I've been reading the Wheel of Time series forever and was wondering...

[I Like Soup]

At the suggestion of several Huddlers, I was reading George RR Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series and thought for sure after the fourth book I'd just go to the store and get the fifth...you know, since the excerpt from the 5th book was in the end of the 4th book and said August 2005 or something like that...nope. The slacker won't have the book to market until September of this year, even though he had written one book and decided to chop it up in to the 4th and 5th book.

 

So I decide to check on the old standby, the Wheel of Time series and remembered that Robert Jordan had cancer he was dealing with and wouldn't that suck if he died before the 12th and last book. Well, I found out he did, last September.

Edited April 10, 2008 by I Like Soup

[AtomicCEO]

Yeah, I remember when I was getting into the Dark Tower series, and King was really taking his sweet ass time getting the books finished, and then he got hit by a truck and almost died.

 

Of course, I'm not sure that helped, because then he finished the series in a hurry, and the last books weren't as good as the early ones in my opinion.

[Kid Cid]

Yeah, I remember when I was getting into the Dark Tower series, and King was really taking his sweet ass time getting the books finished, and then he got hit by a truck and almost died.

 

Of course, I'm not sure that helped, because then he finished the series in a hurry, and the last books weren't as good as the early ones in my opinion.

I totally agree. It got the feel of "You'll buy whatever drivel I write because I'm Stephen King".

[T-Scorp]

Martin is taking his sweet time... I am waiting for 5 to come out before I read 4. Heck I probably have to reread the series just to remember what is going on...

[drbob]

I was in a bookstore a few months back and one of the clerks said they had someone to write the last book. I believe I read years ago that Jordan actually had the last chapter written. I guess he had it figured out how it was going to end just needed to write the stuff to get him there. I haven't checked dragonmount.com in quite a while but it used to have updates on Jordan and the series.

 

After I started reading the Wheel of Time series, I said I would never read a series that wasn't finished. Unfortunately someone recommended Martin's book when I was working out of town and needed something to read. So now I am waiting for 2 series to end

[Qdaddyo]

Good news!

 

Martin's next book is scheduled to be released in September of this year - check Amazon.

 

Robert Jordan, upon learning of his symptoms, started the 12th book and took very detailed notes. After his passing, his wife and inner circle chose Brandon Sanderson to complete the final novel. Press release below (taken from DragonMount.com):

 

Tor announces that the final novel in bestselling Robert Jordan’s legendary Wheel of Time® fantasy series will be completed by author Brandon Sanderson.

New York, NY: Friday, December 7, 2007

 

Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish the final novel in Robert Jordan’s bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Robert Jordan, one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th and early 21st centuries, died September 16th after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.

 

The new novel, A MEMORY OF LIGHT, will be the twelfth and final book in the beloved fantasy series which has sold over 14 million copies in North America and over 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers, and for over a decade fans have been eagerly awaiting the final novel that would bring the epic story to its conclusion.

 

Harriet Popham Rigney, Jordan’s beloved wife and editor, said of her decision to have Sanderson complete the last book in The Wheel of Time series: “I have chosen Brandon Sanderson to complete Robert Jordan’s great work, and I am absolutely delighted that he accepted. I will of course be editing this book as I have all of the other books of The Wheel of Time.”

 

President and Publisher of Tor Books, Tom Doherty, also expressed his happiness with Harriet’s decision, saying: “I am delighted that Harriet has chosen Brandon to complete Robert Jordan’s magnificent and timeless epic.”

 

It is the perfect match for Sanderson, who gratefully acknowledges the role Jordan played as an inspiration to him as a writer. In the tribute piece “Goodbye Mr. Jordan,” posted on his blog, Sanderson writes to Jordan: “Personally, I feel indebted to you. You showed me what it was to have vision and scope in a fantasy series–you showed me what could be done. I still believe that without your success, many younger authors like myself would never have had a chance at publishing their dreams. You go quietly, but leave us trembling.”

 

Like Jordan, Sanderson was an avid reader and writer from an early age. His debut novel, Elantris, was an unagented gem discovered after Sanderson, then a college student writing during his late night shift at a local hotel, approached Tor editor Moshe Feder at a fantasy convention. Several months later, after reading the manuscript and deciding he had to have it, Feder tried to find the author, who had since moved. Using the internet, he tracked down Sanderson through a campus directory—and the rest is history.

 

Sanderson has since gone on to establish a loyal fan base as the author of three critically acclaimed fantasy novels: Elantris, Mistborn, and The Well of Ascension, as well as a YA novel, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Publishing trade magazines Publishers Weekly and Library Journal gave Elantris starred reviews and it was the winner of the Romantic Times Award for best epic fantasy. The Washington Post also praised Sanderson for his creation of “a fascinating world” in Mistborn.

 

Sanderson will have large shoes to fill in his role bringing A MEMORY OF LIGHT to publication but will work very closely with Jordan’s longtime editor, Harriet Rigney, to be sure that the writing stays true to Jordan’s voice. Jordan himself worked on the novel almost daily for the last few months of his life and according to Harriet: “Some scenes were completed by Robert Jordan, and some exist in draft form; he left copious notes and hours of audio recordings.”

 

Jordan had known the ending of the series for a long time and, according to a blog posting by his cousin, Wilson W. Grooms, Jr., on the popular Jordan fan site www.dragonmount.com, Jordan had a few months ago revealed secret details about the end of the series to close members of his family which he had never discussed before. Grooms wrote: “During a recent family sit around, he [Jordan] became the Gleeman and told the bones of it ALL to Harriet and me. You read that right, I did say ALL. Don’t ask, ain’t telling. Two and a half hours of story telling by the Creator himself went by in the twinkling of an eye.”

 

Sanderson knows that fans are very anxious to read the last novel in The Wheel of Time series and says, “I’m both extremely excited and daunted by this opportunity. There is only one man who could have done this book the way it deserved to be written, and we lost him in September. However, I promise to do my very best to remain true to Mr. Jordan’s vision and produce the book we have all been waiting to read.”

 

At a recent Toastmaster’s address at the World Fantasy Con this past November, author Guy Gavriel Kay saluted Jordan’s enduring legacy, stating that his “impact on the place of fantasy in the culture is colossal.”

 

Jordan has also often been referred to as Tolkien’s heir and in an article about The Wheel of Time series, The New York Times lauded Jordan for his extraordinary story-telling ability: “The books’ battle scenes have the breathless urgency of firsthand experience, and the ambiguities in these novels—the evil laced into the forces of good, the dangers latent in any promised salvation, the sense of the unavoidable onslaught of unpredictable events—bear the marks of American national experience during the last three decades, just as the experience of the First World War and its aftermath gave its imprint to Tolkien’s work.”

 

John Clute said of Jordan’s magnum opus, “when complete, the sequence will almost certainly constitute one of the major epic narratives of modern fantasy.”

 

Now Brandon Sanderson has signed on to complete A MEMORY OF LIGHT, with scheduled delivery of the manuscript in December 2008 and a planned publication date of Fall 2009. “The Wheel of Time turns and ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time…”

[Atlanta Cracker]

FWIW I have recently gotten sucked into the series listening to most of the books on Audible.com which is a great way to experience them. The final book written by Brandon Sanderson has been broken into 3 parts with the first coming in October ... The Gathering Storm

 

I'm on book 10 now (one to go) and its dragging at the moment but I'm glad to know the series will be finished out and a little sad that it's going to take 3 years.

[I Like Soup]

FWIW I have recently gotten sucked into the series listening to most of the books on Audible.com which is a great way to experience them. The final book written by Brandon Sanderson has been broken into 3 parts with the first coming in October ... The Gathering Storm

 

I'm on book 10 now (one to go) and its dragging at the moment but I'm glad to know the series will be finished out and a little sad that it's going to take 3 years.

Oh, they are going to release a book a year for the last 3 of the last 1?

[westvirginia]

Yeah, I remember when I was getting into the Dark Tower series, and King was really taking his sweet ass time getting the books finished, and then he got hit by a truck and almost died.

 

Of course, I'm not sure that helped, because then he finished the series in a hurry, and the last books weren't as good as the early ones in my opinion.

 

 

I totally agree. It got the feel of "You'll buy whatever drivel I write because I'm Stephen King".

 

+1 freakin' million. They were GREAT through 4 (which was my favorite), and 5 was pretty good, but 6 and 7 are totally "yeah, I forgot where I was going with this but you'll buy it anyway".

[The Irish Doggy]

I haven't read the Wheel of Time, but coincidentally, I recently read Sanderson's Alantris. A good read combining politics, religion, and fantasy. I liked it enough to pick up Mistborn, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm reading Terry Brooks' the Word and the Void series first.

[giggity]

Just as an FYI since Song of Ice and Fire was mentioned a couple times in this thread, HBO is currently getting set to film the pilot for turning these books into series. One book per season if it gets picked up. Pretty strong cast too from what I have seen so far:

 

Sean Bean: Ned Stark

Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister

Lena Headey (Leonidas' wife from 300) : Cersei Lannister

 

Most all the other casting has been pretty spot on too.

 

More info here:

 

Winter Is Coming Website

[I Like Soup]

Just as an FYI since Song of Ice and Fire was mentioned a couple times in this thread, HBO is currently getting set to film the pilot for turning these books into series. One book per season if it gets picked up. Pretty strong cast too from what I have seen so far:

 

Sean Bean: Ned Stark

Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister

Lena Headey (Leonidas' wife from 300) : Cersei Lannister

 

Most all the other casting has been pretty spot on too.

 

More info here:

 

Winter Is Coming Website

 

Wow, I might have to get HBO now...

[Atlanta Cracker]

Just finished The Gathering Storm last night - could hardly put it down. Totally awesome and feels like things are back on track with the series. This is one of my favorites up there even with the 1st. Jordan simply left too much ground to cover in 1 book with the rambling in books 8-10. Sanderson is a breath of fresh air picking up the pace while still providing plenty of details especially giving plenty of time to the main action scenes. He did a very nice job of making this a complete book to stand alone and closed enough loops that I'm comfortable to wait patiently for the next one.

 

While waiting on this book I started the Mistborn series and have really been enjoying it as well for anyone looking for something else to read.

[The Irish Doggy]

While waiting on this book I started the Mistborn series and have really been enjoying it as well for anyone looking for something else to read.

 

 

Yeah, I just read Mistborn and am about 1/3 through Well of Ascension. Becoming a hugh Sanderson fan...

[I Like Soup]

Just as an FYI since Song of Ice and Fire was mentioned a couple times in this thread, HBO is currently getting set to film the pilot for turning these books into series. One book per season if it gets picked up. Pretty strong cast too from what I have seen so far:

 

Sean Bean: Ned Stark

Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister

Lena Headey (Leonidas' wife from 300) : Cersei Lannister

 

Most all the other casting has been pretty spot on too.

 

More info here:

 

Winter Is Coming Website

 

I just stumbled on Terry Goodkind's series on TV the other night.

[SLAYER]

I just stumbled on Terry Goodkind's series on TV the other night.

yes in it's second season, fairly decent.

[cliaz]

I loved the WOT series but quit reading it halfway through Winter's Heart. Now if I want to pick it back up, I wouldn't know where to begin and would have to start all over again.

[Atlanta Cracker]

I loved the WOT series but quit reading it halfway through Winter's Heart. Now if I want to pick it back up, I wouldn't know where to begin and would have to start all over again.

 

Actually you could pick up where you left off. He tells you everything that happened before over and over again during the next few books.

[The Irish Doggy]

While waiting on this book I started the Mistborn series and have really been enjoying it as well for anyone looking for something else to read.

 

 

Just finished the last book, Hero of Ages. Awesome. Easily the best fantasy series I've read in a long time.

 

Everything comes together really well at the end. The final battle - last 100 pages or so - "epic" comes to mind, and not in the cheesy Jim Rome show way.

Edited December 17, 2009 by The Irish Doggy