Most people who have read The Wheel of Time series of books could rightly describe the collection as a "fantasy epic". The series has proved immensely popular with young adults and older readers, with every single one of the fourteen books in the collection appearing in the best sellers list. Jordan's work certainly cannot be accused of skimping on content either. The shortest of the books runs to an impressive thirty-one chapters and most contain six or seven hundred pages. Jordan died in 2007 before the series could be completed, but the final three books were written posthumously based on his notes and manuscripts.

The stories themselves are pure fantasy fiction based in both the past and the future. Jordan includes all the classic ingredients of the genre, with a supreme evil being awoken from his slumber, a hero stepping forward to save the world, and a myriad of different characters, exciting adventures and even a touch of underlying morality. Critics have accused Jordan's books of being muddled and clunky versions of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy,but criticism from the establishment aside, it is hard to argue with such a huge army of die-hard fans.

Earlier in his career Jordan wrote several books continuing the saga of the Robert E. Howard's iconic Conan. These publications were acclaimed at the time of writing, and received renewed interest following the success of the Wheel of Time books. At auction, a first edition of the earlier books in the Wheel of Time series can fetch up to two hundred dollars each.

Only time will tell whether or not The Wheel of Time collection will be a future collectible classic. But with such a large number of ardent fans out there, the series is already highly attractive.