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''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by American author James Oliver Rigney Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spanned fourteen volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and a companion book. Jordan began writing the first volume, ''The Eye of the World'', in 1984. It was published in January 1990. The author died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the twelfth and final volume in the series. He prepared extensive notes so another author could complete the book according to his wishes. Fellow fantasy author and long-time ''Wheel of Time'' fan Brandon Sanderson was brought in to complete the final book, but during the writing process it was decided that the book would be far too large to be published in one volume and would instead be published as three volumes: ''The Gathering Storm'' (2009), ''Towers of Midnight'' (2010), and ''A Memory of Light'' (2013). The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism, the metaphysical concepts of balance and duality, and a respect for nature found in Daoism. Additionally, its creation story has similarities to Christianity's "Creator" (Light) and Shai'tan, "The Dark One" (Shaytan is an Arabic word that in religious contexts is used as a name for the Devil). It was also partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's ''War and Peace'' (1869). ''The Wheel of Time'' is notable for its length, its detailed imaginary world, its well-developed magic system, and its large . The eighth through fourteenth books each reached number one on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. As of August 14, 2008 the series sold over 44 million copies worldwide and spawned an eponymous video game, roleplaying game, and soundtrack album. The television and film rights to the series have been optioned several times, most recently by Universal Studios. In 2014, ''The Wheel of Time'' was nominated for a Hugo Award.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2014-hugo-awards )〕 == Setting == In the series' mythology, a deity known as the Creator made the universe and the Wheel of Time, which governs all of existence. The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an 'age' or phase of history, and rotates under the influence of the One Power, which flows from the True Source composed of male and female halves (''saidin'' and ''saidar''). Humans who can use this power are called 'channelers'; the principal organization thereof in the books are the Aes Sedai or 'Servants of All'. The Creator having imprisoned its antithesis, Shai'tan (often called 'the Dark One'), an Aes Sedai experiment mistakenly allowed Shai'tan's influence into the world. Thereafter he is the story's principal antagonist, promising power and immortality to those who abet his total freedom (known as 'Darkfriends'). A century after the initial breach of the Dark One's prison, open warfare occurs between the forces of the Dark One and those of the Light, until the chieftain Lews Therin Telamon, known as the Dragon, leads a force of channelers and soldiers to reseal the prison; whereupon the Dark One inflicts a malediction that drives male channelers of the One Power insane. Thus affected, the male channelers create earthquakes and tsunamis altering numerous landscapes in an event that comes to be called "The Breaking of the World." Lews Therin himself kills his friends and family, and is known afterwards as "Kinslayer." Given a moment of sanity by Ishamael, chief among the Dark One's servants, Lews Therin commits suicide. In the aftermath, the women Aes Sedai re-organize society, and nullify male access to the Power. Two subsequent events are important to the novels' principal story: the Trolloc Wars, in which servants of the Dark One foment a continuous war for several hundred years; and the War of the Hundred Years, a devastating civil war succeeding the fall of a continent-spanning empire ruled by the 'High King', Artur Hawkwing. When the novels begin, most people live in a technology and culture roughly comparable to that of Europe's 1450 to 1600 (with the difference that women are socially equal to men in most societies, and superior in some), in fear of a prophecy that the Dark One will break from his prison and the Dragon will be reborn to face him. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Wheel of Time」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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