CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- Author Robert Jordan, whose "Wheel of Time" series of fantasy novels sold millions of copies, has died of a rare blood disease, his aide said Monday. He was 58.
Jordan, whose real name was James Oliver Rigney Jr., died Sunday at the Medical University of South Carolina of complications from primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, his personal assistant, Maria Simons, said. The disease attacks the body's major organs; in Jordan's case, it caused the walls of his heart to thicken.
He wrote a trilogy of historical novels set in Charleston under the pen name Reagan O'Neal in the early 1980s. Then he turned his attention to fantasy and the first volume in his Wheel of Time epic, "The Eye of the World," was published in 1990 under the name Robert Jordan.
Jordan's books tells of Rand al'Thor, who is destined to become the champion who will battle ultimate evil in a mythical land.
He is survived by his wife, Harriet McDougal Rigney.
Such a great writer, done in by a disease, with millions of fans, and an incredible book series. He was my favorite author, and for a good reason, the wheel of time series is easily one of the best I have ever read. It saddens me that not only did he not finish his great series, but I don't think anyone else will know how it ends except for him. 
