A belated but heartfelt Rest in Peace goes to Robert Jordan, writer of a few (very good) Conan books (where I first discovered him) and, more notably, the Wheel of Time series. He passed away on September 16th 2007 and as I read the fan community writing about their thoughts of him and his books it made me look back at his works and how they affected me.
I started reading the Wheel of Time series when I was in high school 15 years ago. I purposely waited until book three assuming it would be a trilogy, but nope, it stretched to 12 books (and was rumored to be ending with the 13th book, which was a number of significance in the series). While the series had some major missteps around books eight and nine in my opinion (deceased characters returning from the dead even though there where too many foils/bad guys already, books focusing on annoying characters with no advancement and actions by the lead character that had me yelling at the pages), I still remember them very fondly and regard the series as a milestone in fantasy literature.
I approached the early books very much like younger people today approached the Harry Potter books; I would wait countless months till the next book was released and then read all 800+ pages in a weekend and want more immediately. The world was so raw and fresh and was such a departure from the LOTR imitation worlds of Forgotten Realms and DragonLance -- there were no elves, orcs or magic, but instead there was Ogiers, Trollocs, Myrddraal (coolest bad guys ever) and the One Power. I loved the fact that even the most powerful users of the One Power are never as powerful as, say, an Elminster, Rasitlin or an Allanon. They are humans who can do exceptional things, but they fail, they miss or they are flawed. 
Article comments
1 - Carl B
I'm sorry to here about Robert Jordan's death. The Wheel of Time series helped me get through Kidney cancer and the treatments. It allowed me to escape the pain and the depression by giving me a place to escape to through reading. He has left his mark on the world and will be kept alive in the memories of everone who read his books. He will be missed.
2 - Michael Prince
Thanks for the comment, it is nice to hear other people talk about how powerful works inspired them in many different ways. I know for me he was able to generate different ideas for me and help me escape to this world he created and I still find myself inspired by his works in strange ways all the time.