First, the final chapter of the Wheel of Time has grown from one book into three. The final books of the series are being penned by Brandon Sanderson.
This morning Tor-Forge announced that A Memory of Light, the conclusion volume of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, will begin publishing in November 2009. That’s the good news!I'm still on Book 4, The Shadow Rising, so this gives me a reason to procrastinate. I'll still catch up before the last book is published.
The bad news? A Memory of Light is going to be broken into three separate books released one year apart each, the first of which is titled The Gathering Storm.
Secondly, George RR Martin has delayed A Dance With Dragons, book 5 in his Song of Ice and Fire series. The most important thing I can do in regards to the delays is have everyone read this: In Defense of George RR Martin.
This long article is about author George R. R. Martin and, more importantly, the misgivings and negativity some of his more vocal fans have concerning the lateness of his forthcoming book, A Dance With Dragons.Trust me, it is worth the read. Personally, I can wait. The end product will be worth it.
Lastly, Michael Crichton, recently deceased, will have a couple novels published posthumously.
New York, NY (April 6, 2009) - HarperCollins is proud to announce the global publication of two posthumous Michael Crichton novels. The first, Pirate Latitudes, will be published on November 24, 2009; the second, as yet untitled, will be published in Fall 2010.Crichton's Lost World was the first "real" book I read in my youth and I can not thank him enough for the road that reading has lead me down. Ironically, that is the only book of his that I have ever read.
Crichton actually has several good books worth picking up. Sphere was my particular favorite. Definitely better than the movie.
ReplyDeleteWell, I found this on a blog (sic!) where the author complained about George R. R. Martin taking too damn long with book #5. A commentator pointed him to:
ReplyDeleteR. Scott Bakker: The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing trilogy)
So now I get to point you towards it. Have fun finding out about the darkness that comes before. I did. *g*
heartless_
ReplyDeleteYou and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I'm warning you...I wouldn't wish the last half of Wheel of Time books on the worst of my enemies.
They become repetitive and overly long pieces of drivel (much like my comments).
Do yourself a favor and stop reading after "Lord of Chaos."
Jason (resident drunken idiot of Channel Massive who signs his comments because it makes them 10x more valid)
Jason, I agree the WoT books get tedious (I saw it in the first three books), but that doesn't mean they aren't worth reading. I have an interest in where the story goes, so I will continue reading.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now Tor-Forge is starting to get on my nerves. They originally said it would be two books to be published with only a short interval in between. Now they have decided they need to keep their income steady I guess, so it will be three books with a year in between.
ReplyDeleteAbalieno over at The Cesspit has been raging against the plan for these last books for a while now. I am starting to think he might have a point.
Wilhelm, on the other hand, if Brandon Sanderson revitalizes the series, it will be nice to get three books out of him (and maybe more down the line). I've only read one of his books, Elantris, and it was a pretty solid read. So, there is a chance he can pull this off.
ReplyDeleteOh, absolutely, Brandon Sanderson has quite an opportunity to make a mark and revitalize the series. My remarks were more about the publisher and their ever shifting plan.
ReplyDeleteAccording to them previously all 700K words of the series finale would be complete this fall. If they had an artistic reason for the choice, better story telling or a need for the author to revise later events, I'd be on board. But they seem to be more focused on the economic side of things, coming up with excuses about optimal word count for the best sales performance of a fantasy novel.
In the long run, it isn't like I am not going to pick up the final books in whatever format, but I just finished the last available book and it is a tough call to expect me to wait and remember things over a three year period. Of course, if Mr. Sanderson emulates Robert Jordon's style closely, I shouldn't have too much of a problem, as repetition was ever his strong suite.