We’ve just had news from the publisher of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series that the last installment will be split into two or possibly three parts. Tentative plans are to publish book 12 in November this year, with two more volumes following in 2010 and 2011.
Robert Jordan passed away in September 2007 while he was still writing what was planned to be the last installment in the series. It was announced that Brandon Sanderson would take up Jordan’s pen and complete the last book, to be entitled A Memory of Light. A publication date of November 2009 was scheduled.
Wheel of Time fans have been eagerly anticipating the last book and the series and will be pelased to learn that they will still get a new book, as promised, in 2009 - The Gathering Storm will be published this coming November in a large format paperback. (I.e., lots cheaper than a hardcover!) The price is currently EUR 21.99, though this may change (we’re trying to make it cheaper, obviously!)
If it is split into chunks, I will push Tor to release them as soon as is reasonably possible and I will push hard for an omnibus edition at the end.
Brandon is far enough along by now that he knows it's not gonna be 600k. The way the estimate has kept going up, I am guessing that when it's all done it will be north of 800k.That is an insane number for one book. At that rate you would HAVE to split it. I mean, it just isn't feasible to have a book that large in one volume.
Also realize that binding a book that size you cost you the reader several hundred dollars because it would be very expensive, and many people couldn't afford to buy it. People also need to think of book sellers in this argument as well, they probably don't want to give the space to Tor for having all the books, if there is more then one, out at the same time or in a few months of each other-- not to mention how many people in todays economy would rush out to spend the money for those Hardbacks at the time they were released. And if all did come out at once it would probably be 2-3 years until it was finished with all the editing, re-writing, invention of new binding system (and machines to do the binding) so the time frame would be the same but cost you more.
Seriously? Publish the book in February? January and February are the worst months to have a book published.
Ookla is right, the book will be as long as it needs to be. The last time I chatted with Brandon, he was thinking 750K, but that it may easily go longer. For a moment, consider how much needs to be wrapped up. I would hesitate to get too angry over the way it will or won't get published. Remember, Harriet is making some of the calls here, so apparently she is OK with whatever is gonna happen. If she is OK with it, I'm pretty sure RJ would have been good with it too. If the book creeps higher than 800K, i have no doubt they will split it into 3. From a bookstore perspective, that would be the best.
People may as well stop thinking of it as 1 book being split. Try thinking of it as 2 or 3 books to end an epic series. Maybe then having 2 or 3 massive books released a year apart rather than 3 years apart will seem like the huge accomplishment that it is. As it is, I'm starting to lean towards not being sure who is being more greedy in this situation.
I would rather the book be written in its entirety and written right rather than rushing to get it all out right now and have it turn into a terrible work like the new Dune novels. There is also a lot more that goes into having a novel published than just, "lets just publish it all real quick."
The book isn't done yet. Brandon has finished the first 450K and is revising it LINE-BY-LINE. Then he still has to write AT LEAST 300-400K more. Good grief, the speed at which he is writing is astounding, and that isn't good enough?
I don't feel any particular need to get bent out of shape over things until there's something official. And probably not then either. ;)
Spriggan, please, stop saying there are no binding machines for that...Yeah, but does TOR have those binding machines? No! And those machines are meant to make a small amount of a book. Not millions of copies. They simply couldn't handle the work load OR print fast enough for things to be reasonable. Also most of those are probably bound in older methods that cost TONS more to do.
The first copy I read of the LotR was a 1100 plus appendix pages, and I have seen books over 2000 pages. Yes, they are special editions, but they have been printed. And some of them are more than 30 years old. Oh, and the cost wasn't insane, but prices have gone up insanely since then, at least in here.
“Today’s national accounts confirmed the Swedish economy is falling off a cliff,” said Nicola Mai, economist at JP Morgan, in a research note. “The report confirms Sweden is in the midst of a very deep recession.”
Do you really want this??
(http://www.plu.edu/~english/img/book-thick.jpg)
Getting it in three parts at one year intervals starting this year is better than getting it all at once in three years, yes, but it seems like Brandon may be finished entirely within one year from now.
Delaying portions of it because it's not finished is annoying but perfectly understandable. Delaying those same portions for purely marketing reasons would make me angry.
I have a book that big, $2 at a garage sale. It has aluminum rods through the binding to strengthen it and one is broken so we can't use the totally awesome unabridged dictionary. I do not want something that big to read for real though, unless the lectern came with it. And maybe a nice chain to connect the two.
Yepp, that cover is false. Brandon did say so in his blogg.No he didn't. He said neither he nor Harriet knew for sure.
A Memory of Light has been split 'maybe' into three books (i.e. it will be split in three but Tor are trying to appease the fanbase by saying it could still be two), the first of which will be called The Gathering Storm and released in November 2009. And yes, you'll have to wait 12 months for the next one. And 12 months for the one after. Although Sanderson expects to have the whole thing finished by the end of the year at the latest.Hi(http://www.abc.nl/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/the_gathering_1-197x300.jpg)
In addition, that is really quite a hideous cover. It's even worse than Knife of Dreams. Rand breakdancing in front of a haunted house? Okay...
From the site that broke the news: (http://www.abc.nl/blog/index.php/book-news/new-robert-jordan-book-to-be-split-into-smaller-volumes/)QuoteWe’ve just had news from the publisher of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series that the last installment will be split into two or possibly three parts. Tentative plans are to publish book 12 in November this year, with two more volumes following in 2010 and 2011.
Robert Jordan passed away in September 2007 while he was still writing what was planned to be the last installment in the series. It was announced that Brandon Sanderson would take up Jordan’s pen and complete the last book, to be entitled A Memory of Light. A publication date of November 2009 was scheduled.
Wheel of Time fans have been eagerly anticipating the last book and the series and will be pelased to learn that they will still get a new book, as promised, in 2009 - The Gathering Storm will be published this coming November in a large format paperback. (I.e., lots cheaper than a hardcover!) The price is currently EUR 21.99, though this may change (we’re trying to make it cheaper, obviously!)
So no hardcover release either. Apparently.
Yes, I did read it. Unless I am greatly mistaken, "released over a two-year period" means release dates of November 2009, November 2010, and November 2011. This, when the speed of the progress bars seems to indicate that all three should be ready with time for editing probably by May 2010.Apparently I forgot how to do math. O.o Sorry. My bad. I guess I was thinking a within two years from now they will all be released. ha ha.
However, some of the important things you are waiting for had--by necessity--be reserved for the second bookI am guessing that this means I won't find out who killed Asmo in book on then. I am glad he is taking the time to do the series right thought. Railroading the series would have not felt right. It would have completely broken the feeling of having RJs last book because the writing style would have had to differ so much.
Ugh. I didn't see this thread or the quotes till just now.
There are a lot of threads that need to be tied and I can see how a new writer would have themes that he feels bound to develop, I just hope we don't end up with a trio of rinky tink 200K YA novels. That would derail the whole series. The only reason I see that as a threat is that last I heard the book was winding down toward appx. 700K hmmm 700/3=233pp....
Kind of a depressing thought.
Now if it grew because of the split say 350K+ per volume...
Not knowing him, I couldn't really know what to expect. :P And not being the fan type I don't actually check his site with any regularity. :-X I read the estimates about 2 weeks ago and I read some blog entries. I might have gotten the 750K from that. But I'm encouraged to hear at least 300k although from the writer perspective, it seems that longer or shorter would be easier.
As for YA. An awful lot of YA is close to 200k. Case in point Green Riders call. I could go on but would be tedious. 90k sounds more like tweenie novels...
But I will take your encouragement and hope you are right.
Whoa whoa mistborn is a fabolous series but you can't really compare it with WoT as WoT is so large because of its complexity it makes understanding LoTR and Dune childs play...(those are great books too btw) and that includes Dune's political scene which went over my head once or twice and i had to reread a paragraph or two.
What does word count have to do with story quality? Perfume is one of the shortest novel's I've read and it certainly is NOT a YA book nor a bad one for it's brevity.
What does word count have to do with story quality? Perfume is one of the shortest novel's I've read and it certainly is NOT a YA book nor a bad one for it's brevity.
I could care less about created languages. I'm just saying that the series isn't complex at all to me. To me, it's extremely straight-forward. To me, it's like reading a long version of Eddings. The political intrigues aren't all that amazing to me. The complexity of this series pales in comparison, once again in my opinion, to the likes of Martin, Erikson, and Bakker.
I love how YA is suddenly "rinky dink" and less worthy than a book written for adults. And just so you know, 200,000 is about 2-3 YA novels.
I could care less about created languages. I'm just saying that the series isn't complex at all to me. To me, it's extremely straight-forward. To me, it's like reading a long version of Eddings. The political intrigues aren't all that amazing to me. The complexity of this series pales in comparison, once again in my opinion, to the likes of Martin, Erikson, and Bakker.
Long version of Eddings?!?! That's like saying Stephanie Myer is as good as Bram Stoker!
It is ok, everyone ahs their own likes. I for one think Jordan is good as it gets. I don't think his writing is superior to Martin or some other guy that is good but I do think that his story is the best. And as his writing isn't bad in the least, he is my favorite story teller.
I love how YA is suddenly "rinky dink" and less worthy than a book written for adults. And just so you know, 200,000 is about 2-3 YA novels.
and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo in 2001. It was a good book too. :)
Ender's Game was such an amazing book. Way better than Ender's Shadow in my opinion, though I did like Ender's Shadow, but only because Bean was my favorite character. ha ha.
@topic - I'm glad that they turned Rand around for the official art.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the Hugo in 2001.
Did you pick up the first book yet miyabi? Just don't read Joe C's thread. I labeled my spoiler in here. :D.Yeah, I have a topic in the books section (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=6579.0) about my read-through. I am currently on chapter 11. ha ha.
On Topic:
As far as the multiple book thing goes Brandon now has the progress bar for revising The Gathering Storm at 100% so I guess he is done with that book and it will be released to the printers soon to get ready to release on November 9th. I have to go preorder mine soon.
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Anyway, I'm glad that they have a plan, and we have at least a concept of what will occur. We should all thank Brandon for killing himself on this. At least he's not pulling a Pat Rothfuss (Who said -- my book isn't done. It will be done when I say it's done. Now kindly go sit on tacks. -- or something marginally less tactful.) Brandon actually seems to care about deadlines and other people's expectations. Kudos to him.
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When the author has been dead for about 70-80 years I forget what the actual time limit is. There are sequels to Wizard of Oz being written now as an example. Some consider the Extended Universe of STar Wars books to be canon, even though none are written by George Lucas.
I have to say I really hope they don't do the AMoL vols 1, 2 & 3.It's already been confirmed that that's how they ARE going to do it.
This thread should be locked, there is already one on this topic and another one on it that has already been locked. Go here (http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=6578.0) for further discussion please.
Rrikor - site your source please?
Everything I have read says that it will be
AMoL : The Gathering Storm
AMoL : Shifting Winds
AMoL : Tarmon Gai'Don
...
Now, some words about titles. Where did THE GATHERING STORM come from? Well, in January where it was decided to split the book, I continued to advocate for something that would indicate that this was ONE book, split into three parts. (I still see it that way.) And so, I suggested that they all be named A MEMORY OF LIGHT with subtitles. I love the title A MEMORY OF LIGHT; I think it's poetic and appropriate. Plus, it was Mr. Jordan's title for the book. That alone is good enough reason to keep it.
And so, I suggested smaller, shorter, more generic sub-titles for each of the parts. With a long, evocative title like A MEMORY OF LIGHT as the supertitle, the subtitles needed to be shorter and more basic, as to not draw attention. The first of these was named GATHERING CLOUDS by Maria's suggestion. Book two would be SHIFTING WINDS, book three TARMON GAI'DON, all with the supertitle of A MEMORY OF LIGHT.
We proceeded with that as our plan for several months. And then, suddenly, Tom got word from marketing that the titles needed to change. The bookstores didn't like them. (You'll find that the bookstores control a lot in publishing. You'd be surprised at how often the decisions are made because of what they want.) In this case, the bookstores worried that having three books titled AMoL would be too confusing for the computer system and the people doing the reordering. They asked for the supertitle to be cut, leaving us with the title GATHERING CLOUDS.
I shot off an email to Harriet, explaining that I never intended that title to be the one that carried the book. It was too generic, too basic. She went to Tom with some suggestions for alternates, and THE GATHERING STORM was what they decided. This all happened in a matter of hours, most of it occurring before I got up in the morning. (I sent her an email at night, then by the time I rose, they'd made the decision out on the east coast.) Some materials had already gone out as GATHERING CLOUDS, and I wonder if THE GATHERING STORM was chosen because it was similar. I know it was the one out of those suggested by Harriet that Tom liked the most. It's somewhat standard, but also safe.
That title swap came at me rather fast. I plan to be ready for the next one, so hopefully we'll have the time to produce something a little more evocative. I don't mind THE GATHERING STORM, but I do realize that it is one of the more bland Wheel of Time titles. (My favorite title, by the way, is THE CROSSROADS OF TWILIGHT.)
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Your right it is bland and over used, even in an episode of Angel the phrase was used. I'm just saying it could be worse, at least the title's only crime is being a bit boring. At least it's not painful *cough* Attack of the Clones *cough*It doesn't make business sense either, at least Lucas could trademark "Attack of the Clones", Tor can't trademark "The Gathering Storm", it's a common phrase that has been used as the title of numerous works before.
The problem I might have with it is the issue of passivity. Rigney's titles fallow a pattern that describes the beginning, plateau, climax and if it had ended with AMOL falling off point. The book titles help you know where you are in the concise novel The Wheel of Time. A Gathering Storm has less punch than Knife of Dreams where it should have had more and lead seamlessly into Tarmon Gaiden, a good title.
talking about This Approaching Storm ...
talking about this approaching storm ...
See now that should have been the title. Maybe you should still be a book-store guy...
... Once again, remember that Nyneave has been talking about this approaching storm for several novels in between incessant braid-pulling. ...
Maybe Baen needs someone...
... Once again, remember that Nyneave has been talking about this approaching storm for several novels in between incessant braid-pulling. ...
I think this is a good reason not to call it The Gathering Storm. From her point of view the storm has been gathering for a long long time. It is first referenced in book 2 from my recollection. Why would the book 13 be the gathering storm then when we have seen the storm building for 11 books already.
The problem I might have with it is the issue of passivity. Rigney's titles fallow a pattern that describes the beginning, plateau, climax and if it had ended with AMOL falling off point. The book titles help you know where you are in the concise novel The Wheel of Time. A Gathering Storm has less punch than Knife of Dreams where it should have had more and lead seamlessly into Tarmon Gaiden, a good title.
I disagree completely. The Gathering Storm, imo, is meant to signify the upcoming battle, and i think it sets the tone for the final 3 books better than The Knife of Dreams ever did. The Knife of Dreams is a neat title, but it is only mentioned in the little block of text before the start of the novel. It actually doesn't really do anything. Once again, remember that Nyneave has been talking about this approaching storm for several novels in between incessant braid-pulling. This is a fitting title that is not passive in the least - it's the foreboding that accompanies the doom you know is coming, and is precisely where the series is at now. It implies the final lead-in to the storm that is Tarmon Gai'Don. I think you are worrying about the wrong title. It is the second one that needs to be the perfect transition.