Prequels and Outriggers-should they be written???

[talligan]

As much as everyone would want it to be, I don't think this is a democratic issue. Brandon seems to have stated repeatedly that he does not want to mess about in Mr. Rigney's World and try to make it his own and my guess is that Harriet would (more or less) agree.

 

So I'm going to vote no.

[Isabel]

Samuel:

 

Yes, RJ was quoted about how he felt uncomfortable with the thought of someone else writing his series. The fact is, however, that someone else IS writing in his series. He didn't lock the series and have nobody finish it, he prepared it to be finished by someone else. Yes, the prequels aren't quite the same, but both AMOL and the prequels would have lots of notes left about them (don't we know this about AMOL!) and I really doubt there would be anything in the two prequel books that Brandon would have to "make up" by himself.

 

Jordan wanted A Memory of Light finished. He didn't make any wishes known about the prequels or outriggers.  We do know however, that Jordan felt uncomfortable of someone else writing in his world. 

From what I remember (someone correct me if I am wrong), RJ didn't pick a writer to finish wot, because of that reason. However, RJ wanted AMOL finished more, so that happened.

That doesn't mean that he wanted someone else to write the prequels.

 

btw Brandon has to make up stuff for AMOL. At least make interpretations. So that would only be more for the prequels.

 

 

I wouldn't agree with that ("Brandon would be almost writing the same number of WOT books as RJ"). Notice that The Gathering Storm isn't "written by Brandon Sanderson". Look at the cover. Big words ROBERT JORDAN, small words BRANDONS SANDERSON. As Brandon has repeately stated, the books are RJ's (and to a degree, ours)-not his. They are RJ's stories and RJ's characters, that doesn't change.

 

Ofcourse I consider TGS, TOM and AMOL RJ's books with a little bit  :P help from Brandon. But if you look at the reactions on the internet, than you can also find people who say how Brandon is better than RJ. That he can write WoT better.

 

 

 

Notice I changed my mind with the outriggers-I don't believe they should be written unless there is a wealth of notes comparable to AMOL lying around and Harriet approves, which we both know is, shall we say, unlikely  Wink

 

Thats very good ;)

 

Ultimately, I believe we can both agree that it is Harriet's decision, and I'm sure we both trust in her judgement. She'll make the best choice. I don't know what it will be, but I will still be satisfied even if neither prequels or outriggers are written, because she doesn't think they should be.

 

How on Earth does the time people started reading WOT affect this...that's like saying they're "less" of a fan because they didn't start reading it in the 90's or whenever.

 

Sorry, have to go to work now. Remind me to answer this later ;)

 

[Suttree]

I dont care either way, but i dont think that any one arguement has more weight than another, the matter seems to be split evenly (siding more with the, YES faction)

 

Unless there was a resounding vote of NO, I dont see why they should not be written if people are willing to write with the respect and the fans are willing to read them.

 

If you have a problem with this, then it is simple, dont read it. It is up to Harriet and Team Jordan and whatever they decide, they certainly know better than anyone else. To think that you (and I am not pointing to anyone, just in general) think you know more about the subject is sheer arrogance and delusion, at which point, any argument is invalid.

 

So disregarding any personal opinion, I say, if Team Jordan is willing to write, and there are fans willing to read, go ahead.

 

You dont like it, dont read them.

 

Simple as that.

 

That's just it, a big part of my decision is based on RJ's wishes and what I have read concerning Harriet's and Brandon's thoughts on the matter. No one thinks they know more, we are agreeing with the direction Team Jordan has stated they are leaning. What everyone should be able to agree on is any sort of "tribute" or stories with little to no source material, going on and on would be the last thing RJ wanted.

[Shadow Rider]

I would love to read Lews Theron's story on how he became The Lord of the Morning, but Brandon says there are not enough notes, everything we know about LTT is in the books.

Pitty that could have been a story as epic as Rands.

[TheBeerPatriot]

I'm really torn on this.  On the one hand, I devour anything WOT-related.  However-as many others have pointed out here-I don't want this to turn into an oversaturation of the series a la Star Wars.  Also, Brandon has his own epic to write in the Stormlight Archive, along with a possible sequel to Elantris.  As much as I'd like to see either prequels or outriggers, I don't think it's likely given how hesitant Team Jordan seems to pursue those novels at this time.

 

So long as they remain true to the source material, I can't possibly get enough WoT.

 

I'd love to see a 13 book series during the AoL, each told from a different Forsaken's viewpoint chronicaling their rise and fall from grace culminating in the sealing of the Bore. I'd love to see Tigraine's story told from her POV and that of her contemporaries (as the third part of the prequel series rather than more Lan and Moiraine). I'd love to see a Rogues trilogy telling the story of Thom in one book, Elyas in another and perhaps Fain in the third. A Seanchan trilogy would be great as would one detailing the story of three major Amyrilin's throughout history. The Aiel war, anyone? How about Artur Hawking's story?

 

I really couldn't get enough - my only deterrent would be the greater and greater likelihood of an inferior author getting involved or too much creative license eventually being taken (a la Dragonlance or Star Wars).

 

A Forsaken series would be awesome! Something along the lines of 'The Fall into Shadow" series.  I'd also love to see a novel dealing with Manetheren.

 

Ok, cancel my initial statement above. LOL  ;D

[ka243]

This is a pretty easy one...

Do we LOVE the wheel of time?  YES

Does brandon do an excellent job of writing the Wheel of time from robert jordan's notes and his own skills as a writer? YES

Was TGS a GREAT book? YES

Do we want to read more books by brandon in the wheel of time universe?  YES

 

I realllly want to read the outriggers.  Especially the one about Mat and Tuon afterwards... Can you imagine the great stories that are to be told there....  

Would brandon be making up a lot of the story?  Yes, probably and probably more so in the outriggers than the prequels.  Is that a bad thing?  NO, not at all.  He's a great writer and the fact that the gathering storm and his own books are so good proves that.

 

And if someone doesn't want to read these stories, then well, they should just not read them. There is no reason the rest of us shouldn't be able to, if we want to and if brandon agrees to write them.  Of course, the more vocally people object to these books, the less likely they are to be written (which would suck for the rest of us that really want to read them).  I also think the books would sell very well.

 

The wheel of time is one of the best fantasy universes ever written and brandon is one of fantasy's best writers today.  

I would love to read both the outriggers and prequels and I know he would write excellent stories.

I really really really want to read these books :).

 

Oh... I've been reading these books since around 1994.  I have been a very long time fan of robert jordan's and learned about brandon sanderson's writing when I learned that he would be finishing WOT.  The one thing that has frustrated me about this series was how long it took to get new books out.  We are getting them much faster now which is wonderful.

 

I also don't think that how long a person has been reading the series should matter when considering any opinion they may have about this.

[Impressive Bosom]

The irony here is, while there may be a debate as to whether or not the books SHOULD be written, if they were pretty much everyone on this board would most certainly buy and read them.

[Noreallyjustsomeguy]

I would most certainly like to see them written, by credible authors chosen by Team Jordan (Brandon with first dibs if he wants them, but I'm not opposed to other voices getting a shot). One of the amazing things about the World of the Wheel is, in my opinion, that it is big enough for lots of people to play.  The breadth and depth of the world is a credit to the strength of Jordan's imaginative faculty.

 

It is true that the farther we get from the material already prepared by Jordan, the more we would be reading the voice of other authors.  I don't think that is an inherently bad thing.  Certainly I would hope (and I have every reason to believe) that Tor and Team Jordan would be selective in who they invite to write, but additional voices can add richness to this lovely literary world.

 

And if, Light forbid, one or more of the stories is not quite up to our expectations, that would in no way reduce the value or quality of what has already been written.  We could just have fun blasting it in the forums and regard it as non-canonical.

 

With regards to various citations which guess and interpret what Mr. Jordan's hypothetical wishes would be in the present ... I respectfully submit that Robert Jordan has died.  In life, his opinions on various subjects, including his own work and what would become of it, could and did change, sometimes in dramatic fashion.  So in truth, no matter how many quotes of various reliability are brought to bear, none of us is capable of knowing what he would want.  And all of us are probably capable of finding a statement that supports what we want.

 

One thing is not disputable though: Jordan, knowing full well his mortality and the vicissitudes of changing circumstances, designated caretakers for his world.  A skilled and professional team, led by his long time wife and editor, was designated by him to make these kinds of decisions when he had died.  So, for any of us to pretend that we know him better than they do, and what he did want or would have wanted, based on a limited set of quotes which cannot really be fully contextualized in this forum, is a little presumptuous.

 

I don't pretend to know what Robert Jordan would want in the here and now.  I know that I would like to read these stories, even though they must be written by another hand.  But ultimately, I know that I'm OK with what those designated to make these decisions choose to do.

[ka243]

I sent Brandon an email about this a few months ago saying I'd really like to read the outriggers and prequels, especially the one planned about mat afterwards.

 

He said that no decision would be made about it until after a memory of light is written but if Harriet were to decide the books ought to be written and ask him to do it, he would probably say yes.  Of course, I think that would be wonderful.

 

Based on sales of the gathering storm, we can conclude that there is still an enormous fan interest in the wheel of time and also that fan's liked brandon's work with it.

It was definately one of my favorite books in the series, along with the early books.

 

Anyway, I hope she will ask brandon to have the books done, but waiting until after AMOL is done to make the decision seems like a good call and is fine with me.

[Charlz Guybon]

Voted yes to the prequels, no to the outriggers.

[RembrandtQ.Einstein]

No.

[Suttree]

I would most certainly like to see them written, by credible authors chosen by Team Jordan (Brandon with first dibs if he wants them, but I'm not opposed to other voices getting a shot). One of the amazing things about the World of the Wheel is, in my opinion, that it is big enough for lots of people to play.  The breadth and depth of the world is a credit to the strength of Jordan's imaginative faculty.

 

It is true that the farther we get from the material already prepared by Jordan, the more we would be reading the voice of other authors.  I don't think that is an inherently bad thing.  Certainly I would hope (and I have every reason to believe) that Tor and Team Jordan would be selective in who they invite to write, but additional voices can add richness to this lovely literary world.

 

And if, Light forbid, one or more of the stories is not quite up to our expectations, that would in no way reduce the value or quality of what has already been written.  We could just have fun blasting it in the forums and regard it as non-canonical.

 

With regards to various citations which guess and interpret what Mr. Jordan's hypothetical wishes would be in the present ... I respectfully submit that Robert Jordan has died.  In life, his opinions on various subjects, including his own work and what would become of it, could and did change, sometimes in dramatic fashion.  So in truth, no matter how many quotes of various reliability are brought to bear, none of us is capable of knowing what he would want.  And all of us are probably capable of finding a statement that supports what we want.

 

One thing is not disputable though: Jordan, knowing full well his mortality and the vicissitudes of changing circumstances, designated caretakers for his world.  A skilled and professional team, led by his long time wife and editor, was designated by him to make these kinds of decisions when he had died.  So, for any of us to pretend that we know him better than they do, and what he did want or would have wanted, based on a limited set of quotes which cannot really be fully contextualized in this forum, is a little presumptuous.

I don't pretend to know what Robert Jordan would want in the here and now.  I know that I would like to read these stories, even though they must be written by another hand.  But ultimately, I know that I'm OK with what those designated to make these decisions choose to do.

 

No one can find any statements remotely relating to support of other authors expanding the WoT universe because they do not exist. It does not get much more clear than the quote Isabel provided on the first page of this thread, it's not really open to interpretation.  As I have stated a few times in this thread, my opinion is shaped by what RJ wanted and what Harriet and Brandon have said in interviews. Not speculation, not what I would want to read but what Team Jordan is leaning towards in relation to respecting RJ's wishes and dealing with his creation in a respectful manner.

 

 

[Owayn The Traveller]

Everything changes. Who's to say in a few years or even a decade or so what could or might happen.

[ka243]

Yay for almost 70% of respondents wanting both prequels and outriggers written.

 

Another interesting question would be if Harriet asked brandon to write the prequels and outriggers, would you read them and in that case:

A) Of course I'd read them in that case

B) I might read them if others recommend the book to me.

C) I'd never read it no matter if its a good story or not just because robert jordan didn't write it.

 

I think the number of people who would answer C would be very small.

 

Another interesting question is whether these books would appeal to a wider variety of less "hardcore" wheel of time readers (you know, the kind that don't check forums on a regular basis).

 

The answer to that probably depends on only one thing: how good is the story?  I think its a very safe assumption that if the story is written by a good author in a setting that is farmiliar and well liked by lots of readers, it would be very good indeed.

 

As for whether the books "should" be written, I don't think the question really concerns us.  Its Harriet's decision if she wants to ask anyone to write the books and brandon's to decide if he accepts to write them if she asks him to.

 

The only question we can really give our opinions on is would we like to read the story if it were written.  I think for a lot of people on this board the answer will  be yes definately.  For some, it might be I'll read it if its a good story or not and for some others, no I wouldn't read it no matter if its a good story or not and no matter who wants it written or not but I think this would be a very small minorty.

 

I still hope brandon will write more of these stories.  As much as I like his own writings, I really want there to be more stories in the wheel of time universe (especially based on stories planned by robert jordan, about which he may have left some notes and ideas).