Jordan created a world more vivid and full of detail than any fantasy writer ever has. Unfortunately his plots advanced at a snail's pace leaving many (most?) readers frustrated at having to wait another year for another book. The fact that his books were consistently best sellers even though fans complained is a testament to how well crafted his characters and worlds were. People who wrote scathing reviews of his books nonetheless continued to read them because RJ's writing style draws you in so effectively. What I love about the WOT is that it is a single contained story rather than a complete story with a second tirllogy added on to the end that was not conceptualized until the publishers asked for more books. RJ had more stories/worlds in him, and it's too bad we'll never get a chance to read them.
