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Darrell K. Sweet, the artist who painted the U.S. book covers to fourteen Wheel of Time novels, has passed away. He was 77 years old.

Mr Sweet's artwork has graced the covers of hundreds of novels, magazines, and other mediums. An icon of the industry, Darrell became widely celebrated in the 1980's, into the 90's. His style and colorful renderings set the standard for the industry at the time. At the time of his passing, Mr Sweet was actively working on the book cover for A Memory of Light, the final Wheel of Time novel. It remains unfinished, and it is currently unclear as to whether or not we will ever see it.

On a personal note, the highest compliment I can give Mr Sweet is that his artwork led me to read Robert Jordan's books. I was transfixed by the cover to The Dragon Reborn where Rand is reaching for Callandor. So captivated by this cover, I purchased the previous two novels just so that I would get a chance to read the third book with that great cover. It's quite possible that had it not been for that cover, I would never have read the series which has so heavily impacted my life. Thank you, Darrell, for inspiring me, and so many others.

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