Brandon also addresses some questions about Towers of Midnight and criticisms over his handling of Mat in The Gathering Storm. Many thanks to Pat for inviting me to participate.
Showing posts with label the gathering storm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the gathering storm. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
New Brandon Sanderson interview
Pat has posted an interview with Brandon Sanderson that myself, Larry and Ken also participated in last year, from shortly after The Gathering Storm's publication.
Brandon also addresses some questions about Towers of Midnight and criticisms over his handling of Mat in The Gathering Storm. Many thanks to Pat for inviting me to participate.
Brandon also addresses some questions about Towers of Midnight and criticisms over his handling of Mat in The Gathering Storm. Many thanks to Pat for inviting me to participate.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The battle for control of the western nations ahead of the Last Battle continues to rage. Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, has taken his army to the war and famine-wracked kingdom of Arad Doman to restore order, win the country to his cause and also to negotiate a new peace treaty with the Seanchan. But as his plans continue to unfold, Rand has to harden himself more and more, and in doing so is in the process of losing his soul and his mind.
In Tar Valon, Egwene al'Vere remains a prisoner but a defiant one. As her efforts to undermine the false Amyrlin Elaida continue within the Tower, her followers maintain their siege of the city from outside, and are joined by an unexpected new ally. Elsewhere, Mat Cauthon and the Band of the Red Hand continue their flight towards Andor, and are surprised to be reunited with an old friend, a friend whose careful, long-laid plans are about to come to fruition...
The Gathering Storm is the twelfth volume in The Wheel of Time series and the first released since Robert Jordan's unfortunate death in 2007. Jordan spent his final months amassing and dictating a significant amount of notes, outlines and chapter summaries for another writer to use to finish the series. Previously, Jordan had indicated he'd wipe his hard drive to stop someone else completing his work, but with him being so close to the end of the story he changed his mind, trusting his wife and editor, Harriet, and his publisher Tom Doherty to find a writer capable of finishing the series well. In theory, it should have led to disaster: typically one writer finishing a series begun by another is an atrocious idea that only leads to very bad books (note the vomit-inducing new Dune novels and the ill-advised Amber continuations). The only example I can think of this working was when Stella Gemmell completed her late husband David's final novel in fine form, but the amount of work required to bring Wheel of Time to a conclusion required an altogether different level of commitment and effort from Brandon Sanderson.
Almost unbelievably, Sanderson has pulled it off. In his introduction he hopes the differences between his style and Jordan, whilst unavoidably noticeable, will be comparable to a different (but still good) director taking over your favourite movie series but all the actors remaining the same. This isn't a bad analogy at all, and whilst there are a few moments in The Gathering Storm where you think, "I don't think Robert Jordan would have done things quite like that," there's never a moment where you think, "He definitely wouldn't have done that at all!" which is vital.
Another concern was that originally these last three books were supposed to be one volume, A Memory of Light, and Sanderson actually wrote the bulk of the text under the impression it was going to be probably split in two. The decision to split the book in three instead resulted in much recrimination, although at 800 pages in hardcover (and assuming the second and third come in at a similar size) and well over 300,000 words, tying it with Knife of Dreams as the longest book in the series since Lord of Chaos, it's clear this could never have been done in just two books either. One problem with this split was that since Sanderson hadn't been writing with three books in mind, The Gathering Storm would feel incomplete or unsatisfying on its own. This is not the case at all. In fact, The Gathering Storm has the most cohesive through-line in story, character and theme of any book in the series since The Shadow Rising, and possibly out of all of them.
The structure of the book focuses on two primary storylines: Rand's deteriorating mental state as he struggles to bring Arad Doman into the confederation of kingdoms sworn to him, and Egwene's efforts to unite the White Tower and end the civil war within the Aes Sedai that has raged for the past seven and a half volumes. Other characters and stories appear briefly, such as Perrin and Tuon, and Mat has a slightly bigger role, but other major characters and storylines do not appear at all. The recently-quelled civil war in Andor and the Mazrim Taim/Asha'man plotlines are notable by their absences. Instead, this part of the story focuses on two of the central protagonists, Rand and Egwene, and the experiences they go through to achieve their goals. The novel could almost be called The Long Night of Rand al'Thor as the series' central figure is dragged through the wringer, going to very dark places indeed as he struggles to understand his own role in events and how he is to achieve the things he must do to save the world. On the other hand, Egwene is shown to have already passed through her moments of doubt and misjudgement in previous volumes, and in this book her story focuses on her battle of wills with Elaida to restore unity to the Aes Sedai.
This contrast of darkness and light and putting two central characters squarely back in the limelight (previous volumes have sometimes devoted way too much time to tertiary characters of limited importance) is a highly successful move, allowing some interesting thematic elements to be touched upon. Whilst the reader may have guessed that Rand is severely traumatised from everything that has happened to him in the previous books, it isn't until this volume that we realise just how badly things have affected him and we see just how hard and how determined he has become. An interesting analogy that is not touched upon is what happened to Aridhol to defeat the Shadow in the Trolloc Wars, where it became harder and more ruthless than the enemy and eventually consumed itself in insanity and rage.
This is a powerful and intense story, something that has been building for the entire latter half of the series, and it's a demanding tale that you probably wouldn't want to dump on a new author in ideal circumstances. But Sanderson picks up the ball and runs with it. Rand's characterisation is completely spot-on and consistent with earlier appearances, and Sanderson does a monumental job with this storyline. He also does superbly with Egwene's story, which culminates in one of the most spectacular action set-pieces in the series to date (and I suspect something that could dislodge Dumai's Wells or the Battle of Cairhien as many reader's favourite action sequence in the whole series). A whole myriad of lesser characters is also well-handled, such as Siuan, Tuon and the various Aes Sedai, but Gawyn becomes a bit of a fifth wheel with not much to do, which is odd given he has a much bigger presence here than he has in some considerable time.
Other reviewers have suggested that Sanderson struggles with Mat, and unfortunately this is true. Not fatally so, but for everything Mat does that is 'right' to his character, he'll typically do something incongruous and uncharacteristic a few pages later. Sanderson also never really gets into the swing of his speech pattern or sense of humour either. He's readable, but it's the only part of the book where the change in authors feels jarring. Luckily, it's not a large part of the book and hopefully Sanderson will be able to work more on this area for the next book, Towers of Midnight, where Mat is expected to play a much bigger role in events.
The Gathering Storm (****½) is a very fine book, one of the strongest instalments of the whole series and easily the best book published in The Wheel of Time for fifteen years. Whilst some of that achievement must go to Brandon Sanderson for his sterling and jaw-dropping work on the book, it is clear that Robert Jordan had planned these events with a watchmaker's precision, setting them up through lines of dialogue and minor twists of characterisation stretching right back to the second volume of the series, and the overwhelming feeling upon reaching the end of the novel is that he was an extraordinarily clever writer and plotter, for all of the flaws that have cropped up along the way. The book is available now in the UK and, with the worst cover in the history of modern publishing, in the USA. Towers of Midnight will follow in one year's time, with A Memory of Light to follow a year after that.
In Tar Valon, Egwene al'Vere remains a prisoner but a defiant one. As her efforts to undermine the false Amyrlin Elaida continue within the Tower, her followers maintain their siege of the city from outside, and are joined by an unexpected new ally. Elsewhere, Mat Cauthon and the Band of the Red Hand continue their flight towards Andor, and are surprised to be reunited with an old friend, a friend whose careful, long-laid plans are about to come to fruition...
The Gathering Storm is the twelfth volume in The Wheel of Time series and the first released since Robert Jordan's unfortunate death in 2007. Jordan spent his final months amassing and dictating a significant amount of notes, outlines and chapter summaries for another writer to use to finish the series. Previously, Jordan had indicated he'd wipe his hard drive to stop someone else completing his work, but with him being so close to the end of the story he changed his mind, trusting his wife and editor, Harriet, and his publisher Tom Doherty to find a writer capable of finishing the series well. In theory, it should have led to disaster: typically one writer finishing a series begun by another is an atrocious idea that only leads to very bad books (note the vomit-inducing new Dune novels and the ill-advised Amber continuations). The only example I can think of this working was when Stella Gemmell completed her late husband David's final novel in fine form, but the amount of work required to bring Wheel of Time to a conclusion required an altogether different level of commitment and effort from Brandon Sanderson.
Almost unbelievably, Sanderson has pulled it off. In his introduction he hopes the differences between his style and Jordan, whilst unavoidably noticeable, will be comparable to a different (but still good) director taking over your favourite movie series but all the actors remaining the same. This isn't a bad analogy at all, and whilst there are a few moments in The Gathering Storm where you think, "I don't think Robert Jordan would have done things quite like that," there's never a moment where you think, "He definitely wouldn't have done that at all!" which is vital.
Another concern was that originally these last three books were supposed to be one volume, A Memory of Light, and Sanderson actually wrote the bulk of the text under the impression it was going to be probably split in two. The decision to split the book in three instead resulted in much recrimination, although at 800 pages in hardcover (and assuming the second and third come in at a similar size) and well over 300,000 words, tying it with Knife of Dreams as the longest book in the series since Lord of Chaos, it's clear this could never have been done in just two books either. One problem with this split was that since Sanderson hadn't been writing with three books in mind, The Gathering Storm would feel incomplete or unsatisfying on its own. This is not the case at all. In fact, The Gathering Storm has the most cohesive through-line in story, character and theme of any book in the series since The Shadow Rising, and possibly out of all of them.
The structure of the book focuses on two primary storylines: Rand's deteriorating mental state as he struggles to bring Arad Doman into the confederation of kingdoms sworn to him, and Egwene's efforts to unite the White Tower and end the civil war within the Aes Sedai that has raged for the past seven and a half volumes. Other characters and stories appear briefly, such as Perrin and Tuon, and Mat has a slightly bigger role, but other major characters and storylines do not appear at all. The recently-quelled civil war in Andor and the Mazrim Taim/Asha'man plotlines are notable by their absences. Instead, this part of the story focuses on two of the central protagonists, Rand and Egwene, and the experiences they go through to achieve their goals. The novel could almost be called The Long Night of Rand al'Thor as the series' central figure is dragged through the wringer, going to very dark places indeed as he struggles to understand his own role in events and how he is to achieve the things he must do to save the world. On the other hand, Egwene is shown to have already passed through her moments of doubt and misjudgement in previous volumes, and in this book her story focuses on her battle of wills with Elaida to restore unity to the Aes Sedai.
This contrast of darkness and light and putting two central characters squarely back in the limelight (previous volumes have sometimes devoted way too much time to tertiary characters of limited importance) is a highly successful move, allowing some interesting thematic elements to be touched upon. Whilst the reader may have guessed that Rand is severely traumatised from everything that has happened to him in the previous books, it isn't until this volume that we realise just how badly things have affected him and we see just how hard and how determined he has become. An interesting analogy that is not touched upon is what happened to Aridhol to defeat the Shadow in the Trolloc Wars, where it became harder and more ruthless than the enemy and eventually consumed itself in insanity and rage.
This is a powerful and intense story, something that has been building for the entire latter half of the series, and it's a demanding tale that you probably wouldn't want to dump on a new author in ideal circumstances. But Sanderson picks up the ball and runs with it. Rand's characterisation is completely spot-on and consistent with earlier appearances, and Sanderson does a monumental job with this storyline. He also does superbly with Egwene's story, which culminates in one of the most spectacular action set-pieces in the series to date (and I suspect something that could dislodge Dumai's Wells or the Battle of Cairhien as many reader's favourite action sequence in the whole series). A whole myriad of lesser characters is also well-handled, such as Siuan, Tuon and the various Aes Sedai, but Gawyn becomes a bit of a fifth wheel with not much to do, which is odd given he has a much bigger presence here than he has in some considerable time.
Other reviewers have suggested that Sanderson struggles with Mat, and unfortunately this is true. Not fatally so, but for everything Mat does that is 'right' to his character, he'll typically do something incongruous and uncharacteristic a few pages later. Sanderson also never really gets into the swing of his speech pattern or sense of humour either. He's readable, but it's the only part of the book where the change in authors feels jarring. Luckily, it's not a large part of the book and hopefully Sanderson will be able to work more on this area for the next book, Towers of Midnight, where Mat is expected to play a much bigger role in events.
The Gathering Storm (****½) is a very fine book, one of the strongest instalments of the whole series and easily the best book published in The Wheel of Time for fifteen years. Whilst some of that achievement must go to Brandon Sanderson for his sterling and jaw-dropping work on the book, it is clear that Robert Jordan had planned these events with a watchmaker's precision, setting them up through lines of dialogue and minor twists of characterisation stretching right back to the second volume of the series, and the overwhelming feeling upon reaching the end of the novel is that he was an extraordinarily clever writer and plotter, for all of the flaws that have cropped up along the way. The book is available now in the UK and, with the worst cover in the history of modern publishing, in the USA. Towers of Midnight will follow in one year's time, with A Memory of Light to follow a year after that.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Looking for reviews of THE GATHERING STORM?
The twelfth Wheel of Time novel, The Gathering Storm, the first book in the series for four years, is due to be released in the UK and USA in about two weeks' time. By now, we should have a number of early reviews about the book, contributing to a building buzz about the long-awaited tome.
Instead, there is only a deathly silence. Only two reviews have appeared, one on Dragonmount and one on Tarvalon.net, but obviously they are not independent reviews. Independent bloggers, even those who are well-inclined to the series such as Pat of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, have been effectively refused review copies before release date.
Under normal circumstances this perhaps should be expected. The Wheel of Time is a massive, international best-selling series which has sold almost 50 million copies over the past twenty years. The new book will likely be, with the exception of the new Terry Pratchett book, the biggest-selling fantasy novel of the year. It will certainly be the biggest-selling epic fantasy of the year, no question. Review copies for the previous books in the series from about the seventh book onwards were also very thin on the ground, because frankly they weren't needed any more. The series' fanbase had grow to such a vast size that they could get the books onto the bestseller lists with no problems at all.
But The Gathering Storm is also the first book in the series not wholly written by Robert Jordan. Brandon Sanderson had to write most of the book based on Jordan's notes and even hardcore fans of the series (the ones who think Crossroads of Twilight is a good book) are uneasy about this situation, especially after a preview chapter was put up last month which indicated that the book will feature a radically faster pace and a more concise form of writing than they are used to from Jordan. There's a great deal of doubt about this book and a lot more people than normal are saying they'll be holding back on buying the book and waiting to see what the reaction is and what reviewers are saying. Getting review copies out early for this tome would have been a vote of confidence by Tor Books and I also very strongly expect would have built up a positive word-of-mouth about the book. The two reviews, as somewhat unreliable as they are from people with official ties to Tor and Sanderson, are very positive and for my money the three preview chapters are extremely strong. Based on Sanderson's superb Mistborn trilogy, I am expecting a very good book.
As it stands, The Gathering Storm will likely have a bit of a faltering start (if only compared to the previous books in the series; I still expect it to make the bestseller lists in its first week) as people look at the new name on the cover warily and with suspicion, which will likely only be reinforced when they find there are no reviews of the book online. In the film industry studios usually only refuse to hold press screenings if the movie is a total dud and some of that suspicion has now crept onto publishing as well.
I also understand that Tor at least will be vigorously enforcing the book's street-date, which is unusual for an author who isn't J.K. Rowling or Dan Brown. In the UK Bantam recently did this for Steven Erikson's Dust of Dreams which led to a bit of a backlash: booksellers simply chose not to have the book taking up stock room space for a week before being allowed to put it out, so simply didn't order it until after it had come out, meaning that on release day fans up and down the country couldn't find a copy on shelves anywhere, and in some cases had to wait a week or more before they could finally buy it. Even the Book Depository didn't get any stock in for the same reason, with the book unavailable for ordering on their system for several days after release (even more frustrating for overseas fans anxious to get the book ASAP). Erikson, of course, is nowhere near Jordan's sales level, so it is unlikely the same situation would happen again here, but you never know.
This blog will, of course, bring you a review as soon as possible :-)
Instead, there is only a deathly silence. Only two reviews have appeared, one on Dragonmount and one on Tarvalon.net, but obviously they are not independent reviews. Independent bloggers, even those who are well-inclined to the series such as Pat of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, have been effectively refused review copies before release date.
Under normal circumstances this perhaps should be expected. The Wheel of Time is a massive, international best-selling series which has sold almost 50 million copies over the past twenty years. The new book will likely be, with the exception of the new Terry Pratchett book, the biggest-selling fantasy novel of the year. It will certainly be the biggest-selling epic fantasy of the year, no question. Review copies for the previous books in the series from about the seventh book onwards were also very thin on the ground, because frankly they weren't needed any more. The series' fanbase had grow to such a vast size that they could get the books onto the bestseller lists with no problems at all.
But The Gathering Storm is also the first book in the series not wholly written by Robert Jordan. Brandon Sanderson had to write most of the book based on Jordan's notes and even hardcore fans of the series (the ones who think Crossroads of Twilight is a good book) are uneasy about this situation, especially after a preview chapter was put up last month which indicated that the book will feature a radically faster pace and a more concise form of writing than they are used to from Jordan. There's a great deal of doubt about this book and a lot more people than normal are saying they'll be holding back on buying the book and waiting to see what the reaction is and what reviewers are saying. Getting review copies out early for this tome would have been a vote of confidence by Tor Books and I also very strongly expect would have built up a positive word-of-mouth about the book. The two reviews, as somewhat unreliable as they are from people with official ties to Tor and Sanderson, are very positive and for my money the three preview chapters are extremely strong. Based on Sanderson's superb Mistborn trilogy, I am expecting a very good book.
As it stands, The Gathering Storm will likely have a bit of a faltering start (if only compared to the previous books in the series; I still expect it to make the bestseller lists in its first week) as people look at the new name on the cover warily and with suspicion, which will likely only be reinforced when they find there are no reviews of the book online. In the film industry studios usually only refuse to hold press screenings if the movie is a total dud and some of that suspicion has now crept onto publishing as well.
I also understand that Tor at least will be vigorously enforcing the book's street-date, which is unusual for an author who isn't J.K. Rowling or Dan Brown. In the UK Bantam recently did this for Steven Erikson's Dust of Dreams which led to a bit of a backlash: booksellers simply chose not to have the book taking up stock room space for a week before being allowed to put it out, so simply didn't order it until after it had come out, meaning that on release day fans up and down the country couldn't find a copy on shelves anywhere, and in some cases had to wait a week or more before they could finally buy it. Even the Book Depository didn't get any stock in for the same reason, with the book unavailable for ordering on their system for several days after release (even more frustrating for overseas fans anxious to get the book ASAP). Erikson, of course, is nowhere near Jordan's sales level, so it is unlikely the same situation would happen again here, but you never know.
This blog will, of course, bring you a review as soon as possible :-)
Thursday, 30 July 2009
First review of THE GATHERING STORM
Dragonmount has the first review of the twelfth Wheel of Time novel, The Gathering Storm. According to the review, Brandon Sanderson has done a stellar job of continuing the series and has delivered a more focused and intense novel than some other recent ones in the series. In particular, it sounds like it delivers some much-needed attention on the series' central character, Rand al'Thor, who has taken a backseat role in the previous two novels in the sequence.
The novel is published on 5 November 2009 and will almost certainly be the biggest-selling fantasy novel of this year.
The novel is published on 5 November 2009 and will almost certainly be the biggest-selling fantasy novel of this year.
Monday, 27 July 2009
News from Comic-Con
Some interesting news coming in from the San Diego Comic-Con over the last few days. Let's see if I can sift through them:
Battlestar Galactica - The Plan & beyond
The final instalment of BSG as we know it, the TV movie The Plan, will be released on DVD at the end of October and will air in the USA on SyFy a few weeks later. No word on UK release or broadcast. Eddie James Olmos claims to have developed a script featuring Tigh and Adama's adventures after the end of the TV series but producer Ronald D. Moore said that's not a story he's really interested in telling, but hasn't ruled out anything. Oddly, there has been little news (that I've been able to find) so far on Caprica, which debuts in January in both the USA and UK.
A Dance with Dragons - George RR Martin
GRRM's editor Anne Groell was asked approximately five thousand times when the book is coming out, according to Suvudu blogger Shawn Speakman on the Terry Brooks forum. The apparent consensus from the information provided is that the book is huge, with well over 1,000 manuscript pages 'locked' with no further editorial work to be done on them, and several hundred more which are a mixture of chapters for ADWD that need some finalising and several more chapters which are being worked on for Book 6, The Winds of Winter (later clarification on by Shawn revealed that how much material has been saved for Book 6 beyond what we already know from GRRM's blog is not clear, and may not be substantial). GRRM's editor's comments seem to be in agreement with GRRM's recent ones, that an October completion for a March 2010 publication (in the USA, the UK could get it in February) is not unreasonable, but once again nothing is set in stone. Another attendee of the Finncon signing has said on Westeros that GRRM mentioned that the book will hopefully come in at around 1,200 manuscript pages.
The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Employees at the Tor stand were reportedly 'bigging up' the new Wheel of Time book, some guiltily saying they thought it was better than the last few instalments of the series and reporting that it 'kicks ass'. The book is due for release on 3 November in the UK and USA.
Lost - Season 6
Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse hosted a major Q&A panel with some 'special guests' dropping in and some new teaser videos being shown. They were tight-lipped on Season 6 (aside from saying some actors who have previously left the show will return), but confirmed Richard Alpert's backstory would be revealed in-depth. Season 6 will have a new twist to the flashback/flash-forward paradigm, but they have not revealed what this will be, save there will be a least one flashback (the aforementioned Richard Alpert story). The new teaser videos were a bit bizarre, one featuring Hurley in his role as MD of Mr. Cluck's fast food chain talking about his 'fantastic luck' since winning the lottery, another being an America's Most Wanted instalment about Kate and a third, extremely eyebrow-raising, video for Oceanic Airways which claims that they have a 'perfect safety record'. Interesting stuff. Lost's final season starts airing in January 2010.
Battlestar Galactica - The Plan & beyond
The final instalment of BSG as we know it, the TV movie The Plan, will be released on DVD at the end of October and will air in the USA on SyFy a few weeks later. No word on UK release or broadcast. Eddie James Olmos claims to have developed a script featuring Tigh and Adama's adventures after the end of the TV series but producer Ronald D. Moore said that's not a story he's really interested in telling, but hasn't ruled out anything. Oddly, there has been little news (that I've been able to find) so far on Caprica, which debuts in January in both the USA and UK.
A Dance with Dragons - George RR Martin
GRRM's editor Anne Groell was asked approximately five thousand times when the book is coming out, according to Suvudu blogger Shawn Speakman on the Terry Brooks forum. The apparent consensus from the information provided is that the book is huge, with well over 1,000 manuscript pages 'locked' with no further editorial work to be done on them, and several hundred more which are a mixture of chapters for ADWD that need some finalising and several more chapters which are being worked on for Book 6, The Winds of Winter (later clarification on by Shawn revealed that how much material has been saved for Book 6 beyond what we already know from GRRM's blog is not clear, and may not be substantial). GRRM's editor's comments seem to be in agreement with GRRM's recent ones, that an October completion for a March 2010 publication (in the USA, the UK could get it in February) is not unreasonable, but once again nothing is set in stone. Another attendee of the Finncon signing has said on Westeros that GRRM mentioned that the book will hopefully come in at around 1,200 manuscript pages.
The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Employees at the Tor stand were reportedly 'bigging up' the new Wheel of Time book, some guiltily saying they thought it was better than the last few instalments of the series and reporting that it 'kicks ass'. The book is due for release on 3 November in the UK and USA.
Lost - Season 6
Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse hosted a major Q&A panel with some 'special guests' dropping in and some new teaser videos being shown. They were tight-lipped on Season 6 (aside from saying some actors who have previously left the show will return), but confirmed Richard Alpert's backstory would be revealed in-depth. Season 6 will have a new twist to the flashback/flash-forward paradigm, but they have not revealed what this will be, save there will be a least one flashback (the aforementioned Richard Alpert story). The new teaser videos were a bit bizarre, one featuring Hurley in his role as MD of Mr. Cluck's fast food chain talking about his 'fantastic luck' since winning the lottery, another being an America's Most Wanted instalment about Kate and a third, extremely eyebrow-raising, video for Oceanic Airways which claims that they have a 'perfect safety record'. Interesting stuff. Lost's final season starts airing in January 2010.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Wheel of Time US Cover Art revealed
When I reposted the 'leaked' cover art a couple of months back, the result was a flurry of denunciations from the co-author, editor and publishers claiming it wasn't the final art and the real American cover art for The Gathering Storm would be far superior.
Well, not so much:
Rand rallies the troops for the Last Battle with a rousing rendition of Queen's 'We Will Rock You'.
And yes, that is the real one. It's on Dragonmount and it's on Brandon's blog. As you can see, they made sweeping changes to the cover art consisting of, erm, turning Rand around 180 degrees. He's still doing a weird jig, his legs are still bending in a manner not entirely human and there's still some random bar wench and a generic house is in the background (though less Addms Family-esque now). If this is the most exciting scene they could find to paint in the book, we should start worrying right now (although Book 11, which featured about five battle sequences, did have a picture of a strategy conference on the front cover, so who knows?).
The working cover. Rand rallies the troops for the Last Battle by getting sozzled and busting some moves.
The book will be gracing US shelves at the start of November and will be released in the UK around the same time (or a few days earlier, if Amazon are to be believed).
Well, not so much:
Rand rallies the troops for the Last Battle with a rousing rendition of Queen's 'We Will Rock You'.And yes, that is the real one. It's on Dragonmount and it's on Brandon's blog. As you can see, they made sweeping changes to the cover art consisting of, erm, turning Rand around 180 degrees. He's still doing a weird jig, his legs are still bending in a manner not entirely human and there's still some random bar wench and a generic house is in the background (though less Addms Family-esque now). If this is the most exciting scene they could find to paint in the book, we should start worrying right now (although Book 11, which featured about five battle sequences, did have a picture of a strategy conference on the front cover, so who knows?).
The working cover. Rand rallies the troops for the Last Battle by getting sozzled and busting some moves.The book will be gracing US shelves at the start of November and will be released in the UK around the same time (or a few days earlier, if Amazon are to be believed).
Sunday, 3 May 2009
News
Orbit UK have released their cover for The Gathering Storm:
Nice. Probably the best Wheel of Time cover to date. Very much in the style of the UK editions of the last three hardcover books, but with the clouds taking on an ominous aspect in the background. Quite impressive, and likely to be better than the final version of the US cover (due any time now).
Elsewhere, Peter V. Brett has confirmed that his second book, The Desert Spear, has been delayed until April 2010 due to the writing delays he had on the book. However, this time around the book will be released simultaneously in the UK and USA.
Nice. Probably the best Wheel of Time cover to date. Very much in the style of the UK editions of the last three hardcover books, but with the clouds taking on an ominous aspect in the background. Quite impressive, and likely to be better than the final version of the US cover (due any time now).
Elsewhere, Peter V. Brett has confirmed that his second book, The Desert Spear, has been delayed until April 2010 due to the writing delays he had on the book. However, this time around the book will be released simultaneously in the UK and USA.
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Wheel of Time Book 12 Cover Blurb
Tor have published their late 2009 catalogue, and have included a write-up on The Gathering Storm. No cover yet, although according to Brandon Sanderson's blog the cover will be similar to that which was leaked last month, save that Rand is facing the reader and not doing a weird dance any more. My guess is we will see that in the near future. There's also some titular confusion going on, with the catalogue calling the book A Memory of Light: Gathering Clouds - Book Twelve of The Wheel of Time. Gathering Clouds was the working title which has been ditched. The Gathering Storm will be the correct title, apparently. I'm not too keen on this confusing Book 12 of WoT/Book 1 of AMoL thing going on either. My idea is that they should ditch AMoL on the covers at least and just have A Memory of Light as the title of the final book when it is released in 2011.
The blurb:
There's also a report here from JordanCon 2009, where among other things the story for the 'outrigger' Wheel of Time novels Jordan planned before his death can be found.
The blurb:
"Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.Sanderson has also confirmed on his Twitter that the final edit has been done, the book has gone off for a final round of approval and then should enter production for its planned release date, which at the moment is 30 October from Orbit in the UK and 3 November from Tor in the USA.
A Memory of Light was partially finished by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the novel was such that it can not be contained in a single volume, and so Tor proudly presents A Memory of Light: Gathering Clouds as the first in a short sequence of novels that will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.
In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies work in desperation to forestall the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.
Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and therefore the world itself.
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow."
There's also a report here from JordanCon 2009, where among other things the story for the 'outrigger' Wheel of Time novels Jordan planned before his death can be found.
Thursday, 26 July 2007
The Burning Stone, Child of Flame & The Gathering Storm by Kate Elliott
My reading of Kate Elliott's seven-volume fantasy epic Crown of Stars continues. I unexpectedly made a lot of good time reading the series, so I decided to combine the reviews for the next three books into one review.
The Burning Stone (1999) is the third volume in the series and picks up the storyline after the events at the Battle of Gent. The quasi-self-contained storylines of the first two novels are abandoned here in favour of a more serialised approach as Elliott kicks in the central story arc of the whole series. The reader gains an understanding of the stakes and the true nature of the threat to Novaria, but Elliott presents us with several different viewpoints of the same events and it's unclear which is the true explanation. As I mentioned earlier, enjoyment of the first two novels is marred by the weakness of the character of Liath, but in this third volume she becomes more interesting as she is confronted by the apparent truth of her upbringing and birth. Elsewhere, political intrigue gathers pace and the Eika gain a new chieftain. The Eika plotline is extremely well-handled in this series and it's a shame it isn't given more airtime, but at a thousand pages in paperback this is already a long novel that doesn't really need to be any longer.
The Burning Stone (***½
Child of Flame (2000) is an intriguing addition to the Crown of Stars series. As the middle volume of the series, it would have been easy for this to be a slower-paced book full of setting up and limited plot resolution. Instead Elliott pulls off some interesting writing decisions which allows her to delve deeper into the mysteries at the heart of the series whilst pushing forward the action decisively. There are huge battles, several key storylines are closed off and the destinies of Alain and Liath (who has a lot less screen-time than in previous volumes) take them to some very strange places.
Child of Flame (****) is the strongest novel of the first four in the series, featuring some unexpected plot developments and forcing some serious reconsidering of what came before.
UK, USA.
The Gathering Storm (2003) was originally supposed to be the penultimate volume of the series, but the final book was split in half due to its size. As such, the reader may be taken aback that the major climax of the series comes two volumes before its conclusion. The purpose of this novel is to take all of the developments of the past two volumes (and some from before that) and tie them all together into a massive convergence of plotlines, characters and events. This works very well, and the purposes of secondary storylines and characters who previously didn't seem to be contributing much to the overriding narrative is made clearer, sometimes surprisingly so. Again, the Eika storyline (now revealed to be much more closely tied to the central narrative than previously thought) is very strong in this novel, although some of the key characters do get a little lost in the middle of the book (Sanglant in particular, who has major roles in the opening and closing chapters but is otherwise off-stage for a significant chunk of the novel). There's also some curious and slightly baffling plot decisions which at first glance don't seem to make much sense, particularly a number of coincidences and happenstances in Alain's storyline that verge on the ludicrous. That said, it's certainly a relief that the major events foreseen and talked about (at times interminably) for the last several volumes finally come to pass in an explosive and apocalyptic finale.
The Gathering Storm (***½) is a highly significant step forward in the series and Elliott handles the major sweeping events of the book quite well, although a number of weaknesses in the plotting detract from the enjoyment of the book. As the novel concludes the reader is left feeling slightly dazed and asking, "Now what?"
UK, USA.
The final two volumes in the series are In the Ruins and Crown of Stars, which I hope to have finished next week.
The Burning Stone (1999) is the third volume in the series and picks up the storyline after the events at the Battle of Gent. The quasi-self-contained storylines of the first two novels are abandoned here in favour of a more serialised approach as Elliott kicks in the central story arc of the whole series. The reader gains an understanding of the stakes and the true nature of the threat to Novaria, but Elliott presents us with several different viewpoints of the same events and it's unclear which is the true explanation. As I mentioned earlier, enjoyment of the first two novels is marred by the weakness of the character of Liath, but in this third volume she becomes more interesting as she is confronted by the apparent truth of her upbringing and birth. Elsewhere, political intrigue gathers pace and the Eika gain a new chieftain. The Eika plotline is extremely well-handled in this series and it's a shame it isn't given more airtime, but at a thousand pages in paperback this is already a long novel that doesn't really need to be any longer.The Burning Stone (***½
Child of Flame (2000) is an intriguing addition to the Crown of Stars series. As the middle volume of the series, it would have been easy for this to be a slower-paced book full of setting up and limited plot resolution. Instead Elliott pulls off some interesting writing decisions which allows her to delve deeper into the mysteries at the heart of the series whilst pushing forward the action decisively. There are huge battles, several key storylines are closed off and the destinies of Alain and Liath (who has a lot less screen-time than in previous volumes) take them to some very strange places.Child of Flame (****) is the strongest novel of the first four in the series, featuring some unexpected plot developments and forcing some serious reconsidering of what came before.
UK, USA.
The Gathering Storm (2003) was originally supposed to be the penultimate volume of the series, but the final book was split in half due to its size. As such, the reader may be taken aback that the major climax of the series comes two volumes before its conclusion. The purpose of this novel is to take all of the developments of the past two volumes (and some from before that) and tie them all together into a massive convergence of plotlines, characters and events. This works very well, and the purposes of secondary storylines and characters who previously didn't seem to be contributing much to the overriding narrative is made clearer, sometimes surprisingly so. Again, the Eika storyline (now revealed to be much more closely tied to the central narrative than previously thought) is very strong in this novel, although some of the key characters do get a little lost in the middle of the book (Sanglant in particular, who has major roles in the opening and closing chapters but is otherwise off-stage for a significant chunk of the novel). There's also some curious and slightly baffling plot decisions which at first glance don't seem to make much sense, particularly a number of coincidences and happenstances in Alain's storyline that verge on the ludicrous. That said, it's certainly a relief that the major events foreseen and talked about (at times interminably) for the last several volumes finally come to pass in an explosive and apocalyptic finale.The Gathering Storm (***½
UK, USA.
The final two volumes in the series are In the Ruins and Crown of Stars, which I hope to have finished next week.
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