In preparation for the release of the final book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, I have been rereading the series. I am currently reading book 6 with the knowledge that book 12 arrives in the fall, well, book 12 volume one of three. When Robert Jordan died in 2007, his estate tapped Brandon Sanderson to wrap up the series for us. I laughed and laughed when we were told that all would be wrapped up in this last book. Sanderson didn’t want to stretch it out into several volumes. Before Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.) died, I had put the reading on hold half way thought book 10. I needed to know the series ended before I could read another word. With the series already over 3,430,682 words, I expected the series to finish with book 15. While I am disappointed that the series won’t end this fall, I feel much better about loose ends being tied up correctly.

Sanderson’s explanation

I have heard the most marvelous glad tidings – just before my entire website crashed and just as mysteriously came back to life.

Back to my joyous news, well maybe not joyous more like intriguing news. Robert Jordan’s wife has asked someone to work with the publishing team to finish the series. It appears as if there are enough notes, even if not all of the words are his.

• CNN
• Dragonmount an interview with Brandon Sanderson, the new author
• Brandon Sanderson’s website

I will be dreaming about how it ends. He has promised to answer some of the most pressing questions the fans have in the series.