Brandon Sanderson Will Finish The Wheel Of Time

I know there are a few WoT readers here who might find this interesting. Brandon Sanderson, author of books such as Elantris and Mistborn, has been chosen by Robert Jordan's widow Harriet as the writer who will finish the final volume in the 12 book long fantasy saga: The Wheel of Time. The final book will be called A Memory of Light.

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."

Read the full story here.

Edit: Sanderson has posted on a WoT forum saying:

Originally Posted by Brandon Sanderson

Just a quick note to thank you all for your good wishes. I just wanted to let you know that I have now seen the notes, and while I can't say anything specific without breaking my NDA, I will say that the notes are in far better shape than I had expected. Mr. Jordan's staff are very skilled, and they have complied an outline for me that goes scene-by-scene. After reading through it, I'm confident we can produce a book that Mr. Jordan would have been pleased with.

Also, I DO finally know who killed Asmodean, and I promise to include it in the book to finally answer that question for you.

Also, I WILL be more detailed in my descriptions for this book. I may need a fleet of people to help me get the clothing descriptions down, but I'll do it!

I almost thought we had been freed from the WoT series.

Originally Posted by Marquis de Sade

I almost thought we had been freed from the WoT series.

I feel for you, I really do - I can't imagine what it must be like to have someone force you to read a book...

Here's an excerpt from an interview Brandon Sanderson did with dragonmount.com:

Congratulations on receiving this landmark opportunity. How are you feeling?

Honestly? I'm feeling daunted. And still a little sad. There was only one person who could have written this book the way it was supposed to be written, and he is gone now. I think I'll do a good job (to be honest, I think I'll do a great job) but I can't do the job he would have done. Nobody can.

The Big Question most fans probably have is: "Why Brandon Sanderson?" What are your thoughts on this?

Well. . . there are a lot of ways to answer that. First, I'll note that I'm still reeling about this news myself. I stop occasionally and think "Wait, am I REALLY doing this?" It seems incredible to me, so I can understand why fans might think "Brandon Sanderson, why him?"

The first way I could answer that question is by giving a list of my writing credentials. I know how to write fantasy books. I understand how to plot over a long epic book, and my novels have been very well received by both reviewers and fantasy fans. I write epics after the flair of the Wheel of Time, yet my books (I hope) aren't just a copies of what Robert Jordan and others have written. I think that's important. I've read fantasy since I was a kid, and I understand what made these books great.

However, I'm not sure if credentials are main reason I was chosen for this project.

A second answer to that question might be this: "Why Brandon Sanderson? Because he's as much a fan of the series as you are." I've been with The Wheel of Time since the paperback release of THE EYE OF THE WORLD back when I was fifteen years old. I've read the early books of the series through six or seven times now. I'm the guy who was in the right position to help out on this project: I have both the skill to accomplish the task and a deep love of the series.

Again, though, I'm not sure if that's the right answer.

The right answer, then, is probably this third one: "Why Brandon Sanderson? Because he's the one Harriet chose."

Harriet was given full authority over this matter. It was her decision. While others gave her some suggestions, she's now the ultimate authority over anything relating to The Wheel of Time. She read my book MISTBORN, and from doing so picked me to write A MEMORY OF LIGHT. (And I think that leads right into the next question.)

How did you first get involved in this project? Were you approached by Tor and/or Harriet, or did you dust off your resume and send it to them for consideration?

When I heard that Mr. Jordan had passed away, I was deeply saddened. Like everyone else, I was waiting for the final book--and last I had heard, he was doing better and was confident that he'd be able to pull through.

After I got over the shock of his death, I did think "Wow. I wish I could help out on this project somehow." I loved the books, and if someone was going to be involved in finishing the series, I wanted to be there. However, I didn't feel it was appropriate to solicit work on it. There are a couple of reasons why.

1) I figured that Harriet, Tom, and the people at Tor would be busy grieving as I was, and it just didn't feel right to me to respond to Mr. Jordan's death with a play for the series. As I noted in the essay I wrote about his passing, with Mr. Jordan's death, the fantasy community suddenly changed. There would be time for thinking about the final book later. For now, it was time to think about what this man had meant to the genre and its readers.

2) I assumed that there was a good chance someone had already been chosen to work on the project. I trusted that Harriet and Tom Doherty knew what they were doing, and would see that the book got written in good time.

So, I didn't send in a request--or even a question--about the future of The Wheel of Time. I was dumbfounded and honored when--a month or so after the death--Harriet called me on the phone to inquire if I was interested. I got the impression that she was calling several authors (I don't know how many) and making sure that they were willing before she invested the time in reading their work.

About a month later (this would be around mid November) she called me again and said that she had been touched by the writing of MISTBORN, and had decided she wanted me for the project immediately. However, she'd made certain to take time and think about the decision before offering it to me officially. At that time, she made the offer--and I accepted. (With great excitement.)

You can read the full interview here.

Well thats a relief, I actually like the books and have them all so it would have been sad for me (and for all fans of the series) if the last book would not have been finished..
I havent read any of Brandon Sanderson's books so I dont know much about him as an author, I hope he is the right man for this tremendous task..
It will be interesting to see who finally killed Asmodean..