Is 1 more WOT novel enough?

[Bond]

The type of fan who used to love the series but at this point just wants it put out of it's misery. It's the proverbial dead horse that we need to stop beating. At this point, each additional book just lowers the quality of the series overall, so the fans who want to preserve the quality of what once was the greatest current series in fantasy are interested in seeing it end as quickly as possible.

A pessimistic viewpoint. I hope you don't give up as quickly on things you love in other areas of your life. If Jordan were alive I would see no reason to believe the story should necessarily lessen in quality. Quite the opposite. Since the story has shifted from the middle to the end I would have expected Jordan to have started getting into his groove. Jordan was always weakest in the middle of his books and strongest at the climax. The only thing that makes me think a swift resolution to the series is the way to go is because Jordan has passed away. Ideally though the closing of the series should build up, unfolding quickly with a sense of urgency, but not feel awkwardly forced, rushed, or unnatural. If Sanderson has a prayer of doing the ending great justice I think he needs to still throw in enough of a nod, an acknowledgment, of the style of writing that so many of Jordan's detractors profess to vociferously hate.

My fear is that Sanderson with all the ululating about how Jordan towards the end wasn't focused enough and how the ending needs to be wrapped up quickly will veer too far into simply advancing the plot and getting all the characters through the motions that he will neglect their personalities or write them in an alien way. I want a book in the style of Jordan which means elaborate preparation and detail culminating to a point, not in the style of Martin whose stories are tighter but less full bodied. Unfortunately a quick ending requirement is not as conducive to a Jordan like resolution.

 

[mjolnir]

Fred Gallney Wrote:
Why do you guys want the series to drag out even longer than it already does? If it so happens that we will be entreated to two large volumes of at least 1500 pages each, than the series will degrade entirely...even the foundation - The Eye of the World - will be lost, and the series will have an overall negative impact on the fantasy genre. KoD has set us up for the last battle - what more do we need? I personally don't care if some of the subplots are not resolved; Jordan never planned to wrap some of them up in the first place, anyway.

Thing is, a lot of WoT fans, [myself included], don't consider getting to Tarmon Gaidon the series's sole and only point. Warts and all, the WoT's broad, multi-stranded style is one of its major distinguishing features, and this should be acknowledged in any conclusion. Maneuvering Rand to the point at which he can "spit in Sight-Blinder's eye on the last day" isn't all the story has been doing, though that is certainly important and I agree that it should be given it's space. Personally, I don't consider The Eye of the World the best volume of the WoT. The high point for me was the period through The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, and The Fires of Heaven, because I felt that was when Jordan found his balance, the point at which he was most confidently spinning the story out in intriguing directions while still maintaining it's forward momentum. Do I think that the subplots got out of control? Oh yeah. But they are an integral feature of the series, part of the breadth and depth that has made it great, and not some blithering foolishness on Jordan's part. If The Wheel of Time was exclusively a story about three farmboys and a farmgirl beating down on the forces of darkness I don't think we'd be talking about it now, nineteen years after it began. This is an ambitious tale, the weaving of the end of an age, and while it's cornerstones are of course the folk most central to that weaving, we can only appreciate it fully if we see the broader picture in some detail, from the acts of queens on downward.

Now, in practical terms the reverse is also true: in that if we get too hung up on the subplots we shall never get anywhere. I'm sure there are WoT fans who have excellent arguments to defend Crossroads of Twilight, but I'm not one of them: it was tree-murder, this close to pointless in every way. PoD isn't as complete in it's uselessness, but its up there too. CoT also did the ending as a whole a disservice, I think, as it slowed down when it should have begun to begin a gentle rev-up towards the climax. As it was, the onus was left on Knife of Dreams, causing the acceleration of events in that novel to feel a bit abrupt.

As to the book we're actually talking about, I differ from some other people in that I think Sanderson can do it. Can he write the book RJ would've written? Well, no, but no one could do that, just as no other writer could write the rest of ASoIaF the way Martin could if the man himself was to be unable to finish for some unimaginable reason. Just as no one writer could finish another's project the way the original creator would have done. Do I think he can write a very good book that tells the story RJ wanted told, even if not precisely the way he would have told it? Yes, I do. Do I think it's a certainty that he will? No. But I think chances are pretty good. Do I think they are right to do it? I feel strongly that they are, both because I'd like to read it, and because ... well, Sanderson has a good post on the subject. Do I think it's gonna be huge? I don't see how it can not be. Myself, I'd like to see this last book strike the delicate balance between side stories and momentum toward a suitable climax that the early middle so excelled at. [And yes, I think it will help a little that RJ didn't plan a neat ending to everything.] But I'll agree with those who say that if the book's not going to be rushed we're probably looking at a split. I don't think Tarmon Gaidon itself needs two books, or a whole book. A hundred fifty pages or so will do fine. But we're not there yet, and really we're not that close. Like JohnH, I'll point to the White Tower plot as the story that I think is going to take a lot of nasty truncating, and I'm bracing myself for disappointment in this storyline. But then again, Sanderson announced the other day that he's now written 200 K words, and considers himself half done, with the caution that the book might run longer. Four. Hundred. Thousand. Words. That's a long book, my friends, longer than TSR, and leisurely pace or no a good writer can get a lot done in that kind of space.
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[clockwirk]

A pessimistic viewpoint.

Well if I'm pessimistic it's because I've spent the last 12 years waiting for each book to come out only to be disappointed. I don't call it pessimism, I call it a realistic reaction to what has happened in the past.

I hope you don't give up as quickly on things you love in other areas of your life.

Give me a break. I expect more out of you, Bond.

 

[Steve Brickman]

Mjolnir wrote:
Personally, I don't consider The Eye of the World the best volume of the WoT. The high point for me was the period through The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, and The Fires of Heaven, because I felt that was when Jordan found his balance, the point at which he was most confidently spinning the story out in intriguing directions while still maintaining it's forward momentum

I agree! TEotW was great, got me hooked and kept me reading, but for me books 2-3 through 5-6 were the best, but hey, thats just my opinion!

Back to the Thread at hand, I'm glad there are some that agree with me, and yes, I expected that there would be others to disagree, that's what these forums are all about (i think?)...
Seriously though, some of you seem to think everything you write in these posts is FACT, and that your OPINION is the only one that counts and that others that dont agree must have 2 heads or something...whats up with that??

 

[ChrisW]

I have two heads.

Like JohnH, I'll point to the White Tower plot as the story that I think is going to take a lot of nasty truncating, and I'm bracing myself for disappointment in this storyline

I actually think that can be brought to a conclusion quite swiftly without any trimming going on. After all if/when the Seanchan attack the tower it will force everyones hand. A few more view points of Eggy building up her cred in the tower, a couple from the BA hunters, then one from the BA taking eggy away to be turned, then the BA hunters save her at the same time the Seanchan are attacking the tower, the rebels travel in to help out, Elaida gets collared or killed. Plot line over. Oh and Gawyn needs to play some part aswell. A couple of chapters of build up then one to finish it up. RJ has already layed the groundwork in previous books. Sanderson just needs to wrap it up.

Book 12 and mb 13 imo were always going to be faster paced as it's just a book of multiple climax's and then one really big one.

 

[Werthead]

Sanderson has also said that the semi-planned two 'outrigger' novels, of which the Seanchan book is one and the story of Tam al'Thor is the other, had some very detailed notes left behind, not far short of those for AMoL, and if AMoL is well-received and Harriet is happy with the results, he would consider writing those books as well.

Quoting myself is irritating but I realised I made an error here:

The outrigger novels are the side-stories set in the WoT universe, during or after the WoT series, that Jordan planned to writer later on. Mat and Tuon's tale is one of them. The others are unknown, although I am convinced one of them would have been the story of what happened to the Band of the Red Hand between Books 8 and 11. They start to fill Mat in on their many adventures working for King Roedran of Murandry in KoD, but Mat tells them to fill him in later.

Tam's story is one of the other two prequels that was planned as well as New Spring. The third one would have been how Moiraine and Lan just happened to end up in Emond's Field on the same night the Trollocs attacked in The Eye of the World.

 

[Werthead]

A lot more detailed information then we've had before about precisely how much work RJ had completed before his passing: 50,000 words, including most of the prologue and the actual ending of the book. There's also some good information there about how RJ started writing the series and how long the book may end up being, with Tor apparently believing it will be 600,000 words and Sanderson trying to get it down to 400,000. Apparently, all concerned believed that if RJ had written the whole lot it would have been a cool 500,000 words.

There's also some debate about the two additional prequel and three 'outrigger' novels RJ was thinking about when he died. Notes for those were left behind as well, but Sanderson is apparently conflicted about writing them. He'd hate to see someone else do it if it were to be done, but he doesn't want to turn the series into a franchise. The final decision will rest with Tor and Harriet.

However, over on Wotmania there's strong speculation that at least three of these books may have been contracted to RJ before he found out he was ill, and it may be a case if they are not written that the advance would have to be returned to Tor. No hard information to back that up though.

 

[argon]

I just was on Brandon's side and he's at 59% percent mark. In his blog he says that he wants to complete the 400k by the end of the year, however, he bets that it will be more.

So, it seems that the before mentioned will happen and AMoL will be split into two volumes. I'm absolutely fine with it, but will not buy two hardcovers. So, for me it's like year+1 from now on and I maybe should stop reading any WoT threads too.