Team Jordan to 'Robert Jordanise' tGS ToM and aMoL?

[Fains nose]

i saw someone mention on here a few weeks ago that team jordan is going to alter the gathering storm, towers of midnight and a memory of light to be more in robert jordan's voice? is this true or not. and i dont want to get into a debate about is brandon sanderson a good author etc.

[Sid]

I think that this was based on a misunderstanding of what Brandon said at one of the Cons. He stated that he believed in life after death and that in heaven we'd be able to read the series as it would have been if RJ had been able to finish it (or something along those lines) and that Brandon would do his best for everyone still alive but it obviously wouldn't be the same, but it would be something. I heard people ask this before but others on this forum mentioned that it was probably just that someone didn't hear Brandon correctly, then a rumor spread from there.

[Jblaylock]

I personaly think Brandon picked up in the fashion Jordan left off on after the first four books. In my humble opinion, Jordan started slipping into monotony and overdescription, which affected the story in a slightly negative way. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the books. But my favorites were (were) only tEotW thru tSR. Now it's those four, plus tGS and ToM. Brandon writes from a story and dialog driven method, like Jordan did in those first four, IMHO.

[Darth Krewl]

To be totally honest, I see no need for it or a way that it can be accomplished. IMO, Sanderson's 2 efforts have been so good that I don't see how anyone could improve on them much, even if a major collective effort was able to capture Jordan's "voice" 100&%, which I think would be impossible to do with him or any other author, for that matter.

 

Had Sanderson done a terrible job, then perhaps. But I think most people are very happy and satisfied with what he's done. So, I don't think this would be a viable venture, even from a commercial or marketing standpoint (i.e: to sell more books). WoT's not broken, so there's no need to fix it, IMO.

[randsc]

I would be shocked if Sanderson's contract allowed for that.

[Darth Krewl]

I would be shocked if Sanderson's contract allowed for that.

 

Actually, it's a little more complicated than that.

 

Whomever inherited the rights from Jordan (I'm assuming his wife) reserves the right to do as they see fit with the story, characters, places and every other artistic and creative concept conceived and developed by the original author, as per legal copyright dispositions.

 

As an example, the Tolkien Estate sold the rights for two different LotR movie adaptations. And, while these filmmakers were not exactly rewriting LotR, they did make quite a few changes to fit their respective adaptations. Usually, when you are hired to participate in an already existing creative project, you do so knowing in advance that you're being paid for your contributions, but since the ideas you are developing are based on an already existing piece of work that belongs to someone else, all concepts you come up with will become their lawful property either way.

 

In other words, Sanderson's getting paid to deliver 3 books based on an already existing universe. He's not being asked to come up with a totally brand new story, concept, characters, etc. that would be all his own, thus his legal creative property. So, if Jordan's legal heir(s) decided to have these books rewritten, they very well could do so, unless there's a specific clause(s) in Sanderson's contract against this very thing, which doesn't seem very likely, IMO.

[randsc]

I suspect that his contract gave him a fair bit of creative control.

 

Though if the estate really wanted to make money, while also providing the fans with some very interesting reading, it could have half a dozen top authors all write alternate endings. You could count on each of them being a bestseller.

[Darth Krewl]

I suspect that his contract gave him a fair bit of creative control.

 

Though if the estate really wanted to make money, while also providing the fans with some very interesting reading, it could have half a dozen top authors all write alternate endings. You could count on each of them being a bestseller.

 

Oh, definitely! You always have 100% creative freedom and control over your ideas. Thing's that, if you're expanding on someone else's work, all of your ideas will become their property (in most cases) and are subject to approval, first. And then, if accepted, they are used, but always as part of the concept originally owned by the author or his/her beneficiaries.

 

I liken it to a kid being invited to play with some other kid's toys. You can imagine a "script" for the game you're about to play and, while the owner of the toys may love it, at the end of the day, the toys are still his/hers. So, you're gonna have to give them back as soon as you're done playing and the kid who owns the toys will continue doing as they please with them. This is sort of how legal copyrighted work and such works. I know 'cause I've done creative work basically all my life. What you get in return for your input is payment, of course, and your due credit (something that, IMO, has benefited Sanderson greatly).

 

As for potential ways to make money, well, you just have to look at what George Lucas has done with Star Wars: 6 films; a couple of animated Clone Wars shows; countless spin-off novels and comic books; so on and so forth. So, IMO, the Jordan estate has endless possibilities (such as the one you suggest) to keep the Wheel spinning, should they choose to do so.

[David Selig]

Jordanise them? You mean by adding another 200 pages per volume of dress, furniture and building descriptions? ;)

[JenniferL]

No, this will not happen. These are the final WoT books and everything Brandon has written is considered canon by the Jordan estate. The only changes in future editions of TGS and TofM will be correcting typos and minor continuity errors that weren't caught in the editing process. But there are absolutely no plans to substantially over write what Brandon wrote. I can say that with enough confidence that I don't even feel the need to email Maria to confirm it. Its a ridiculous rumor.

[Xader]

It seems to me that had they wanted to do this, it would have been done during the pre-release editing phase.

[A. Pseudonym]

I've always found Sanderson's skills to be wanting. It would be nice to see, but unlikely.

[Fains nose]

No, this will not happen. These are the final WoT books and everything Brandon has written is considered canon by the Jordan estate. The only changes in future editions of TGS and TofM will be correcting typos and minor continuity errors that weren't caught in the editing process. But there are absolutely no plans to substantially over write what Brandon wrote. I can say that with enough confidence that I don't even feel the need to email Maria to confirm it. Its a ridiculous rumor.

 

oh, okay thanks for clearing that up

[Taura-Tierno]

Even if Team Jordan tried to "Jordanize" the books, there would still be people around who wouldn't feel that there's "enough" Jordan in the last books.

[Xader]

Even if Team Jordan tried to "Jordanize" the books, there would still be people around who wouldn't feel that there's "enough" Jordan in the last books.

 

If they made them more like the previous 3 or 4 books, I think I'd pass.

 

I'm very impressed with BS's continuation of the series, and wouldn't ask for anything to change...

[jmikea]

Even if Team Jordan tried to "Jordanize" the books, there would still be people around who wouldn't feel that there's "enough" Jordan in the last books.

 

If they made them more like the previous 3 or 4 books, I think I'd pass.

 

I'm very impressed with BS's continuation of the series, and wouldn't ask for anything to change...

 

This. Books 9-11 may have made me stop reading if I didn't already have so much time invested in the series. Sanderson breathed some life into a story that had lost its way.

[moratcorlm]

Sanderson's a pretty mediocre writer, and I'd love if this were true, but as Jennifer says there's little to no chance of this happening. Legally, at least.