Coming Soon and Already Here

In 2007 many fantasy readers, myself included, were saddened when they learned that Robert Jordan passed away. Jordan was the author of the enormous “Wheel of Time” series. For those who may not be familiar with the series, it is a long-running tale, set three thousand years after a devastating war against a demonic force called "the Dark One" who sought to unmake all of creation. That being is trying to touch the world again, and according to prophecy, only one man the Dragon Reborn, can stand against him.

Despite 11 hefty volumes, the series was not complete at the time of Mr. Jordan's death. The protagonists were still scattered about the world. The nations were divided against each other rather than standing against the true threat. The Dark One was poised to unmake creation. The Dragon Reborn was yet to fulfill the prophecies that say he would save the world. Many a loose end needed tying up.

This November, the series continues once more.

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was contracted by Jordan’s estate to complete the series. This November Wheel of Time fans will be able to read The Gathering Storm, the first of three volumes which will wrap up the series.

But November is months away, you say? What about now? Well, if you are not familiar with Mr. Sanderson’s works, you can familiarize yourself. I was only vaguely aware of his works before discovering he was to complete the Wheel of Time. Now, after finishing his Mistborn trilogy (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages), I believe that a good choice was made in tapping him to complete Mr. Jordan’s work.

This trilogy puts an original spin on the venerable “prophesied hero” story. Namely, it asks the question "What if the hero failed, and a thousand years of tyranny followed?" What would that world look like? What would its heroes look like? The books maintain a good balance of intrigue, action, and romance. His magical system “Allomancy” operates under logical (for magic) rules. More importantly, he’s good at taking his magic system and incorporating it into the society he’s writing about. His world is more than a quasi-medieval kingdom with a layer of the fantastic over it. It takes the fantastic into account with how things are run, from police forces, to military, religion, even politics. I can hardly wait to see what he does with Wheel of Time.

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