''New Spring'' is a fantasy novel by American author

Robert Jordan James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan,"Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the na ...

, a prequel in the ''

Wheel of Time The wheel of time or wheel of history (also known as ''Kalachakra'') is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, which regard time as ...

'' series. ''New Spring'' consists of 26 chapters and an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

Background to publication

"New Spring" was originally published as a novella in the

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

anthology edited by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand ...

entitled '' Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy''. Published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

, this anthology was released on 15 September 1999, between the 1998 publication of ''

The Path of Daggers ''The Path of Daggers'' is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the eighth book of his series ''The Wheel of Time''. It was published by Tor Books and released on October 20, 1998. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 pos ...

'' (Book 8 of ''The Wheel of Time'') and 2000 publication of ''

Winter's Heart ''Winter's Heart'' is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the ninth book of his series ''Wheel of Time''. It was published by Tor Books and released on November 7, 2000. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 position on t ...

'' (Book 9). Robert Jordan later expanded the novella into a standalone novel (though of significantly shorter length than typical ''Wheel of Time'' books), which was then published by Tor Books in January 2004, between the 2003 publication of ''

Crossroads of Twilight ''Crossroads of Twilight'' is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the tenth book of his ''The Wheel of Time'' series. It was published by Tor Books and released on January 7, 2003. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 po ...

'' (Book 10) and the 2005 publication of ''

Knife of Dreams ''Knife of Dreams'' is a fantasy novel by American author Robert Jordan, the eleventh book in his series ''The Wheel of Time''. It was the last book which Jordan wrote completely before his death in 2007, with Brandon Sanderson finishing the se ...

'' (Book 11). The ''New Spring'' novel was originally conceived of as the first in a trilogy of prequel novels. The second and third were to focus on Tam serving in the Illianer army and finding Rand, and Moiraine and Lan's journeys and discoveries to reach the Two Rivers just before the events of the first novel. Jordan's original plan was to write the trilogy before books 11 and 12 of the main series, but he was disappointed with ''New Springs reception and decided to postpone this until after the main series was completed. However, his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on 16 September 2007—before the completion of the final novel in the series—makes this highly unlikely. The first paperback edition of ''New Spring'', released on 13 June 2005, gave readers the first look at ''Knife of Dreams'' (Book 11), as it featured an advance excerpt of part of the

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

of ''Knife of Dreams''.

Plot summary

''New Spring'' describes events that take place twenty years before the events of ''

The Eye of the World ''The Eye of the World'' is a high fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan, the first book of ''The Wheel of Time'' series. It was published by Tor Books and released on 15 January 1990. The unabridged audiobook is read by Michael Kramer ...

'' (Book 1). The story begins in the last days of the

Aiel War ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...

, and the Battle of the Shining Walls around

Tar Valon ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...

. It is set primarily in

and the

Borderlands A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border. Borderland or borderlands may refer to: Places * Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia * Borderland (ele ...

, specifically Kandor. ''New Spring'' focuses mainly on

Moiraine Damodred This article serves as an index of major characters in the fictional setting of Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, with a description of their main roles or feats in the series. ''The Wheel of Time'' has 2787 distinct named characters. ...

and

Siuan Sanche This article serves as an index of major characters in the fictional setting of Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, with a description of their main roles or feats in the series. ''The Wheel of Time'' has 2787 distinct named characters. ...

, two Aes Sedai new to the sisterhood, and how a young Moiraine became Aes Sedai, met

Lan Mandragoran This article serves as an index of major characters in the fictional setting of Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, with a description of their main roles or feats in the series. ''The Wheel of Time'' has 2787 distinct named characters. ...

and made him her Warder. The novel also explains how Moiraine and Siuan witnessed a prophecy of the Dragon's rebirth and came to begin investigating the ''Karaethon Cycle'', the Prophecies of the

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, decades before discovering

Rand al'Thor This article serves as an index of major characters in the fictional setting of Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' series, with a description of their main roles or feats in the series. ''The Wheel of Time'' has 2787 distinct named characters. ...

. The novel starts with the return of the Aiel to the Aiel Waste, and a Foretelling by the Keeper of the Chronicles, Gitara Moroso, that the Dragon has been reborn. Moiraine, Siuan and the Amyrlin Seat Tamra Ospenya are the only people to witness the foretelling.

Graphic novel

It is also the first of Jordan's works to be adapted to

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

format. Issue #1 was published in July 2005. It ran eight issues total. It was produced by DB Pro, who previously adapted "The Legend of Huma" by

Richard A. Knaak Richard A. Knaak (born May 28, 1961 in Chicago) is the author of ''Dragonlance'' novels, '' Dragonrealm'', six novels for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Diablo'' series, and ten works in the Warcraft universe. He has also written five non-series f ...

and "The Hedge Knight" by

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

and published by Red Eagle Entertainment. The comics are adapted by

Chuck Dixon Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...

, drawn by

Mike S. Miller Mike S. Miller (born 1971) is a Native Hawaiian-American comic book comic book creator, illustrator and writer, who has done work for Malibu Comics, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Image Comics, as well as Self-publishing, self-published work under t ...

, colored by Etienne St Laurent, edited by Ernst Dabel, lettered by Artmonkeys, with design by Bill Tortolini. All eight issues were collected and re-released together as a single graphic novel in January 2011. It includes extra bonus material of developmental art, script pages, and correspondence between Jordan and Dixon.

References

External links

Official site from Tor Books
* (hardcover) * (paperback) {{The Wheel of Time Prequel novels 1999 American novels 2004 American novels American fantasy novels The Wheel of Time books Novels by Robert Jordan Tor Books books