Brandon Sanderson to finish Wheel of Time

[I'm Murrin]

Press release:

Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish writing the final novel in Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Jordan--described by some as Tolkien's heir--died Sept. 16 from a rare blood disease. The new novel, A Memory of Light, will be the 12th and final book in the fantasy series which has sold more than 14 million copies in North America and more than 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Harriet Popham Rigney, Jordan's widow and editor, chose Sanderson to complete A Memory of Light--which Jordan worked on almost daily for the last few months of his life--and will edit it. Rigney said some scenes from the book were completed by Jordan before his death, and some exist in draft form. "He left copious notes and hours of audio recordings," she said. He also revealed details about the end of the series to close members of his family.

Sanderson, who acknowledged Jordan as an inspiration to him as a writer, has established a loyal fan base as the author of three fantasy novels: Elantris, Mistborn and The Well of Ascension (Tor), as well as a YA novel, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Scholastic Press). Sanderson said, "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."

A Memory of Light is scheduled for publication in fall 2009.

An interview with Sanderson about this is up on Dragonmount.com

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All I can say is, I've heard good things about Sanderson's own work, and judging from the interview he's obviously a big fan of the series, so I think they could have done a lot worse than him to write it. I'll look forward to seeing how he does with it.

[I'm Murrin]

More news: Brandon has been told who killed Asmodean, and has promised to reveal the fact in A Memory of Light. This is contrary to Jordan's position, who had said that if people had still not worked it out a year or two after the final book, he would tell us then.

[emotional leper]

This series will never end.

It's evil. Its malignancy has ensorcelled a new author to feed off of. Soon he will begin churning out a never-ending series of books that go nowhere...

Hansel and Gretel, outlined in the style of Robert Jordan:

Book 1: Hansel and Gretel live happily with their mother and father. Their mother falls ill and dies. The family mourns her loss. The father starts courting another woman in the village, to the dismay of Hansel and Gretel. At the end of the book, she wins over the hearts and minds of the two children and marries her father. They live happily ever after.

Book 2: Oh, wait, they don't live happily after all. The stepmother turns out to be hateful and cruel. Ultimately, Hansel and Gretel resolve to run away from home. Gretel expresses fears about the wicked witch who is rumored to live in the Forest, but Hansel insists nothing could be worse than living at home with their stepmother. After much bickering, they depart.

Book 3: Hansel and Gretel cross the boundary between Village and Forest. Gretel reprises her misgivings about the dangers of the forest. Hansel reiterates his arguments in favor of running away. After much bickering, they agree to continue, using bread crumbs to mark their trail. They get lost. Gretel blames Hansel. Hansel stubbornly refuses to admit his mistake.

Book 4: Hansel and Gretel wander through the woods, lost and disoriented. Gretel continues to complain about the foolishness of running away from home. Hansel continues to insist it's the right thing to do. Gretel continues to berate him about the bread crumbs fiasco. Hansel persists in his mule-headed self-righteousness. They meet a Wise Owl, who warns them about the Wicked Witch of the Forest.

Book 5: Hansel and Gretel wander through the woods, lost and disoriented. Gretel continues to complain about the foolishness of running away from home. Hansel continues to insist it's the right thing to do. Gretel continues to berate him about the bread crumbs fiasco. Hansel persists in his mule-headed self-righteousness. They meet a Cunning Fox, who encourages them to visit the Wise Woman of the Forest.

Book 6: Hansel and Gretel wander through the woods, lost and disoriented. Gretel continues to complain about the foolishness of running away from home. Hansel continues to insist it's the right thing to do. Gretel continues to berate him about the bread crumbs fiasco. Hansel persists in his mule-headed self-righteousness. They meet a Cryptic Raven, who warns them about the Wicked Witch of the Forest.

Book 7: Hansel and Gretel wander through the woods, lost and disoriented. Gretel continues to complain about the foolishness of running away from home. Hansel continues to insist it's the right thing to do. Gretel continues to berate him about the bread crumbs fiasco. Hansel persists in his mule-headed self-righteousness. They meet a Devious Serpent, who encourages them to visit the Wise Woman of the Forest. ... and that's about the point where the Faithful Reader finally realizes that this hack has stretched a simple fairy tale into seven giant novels in which nothing actually happens.

[Holsety]

I thought insulting RJ's work was illegal now that he's dead though EL!!!



So, has anyone hear read this "Brandon Sanderson" figure? Apparently he has some sort of fan people somewhere. Is he up to it!? Or must we assassinate him and appoint someone more concise to the position?

Actually, what I'm most interested in is whether it will be written to sound like Jordan writing or he's planning on writing it on his own terms.

[Xar]

I thought insulting RJ's work was illegal now that he's dead though EL!!!



So, has anyone hear read this "Brandon Sanderson" figure? Apparently he has some sort of fan people somewhere. Is he up to it!? Or must we assassinate him and appoint someone more concise to the position?

Actually, what I'm most interested in is whether it will be written to sound like Jordan writing or he's planning on writing it on his own terms.

In the interview, he seems to say that he'll try to strike a balance between his voice and Jordan's, because he doesn't want to just copy Jordan's style as he fears he could do it wrong and then ruin the book. As for what the final result will be like... I guess we'll have to wait and see. I suspect, however, that the projected 2009 release of the last book will probably bounce back to 2010 or so.

[Baradakas]

Okay, I'm not wanting to offend, but these books should have ended about 6 books ago, were never all that great (okay, 1-4 rocked, but after that it was as if I was reading the same recycled stuff from 1-4 over and over), and now his death pretty much guarantees the movies will be rushed into theatres where they will garble the first three books into one movie, and the sequel will be done by the same idiot that directed X3, wherein the franchise will probably be sold into a miniseries about as popular as Merlin. (Sorry, I know I'm ranting.)

But what really tears it is that in the interest of the almighty dollar, this exhaustive work will be finished by a guy who didnt spend the years and the blood and the relationship issues so that his work could be read, and inevitably, in the process, earn some much needed cash. It will be finished by someone else, and he already knows that no matter how well he writes it, it will always be compared and found wanting.

As you may have guessed, I consider this a travesty.

Totalcrap. That's the title for your last book. Totalcrap.



-B

[matrixman]

I've never read any of the Wheel of Time books, Barad, but I agree with your view. It's unfortunate that such a monumental series should be concluded under these circumstances, regardless of whether one thinks WoT is good or bad. Ok, not entirely true: if WoT were total trash, there would not have been so much anxiety over who was deemed worthy to write the final volume. I do wish Mr. Sanderson well, and hope for his sake that long-standing WoT fans don't automatically dismiss him. However, if Sanderson does stumble, then the fans have every right to judge him harshly. C'est la vie.

I say that because I know all too well how critical I'd be of any author who would dare to take on the challenge of finishing the Last Chronicles if - gasp!- the unthinkable happened and SRD died before he could write the last book. Indeed, I wonder how many Covenant fans would boycott a Donaldson-less Last Dark altogether.

Nah, I think I'd still read such a book, out of horrified fascination.

[I'm Murrin]

It's a valid point, but I have to criticise Baradakas's statement that this has been done "in the interest of the almighty dollar". Jordan knew that he might not finish the book: he left extensive notes, recordings, and a very detailed outline because he wanted someone to finish the book if he couldn't. To that end, he trusted his wife--among others--to ensure it was done right. It was his wife who chose Brandon from among a number of other authors to continue the work, not for the money, but because Jordan wanted the work to be finished.

[Menolly]

I've never read any of the Wheel of Time books, Barad, but I agree with your view. It's unfortunate that such a monumental series should be concluded under these circumstances, regardless of whether one thinks WoT is good or bad. Ok, not entirely true: if WoT were total trash, there would not have been so much anxiety over who was deemed worthy to write the final volume. I do wish Mr. Sanderson well, and hope for his sake that long-standing WoT fans don't automatically dismiss him. However, if Sanderson does stumble, then the fans have every right to judge him harshly. C'est la vie.

I say that because I know all too well how critical I'd be of any author who would dare to take on the challenge of finishing the Last Chronicles if - gasp!- the unthinkable happened and SRD died before he could write the last book. Indeed, I wonder how many Covenant fans would boycott a Donaldson-less Last Dark altogether.

Nah, I think I'd still read such a book, out of horrified fascination.

About as many as refused to read an Asimov-less Foundation?

From Foundation Series/Other Authors

Asimov's novels covered only 500 of the expected 1,000 years it would take for the Foundation to become a galactic empire. After his death, the Asimov estate at the request of Janet Asimov approached Gregory Benford and asked him to write another Foundation story. He agreed, and at that same time suggested that it should form part of a trilogy with Greg Bear and David Brin writing the other two books, which they agreed to do. Foundation's Fear takes place chronologically between Asimov's two prequel novels; Foundation and Chaos is set at the same time as the first chapter of Foundation, filling in background; Foundation's Triumph covers ground following the recording of the holographic messages to the Foundation, and ties together a number of loose ends. These three books are now known collectively as the Second Foundation Trilogy. Many fans, eager for the second trilogy to fill in the gap, were disappointed.

Also, shortly before his death in 1992, Asimov approved an outline for three novels, known as the Caliban Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen, set between Robots and Empire and the Empire Series. The Caliban Trilogy describes the terraforming of the Spacer world Inferno, a planet where an ecological crisis forces the Spacers to abandon many long-cherished parts of their culture. Allen's novels echo the uncertainties that Asimov's later books express about the Three Laws of Robotics, and in particular the way that a thoroughly roboticized culture can degrade human initiative.

Science Fiction authors such as Orson Scott Card paid tribute to the Foundation series in the collection of short stories Foundation's FriendsThe Foundation universe was once again revisited in Foundation's Friends, a collection of short stories written by many prominent science fiction authors of today. Orson Scott Card's "The Originist" clarifies the founding of the Second Foundation shortly after Seldon's death; Harry Turtledove's "Trantor Falls" tells of the efforts by the Second Foundation to survive during the sacking of Trantor; and George Zebrowski's "Foundation's Conscience" is about the efforts of a historian to document Seldon's work following the rise of the second Galactic empire.

Most recently, the Asimov Estate authorized publication of another trilogy of robot mysteries by Mark W. Tiedemann. These novels, which take place several years before Asimov's Robots and Empire, are Mirage (2000), Chimera (2001) and Aurora (2002). These were followed by yet another robot mystery, Alexander C. Irvine's Have Robot, Will Travel (2004), set five years after the Tiedemann trilogy.

There are novels by various authors (Asimov's Robot City series, Isaac Asimov's Robots and Aliens series, and Isaac Asimov's Robots in Time series) loosely connected to the Robot Series, but they contain many inconsistencies with Asimov's books, and are not generally considered part of the Foundation Series.

[variol son]

It's a valid point, but I have to criticise variol son's statement that this has been done "in the interest of the almighty dollar". Jordan knew that he might not finish the book: he left extensive notes, recordings, and a very detailed outline because he wanted someone to finish the book if he couldn't. To that end, he trusted his wife--among others--to ensure it was done right. It was his wife who chose Brandon from among a number of other authors to continue the work, not for the money, but because Jordan wanted the work to be finished.

Uh...what statement?

[I'm Murrin]

Sorry. Name confusion. I meant Baradakas.

[Cagliostro]

They meet a Devious Serpent, who encourages them to visit the Wise Woman of the Forest. ... and that's about the point where the Faithful Reader finally realizes that this hack has stretched a simple fairy tale into seven giant novels in which nothing actually happens.

It took me about 4 before I realized it. And to more accurately portray how it would read would have to include about 50 more characters per book, 30 of them female and vapid and in love with Hansel.

[lucimay]

i've not read the books and prob'ly won't but...i think it's pretty cool that Jordan did all he could to finish the last book, including telling info to family members and audio notes and stuff.

wonder if anyone will ever write the story about jordon trying to finish the series.

crap. i've made myself weepy thinking about it.
now i've got to go watch a Lifetime for Women movie.
brb. *sniffle*

[Cagliostro]

Y'know...as much as I ended up disliking the series in the end, I agree completely. I wish Zelazny had done that with the Amber books. I wouldn't mind another author finishing those off with the big Z's notes.

[Menolly]

Hmm...

According to Wikipedia, Zelazny stated to several authors that he did not want any other author to write about Amber. His estate went ahead and approved a series anyway which apparently was not well received.

[Cagliostro]

Oh. I guess I never paid any attention to Amber after he died. Oh well.

And as much as I've poo-pooed Jordan, I do have respect for the man in that he did at least write a series and it was well received and that it was very successful for him. More than I've been able to achieve in my lifetime.

[Menolly]

Oh. I guess I never paid any attention to Amber after he died. Oh well.

Me neither. That's why I had to look up if there was anything regarding other authors.

[kevinswatch]

I just heard about this the other day, and I'm encouraged that it's someone I've never heard of before (and not someone such as, say, Terry Brooks. Heh.).

I would be interested to see how the bloody series ends, though. I'm going to have to try to read Book 11 after I finish with FR.

The whole thing is pretty sad, though. I'm glad they got a writer that his wife approves of, though. From what I understand, she was fairly involved with the story.-jay

[Baradakas]

Murrin said:

It's a valid point, but I have to criticise Baradakas's statement that this has been done "in the interest of the almighty dollar". Jordan knew that he might not finish the book: he left extensive notes, recordings, and a very detailed outline because he wanted someone to finish the book if he couldn't. To that end, he trusted his wife--among others--to ensure it was done right. It was his wife who chose Brandon from among a number of other authors to continue the work, not for the money, but because Jordan wanted the work to be finished.

First Murrin, I must state straight out but I do not consider your response to be criticism, more of a clarification that anything. The fact that Jordan wanted the series to be finished, combined with his wife's involvement in the project does not diminish the truth that his publishing company/other financial interests helped to push for quick media coverage on this current situation, in order to drive up sales in the wake of Jordan's death. Within two years, the movie or series will certainly be casting, multimillion dollar companies will be pushing toys, video games, and perhaps even bath towels so that they can make a few more bucks off of a man's hard work.

This is not to say that his wife does not deserve this renumeration, or that some of this money will not go towards research, especially that which killed him. In fact, I intended no diatribe against Jordan or his family whatsoever. My disdain and contempt are directed at the greedy and avariciously soulless executives who become rich on the hard work of others. I apologize for not clarifying that before. I have no doubt that Mrs. Jordan has only the best intentions for her husband's wishes, but I must point out that in the process of doing so she will undoubtedly need to make concessions, that at some point or another, the corporate machine will chew up yet another series.

Anyway, just my particular torch to bear.

-B

[iQuestor]

I loved the first 4 books in WOT (which I now refer to as the Waste Of Time) but by the fifth, I was so tired of egwene yanking her braid and recycled dialog and cat fights I put it down. I kept trying to pick it back up, buying the other books, but I did finally realize nothing was ever going to be resolved. Then, the last one resolved everything in a few hundred pages, the taint on the male side being removed, etc. It was too contrived, and I found I just truly wasn't interested at all. I akin them to Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule series, the first one was good, then went downhill from there.

Hey, RJ was a published author and yes he could write, but that series pretty much killed his work for me. may God Rest His Soul.