20th Anniversary of EoTW

[lagmart]

I just finished TGS a couple days ago.  I started it on Monday - would have read it months ago, except I had very little free time and I was determined to reread the series before I started the new one.  As I read it, there were certain aspects of the plot which made me wonder how long this story had been in Robert Jordan's mind as compared to some other series, so to my surprise, when I looked up the Wikipedia entry for Eye of the World, I noticed that it lists January 15th, 1990 as the original publication date.  It struck me that, assuming that that is correct, I haven't seen anyone make note of that fact...

 

I only picked up the series for the first time in late 2006, but I was still struck by the loss of RJ.  How many people here have been following the series since it came out?  And is anyone going to do anything special for it?

[ed2funy]

I only picked it up 3 years ago.

I thought it first came out in 1991?

[Kadere]

Nope, Eye of the World came out in January of 1990, and The Great Hunt came out in like November of 1990, and then TDR was in 1991.

[Anoxanmore]

Bought the first book from a friend who mailed it to me (I was living in Egypt at the time) in Feb 1990. 

 

I wore out my first EotW book with how much I read that, in addition to TGH, TDR.

 

I can't believe it has been that long... two full decades, just wow.

[Crael123]

dang the series is older than i am. i am such a child

[ROB_88]

20 years, huh. shouldn't there be some sort of celebration?

[ed2funy]

Hooray!

;)

 

Dam...it is a whole year and a half older than me.

[SirTownsend]

its two years older than me.....I actually saw it first when I was around 12 in a library, it was the second book not the first, and I wasn't very interested.  Then a few years went by and Fall of my Junior year in high school the school library got books 4-6, I had been having trouble finding a book and out of ideas, saw the books in the new book rack and became interested, found out I needed the first book, went to the public library and got EoTW.  Been hooked since.  Thing is I learned the hard way to not bun out on books so I take a month break in between each book so i don't become tired of them, like them to much to start not liking them......I think there should be something also to celebrate this. 

[Werthead]

I don't think it was actually January 15th. I noted a while ago that all of the prior WoT books to Amazon starting up seem to have automatically been said to have come out on the 15th (halfway through) of their month of publication. If all six of them did come out on the 15th of their month, that would be an odd coincidence.

 

For the purposes of celebration however, unless we can get the real date, this is close enough :)

[Crael123]

the books are 6 years older than me :'(

[Casabamelon]

20 years, huh. shouldn't there be some sort of celebration?

No, but next year we can take it out for drinks.

[JenniferL]

There's going to be programming at both JordanCon and DragonCon this year reflecting this. Not much, because we're all crazy for TGS right now, but it'll be there.

[Isgrimner]

If Kadere's dates are correct, I think I got TEotW when the paperback was first released in the Christmas of '90.  I know The Great Hunt had just been released in trade paperback form.  Originally, I think The Dragon Reborn was the first book that got a hardcover release.

 

So for the most part I've had to do the long wait between book releases.  Early on it was only a year between releases, too.  Its odd to think that WOT has been part of my life for the greater part of it.  I've went through several copies of the various books, and several rereads, because for most of them I would reread the entire series before a new book came out.

[ed2funy]

So..going through the Twitters.....I found this link:

 

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-20th-birthday-to-wheel-of-time.html

 

I haven't read it yet...and I don't know if anyone posted it...I didn't see it....but just thought I would put it out there.