondrous） so this one is probably being shunted to the side， but it really should be updated。 If not with new information， at least typos and formatting， missing bits and placement。 Then again， all of this could be a product of having the Kindle edition， but I don't know because I've never had the physical book so this is my only reference。I'm a total WoT fangirl so I had no problem reading through this book and I'll do it again。 I like the history and the information you don't get in any of the books that I've always wondered about。 Of course it doesn't answer all my questions due to it only going to a certain point in the series。My few pet peeves with this book。。。I'll give a few examples of things that frequently happen within the Kindle Edition:-Chapter 24， Warders section。 They put the insert for the Amyrlin Seat at the end of the Warder section BUT they toss a picture of Siuane Sanche between paragraphs in the warder section。 It may just be how it came out when it was converted for Kindle， but it's very odd。 No idea if it's like this in the physical copy。-Chapter 28 （titled The Borderlands: Shienar， Arafel， Kandor， and Saldaea） there's a freaking picture of "The earliest known map of the Two Rivers"。 Call me crazy， but the map should have been in Chapter 27 in the section about the Two Rivers。 They said absolutely nothing about the Two Rivers in Chapter 28 because it was about the Borderlands。 Very strange place for the pic。-Chapter 24 again， Sigil of the White Tower in the Banner description。 They list the colors of the sigil （the Ajahs） and omit the Brown。 "The Flame of Tar Valon centered in a swirl or spiral of seven colors， running in order from the topmost center: blue， green， white， gray， yellow， red。" Didn't mention the brown， but it's clearly there in the picture and they are obviously part of the White Tower。 This one is just oversight IMHO， but isn't the only section it happens in。There are more that I could list， but you get the point。 Don't get me wrong， I loved loved LOVED reading this。 So much that I chose it over The Eye of the World until I finished it。 It's just these types of things make the reading a little jarring for me。 I definitely recommend it if you want more information on the Age of Legends and all types of subjects that aren't clarified in the books。 I wish it would have been updated for further books in the series because I would have loved to read sections on the Horn of Valere and the Heroes of the Horn。 Alas， it didn't happen。 Again I must mention my love for the Companion book because of the detail and explanations it does give that this book doesn't。 It did include a small section on the Band of the Red Hand and my obsession （seriously bad obsession） for bloody Matrim Cauthon and everything I can know about him was gratified a little to read that。I'm trying not to start rambling about the series so I'm just going to say I'm more than happy that I bought the book and you should absolutely check it out if you want to Delve （wink wink） deeper into Randland。 。。。more

T。A。 ，

I have had this companion guide for so long but I didn't read it as I was worried about spoilers。 It only recently occurred to me that it was written way before the last books were released so maybe it was ok to read。 I think so long as you have read books 7 to 8 you should be okay to miss any spoilers。 Is it essential reading？ Not really， has it added anything to my experience of the books， again not really。 It was interesting to see how much work had actually gone into the backstory of the peo I have had this companion guide for so long but I didn't read it as I was worried about spoilers。 It only recently occurred to me that it was written way before the last books were released so maybe it was ok to read。 I think so long as you have read books 7 to 8 you should be okay to miss any spoilers。 Is it essential reading？ Not really， has it added anything to my experience of the books， again not really。 It was interesting to see how much work had actually gone into the backstory of the people and nations though， from the point of view of a writer considering writing a fantasy book it makes me realise just how much work is involved that you don't need when you base it in this world。I actually found the illustrations of the characters to be off-putting as none of them looked like I had imagined and not even like the cover art of the books I have。 If you are a die-hard fan then it is worth getting， just so you have it for your collection。 Otherwise， I would say it is your personal choice but you won't miss anything by not reading it。 。。。more

di9girl ，

More！ Really wish this had been longer and perhaps with a section as the order of the books。 Maybe the other WoT book I’ve seen （similar cover） does this？！？But it’s a great guide to the history of the lands and characters。 It does give a few spoilers so if you haven’t read the series you might want to wait。 I’m only on book 4 but I like spoilers lol。

Matthew Gagnon ，

When this compendium came out， I was in the middle of a white hot obsession with the Wheel of Time novels。 I was hungry for more， and I couldn't get it fast enough。 So when Jordan released this book， promising to reveal more about the world the novels were set in， including history， geography， more on creatures and servants of the Dark One， I couldn't buy it fast enough。 And in terms of content， it delivered。 Contained within were histories of the ages， as well as world history in the current ag When this compendium came out， I was in the middle of a white hot obsession with the Wheel of Time novels。 I was hungry for more， and I couldn't get it fast enough。 So when Jordan released this book， promising to reveal more about the world the novels were set in， including history， geography， more on creatures and servants of the Dark One， I couldn't buy it fast enough。 And in terms of content， it delivered。 Contained within were histories of the ages， as well as world history in the current age。 Political changes over time。 Maps。 Biographies。 History of the Aes Sedai。 So much content。But the biggest joy I felt in reading the book was one page。 The world map。This revealed for the first time what the rest of the world we had never been shown looked like。 The lands （Shara） beyond the Aiel Waste。 What the continent of Seanchan looked like。 And a mysterious， Australia shaped island continent called the Isle of Madmen， which lit my imagination on fire。Of course， today， now that all of the novels have been completed， readers of the series will know much of this before they pick it up， if they have never done so。 Some of it will be outdated。 Some of it changed slightly。 Much of it is， in retrospect， irrelevant。 But that doesn't change how awesome it was when published， and how useful it still is for fans today。I would have given it five stars， but for the thing that sticks out to everyone about this book: the bloody atrocious art。It is verifiably awful， there is no mistake about that。 Just don't blame the artist too much for that。 He -- Todd Hamilton -- was hired to draw a few black and white drawings for the book， but due to his contract was then forced to produce a much larger amount of full color art in a much shorter timeframe。 He simply didn't have the time or ability to create decent art， which is why fans have always called this "The Big White Book of Bad Art。"That aside， it is still a must for any fan。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0