AMoL to be Divided into 3 Volumes - What would RJ say?

[Graendals favourite]

Well when you think about what is best for the series disregarding any expectations, I think it probably is the best decision.

For who?

For the work that is the Wheel of Time, to prepare it for its final form, and accordingly also for the whole world, there being much for the world to learn from in the Wheel of Time. Perhaps it also allows fans to consider the important question of substance versus form. Perhaps I can illuminate the substance of this reply with a poem (I translated):

Kirjat (Books)

In the murk of books,

where a journey's direction and length

are determined by those of your own,

the depth of water by that of your own,

where in a mirror you see only your own face,

there sits a mute, bent shape, human almost,

gestures with a hand and pleads.

[Fundy]

Wow you can really tell this annoyed a lot of people : )

 

I have to admit my first reaction was the same, lot's of swearing and emailing other fans I know with the info. Once I read the explanation from Brandon I understand the thought process behind it even if it's delivery from Tor could have been handled much better. Personally I wish it had been more like "AMOL will be split, we will be delivering the first to fans November 2009 and the following book(s) as soon as humanly possible" rather than setting the three dates as if it was already set. It came across as though the book was written and they were going to split it just for their own monetary sake. Even now I would hope that if he finished one of the books earlier than expected they will push to get it out right away rather than delaying release for sales. I know Brandon said he would push for this, but only time will tell.

[Osan`gar]

How dare you question my outrage. My absurd geekiness grants me that right, and I challange anyone who says differently.

 

ha ha ha

 

i bow to your absurd geekiness... while i aggree that you have an absolute right to express your opinion i still do not think you have any right to be outraged. :P

[Khalus]

Wow you can really tell this annoyed a lot of people : )

 

Yeah and I really don't understand why! 

 

I as much as anyone else here and all over world are very eager to read the ending, find out what happens and finally have this over.../cry  I was crushed when RJ left us and the thought that we'd never see the ending ever published and I stopped coming here, and then heard about Brandon Sanderson being selected to finish the series.  Like many I too rushed out to purchase his work and see what he was about and thus far love it very much.  I eagerly wait to read how Mr. Sanderson incorporates his writing style with RJs...its going to rock so much!

 

Its been a very long wait and will still be a long wait yet to come for the ending, but seriously come on...we are getting Three{3} more novels of WoT, not just 1, and one of them is landing in our laps this Nov. with 2 more on the way just 1 year apart.  I know many of you are gonna reply that its just one novel split into 3 parts...get over it please.  This will be 3 novels, each roughly the same size as every other book in the series thus far with a tiny subtitle of AMoL in regards to Robert Jordan's Wishes and Legacy.

[oxleystudios]

Hello all,

 

Brandon Sanderson posted the process behind the decisions made regarding A Memory of Light. I, and most of us fans, would prefer to have one final volume, but that's clearly impossible; and if I'm going to waste time wanting the impossible, I'll want Mr. Rigney back. Clearly, neither of those options will happen, so we must be content with how things are, and fight for the things that are possible.

 

We need to fight for the book title 'A Memory of Light'.

 

I understand that the title cannot be the superscript for all three final volumes, but it *can* be the title of one of them. As slated, the title for the final book (as I understand it) will be 'Tarmon Gaidon'. This, may I humbly suggest, is *not* what Mr. Rigney would have wanted. He put so much of himself into this series that it's clear to me that he would not have ended this grand conflict of good vs. evil with the 'Last Battle'. No man, so filled with hope, and so familiar with war, would end anything with a battle. There must be hope at the end of it all.

 

After any battle, there is a quiet, waiting time which becomes the soil for hope. This series is about the end of an age, but more than that it's about the Light's Champion, reborn again and again to fight for the Light. The series should end not with bloodshed, but with a memory of light.

 

I propose, if the manuscript will permit it, these titles for the last three books:

 

The Gathering Storm (I quite like that title)

Tarmon Gaidon

A Memory of Light

 

I would hope this suggestion reaches Harriet, but if not, and the title 'A Memory of Light' is abandoned, I will not be upset. I am glad to have this book, in whatever form it manifests itself, and in however many volumes it takes.

 

Be well.

[Dunderdan]

I am absolutely sure RJ would realise the need to split it up. Its one thing to wish for a one volume finish, but another thing entirely to actually do it. And RJ knew that a good story cant have a scetchy, summarised ending. When we've come this far, we need a lot of room for closure.

 

I must also add that Im very impressed by BS' transparency. I assume youve all read his elaborated explanation to why its split. After reading that, I fully support the idea.

 

[Majsju]

We need to fight for the book title 'A Memory of Light'.

 

I understand that the title cannot be the superscript for all three final volumes, but it *can* be the title of one of them. As slated, the title for the final book (as I understand it) will be 'Tarmon Gaidon'. This, may I humbly suggest, is *not* what Mr. Rigney would have wanted. He put so much of himself into this series that it's clear to me that he would not have ended this grand conflict of good vs. evil with the 'Last Battle'. No man, so filled with hope, and so familiar with war, would end anything with a battle. There must be hope at the end of it all.

 

It is very unlikely that the title for the final book will be Tarmon Gaidon. That was Brandons suggestion for a sub-title when he thought he could get AMOL as a supertitle for all three books. Since that will not happen, we will most likely see book three titled AMOL.

 

I propose, if the manuscript will permit it, these titles for the last three books:

 

The Gathering Storm (I quite like that title)

Tarmon Gaidon

A Memory of Light

 

That will not happen, as Tarmon Gaidon will take place in book three.

[MikeRiley]

Was that actually stated somewhere? I was hoping it was a book 2 thing so we could see the conclusion to the Seanchan plotline. I don't believe it can be done with a simple truce, not after an attack on the White Tower and people still leashed (unless we also see the end of channeling, to make that a moot point). I mean, we know there's going to be wars after the Last Battle is finished and there are prophecies that talk about it, so it seems that part would be in the book.

 

Edit: Unless that was just a written in teaser for Mat and Tuon's trilogy.

[Majsju]

The podcast with Brandon posted here some time ago gave a quite good hint about the structure. Tarmon Gaidon comes at the end.

 

And again: Not all plotlines will be resolved.

[Gentled Ben]

 

 

Khalus, did Tor pay you to be an apologist for them?

 

Was wondering when I'd be referred to having relations with TOR...heh  Sorry to burst your bubble but no I have none, but I and only a handful of others appear to understand the decisions made concerning the announcement today, and I personally have nothing against TOR.  I mean seriously do most of you ever re-read what you've been saying? 

 

Yes, and it appears that I've been saying that I am considering renting the books from the library when they come out, then buying them later at my leisure as they crop up in used book stores. Only Tor should be upset with that, yet it seems to disturb a couple of posters on this board.

[MikeRiley]

Because we should pay $50+ for "one" book.

[oxleystudios]

I propose, if the manuscript will permit it, these titles for the last three books:

 

The Gathering Storm (I quite like that title)

Tarmon Gaidon

A Memory of Light

 

That will not happen, as Tarmon Gaidon will take place in book three.

 

That's probably correct, but considering the last book was to be called 'A Memory of Light', and would include the Last Battle, there's no reason the final of the three books couldn't also be called 'A Memory of Light'.

 

The point of my post wasn't to come up with a great title for the second book, but rather to make a case for the last book to be called 'A Memory of Light'.

[MikeRiley]

I don't think Robert Jordan after all his RAFOs would want a blatant spoiler in the last book's title. I read last night that Tolkien didn't want book 3 of the Lord of the Rings titled Return of the King, though.. He thought it gave away too much of the plot. So maybe it'd happen anyway.

[Gentled Ben]

 

Heh, each and every one of you that keep saying you won't buy another Wheel of Time book will get all giddy when they near release and each and every one of you will pre-order and/or rush out to the stores to get your copy.  Stop playing "but they should only charge us 1/3 the price or they're milking the series for more money" or "don't give TOR anymore money, I'm just gonna rent them from the library!" BS

Heh.

 

Exactly.

 

I won't be cheating myself out of anything. I'll still read and own the books; I just won't pay Tor for them.

 

Khalus, did Tor pay you to be an apologist for them?

Any decision regarding purchasing is clearly your choice, but why feel the need to belittle somebody’s opinion?

 

Khalus clearly feels that TOR/Harriet is doing the right thing. You don’t. It’s as easy as that.

 

Deriding Khalus’ opinion isn’t big, isn’t clever.

 

 

Perhaps instead of asking if he's an apologist, I should simply have called his opinion BS instead. Then you would have said, "Exactly."

Khalus clearly feels that TOR/Harriet is doing the right thing. I think TOR is artificially stretching it out as a naked cash grab and that Sanderson is simply covering for them. You don't. It's as easy as that. Deriding my opinion isn't big, isn't clever.

[benr]

 

It's wonderful news that AMoL will be written; it's wonderful news that I get to read three more books.

Why does that count as wonderful, as opposed to the same words spread over two books, or just one?

And it's wonderful news that I get at least two more years to read and discuss all of your opinions, because once I read the last book, I don't know how relevant all of this will be to me - and I do enjoy it so (even you, Mr Ares!).

Of course, I am wonderful. How could anyone not enjoy me, that's what I'd like to know.

 

 

 

You know, Mr Ares, as a fellow "old fart", my only concern here is that I'll die before I get to read the last book.  Of course, if I'm true to my beliefs, that won't really matter, but still...

 

I like that it's three books because I've got lots more to look forward to.  I don't want it to end.  I can't quite understand why so many of our fellow posters are in such a hurry for it to end.  Again, the cost is a non-issue.  Three books, two books, one book - every day I decide what to spend my money on, and I'd but every (authorized) WOT book that was written.

[MikeRiley]

The cost is an issue if they're releasing the books specifically in a way to draw in more money milking the most out of each book that they possibly can.

 

I want to see the series end because it is supposed to end. Or at least, to start over. The part where we pick up New Spring and read all the way through it again.

[benr]

But TOR has a fiduciary duty to make as much money as it can (even though I don't think that is the driving force here).  If TOR succeeds as a publisher, they can publish more SF/Fantasy, and help new authors get published.  That's the way that the world goes round.

[MikeRiley]

Of course, people wanting to make money is all well and good, but sometimes there's a right way and a wrong way. Cutting a book up into 3 and marketing it as 1 while charging you 3 times for it, to me, is the wrong way.

 

I really wouldn't have a problem with this if they would just say "Hey, you know, we said we could wrap this up in one book, but now that we've seen the scope of it we realize it would take a few more books to complete." They know they can't do it one. That's why they are splitting it. Write them as 3 separate books, intended to be sold separate with no full volume releases at the end. Make it a 14 book series, with neat endings the way the others are. None of that Two Towers ending in a complete cliffhanger stuff where the book was simply cut down the middle. I would pay for 3 separate books, I will not pay 3 times for one book. I'll either buy it used, read it at the library, or buy the single volume version when it's out and being sold for just a bit more than part 1. Either way, I don't intend to read parts 1 and 2 until I have all 3 parts in hand. That's my own reading preference though, I don't want to risk spoiling it for myself by giving a year to think.

 

In short, I'll pay $60 for 3 separate books but I won't pay that if those books are marketed as parts 1, 2 and 3.

[Safia al-Maaz]

I think most of you are being a little overdramatic about this whole situation.

I don't think we're being dramatic enough: This is the end! A travesty! Evil, worse than the Holocaust! Why God, why would you permit such a terrible thing to occur? I cannot face it! I cannot live in a world with A Memory of Light in three volumes! Woe, woe is me! Goodbye cruel world! Maybe in the next life I will find this book as it was meant to be!

 

Hahah my hat is off to you Mr Ares for a top notch dramatic performance ^^

 

I, however, doubt TOR will charge 3x the amount for one book.  Whatever is going to happen is going to happen, so everybody should prepare themselves for anything.

[seasnake]

I'm okay with this decision, I think Sanderson's post on the subject seemed genuine and made some sense.  It's tough to wait, but it sounds like the waiting part was inevitable.

 

I agree with the poster MikeReilly in that I hope that each book is treated as just the next book in the Wheel of Time.  If its Book 12: The Gathering Storm, Book 13: The Shifting Winds, and Book 14: A Memory of Light I'm cool with that.  Each book needs to feel a complete read on its own, and fortunately I think the author indicated that's what he's doing, he's giving us a book 12 longer than the original contract asked for that is 1/3 of the plot that's left and that concludes with some nice story arcs finished.  He indicated TGS will be 300K words and will be wrapping up at a logical and satisfying enough cut.  Even though things will not ALL be resolved, that's the way it's been since Book 1. 

 

At the end of the day, I just want a nice, 14 book collection with the a prequel.  I don't want a 12 book collection that took 14 volumes, that's just not on.

[Khalus]

 

I really wouldn't have a problem with this if they would just say "Hey, you know, we said we could wrap this up in one book, but now that we've seen the scope of it we realize it would take a few more books to complete." 

 

You know thats exactly what Brandon Sanderson said:

 

As I progressed through the series, I began to grasp the daunting nature of this book. How much there was to do, how many plotlines needed to be brought back together, the WEIGHT of it all was enormous.

 

To get this into one book, I'd need to railroad the story from climax to climax. I'd have to ignore a lot of the smaller characters--and even some aspects of the larger characters. I just couldn't justify that. It wouldn't do the story justice. I cringed to consider what I would have to cut or ignore.

 

Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps readers would have preferred a single, condensed volume so that they at least knew what happened. But I just couldn't do it. The Wheel of Time deserved better.

 

I had already set the progress bar at 400k words on my website. I started writing in earnest, and also started warning people that the book was likely going to run longer than my initial estimate. Perhaps much longer. Soon, I was saying 750k.

 

By this point, I'd already warned Tom and Harriet that I saw the length being very large, but I hadn't told Tom the 700-800k number. When I'd mentioned 400k to him once, he'd been wary. He explained to me that he felt 400k was unprintably large in today's publishing market.

 

What I didn't realize was just how taxing this process was going to be.

 

Clear as day to me that he couldn't write the conclusion in 1 novel without cutting out tons of important details and plotlines, and thus 3 books were spawned so that everything could get a proper conclusion!

 

 

[Alaggor]

You should go and see what RJ said as I just did. There was NOT a single doubt that the aMoL will be one book. I don’t know who started the “November 2009 release date” thing. And I also don’t know why there was a deadline. If RJ was alive he will probably spend another two years finishing the series. But I’ll tell you what I think:

 

1. First Hariet sold series for filming (Hollywood = money)

2. Then there are The Dabel Brothers with the graphic novels (more money from those who prefer not to read but to look at some pictures)

3. Brandon Sanderson is experienced author. From the beginning he would know what it takes to write the ending thus the post in his site “November 2009” is just date who I guess Hariet decided to throw out just to say later “Hey look we should give you something at that date, don’t we?”. So this is the way to split easily the books without making the fans frenzied. Then the decision of three books was made not before few days but when RJ passed away. (money from 3 books not one, and even more money when they release it in one big fat book)

4. Expect soon action figures, t-shirts, ant other franchise. (for more and more money)

5. And guess what the - other two prequels. (I think you’ve got the picture)

6. Even further - Sanderson, as he said in his blog, will get the exact same payment for the three books as if it was one.

 

I’ll buy the final novels. I’ll read them, and I WILL enjoy them. Because there is one thing that Hariet and company can’t get from us. And that is the Ending which RJ has already written. RJ decided to get the final novel to the fans no matter what, not Hariet. So this is not her decision.

 

RJ, I hope you will never understand what they did to your legacy.

 

Ask yourselves this question: “Did RJ write the books for profit?”. In my opinion no – because there was no doubt that he would make the last novel in one book. Tor wouldn’t have the chance to say anything about it. He also said it will be finished when it is done. There was nothing like “November 2009 deadline”. I’m not mad with the decisions about splitting the final book, or with the filming of tEotW. I’m mad with the lack of respect for RJ decisions. He was a great man, a man who we all respect, a man who deserve better than that. And we the fans are doing to give him that respect. Because after all the name behind WoT is Robert Jordan, and this is how it will last.

 

[Nightstrike]

I'm not especially upset with the decision to split AMoL. I don't believe that RJ would have been either. It's the experience of the books that counts for something. If they are well written and fun to read, then everything is great. It's very nice to get the first part this year (even more fun that we get the ending at all). That's my view on the matter.

 

[Luckers]

Its been a very long wait and will still be a long wait yet to come for the ending, but seriously come on...we are getting Three{3} more novels of WoT, not just 1, and one of them is landing in our laps this Nov. with 2 more on the way just 1 year apart.  I know many of you are gonna reply that its just one novel split into 3 parts...get over it please.  This will be 3 novels, each roughly the same size as every other book in the series thus far with a tiny subtitle of AMoL in regards to Robert Jordan's Wishes and Legacy.

 

Need i point out again that we are not gaining any new material. Brandon stated as much--the only difference is that now that material will be in three--Three(3)--as opposed to just one--umm... One(1).  So that argument is just plain silly--and why add the numeral in addition to the underlining? Doesn't that seem a bit excessive to you?

[vainebekonnes]

Its been a very long wait and will still be a long wait yet to come for the ending, but seriously come on...we are getting Three{3} more novels of WoT, not just 1, and one of them is landing in our laps this Nov. with 2 more on the way just 1 year apart.  I know many of you are gonna reply that its just one novel split into 3 parts...get over it please.  This will be 3 novels, each roughly the same size as every other book in the series thus far with a tiny subtitle of AMoL in regards to Robert Jordan's Wishes and Legacy.

 

Need i point out again that we are not gaining any new material. Brandon stated as much--the only difference is that now that material will be in three--Three(3)--as opposed to just one--umm... One(1).  So that argument is just plain silly--and why add the numeral in addition to the underlining? Doesn't that seem a bit excessive to you?

 

Excessive?  Not when we are talking about 900,000 or so words.