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

[MikeRiley]

Brandon Sanderson said he was writing this as if it was one book. That means we will know a lot of what's going to happen in part 3 in part 1. Releasing them so far apart will only give us the chance to discuss everything in depth and figure it all out ahead of time.

 

Well technically the entire series is one book spread over 11 novels thus far, and I don't know about you but after reading the novels many times I already know what is going to be covered in the next 3 books!  Of course I don't know the order and the exact details but we all have a general idea of what that will be.  There could be even more details now that there will be 3 novels instead of 1 and I eagerly await them.

 

Well its been 3+ years since KoD and have we figured out everything that will happen, nope!  Its been since the end of Fires of Heaven {6 novels} when Asmodean died?  Have we figured that out yet, nope! etc etc etc

 

You assume too much, and just cause Brandon Sanderson said hes writing it as 1 novel doesn't mean that is what will happen!  Didn't he also say he was trying for one novel also and that clearly didn't happen and wasn't his decision.

 

What we know is way too broad. I'm talking a single book not a series. I don't know about you, but when I read Knife of Dreams, I knew what was going down at the end of the book, by the halfway point. I didn't know the exact details, but I still knew what they were all planning. Let's just call it reading comprehension for having read the first half, where the plot points of that book have a tendency to start. We have a pretty good idea what will happen, sure.. But at the moment since the book isn't out we don't know the setting, we don't know how they will do what they will do, and when. Once we read part 1, we will know. That's the big problem here. Robert Jordan had the outline of this book done so we know there will be some sort of flow between the points that will tie everything together. The only way cutting this into 3 parts will work is if they move stuff around so there's no hints, to treat this as 3 separate books. We already know they aren't doing this because Brandon Sanderson said the book was being written as if it were one.

 

To avoid spoilers, when part 1 comes out I'll be leaving the forum until we get part 3. The discussions that come about as a result of what we learn in The Gathering Storm will be just as destructive to the suspense of the next two parts as the next two parts themselves.

[Charlz Guybon]

Good stories deserve to be read, but they also deserve to be in one book (or if multiple, sold together) and not hacked to pieces for more money. If this is done as A Memory of Light parts 1-3 my collection will remain books 1-11 and I'll just read this at the library. Unless of course they plan to charge a third of the price we got book 11 for. Because you know, if they are marketing this as 3 parts of one book, we should be paying full price.. for one book.

::) Be serious people. I don't see anyone bitching that the three parts of The Lord of the Rings are sold separately, and AMOL will be probably be more than 200k longer.

[Charlz Guybon]

 

 

Do I want the series to end? Yes. It's a great series but that doesn't mean it should be artificially prolonged just to cost us more money. If you're so intent on keeping it around forever, read a word a day. Robert Jordan knew about these issues and he said it would be done in one book if it required its own cart to carry it with. To me, it sounded like he was saying it would be finished in one go, book 12 would be the final book and he wanted it finished. For Tor to put the books out a year between each other, the final book cut up in 3 parts goes entirely against his stated plans for the book.

Yes because Jordan never underestimated how long the series would be. It'll be 3 books, wait 6, etc, etc.  ::)

[Shard]

 

 

Do I want the series to end? Yes. It's a great series but that doesn't mean it should be artificially prolonged just to cost us more money. If you're so intent on keeping it around forever, read a word a day. Robert Jordan knew about these issues and he said it would be done in one book if it required its own cart to carry it with. To me, it sounded like he was saying it would be finished in one go, book 12 would be the final book and he wanted it finished. For Tor to put the books out a year between each other, the final book cut up in 3 parts goes entirely against his stated plans for the book.

Yes because Jordan never underestimated how long the series would be. It'll be 3 books, wait 6, etc, etc.  ::)

 

Yeah you guys remember when RJ used to say "Just two more books guys, just two more" sometime around book 7 or 8.

 

And Khalus You knew from the begining of KoD that Taim was going to say "Let the lord of choas rule"? Because I didn't and was quite shocked, I think I even gasped at the scene. So you figured out that exact thing was going to happen?

[Gentled Ben]

It seems to me that perhaps we all should take a couple of deep breaths, and let these news sink down a bit...

 

Regarding RJ insisting on making it a single volume, keep in mind that we are talking about the man who believed he could finish the story in 5-6 books. I think he spoke partly from underestimating how long AMOL would have to be, and partly from hoping he would be able to pull some strings if he had been with us when AMOL hit the stores.

I am quite convinced he would have accepted splitting AMOL once he realised how many pages he had actually written.

 

That we now see it split into three parts instead of two, time is a huge aspect here. Had RJ not gotten sick, it is quite possible he would have been finished with AMOL now. But since that did not happen, a lot of time was lost. Brandon explains this very well in his article.

 

As for the book getting stretched out beyond what RJ intended, are you kidding? Who of those directly involved would want this? Brandon, who just have started to get his own career going, a career he must more or less put on hold for quite some time? Who signed a contract to write a minimum of 200000 words, meaning that everything he writes now is him working for free? Ok, Brandon seems to be one of the nicest guys in the business, but come on, he is a family man, with bills to pay.

 

As for whether or not the books should be released close to eachother, that would mean getting the first part out at the earliest in the fall 2010, a year later than what we get now, and the final part still coming out in 2011. Brandon is not a machine who can write 24/7 until the book is done. Heck, the workload he has put in so far is quite astonishing.

But, if it is important to you that you get all the parts released close to eachother, just pretend they do not exist and wait until the final part is published. Me, I will be hanging on the bookstores door in november, and I will do the same in 2010 and 2011.

 

QFT and Agreement.

And those of you who are saying that you will wait until 2011 and/or read these final 3 books out of a library, then I feel sorry for you because you will be cheating yourself out of a project of love done by Harriet and her team, and Brandon Sanderson that will put a fitting conclusion to the greatest epic fantasy series of all time, that will RESPECT the work of James Oliver Rigney, and that will conclude most of the loose threads that RJ left in books 1 through 11.

 

http://www.dragonmount.com/Books/Memory_of_Light/harriet_interview_01.php

 

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL

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?

[ArolasFlinn]

Brandon Sanderson said he was writing this as if it was one book. That means we will know a lot of what's going to happen in part 3 in part 1. Releasing them so far apart will only give us the chance to discuss everything in depth and figure it all out ahead of time.

 

Well technically the entire series is one book spread over 11 novels thus far, and I don't know about you but after reading the novels many times I already know what is going to be covered in the next 3 books!  Of course I don't know the order and the exact details but we all have a general idea of what that will be.  There could be even more details now that there will be 3 novels instead of 1 and I eagerly await them.

 

Well its been 3+ years since KoD and have we figured out everything that will happen, nope!  Its been since the end of Fires of Heaven {6 novels} when Asmodean died?  Have we figured that out yet, nope! etc etc etc

 

You assume too much, and just cause Brandon Sanderson said hes writing it as 1 novel doesn't mean that is what will happen!  Didn't he also say he was trying for one novel also and that clearly didn't happen and wasn't his decision.

 

What we know is way too broad. I'm talking a single book not a series. I don't know about you, but when I read Knife of Dreams, I knew what was going down at the end of the book, by the halfway point. I didn't know the exact details, but I still knew what they were all planning. Let's just call it reading comprehension for having read the first half, where the plot points of that book have a tendency to start. We have a pretty good idea what will happen, sure.. But at the moment since the book isn't out we don't know the setting, we don't know how they will do what they will do, and when. Once we read part 1, we will know. That's the big problem here. Robert Jordan had the outline of this book done so we know there will be some sort of flow between the points that will tie everything together. The only way cutting this into 3 parts will work is if they move stuff around so there's no hints, to treat this as 3 separate books. We already know they aren't doing this because Brandon Sanderson said the book was being written as if it were one.

 

To avoid spoilers, when part 1 comes out I'll be leaving the forum until we get part 3. The discussions that come about as a result of what we learn in The Gathering Storm will be just as destructive to the suspense of the next two parts as the next two parts themselves.

 

So, you think when Brandon Sanderson says, "I have a great place to split it at 300k words." He really means.. "I have a great place to split it at 300k words where all the fans who post on Dragonmount, wotmania, and TarValon.net will all be able to figure out exactly what happens in the next two books!"?

 

Come on, bro. Brandon is not RJ, but he is a damn good author. He is not going to feed us something that is so transparent that we don't need the extra two books to figure out what is going on. When he says he's got a good place to split it, that means he's got a spot where he can end it and still leave us in suspense enough to keep Tor in buisness and spend our money on the next two books.

 

Hell, its been 4 years since book 11 and we don't know who killed Asmo. We don't know if Luckers is right with the bodyswap, we don't know if Rand's going to die or not. We've got some good guesses, but we will not know how this story ends until volume 3 of aMOL.

[RobertAlexWillis]

Honestly, I think that if people decide not to buy the books over this, its a little silly, but then, people are entitled to be a little silly if they want to.  Its certainly not something to get angry over, folks.

[ArolasFlinn]

Honestly, I think that if people decide not to buy the books over this, its a little silly, but then, people are entitled to be a little silly if they want to.  Its certainly not something to get angry over, folks.

 

Agreed. Listen to RAW, he's had a few good things to say before. ya know, at least one or two.

[Tumeric]

My two cents' (please don't ask me for change...)...

 

For me, it's more important that the remaining story be told in the manner that Robert Jordan would've wished.  I hadn't heard of Brandon until it was announced that he would pick up the torch and carry it to the end, and the announcement didn't send me running off to scour the bookshops for his previous work.  For me, it's enough that Harriet and Tor felt him worthy.  Depending on what I think of the remaining volumes, I might go looking for his work... but as far as WOT goes, I just want to read on to the conclusion... as it was designed by the Creator, even if it's impossible for it to happen by his hand directly.

 

One book, two books, or another dozen... doesn't matter: as long as they are worthy in themselves.

 

What would RJ think?  I cannot presume to answer that... but many have iterated how the series grew from his original vision of a trilogy, out to a half-dozen tomes, to the point where we had 11 wonderful books, and still no end in sight.  The Wheel turns... and wills as the Wheel wills.

[Khalus]

And Khalus You knew from the begining of KoD that Taim was going to say "Let the lord of choas rule"? Because I didn't and was quite shocked, I think I even gasped at the scene. So you figured out that exact thing was going to happen?

 

Hrm, this doesn't have any relation to what I said!

 

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?  Never seen so many people upset over the good news we received today....more WoT...how can you be upset over it, and really $90 spread over the course of 3 years is just so damn expensive...really...we're all going to go bankrupt cause supposedly TOR is ripping us off....rofl!

 

Anyway though; I'll still be buying all 3 books, and if for some miraculous reasoning there is an Omnibus released after these are all finished I'll prolly buy that too just to have one big damn book.  I'll also be purchasing the WoT Encyclopedia scheduled for release by what Harriet said sometime in 2013!

[Scraps]

i just joined the forum to say that nearly ALL of you are idiots.

 

2011 is when the final book of the volume trilogy is being released.

 

2011 is when the final book would have been released if it was just one volume.

 

For those tools that say it's a ripoff that tor is selling it as a trilogy?

 

Did you really think that 'a memory of light' would sell for a standard price at 750,000 words? It would be marked up significantly to cover the cost anyway plus to profit on the endeavor - not to mention covering shelf space. So, you've ended up paying just a little less then or the same price of the trilogy anyway. This would have been the case for two volumes as well.

 

I like being updated on a periodic basis. I can think about what happens next instead of waiting forever and not having any idea until the final big book came into my hands.

 

i really hope the haters don't read the book and miss out on the conclusion of a wonderful series. it just annoys me to see all this bitchin.

[benr]

i just joined the forum to say that nearly ALL of you are idiots.

 

2011 is when the final book of the volume trilogy is being released.

 

2011 is when the final book would have been released if it was just one volume.

 

For those tools that say it's a ripoff that tor is selling it as a trilogy?

 

Did you really think that 'a memory of light' would sell for a standard price at 750,000 words? It would be marked up significantly to cover the cost anyway plus to profit on the endeavor - not to mention covering shelf space. So, you've ended up paying just a little less then or the same price of the trilogy anyway. This would have been the case for two volumes as well.

 

I like being updated on a periodic basis. I can think about what happens next instead of waiting forever and not having any idea until the final big book came into my hands.

 

i really hope the haters don't read the book and miss out on the conclusion of a wonderful series. it just annoys me to see all this bitchin.

 

Well, bitchin is what we humans do, and if we don't have something real to bitch about we make something up.  It's wonderful news that AMoL will be written; it's wonderful news that I get to read three more books.  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!).

[Safia al-Maaz]

The only real problem i have with this new 3-book development is that i will have to wait longer to read the books, but half the fun is in anticipation, so I'm willing to wait.  I think most of you are being a little overdramatic about this whole situation, considering the fact that we have no say in the matter anyway.  My advice is either just let it go, or if you're really adamant about it write to TOR and express your feelings about the issue. Personally it just means we're sure to have a quality product that lasts that much longer without dragging on.

[CUBAREY]

I cannot believe all the carping that I have seen over this. Read Brandon Sanderson's blog. He states that the reason why it is going to take to 2011 to finish AMOL is that he did not want to cut anything he felt was necessary. It's amost April and he has not quite finished revising the first book (which by the way he says will end up being around 300k words not 250k). He has another 112K to 150k written but will have to revise this extensively, thereafter he will have to (by his present estimate of a final count of 800k) write another 250k of material. If you figure the second book will bee 250 to 300k, he will have to hand over maybe 150k by early summer to Harriet to start editing. Then he will have to incorporate Harriets edits to that 150k. He then has to finish another 125 to 150k, give it to Harreit to edit, etc. He also has other contractual obligations to meet this year and next. So let's say he finishes the second book by spring of 2010, that means it get published in late fall early winter of 2010 no matter how fast they do the final edits and the printing. That leaves him around 200k to finish by his present estimate between the spring of 2010 and spring of 2011 (also counter in the fact that he started estimating the total AMOL to be 400k, then aound 650 to 700k, then 750k and presently 800k, the final count could easily be 850k), he also as earlier stated has other commitments. Thus, whether we like to admit it or not a November 2011 date for the publication of the finsl psrt is a realistic estimate of how long it will take.

 

Further for those who say they will by the books used or borrow them instead of enriching TOR, please remember that you will also be taking money from Harriet and Brandon if you do this.

 

Lastly, it will be 4 years between the publication of KOD and the publication of the Gathering Storm. That's a very long time. If we really insisted on only two books the second book would not come out at best until early in 2011. Brandon Sanderson says he is working as hard as he can to finish AMOL as fast as possible given the constraints he has (other commitments, he writes about 1k words a day, time for editing, etc.), he also says he sees another natural break at around 600k. Frankly, I want to read something new by the end of this year, and would prefer something in 2010. Thus the break into three books is reasonable to me.  

 

P.S. those who suggest that Harriet is not respecting RJ's wishes should be ashamed of yourselves. We are only fans of RJ she was his wife. I think beliving that our views reflect more closely RJ's wishes or that we can safeguard his legacy better then Harriet is at best presumptuous of us and at worst totally rediculous and insulting. I for one Trust Harriet, Brandon Sanderson, and yes even Tom Doherty with RJ's final work a thousand times more then the wishes of spoiled fans that insist that they know better.

[Guest The Thin Inn Keeper]

How dare you.

 

People have accused me of arrogance in the past, so lets acknowledge that in full form--do you understand who and what I am? The time I've invested in this series, the respect I've given it? Once upon a stage there was even a thread suggesting i was Robert Jordan in disguise. I don't give a shit about any of that, but you must understand the amount of dedication to this series required for that to have happened. We are talking of years here.

Apologies, but you’re not the only one who has invested time and effort on this series.

 

I started reading WoT maybe 14 years ago.

 

Now, that might not be as long as you, but WoT is the first series that I can clearly remember reading. It’s been a part of my life for so long now that I can’t remember what it was like before I read WoT.

 

Every book I read, every character that I encounter is compared to Rand, Mat, Perrin, Elyas, etc..

 

Nobody else I’ve seen here has your encyclopedic knowledge, but, sorry, WoT means a lot to all of us.

 

Frankly, why on Earth would we bother to spend time on DM if we were a little obsessed?

 

Personally, I roll my eyes at your outrage because I want the best. Brandon (who we have to take at his word and trust in his skill) has said this is why it was done. He believes that this was one option that will deliver the best to us.

 

As a result, I’ll wait.

 

Sure, of course I want the book now. I wanted as soon as I finished KoD.

Had Hariet chosen to let the series go i would have been devestated. I would have understood, but it would have been terrible. But she did not. She chose to progress with it. Not in allowing someone else to run it, she chose specific control. That places the onus of responsibility on her.

And how has she failed?

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

And yours is merely an opinion.

 

Everyone here has one.

 

You’ve (above) suggested that Harriet has failed in some respect. How?

 

How has the wife of RJ failed us? We’re getting the book(s). We’re getting the full, uncut motherload.

 

 

I respect Hariet and what she's done deeply, and i definately sympathise with her position--but i am not outraged because of an insult to James. I do not actually believe anything she could do COULD insult James--her love for the man has been so consistently clear that such an idea defies reason. My problem is an insult to the fans. And that i sustain.

What you interpret as an insult to the fans, many of us interpret as the only way in which the story could be given the justice it deserves.

 

Remember… this will be the last time you will ever read anything by James Rigney again.

 

Just remember that.

 

If they need to split it to include everything, then that is fine by me.

 

Good stories deserve to be read, but they also deserve to be in one book (or if multiple, sold together) and not hacked to pieces for more money. If this is done as A Memory of Light parts 1-3 my collection will remain books 1-11 and I'll just read this at the library. Unless of course they plan to charge a third of the price we got book 11 for. Because you know, if they are marketing this as 3 parts of one book, we should be paying full price.. for one book.

Sure.

 

Lord of the Rings only cost the price of a single volume, didn’t it?

 

Did you refuse to buy LoTR because it was split?

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.

Yes because Jordan never underestimated how long the series would be. It'll be 3 books, wait 6, etc, etc.  ::)

Exactly.

 

Let’s face it, RJ was a manager’s nightmare.

 

He frequently gave estimates that, whatever he might have believed, proved to be monumental screw ups.

 

Brandon talks about the TOR representative laughing at saying “It’s happening again.” RJ did this to TOR, to us, all the time.

 

Just because he’s dead doesn’t make his final “one book” estimate some sort of divine law. The man frequently underestimated the time and length required.

 

That AMoL is proving to be problematic is merely a continuation of RJ’s “One more book” routine.

 

And you know what? I don’t care.

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.

i just joined the forum to say that nearly ALL of you are idiots.

 

2011 is when the final book of the volume trilogy is being released.

 

2011 is when the final book would have been released if it was just one volume.

 

For those tools that say it's a ripoff that tor is selling it as a trilogy?

 

Did you really think that 'a memory of light' would sell for a standard price at 750,000 words? It would be marked up significantly to cover the cost anyway plus to profit on the endeavor - not to mention covering shelf space. So, you've ended up paying just a little less then or the same price of the trilogy anyway. This would have been the case for two volumes as well.

 

I like being updated on a periodic basis. I can think about what happens next instead of waiting forever and not having any idea until the final big book came into my hands.

 

i really hope the haters don't read the book and miss out on the conclusion of a wonderful series. it just annoys me to see all this bitchin.

Here, here.

 

--

At the end of the day we have:

 

1. A dead author who frequently told fibs about how long his work would be.

2. A manuscript that if not split, would be physically impossible to publish.

3. A new author who, despite his best intentions, cannot decide how long the book will be.

4. A publisher who needs to have some idea about a schedule and has to make money.

 

At the end of the day, it’s impossible to plan when BS, through no fault of his own, cannot give a definiative length. Sure, he can estimate, but he seems to have caught RJ’s habit of underestimation.

 

We’ll get the book(s).

 

We could easily have missed out.

 

*I’m appalled. I’m finding myself agreeing with CUBAREY all time at the moment.*

;D  :P  :-\

[MikeRiley]

Good stories deserve to be read, but they also deserve to be in one book (or if multiple, sold together) and not hacked to pieces for more money. If this is done as A Memory of Light parts 1-3 my collection will remain books 1-11 and I'll just read this at the library. Unless of course they plan to charge a third of the price we got book 11 for. Because you know, if they are marketing this as 3 parts of one book, we should be paying full price.. for one book.

Sure.

 

Lord of the Rings only cost the price of a single volume, didn’t it?

 

Did you refuse to buy LoTR because it was split?

 

I bought the one volume version and (to the guy above who called me a tool for suggesting the price should be cheaper) it cost me about the same price new as Crossroads of Twilight did. Had I waited an age for the final book to come out and heard it was being split into 3, I probably wouldn't have bought it new at all. Of course, that doesn't matter because that book that got cut into 3 parts was the entire story and the climax was left in one book rather than spaced out for 3 years. It should also be noted that while the Lord of the Rings example is being thrown out here in this thread a lot, people fail to realize that part 3 was released a little more than a year after the first part, and it was only split up to keep the price down.

 

Note: In the proofread stage of my post I saw how long it was getting so I summed it up in a smaller paragraph for those who don't have the time to listen to my rants.

 

My problem isn't that it's being split into 3 parts. I can understand that. My problem is that they are being spread out so far. We will be able to tell what's going on in the next book while reading the first if the 3 are not written as 3 separate books. I'm not saying there won't be any surprises, it'll just seriously detract from the whole thing if we're left to consider the plot progress for a year between each book. This isn't like the other 11 books, this is one book being split into 3. The other ones had (somewhat) neat conclusions to them that cleared up the various plot points introduced in that specific book.

 

It was also said above somewhere that Brandon Sanderson is a good writer and if he said he knows a good spot to make the split, then he can do it without giving anything away.. I haven't read anything by Brandon Sanderson to say whether he's a good writer or not, but since he got this job I'm going to assume he is. With that said, I do not believe the book will be good if there are no long-term plans. What I mean by this is in the last 11 books we've read, Robert Jordan has various plot points that are in motion from the very beginning that are finished at the end of the book. We're going to see various things forming from the very beginning of part 1 that won't end until the end of part 3 if A Memory of Light follows the pattern the last 11 books did. He plans this stuff out so while we might not know what's going to happen until we read about it, we have a pretty good idea. Brandon Sanderson said he was writing this as one book, so while the point he cuts each part at might have a good conclusion for it, we'll still be left with major cliffhangers whereas all the other books had nice clean endings. Each one of those cliffhangers will be a finger pointing at what happens next and within 6 months after book 2 we'll see theories discussed here that will pretty much spoil the final part. Given what we know of the last 11 books, with two thirds of the final book, we should be able to tell (given also a year to consider it) what exactly will take place in part 3. Unless Robert Jordan intended the Creator's giant foot stomping the world flat, with Rand, the Dark One and all still in it, or some other equally unforeseeable thing, anyway. If we knew in book 10 that Galad was going to come against Valda in a duel it would have detracted from book 11's Prologue. This is inevitable with various points throughout parts 2 and 3 with the split. While the fight with Valda was sudden and a (very) short plot point, there are larger ones. All it would take is one thread here listing off cliffhangers and discussing what will happen. Not all will be resolved with part 3 so there will still be some mystery, but enough will to give us a very good picture of what's coming.

 

Just another thing I would like to say here, I don't care if we see a book in 2009, I would rather have to wait until 2011 to read it all, or failing that, 2010 with a 2 book deal, but that's sort of pushing it. Spreading the end of a series out will water down the climax unless you wait for it all to come out. With this coming out in 3 parts a year between each other, it'll just mean I wait until 2011 to read it in full, and avoid all forums to escape the inevitable spoilers. You can call it silly of me to say I won't buy the books if they split it up, and maybe you're right, but that's just the way it will be with me. I will say if the 3 books are cheaper than the last few (full) books were, I would buy them when the final one comes out. If it costs more, or if we see price markups because it's the "finale" (despite it being the first part of it) of an incredible series, then I'll just see it as a money grab and will buy nothing Tor-related. It wouldn't surprise me to find each part being sold for $20+ though. I've been a stranger at the library for some time now and wouldn't mind sitting around there on my free time. Oh yeah, and I like to go on long winded rants with my free time, too.

 

 

I can actually sum all of this up pretty quick, for those of you who don't want to read a messy ill-formed post:

If it takes 3 more books to finish the series, that's all fine and good, but write it as 3 separate books of the series. Have a clear conclusion to each book where each book doesn't give away too much of what's going to happen in the next. Calling it 3 separate books, I would have no problem paying full price for it new and on the day it's out. Writing it as one book will just cause spoilers for the next part (something I believe to be inevitable if it's written as a single book), detracting from them, and unless the price was marked down to reflect that we're not getting a full book, it would just be costing us more money when it shouldn't and would only make me (a person who is very suspicious and untrusting of everybody) believe that was their sole intention of the split.

 

 

Yes because Jordan never underestimated how long the series would be. It'll be 3 books, wait 6, etc, etc.  ::)

 

This is different. 3 books, 6 books, etc.. those were all separate books. Now we are seeing "one" book that's going to be marketed as 3. The problem is that it's being called one book and is being written as one book. If it was written as 3 separate books like you seem to be suggesting should be done, then there would be no problem that I can see.

[Tyrell]

As for the book getting stretched out beyond what RJ intended, are you kidding? Who of those directly involved would want this? Brandon, who just have started to get his own career going, a career he must more or less put on hold for quite some time? Who signed a contract to write a minimum of 200000 words, meaning that everything he writes now is him working for free? Ok, Brandon seems to be one of the nicest guys in the business, but come on, he is a family man, with bills to pay.

 

Oh come on Maj. Sanderson will be getting royalties, and from what I could tell the contract asked him to write a minimum of 200K words, but also deliver a finished product, it would be foolish otherwise. Plus Sanderson is getting oodles of fame from this, THIS is skyrocketing his career prospects, not holding them back as you seem to be implying.

[vainebekonnes]

I must say that I'm confused regarding these clean endings and spoilers that you talk about.  At the end of book 11 they make it obvious that Mat and Thom are going to the Tower of Ghenji.  They certainly wrapped up the whole Perrin chasing after Faile thing neatly at the end of the book they started it on.   ::)  So where are you getting your opinions on how the books have gone so far?  We have some events that mini-plots that wrap up and others that drag on, including all the major plots continuing at the end of every single book starting at the Crown of Swords.  That 5 books so far without a neat conclusion that wraps everything up.  Sure they wrap up some things, but not others, and certainly not everything.  

 

Now let's take a look at what needs to occur in the next book.  With Mat, we have the Tower, reuniting with Rand and the political maneuvering that is necessary to bring the Seanchan inline with Rand, oh yeah, and Tarmon Gaidan.  Or how about Rand?  He has to deal with the Seanchan, both politically and militarily in the Northwest.  He also had Graendal to deal with in the Northwest.  He hasn't even dealt with the Borderlands or the lands on the other side of the Aiel waste yet.  He is no where close to organized enough for Tarmon Gaidan yet, and that will require more political maneuvering and the like.  Then there is Tarmon Gaidan, but wait, he still needs to figure out what he's supposed to do there.  Egwene needs to unify the Tower/deal with Elaida, there is the Black Ajah to deal with, which could or could not involve her.  You have the Black Tower to deal with, plus the Aes Sedai need to be organized for Tarmon Gaidan.  But first there is a secret attack that's been orchestrated by the Seanchan.  After all that, you still have, oh what was it, oh yeah, Tarmon Gaidan.

 

This is not 900,000 words of the Final Battle, or one long climax, this is a whole lot of stuff that Robert Jordan put off until the end to make it really exciting, or simply because he got behind the 8 ball.  Either way, Brandon Sanderson says that there is a real good stopping point after a natural climax that wraps up multiple storylines at what winds up being about 300,000 words in.  He says there is another good stopping point later, at what I assume is right before Tarmon Gaidan.  I certainly have no problem believing all of this when taking a look at what still has to be dealt with before we can even have the Final Battle, so why do you find it so difficult to believe?

 

Oh, and why would they lower the price on a book that is about the same size as Eye of the World?  There are only 4 books in the series that are substantially (by 15,000 words or more) larger.  FoH, LoC, tSR, and KoD are the only books that are much longer than the first book is definitely going to be.  That is why it had to be split, and that is why the idea of lowering the price is retarded.  If you are willing to pay $7 or $8 for a paperback of Eye of the World, why wouldn't you be willing to do it for another book in the same series that's the same size?  You are irrationally reacting, and not thinking this through at all.  You have read what Brandon Sanderson wrote on his site, right?  If need be, ignore everything he gave as far as their rationale is concerned.  Instead, focus on what he says about stopping points in the story, estimated length of time to finish it, and estimated length of the book (and how his sections that he's turned in grow even more still, even as his own estimate does.)  Now with a rational reflection on the past 5 books, what has yet to be done in the story, what Brandon has said, and all the other factors that must be considered, try to come up with a reasonable reason to react the way that you are.

[benr]

Making money is NOT inherently evil.  The price of a book is not prohibitive; less than a night out.  By TOR publishing three successful books, it makes them more profitable and able to publish other, new, authors.  I often want the world to cater to my convenience, but for some reason it has persistently failed to do so.  I figure the perspective of time will bring us all around to accepting the reality of this, and the potential for more great reading.

[Majsju]

Oh come on Maj. Sanderson will be getting royalties, and from what I could tell the contract asked him to write a minimum of 200K words, but also deliver a finished product, it would be foolish otherwise. Plus Sanderson is getting oodles of fame from this, THIS is skyrocketing his career prospects, not holding them back as you seem to be implying.

 

Of course, Brandon will most likely recieve royalties, although probably quite less than if it had been his own books. That is however quite irrelevant. If you have read the article, you should have seen that Brandon did not know how long the book would have to be when he started, and he certainly did not know how TOR would treat it. To see a conspiracy where Brandon and TOR sits down to plan how many words it would take for them to be able to split the book into three parts rather than two...

 

Careerwise, Brandon will spend over three years working on AMOL. Three years when the only work of his own he can do is finishing up the projects he was contracted to do, which was books already started. But he will not be able to start anything new until AMOL is finished. For an up-and-coming writer, being off the market for several years is really not a good thing.

And counting on his work with AMOL to skyrocket his career is a huge gamble. Any WOT fans who does not like what he does with AMOL will be extremely unlikely to touch Brandons own books, and WOT fans is quite a big chunk of fantasy readers. So if Brandon wants AMOL to skyrocket his own career, he has to deliver the best possible product he can.

[Luckers]

RJ signed contracts promising AMOL, 2 more prequels and the Outrigger Trilogy, and was paid. Splitting AMOL means she's on the hock for less money back.

 

He wasn't actually paid. Advances are given at initiation of the project. He'd gained greenlights from the publishers, but no payments were given.

 

Apologies, but you’re not the only one who has invested time and effort on this series.

 

I started reading WoT maybe 14 years ago.

 

Now, that might not be as long as you, but WoT is the first series that I can clearly remember reading. It’s been a part of my life for so long now that I can’t remember what it was like before I read WoT.

 

Every book I read, every character that I encounter is compared to Rand, Mat, Perrin, Elyas, etc..

 

Nobody else I’ve seen here has your encyclopedic knowledge, but, sorry, WoT means a lot to all of us.

 

Frankly, why on Earth would we bother to spend time on DM if we were a little obsessed?

 

Personally, I roll my eyes at your outrage because I want the best. Brandon (who we have to take at his word and trust in his skill) has said this is why it was done. He believes that this was one option that will deliver the best to us.

 

I was not saying that i was, i was questioning the posters claim that i had no right to complain--based on the fact that at that time we only had Hariet's comment about 250,000 words being a fat book--under that logic, given the size of tSR, i felt there was a very real, very viable reason to complain--from there i was pointing out to the poster that my adherence to the series gave me the right to have a voice on the subject.

 

I was not saying i was the only one. I was expressing--somewhat forcefully, ill admit--my right to an opinion.

 

And you've no right to roll your eyes at my outrage based on Brandon's blog--at the time we did not have Brandon's post, only Hariet's comment. Indeed, i made a specific post re-addressing the issue following Brandon's post--its on the same page as the post you've quoted. Here's what i said.

 

"Ok, so they've done us the honour of an explanation--and fact is that i agree with it, though Tor could have done it sooner, formally, rather then put Brandon in the position they did. But im glad that its come. Thing is I agree with most of it."

 

Quote

Had Hariet chosen to let the series go i would have been devestated. I would have understood, but it would have been terrible. But she did not. She chose to progress with it. Not in allowing someone else to run it, she chose specific control. That places the onus of responsibility on her.

 

And how has she failed?

 

In terms of her comments, to which i was replying--in stating that a booke more than 250,000 words would be too fat to be viably bound, thus allowing only the possibility for a three way split of a 750,000 word book. In light of tSR's near 400,000 word count that seemed a lie, and in lying to the fans she betrayed the responsibility for the series which she claimed.

 

Of course, since then we have Brandon's post which tells us there were other reasons to divide into three rather than two. We did not have that then, and Hariet's post didn't hint at it.

 

Which is why i made a new post with my reactions to the new reasons.

 

Quote

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

 

And yours is merely an opinion.

 

Everyone here has one.

 

You’ve (above) suggested that Harriet has failed in some respect. How?

 

How has the wife of RJ failed us? We’re getting the book(s). We’re getting the full, uncut motherload.

 

Did i ever claim differently--in reguards to my opinion. My reasoning for my comments about Hariet's failure are well stated. If you don't understand, re-read the thread.

 

As for her being his wife--she has my sympathies for his loss. But she chose to claim responsibility for the series. End of game.

 

Quote

I respect Hariet and what she's done deeply, and i definately sympathise with her position--but i am not outraged because of an insult to James. I do not actually believe anything she could do COULD insult James--her love for the man has been so consistently clear that such an idea defies reason. My problem is an insult to the fans. And that i sustain.

 

What you interpret as an insult to the fans, many of us interpret as the only way in which the story could be given the justice it deserves.

 

Remember… this will be the last time you will ever read anything by James Rigney again.

 

Just remember that.

 

If they need to split it to include everything, then that is fine by me.

 

No, what i interpreted to be an insult to the fans read like an insult to the fans--Brandon's post clarifies the seperate reasons as to why it was nessasary for the quality of the story, and as i posted those are fine with me. But i was not responding to that--those reasons did not exist. All that existed were Hariets comments about why the decision was made, and none of that was covered in it.

 

Honestly, did you bother to read the full thread at all?

 

\

[Mr Ares]

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

For who?

 

One more thought' date=' regarding the extra money we will be shelling out for three rather than one or two books: You get what you pay for. If Brandon had rushed and squeezed this into one book that we could pay one price for, it would be cheaper but also worth less.[/quote']And if they had included the same amount into two large volumes? If there is the same amount of book no matter how many volumes, this argument holds no water. Leaving aside any other reason for splitting, the book will be just as long, and the story will be mostly the same.

 

especially since Brandon Sanderson's contract says he'll complete the book well before the end of 2009.

When his contract says he'll finish might bear no relation to when he actually finishes.

 

Do you all really want this series to end and be over with this Nov{had it been possibly to finish by then}

Had it been possible, yes.

 

Brandon is not a machine who can write 24/7 until the book is done.

True. I sometimes forget other people have limitations.

 

Its been since the end of Fires of Heaven {6 novels} when Asmodean died?  Have we figured that out yet' date=' nope![/quote']As well as we can, yes. All we lack is a final confirmation.

 

I don't see anyone bitching that the three parts of The Lord of the Rings are sold separately

You don't see anyone complaining that a book more than 50 years old and widely available in a single volume edition is also sold in multi volume editions? I wonder why? That said, at the time I did express my dissatisfaction at the split, and did refuse to buy it until available in one book. Lord of the Rings is meant to be one book, and I think three volumes fail to do it justice. It doesn't work that well as a trilogy.

 

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.

 

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!

 

Did you refuse to buy LoTR because it was split?

Yes.

 

For an up-and-coming writer, being off the market for several years is really not a good thing.

For an up and coming writer, writing a guaranteed bestseller is quite a good thing. Especially as his profile and sales figures shot up as a result of the announcement that he would be writing the last book.

And counting on his work with AMOL to skyrocket his career is a huge gamble.

It already has, to some extent.

[Shard]

Mr. Ares does have a point, I bought two Sanderson books just because he is writing the WoT series end and I wanted to see what kind of writer he is. I know I wasn't the only one to do that either.

[Jestr1323]

yup, i bought one of his books. Elantris. I had to see what I was getting myself into. But, I must say that I rather enjoyed that book. So it gave me total faith in him.

[Casco]

But...can we still call it AMOL anymore? According to Brandon the publisher did refuse to have the name AMOL on all books, so the next book is called The gatering storm, not AMOL. The last part of the book series will allways be called AMOL though...but i do think we need to see it as 3 separate books from now. The prodject however is still called AMOL. See it as a memory of RJ..created after his sadly passing.

Thw whole series is a splitted up trillogi after all.....splitted up to 11 volumes so far :)and will include 3 more in Nov 2011.