100% done???

[Randzor]

The final draft is done!!!!! as per here:

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/index.php

[thisguy]

Coooool.

[Kamin_Majere]

Now time to plan a Fanboys-esque mission to break into Sanderson Ranch(or i guess his house in this case) to get a early preview of the book and watch the high-jinks ensue :p

I see less stormtroopers involved in this somehow.

 

I'm glad its done... i can hardly wait until its release and the final story about the WoT's characters to end.

[Suttree]

Great news that the last draft has been turned in! Still a ton of work to do, thank god they have all that time to do copyedits and revisions this time around.

[Vardar]

Now time to plan a Fanboys-esque mission to break into Sanderson Ranch(or i guess his house in this case) to get a early preview of the book and watch the high-jinks ensue :p

I see less stormtroopers involved in this somehow.

 

I'm glad its done... i can hardly wait until its release and the final story about the WoT's characters to end.

 

Beat me too it.

[The Fisher King]

Suttree...its actually not all THAT much time, now...

 

 

Fish

[Matrim-Bloody-Cauthon]

Suttree...its actually not all THAT much time, now...

 

 

Fish

Agreed. Started reading these around the time TGH came out... I think i can stand a few more months wait.. Its so close i can taste it, and im totaly pumped for it... But im also kinda sad its gonna be over... I thought the wheel of time had no endings :(

[dazparra]

i will be shattered if there isn't a few outrigger novels to tie up all the loose ends... hell if Sanderson won't do it then get someone else too....

wheel of time is too good to let die... i'd like to see another 15 books... LOL

[Entreri]

Yes, after a couple of years, somebody else needs to take up the torch and write some outrigger novels!

[thisguy]

What's an outrigger novel?

[TLHansum]

What's an outrigger novel?

 

Stories involving main characters after aMoL that aren't part of the main plotline. For example, Mat and Tuon going to reclaim Seanchan was a book RJ wanted to write

[Suttree]

i will be shattered if there isn't a few outrigger novels to tie up all the loose ends... hell if Sanderson won't do it then get someone else too....

wheel of time is too good to let die... i'd like to see another 15 books... LOL

 

Robert Jordan was wholeheartedly against anyone writing in his world. He called himself the Creator and hated the concept of a "shared world" environment. It wasn't until very late in his sickness that he even changed his mind to allow someone else to finish the main sequence in the WoT. With that there were large sections already written and a very detailed outline. That is not the case with the prequels and even less so for the outriggers. That would mean whoever the author is would be making up the majority of the story and that is not only a horrible idea but extremely disrespectful given RJ's wishes.

 

Now I'm not saying I would mind reading them but I think it is a huge stretch circumstances being what they are. The series is being finished and for that we should be grateful that RJ gave his blessing. After AMoL it is time to put the series to rest. May it shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome it home.

[BNICK1026]

It's sad to think that this will be the last book we will ever read about the characters. After so many books and multiple rereads I like many of the characters more than I do most people IRL. lol. This is a series I will gladly pass to my son and daughter once they are a little bit older. It would be nice to have the outrigger novels about Mat and any survivors. How about a Bridget and Gaidel Cain meeting in this age? Or seeing Lan and Nynave reclaiming Malkier if they survive. Or even an uprising of the people in Shara? (the folks on the eastern border of the Aiel Waste? Although I personally thought that maybe there is where Demandred might be located).

[Kara]

Do you guys think we will get anything like the 'great hunt' with this book?

[mrdravid]

So how many people are trying to read what is going to happen in Brandon's quotes?

 

My only question though, is seeing the world is supposed to end in December, can we get Tor to bump up the release by a month so we all get to read it?

[Matrim-Bloody-Cauthon]

Do you guys think we will get anything like the 'great hunt' with this book?

I don't understand the question :p

[TristanWebb]

The great hunt was an internet competition if I remember right.

[Kestrel]

i will be shattered if there isn't a few outrigger novels to tie up all the loose ends... hell if Sanderson won't do it then get someone else too....

wheel of time is too good to let die... i'd like to see another 15 books... LOL

I'd just like to see an epilogue dated a generation after the Last Battle, which summarizes the ultimate fate of the major characters and ties up plot lines which are impossible to conclude before the current story ends.

 

For instance: What REALLY happens to Aviendha's kids and grandkids? Is the Aiel nightmare forseen by Aviendha avoided? Do Elaine's kids grow up healthy and become the next rulers of Andor? Does Birgitte get killed again and reborn as an infant in time to marry Gaidal Cain? Are Fortuona and Mat able to turn the tide of Seanchan politics? Is there an end to Damane collaring? Does Perrin retire from lordship and become Mayor of the Two Rivers, restoring the community to its rustic setting? Do male and female channelers work together once more to rebuild the ancient instutitions of learning? Do the Shayol Ghul rocks at the base of the Black Tower get blasted into non-existence, and the Black Tower get rebuilt with good stone?

[Suttree]

i will be shattered if there isn't a few outrigger novels to tie up all the loose ends... hell if Sanderson won't do it then get someone else too....

wheel of time is too good to let die... i'd like to see another 15 books... LOL

I'd just like to see an epilogue dated a generation after the Last Battle, which summarizes the ultimate fate of the major characters and ties up plot lines which are impossible to conclude before the current story ends.

 

For instance: What REALLY happens to Aviendha's kids and grandkids? Is the Aiel nightmare forseen by Aviendha avoided? Do Elaine's kids grow up healthy and become the next rulers of Andor? Does Birgitte get killed again and reborn as an infant in time to marry Gaidal Cain? Are Fortuona and Mat able to turn the tide of Seanchan politics? Is there an end to Damane collaring? Does Perrin retire from lordship and become Mayor of the Two Rivers, restoring the community to its rustic setting? Do male and female channelers work together once more to rebuild the ancient instutitions of learning? Do the Shayol Ghul rocks at the base of the Black Tower get blasted into non-existence, and the Black Tower get rebuilt with good stone?

 

RJ touched on this briefly...

 

Robert Jordan

 

 

With the final scene in the final book (which he eloquently said did not have to be identical with Tarmon Gai'don), all major plot lines will be resolved, and most minor ones. Some minor plot lines would still be unresolved, as a way to let the world continue to live and breathe. The surviving characters would still have lives to go on with, even if more "boring" ones. Robert Jordan though stated clearly that if he was going to write another book(s) in the WoT universe (something he thought was not going to happen), it would be placed at least 1,000 years apart from the events in the current books. There would not be any spin-off stories, or stories written by other authors set in the WoT universe, either

.

[Neophyte]

 

RJ touched on this briefly...

 

Robert Jordan

 

 

With the final scene in the final book (which he eloquently said did not have to be identical with Tarmon Gai'don), all major plot lines will be resolved, and most minor ones. Some minor plot lines would still be unresolved, as a way to let the world continue to live and breathe. The surviving characters would still have lives to go on with, even if more "boring" ones. Robert Jordan though stated clearly that if he was going to write another book(s) in the WoT universe (something he thought was not going to happen), it would be placed at least 1,000 years apart from the events in the current books. There would not be any spin-off stories, or stories written by other authors set in the WoT universe, either

.

 

Interesting ... that quote appears to be from an interview conducted in 1995, and things seem to have changed since then, since we know that the author publicly flirted with the idea of the so-called "outrigger" novels, dealing with Mat and [For]Tuon[a] in Seanchan about a decade post-Tarmon Gai'don much later ... and I'd put that under the category of "spin-off stories" myself. (Those comments about the "outrigger" novels were made, among other places, in a 2005 blog post ... some 10 years after your above quote.)

 

But then, Jim Rigney was just a man - wonderful and intelligent but also human and sometimes fickle. He was, on occasion, known to change his mind in response to either changing external conditions or his own changing desires. We all know that, originally, tWoT was supposed to be a trilogy. When he made the statement in 1995, we were barely through Lord of Chaos, and he was still planning eight or nine books, max. I'm as happy as anyone that the story grew, but it is possible that there are now plot lines in existence which were not in print (or even solidly in plan) at the time of the quote above, and given later statements, he clearly reserved and exercised his right to change his mind.

 

All I'm saying is that it is possible to want more without disrespecting the author. In fact, it would be possible for Harriet and the publishers, if they so desire, to contract out the rights to write something else in the World of the Wheel without disrespecting the author. I'm not saying that they will. I'm not even saying that they should. I'm just saying that they can, and it's OK if they do. Change is one of the fundamental characteristics of the living - and nothing they do will destroy the value of Robert Jordan's work, just like the existence of The Phantom Menace doesn't make The Empire Strikes Back a crappy movie.

 

LOL ... I may have stepped in it with that last comparison, but so be it.

[Suttree]

RJ touched on this briefly...

 

Robert Jordan

 

 

With the final scene in the final book (which he eloquently said did not have to be identical with Tarmon Gai'don), all major plot lines will be resolved, and most minor ones. Some minor plot lines would still be unresolved, as a way to let the world continue to live and breathe. The surviving characters would still have lives to go on with, even if more "boring" ones. Robert Jordan though stated clearly that if he was going to write another book(s) in the WoT universe (something he thought was not going to happen), it would be placed at least 1,000 years apart from the events in the current books. There would not be any spin-off stories, or stories written by other authors set in the WoT universe, either

.

 

Interesting ... that quote appears to be from an interview conducted in 1995, and things seem to have changed since then, since we know that the author publicly flirted with the idea of the so-called "outrigger" novels, dealing with Mat and [For]Tuon[a] in Seanchan about a decade post-Tarmon Gai'don much later ... and I'd put that under the category of "spin-off stories" myself. (Those comments about the "outrigger" novels were made, among other places, in a 2005 blog post ... some 10 years after your above quote.)

 

But then, Jim Rigney was just a man - wonderful and intelligent but also human and sometimes fickle. He was, on occasion, known to change his mind in response to either changing external conditions or his own changing desires. We all know that, originally, tWoT was supposed to be a trilogy. When he made the statement in 1995, we were barely through Lord of Chaos, and he was still planning eight or nine books, max. I'm as happy as anyone that the story grew, but it is possible that there are now plot lines in existence which were not in print (or even solidly in plan) at the time of the quote above, and given later statements, he clearly reserved and exercised his right to change his mind.

 

All I'm saying is that it is possible to want more without disrespecting the author. In fact, it would be possible for Harriet and the publishers, if they so desire, to contract out the rights to write something else in the World of the Wheel without disrespecting the author. I'm not saying that they will. I'm not even saying that they should. I'm just saying that they can, and it's OK if they do. Change is one of the fundamental characteristics of the living - and nothing they do will destroy the value of Robert Jordan's work, just like the existence of The Phantom Menace doesn't make The Empire Strikes Back a crappy movie.

 

LOL ... I may have stepped in it with that last comparison, but so be it.

 

Oh I agree in terms of him changing his mind and the Outriggers. But in relation to other authors there have been numerous Q&A's in which he is strongly against any "shared world" situation. That was always a constent up until the very end.

 

As for your last staement I strongly disagree, it would be explicitly against his wishes and that would be disrespectful. There could be nothing worse for the WoT or RJ's legacy(it would most certainly devalue things) than a slow slide backwards with spin offs and add ons such as Star Wars or I dunno, those horrific books based on D&D or summat. RJ raised the bar for what fantasy was capable of being in the 90s. The mere thought of his work being handled that way should be terrifying to anyone who has enjoyed the series over the years.

[Neophyte]

As for your last staement I strongly disagree, it would be explicitly against his wishes and that would be disrespectful. There could be nothing worse for the WoT or RJ's legacy(it would most certainly devalue things) than a slow slide backwards with spin offs and add ons such as Star Wars or I dunno, those horrific books based on D&D or summat. RJ raised the bar for what fantasy was capable of being in the 90s. The mere thought of his work being handled that way should be terrifying to anyone who has enjoyed the series over the years.

 

Well, I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that. I certainly disagree with your phrasing of it as nearly a categorical imperative, as though your preferences are the sole arbiter and interpreter of the author's wishes in perpetuity. You are certainly entitled to an opinion regarding potential future works, but I'm not sure that you are the final authority on the author's wishes.

 

That said, I've enjoyed his work as deeply as any, I'd imagine, over nearly two decades (I picked up the WoT in 1993). As a long-time fan, deeply involved in this world and yielding to none in my admiration of Robert Jordan as an author, I'm not offended or threatened, much less terrified, by the possibility of other authors working in his world.

[Suttree]

As for your last staement I strongly disagree, it would be explicitly against his wishes and that would be disrespectful. There could be nothing worse for the WoT or RJ's legacy(it would most certainly devalue things) than a slow slide backwards with spin offs and add ons such as Star Wars or I dunno, those horrific books based on D&D or summat. RJ raised the bar for what fantasy was capable of being in the 90s. The mere thought of his work being handled that way should be terrifying to anyone who has enjoyed the series over the years.

 

Well, I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that. I certainly disagree with your phrasing of it as nearly a categorical imperative, as though your preferences are the sole arbiter and interpreter of the author's wishes in perpetuity. You are certainly entitled to an opinion regarding potential future works, but I'm not sure that you are the final authority on the author's wishes.

 

It's not my preferences, it has been made clear by multiple Q&A's, Bradnon Sanderson, and Team Jordan. It wasn't until the very end that he finally agreed to even let the main WoT series be finished. I am only stating what we have been told on the topic. Here is one example of Brandons pov...

 

Brandon Sanderson (June 2012)

 

 

A thoughtful letter. Thank you for writing it.

Let me make a few points. The first is that Robert Jordan was very uncomfortable about people writing in his world. He said several times that if he died before the series was finished, he intended to have the notes destroyed and the series left undone. (He later changed his mind about this, or may have been mostly joking in the first place.)

The Guide to the Wheel of Time (known as the big white book) was originally going to have fiction in it written by other authors in the Wheel of Time world. Robert Jordan eventually decided he was uncomfortable with this idea, and they pulled the stories.

To be honest, there probably wouldn't be anything wrong with doing a few more books--the ones RJ said he was planning to write, like the two other prequels or the Outriggers. However, I worry that the further we go, the more we will invariably stray from RJ's original vision for the series. (Because we'll have less and less direction left by him.) Therefore, I will have to step in to fill the gaps, and the series will more and more become about me and less about him.

I don't want that to happen. I never want to reach a point, for example, where I've written more WoT books than RJ did. Is it not much better to quit while we're ahead? I'd rather be Bill Watterson than George Lucas. I'd rather stop on a high note and not drive the series into the ground.

[Neophyte]

Hmm ... you did read the part in your own quote where Sanderson says, "To be honest, there probably wouldn't be anything wrong with doing a few more books ..." didn't you?

 

Anyway, all that is fine. But as living people, Harriet, Brandon, and Team Jordan are entitled to change their mind, just as Robert Jordan did on other subjects, and could have on this one, if he were still alive. Circumstances can change for the living.

 

Again, I repeat - I am not saying that they should or must do more in this world. Brandon says he would not be comfortable doing so, and that is completely fine. And if no one ever does, I'm fine with that too. But Sanderson is not saying what you were saying, namely, that publishing more in this world would be quote, "explicitly against [Jordan's] wishes and that would be disrespectful." If, hypothetically, some author comes forward in the future with a proposal for an amazing story, set in the World of the Wheel, and after careful consideration, Harriet and the publishers decide to let her/him write and publish it, that would not be an automatic middle finger to the memory of Robert Jordan.

 

Unless Robert Jordan left explicit instructions in a will or other binding document, (and Sanderson's comments actually seem to indicate that he didn't, since he left the outriggers and other prequels potentially open) I maintain that Team Jordan may reserve the right to change their collective mind, because times and circumstances change for the living - an idea that Jordan seems to have embraced in life.

 

Since I've now stated the same thing, essentially, in three consecutive posts, this conversation is going nowhere - therefore I will now stop. You may follow suit or not as you wish.

[Suttree]

Hmm ... you did read the part in your own quote where Sanderson says, "To be honest, there probably wouldn't be anything wrong with doing a few more books ..." didn't you?

 

Anyway, all that is fine. But as living people, Harriet, Brandon, and Team Jordan are entitled to change their mind, just as Robert Jordan did on other subjects, and could have on this one, if he were still alive. Circumstances can change for the living.

 

Again, I repeat - I am not saying that they should or must do more in this world. Brandon says he would not be comfortable doing so, and that is completely fine. And if no one ever does, I'm fine with that too. But Sanderson is not saying what you were saying, namely, that publishing more in this world would be quote, "explicitly against [Jordan's] wishes and that would be disrespectful." If, hypothetically, some author comes forward in the future with a proposal for an amazing story, set in the World of the Wheel, and after careful consideration, Harriet and the publishers decide to let her/him write and publish it, that would not be an automatic middle finger to the memory of Robert Jordan.

 

Unless Robert Jordan left explicit instructions in a will or other binding document, (and Sanderson's comments actually seem to indicate that he didn't, since he left the outriggers and other prequels potentially open) I maintain that Team Jordan may reserve the right to change their collective mind, because times and circumstances change for the living - an idea that Jordan seems to have embraced in life.

 

Since I've now stated the same thing, essentially, in three consecutive posts, this conversation is going nowhere - therefore I will now stop. You may follow suit or not as you wish.

 

Look mate, that was one examlpe of many. Go read the Q&A's yourself if you want a better understanding of RJ's point of view. Yes Brandon said "a few more books" may be fine and he was referring to the prequels and outriggers. That is far different than what you are proposing as I noted above. Not sure why you think continuing to repeat yourself would make you anymore correct when you have a flawed understanding of the situation. Just because someone doesn't have something explcicitly stated in their will doesn't make going forward against his wishes ok. As I have mentioned RJ, Brandon, and Team Jordan have all talked about how against a shared world environment he was. You managed to neatly ignore all the pertinent parts of the quote namely RJ's level of comfort and how Brandon spells out the problems with doing so(which runs counter to your assertion that nothing would devalue his work). Again the prequels and outriggers are a different story than what you suggested. I urge you to study up on the topic so you can have a better understanding if you are interested. Lastly if the thought of the WoT going the way of Phantom Menace doesn't terrify you, you have a far braver soul than I.