For Robert Jordan fans

[Jaboney]

From Sanderson's blog update.

I feel that the book turned out very well. The publication date is set for November 2nd, and at this point, there's basically no chance we'll miss that. So go ahead and preorder and make your plans to come see me on one of my upcoming tours. Things look good.

Now that it's done, I can sit back and look at the book as a whole. As I said, I'm very pleased with it. For months I've been telling people that I feel that in many ways, it's even more true to the Wheel of Time than THE GATHERING STORM was. I hope to maintain the pacing that made people enjoy TGS, but at the same time TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT has a much expanded scope than the previous novel, showing a larger picture and getting back to many characters who were ignored or had reduced parts in TGS. Though we are jumping back in time for a few viewpoints to catch them up, it does also continue Rand/Egwene and other characters who had a large focus in TGS.

I hope that you enjoy it. There are some scenes in it we've been waiting to read for a long, long time. Scenes that made my heart break to write, and others that bring a smile to my face every time I look through them again.

"Scenes that made my heart break to write", any ideas what those may be? I've a couple of ideas.

Spoiler: show

1. Tam dies. Nyneave finds him. Min had a viewing of Nyneave in a posture of grief over a corpse in the last book, and that was it.
2. Elaine has her twins, there's a serious attack, and Aviendha has to scoop up the babes and try to sprint them to safety. Doesn't work, and the babes are killed. Goes to an earlier viewing Min had, of Aviendha bearing four of Rand's babes at once, but there was something odd about it. (I'm betting she also has twins.)

[the chief]

I read this whole thread, I still can't see what this has to do with basketball.

[Jaboney]

It's release day.

Sanderson's doing a live reading right now.

(Voice is wrong. Where's Michael Kramer?)

[GeographicCure]

Meh, maybe I'll pick the series back up again, though I don't think I've ever seen a series milked so hard. If I remember correctly, and it's been a few years, pretty much nothing happened for whole volumes at a time. Ridiculous. Ah... the remaining TWELFTH volume will be split into THREE separate ones! Can't say that's a surprise move. Yes, I'm bitter about a GREAT series being ruined.

Here's a second vote for George RR Martin's work - I don't think he's intentionally milking Song of Ice & Fire, he's just overwriting it. Also, if anyone's crossing over into the other side of the nerd coin, I suggest Peter F. Hamilton's sci-fi epics. Similar attention to developing a world.

[Jack Burton]

Meh, maybe I'll pick the series back up again, though I don't think I've ever seen a series milked so hard.

+1 on the milking. I really liked the first 2 immensely. Thereafter, it was enjoyable, but on a slow decline. Now I have no patience for it. I suppose it's better than Eddings' formulaic writing (I enjoyed the Belgariad original series).

And of course, they all borrow from Tolkien, by extension, and Norse mythology heavily (Last Battle, etc.). It would be nice to see something new.

[Tempo Gain]

I haven't felt that way. The more the merrier, they've all been enjoyable. Last one I finished, book 6 was the best yet I thought.

[Mordeth]

I just finished reading the Mistborn Trilogy. It's written by Brandon Sanderson the person they asked to finish off Jordans WoT series.

It's oddly enough the first time I've FINISHED a fantasy series. Over the years I've read only a few series WoT and Song of Fire and Ice.....but those don't have a conclusion....yet. So it was very strange for me to read the three books and have an ending. Very strange indeed. But nonetheless a fantastic read that can be bought in a box package at: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/97 ... rilogy-Set


Highly recommended.

[lostinasia]

I haven't felt that way. The more the merrier, they've all been enjoyable. Last one I finished, book 6 was the best yet I thought.

Interesting - that's also the last one I finished, quite deliberately. Doesn't the main character spend the whole book in a box, and then finish off back where he started? That seemed symbolic of how the story was going.

Then again, I read it well over ten years ago, so the memory's hazy.

I've had "Song of Fire and Ice" recommended to me a few times lately, but after "Lord of Chaos" I promised myself that I'd never start another unfinished fantasy saga.

Wow - the Wikipedia page on "Lord of Chaos" is absurd. A parody of geekdom and then some.

[Tempo Gain]

Interesting - that's also the last one I finished, quite deliberately. Doesn't the main character spend the whole book in a box, and then finish off back where he started? That seemed symbolic of how the story was going.

I wouldn't have said so. Last part in a box, with a major development at the conclusion. It was pretty cool when he busted out of the box too. I love this series. I love his writing style, and I like the slow pace too, with plenty of room for detail about the political situation etc. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the predictable get into trouble-get saved from trouble dynamic, hell it's fantasy though.

[urodacus]

They've all been great books, even more so because they're long and involved. It's an entire world that's being created, with thousands of characters, so it's bound to be complicated, but it's a great tapestry. It is not particularly derivative of tolkien at all, as it uses a completely different set of underlying postulates for the system of magic, for various races, for the history and mythology of the milieu.


great stuff.