You’ve heard fantasy authors talk about The Wheel of Time and you’ve heard Harriet McDougal and Tom Doherty reflect on the man the world knew as Robert Jordan. Now, listen to Harriet, Tom, and Brandon Sanderson as they discuss making the decision to complete the series, taking Brandon on, and the difficulties in writing A Memory of Light, the final book in the Wheel of Time series.
What an amazing journey this has been. This series has been in my life for the last 10 years and I have nothing but the deepest gratitude in my heart for the many who have made it so. May Robert Jordan ride again on the winds of time.
Okay, those last lines literally sent a shiver down my spine!
Thank you.
Drspiderman2099 your username just made my friggin’ day.
I bought the first book in the series when I was hospitalized for an extended period of time. It took me just a couple of days to be completely hooked and I had to send my parents to the bookstore to buy more of them.
Thanks for all the great times I’ve had with the series, and I’m a bit ambivalent about this being the last book – but all in all I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in the end.
WoT is more than a series, more than a world, more than an adventure. It’s a journey. We learned to walk with ta’verens, we prayed for them, we strongly support their decisions and we worried about their destiny.
The end is coming.
Personally I do not think there will be a real ending. The wind will never stop blowing.
I’ve been reading these books since … ’92? I can’t remember if I’ve ever been this ecstatic about a book release.
I’m so grateful that Tor and the powers that be, are putting out these wonderful video tributes to Mr. Jordan and the Wheel of Time. I haven’t gotten caught up in the series yet as I am re reading, however, I have every published Wheel of Time book on my shelf, and I will breath a sigh of relief when January 8th comes, and I have the final volume in my library, waiting to be read. I will feel peace knowing that such a beautiful, magical story will be complete as Mr. Jordan wanted it.
The Wheel of Time is the quintessential epic adventure story. Where Tolkien’s Middle Earth was designed allegorically about the competing interests of a particular era in a particular place, Robert Jordan’s world evokes our own future, our own past. The depth of detail in cultural and political distinctions, the vast threads of mythological, historical and para-religious connections, the varieties of adversarial forces of both minute and titanic scale, all combine to produce a world more easily believed and accepted than any known in the fantasy realm.
Most notable to me is the absolutely real, if somewhat exaggerated,
behaviors exhibited by the characters, and how many lessons, small and large, are delivered to a thoughtful reader by the consequences of those behaviors. The frequency with which messages, events, or other information is misunderstood, misinterpreted, or otherwise mistaken adds to the realism of the story, and to the humanity of the characters.
Much fantasy literature aims only to engage the reader on a single level, as witness to events whether tragic, heroic, comedic or surprising, with perhaps a political angle thrown in for leavening, or the authors personal axes to grind. The Wheel of Time draws the reader in to the very lives of those involved in the events, and how they interpret or respond to them. While many common fantasy formulae are present, others are inverted, or subverted by unexpected mixtures of people and events.
Truly a masterpiece of modern literature, the Wheel of Time will stand as an example of the most audacious and far-reaching sagas known. Until memory becomes legend, and legend fades to myth…
Thank you Mr Sanderson
Fantastic!
I see you, Cadsuane Melaidhrin.
I’m so glad this series is finally finished. Now I’m going to start reading it! I tried to start it once before, and have always planned on reading it someday, but the death of the author and doubt that it would be finished turned me away. The deciding factor for me to read it now is Brandon Sanderson. I love all of his books and I can’t miss out on something he wrote even if it is essentially someone else’s story.
Humbled by the vast audience of this website and the overwhelming influence of Mr. Jordan’s works, I felt compelled to post in appreciation of this amazing series and the changes it made in my life.
I’ve discovered WoT by chance, clicking on a free download of ebooks on a local cable TV forum in 2007. I’ve read the first book without pause and, ever since, it is my utmost delight to read the books almost constantly immersing myself in what my humble self thinks is the best fantasy series ever written.
I read the books for a week or so until I reach the end and then I leave it “forgotten” until my yearning for the swirling folds of time, brazen steps of village boys, silky rustles of cascades of hair over plush gowns and blazes of magic and spirit becomes too great.
And then I read. And will do so until the Wheel weaves as it will for me. But before I do, I hope to try to thank this magnificent gleeman whose tapestry of fantasy made my life much better and my free time a true bliss.
If Mr. Sanderson or Mr. Jordan’s wife ever come accross of this post, I wish to thank them for their dedication and will to publish the legacy of Mr. Jordan. May you always find shade and water as every true Ashaman will, you both deserve that title :)
And Mr. Jordan – may you come to live again and bless our lives in time and peace without end. Thank you.
Sorry to be the one who rains in everyone’s parade, but I’m still waiting for some *reasonable* explanation for the delay in releasing the ebook. “Harriet is afraid of piracy” just doesn’t cut it. When the previous book was also delayed I decided to see how long it took for a pirated copy to appear on the web. Three days. Thus, it’s obvious that not releasing the ebook with the hardcover *didn’t* prevent piracy. It just prevented those of us who prefer to read our books electronically, especially these large books, from enjoying it for an extra couple of months.
Thanks, Ms. McDougal, for seeing this series through to completion. But I, for one, am holding back my full praise for, oh, about 3 more months. :(
Thanks Mr. Jordan for all your hard work in creating such an Epic creation.
“The Lion Sings and the Hills Take Flight
The Moon By Day and the Sun by Night
Blind woman, Deaf Man, Jackdaw fool
Let the Lord of Chaos Rule”
I just started in the series about 3 months ago and I haven’t read a book since the Hobbit in 5th grade. I’ve never read at all since then, but immediately after the Trollocs broke down Tam’s Door in The Eye of the World… I was hooked. I’m just about to finish Lord of Choas and I cant’ stop. I appreciate Robert Jordan so much for giving me another realm to escape to. Good wishes and warm feelings for my fellow readers…. At least I won’t have to wait for “A Memory of Light” to come out. lol I’m gonna be really depressed when this series ends because I feel like it’s part of my life… Thanks again everyone who took time to read this… Mat Cauthon Rules!!!!
I picked up the first book back in 96 when i was in college. Suffice to say i failed several classes as I stormed through the first 6 books.
I dont think I have the words to describe the epic scope that is the WOT. The world is so immersive and real, i would at times find myself swearing as if i was in Randland. ….Blood and Ashes ! Mothers milk in a cup !
As with so many others, the series has become a part of my life, a part of who I am. I cried when Robert Jordan passed. The world and characters he created will live on through the millions of fans he inspired.
I have just finished reading the last book of a series I started reading 16 years ago, when I stumbled across the 4th book in a bookstore in Osaka, Japan. Waiting patiently for the next installment every two years for the majority of my life now it was especially hard to put the final book down. Feels like the end of an era.
My friends and I were devastated to hear of the death of RJ. Despite initial scepticism that anyone could step up and finish such an epic tale, we were at first pleasantly, then amazingly impressed with the work of Brandon Sanderson. We now wait patiently for the release of his next book in The Stormlight Archive much as we did for A Memory of Light.
I big thank you and heartfelt congratulations to Harriet, Brandon, TOR and Team Jordan for bringing this story to an amazing conclusion.
Time to reread the whole saga once more.
In 1995 a man who’d been a fellow employee was headed to a new job. On his last day he stopped by my office on the way out the door, handed me a brown paper bag and said ” next time you see Steve, give these to him…. they are all good “. I asked him ” what are they?”, and he said “books”. I put the bag under my desk without so much as a glimps inside. About 8 months later my phone at work rang ” Drew, yeah, this is Steve…. I think Mike left you a bag of books for me”. After I confirmed, Steve said he’d be by later to get the bag. At that time I took a quick look at the contents for the first time and quickly did a visual scan of the covers of approx 7 paperback books. I don’t remember exactly why but singled out one of books, put it on the far edge of my office desk and left the rest in the bag. Steve came by later that day and got the bag.
In late 1998 a fellow employee was standing in the doorway of my office having a conversation. At some point he focused on my desk and exclaimed ” ah, so you too are a Jordan fan”, to which I replied ” huh?”. He pointed at the lone paperback at the far edge of my desk and said ” your copy of book 1 of EotW ” to which I again replied ” huh?” He then said ” you have read it, haven’t you?”, to which I replied ” no, I’ve never so much as looked past the front cover…. I don’t remember exactly why but there was something about the cover art of this warrior on a giant horse and a dainty lady on what looks like a white toy horse that caught my attention enought to have pilfered this book from the intended recipient…. but I have not read it at all “.
A month later I travelled out of the country and randomly put that book in my luggage on the off chance of having some idle time while travelling. During the last 3 days of the trip I was bound to hotel bed recovering from some sort of flu / cold and began to read that book. When I got back to the office I stopped by my fellow employee’s office to tell him about having read the book while out of town and was really drawn into the story. He said ” would you like book 2? ” and I said ” yes! “. He brought it to work the next day and said ” I have all of them, let me know when you want the next one”
It was somewhere around finishing book 7 or 8 many months later and I stopped by his office to say ” okay, I’m ready for the next book”. He looked at me and said ” so am I “. I said ” what do you mean, I thought you said you had all of them? ” He said ” I did, but what I meant was, I had all of them that had been written so far, but the story is not finished ” I said ” well, I’m not the sort to hang around waiting for a story to end, I wanna finish as soon as possible, when is the next one due out?” and when he said ” about 14 months “, my heart leaped…..more so sagged…….. and that is when I knew for the first time that I was realllllllLLLLY hooked on RJ’s WoT :)