A MEMORY OF LIGHT: Release Date

[Clansman]

TOR Publishing has just announced that the release date for A Memory of Light (which Sanderson finished about a month ago), will be January 8, 2013.

January 8, 2013? Seriously? Apparently they want it to be released in the last month of the 'Year of the Dragon' in the Chinese calendar.

All I can think is that they are willing to miss the Christmas selling season because they don't need it, and they could have easily had this book out by fall, even with a few re-writes. Everyone has been waiting for this book since Jordan's death, so they are waiting for the proper alliance of the moon and stars to get a certain cache for its release.

22 years I've been waiting for this story to be told, and now they spin it out for PR they don't even need.

 

[Perpetual Man]

And here are Sanderson's comments on this: (Harriet is Robert Jordan's widow).

Memory of Light

 

[Talysia]

I'd like to think that they've left some room for an earlier release, in case finishing the book takes less time than they originally thought. That might just be me being optimistic, though.

Still, I've been waiting for quite a while to see how the series finishes, so another couple of months shouldn't be too much trouble. Unless the Mayans were right about the end of the world, that is...

 

[HighWiredSith]

I've heard a lot of harsh things being written about Harriet, RJ's widow, on Wheel of Time websites, and frankly, some of Sanderson's comments amount to little more than throwing her under the bus for the continual delays in getting not only this final volume published but the final three. As the caretaker of Jordan's legacy and this series I can forgive her for the delays and believe she's sincere in her desire to make sure she gets this absolutely right.

It will be interesting to see how Wheel of Time holds up in the coming years. Harriet has all but stated flat out that this series will end with Memory of Light and she will allow no prequels or sequels, no fan fiction - basically nothing will be added to the 15 novels as long as she controls them and she does. It will be even more interesting to see if the series is ever makes it to television or film. I look at how some of Tolkien's descendants have hoarded his legacy, stonewalling various efforts to bring his works to film, etc. and I can see Harriet being the same way. After all, when you are entrusted with the defining life work or your partner, its a massive responsibility.

 

[Warren_Paul]

It will be even more interesting to see if the series is ever makes it to television or film. I look at how some of Tolkien's descendants have hoarded his legacy, stonewalling various efforts to bring his works to film, etc. and I can see Harriet being the same way. After all, when you are entrusted with the defining life work or your partner, its a massive responsibility.

Hopefully we might have our answers to that before long. Within the next couple years maybe. Red Eagle Games, with the help of Obsidian Entertainment and Universal are currently working on both games and a movie project.

Red Eagle Games interview
Universal options movie rights

Granted, like the books, both game and movie projects are coming along very slowly, but still, they exist.

 

[C Of K]

I've been so busy with my own projects that I haven't taken much time to even consider A Memory of Light since it was announced that Sanderson finished it. Depending on how busy I am a year from now, I may not even buy it in January. Odd that the very last book should be the one that I kind of lose interest in. But then again, I never read the last Sword of Truth novel, and I stopped reading 240 pages into the second to the last one. If they release AML sooner, I may still have enough interest to take the time out and buy it. If not, it may be a whole lot more than one year before I read it.

 

[chongjasmine]

I really wish they will release the last book of wheel of time, as early as possible. I do not like to wait to purchase a book. And I only purchase the soft copy of the book. If the hardcopy copy is published next Jan. The softcopy version of the book will only be available two years from now. Arggh. What an agonizing wait for me!

 

[Clansman]

I've been so busy with my own projects that I haven't taken much time to even consider A Memory of Light since it was announced that Sanderson finished it. Depending on how busy I am a year from now, I may not even buy it in January. Odd that the very last book should be the one that I kind of lose interest in. But then again, I never read the last Sword of Truth novel, and I stopped reading 240 pages into the second to the last one. If they release AML sooner, I may still have enough interest to take the time out and buy it. If not, it may be a whole lot more than one year before I read it.

Of course, Sword of Truth was an absolute pile of rubbish, hopelessly trite, and completely derivative. Aside from that, it was pretty good . Seriously, the two series are hardly the same.

No wonder you stopped reading. I didn't make it near that far, but I am ashamed of how far I did make it (Naked Empire - ugh!)

 

[HighWiredSith]

I will be purchasing the hardcover the day it is released. Not bragging, it's just how it is and yet I'm not sure if I am anxious to finally end my 20 year up and down relationship with this series and these characters or if I truly am anxious to see how and if it all comes together in a satisfying ending.

I suppose the only real problem I have with pushing back the release date is that I often forget or lose track of the lesser plot lines and story lines as time passes. Even after 13 books I still forget who some of the characters are between releases. I've toyed with trying to read the entire series from New Spring through Towers of Midnight over this next year but it seems to massive an undertaking and frankly, there are just too many good books to read to monopolize so much of my time.

 

[Clansman]

I really wish they will release the last book of wheel of time, as early as possible. I do not like to wait to purchase a book. And I only purchase the soft copy of the book. If the hardcopy copy is published next Jan. The softcopy version of the book will only be available two years from now. Arggh. What an agonizing wait for me!

One word: e-book.

 

[C Of K]

No wonder you stopped reading. I didn't make it near that far, but I am ashamed of how far I did make it (Naked Empire - ugh!)

Naked Empire is pretty close to how far I read. I only read about 1200 pages more than you did of that series, which is a little more than one book. But the reason I gave for my waning interest in A Memory of Light is just that I have been busy, and the more time that goes by, the less I think about it. Realistically, editing AML shouldn't take eight, nine, or ten months. I think A Dance With Dragons was released almost 5 months after GRRM finished it.

 

[HighWiredSith]

Naked Empire is pretty close to how far I read. I only read about 1200 pages more than you did of that series, which is a little more than one book. But the reason I gave for my waning interest in A Memory of Light is just that I have been busy, and the more time that goes by, the less I think about it. Realistically, editing AML shouldn't take eight, nine, or ten months. I think A Dance With Dragons was released almost 5 months after GRRM finished it.

To be fair, GRRM languished on A Dance With Dragons for years before finally finishing it. Fans begged him for years to finish the novel and continue with the series. Although he denies it, it seems pretty obvious that the HBO series has motivated him to not only finish Dragons but finish the series before the series catches up in a few years.

 

[C Of K]

To be fair, GRRM languished on A Dance With Dragons for years before finally finishing it. Fans begged him for years to finish the novel and continue with the series. Although he denies it, it seems pretty obvious that the HBO series has motivated him to not only finish Dragons but finish the series before the series catches up in a few years.

That's true, the fans did beg, for all the good it did. He basically finished when he got finished. I don't believe any amount of ranting changed that. There is no doubt motivation to finish before the series ends, no matter what he's said in public.

But how much is that motivation going to affect what ends up actually happening? I wouldn't be surprised if the next book takes him 5 years. If that happens, I won't read his stuff until long after he's finished the entire series. But the show doesn't perfectly follow the books, and I think the creators of the show are very aware of how slow a writer George is. They've made minor changes already, and are probably somewhat prepared for the eventuality that they surpass him. As the we get deeper into the show, I think the changes will probably begin to affect major events.

 

[Clansman]

Naked Empire is pretty close to how far I read. I only read about 1200 pages more than you did of that series, which is a little more than one book. But the reason I gave for my waning interest in A Memory of Light is just that I have been busy, and the more time that goes by, the less I think about it. Realistically, editing AML shouldn't take eight, nine, or ten months. I think A Dance With Dragons was released almost 5 months after GRRM finished it.

4 months actually. GRRM had submitted large portions of ADWD before he finished, and in fact, much of the book was cued up and ready to print when he submitted the final chapters in March of 2011. The book was published in July because a lot of the publishing work had already been done, and they just had to hit "print". AML is a different story, but it shouldn't take a whole year to edit it. I have never been a big fan of Harriet as an editor, particularly when I look at how this series bloated in the middle. It is Sanderson's sheer ability that brought this story back on track.

I still loved how Sanderson dealt with superfluous story lines like Masema. He simply ended them.

 

[C Of K]

Sanderson has done a superb job. GRRM's story seems to be on the verge of bloating out of his control, where as Sanderson seems to have tamed his sleeping giant, and even woken it up so he can lead it on a merry chase. And yes, a year is quite ridiculous. No matter how they try to spin it, they've never shown that much devotion to editing The Wheel of Time in the past, so it's very difficult for me to accept their reasons for this release date. Sanderson could practically write another novel in that amount of time. I doubt his manuscript will be so terrible as to need THAT much work done to it.

 

[Clansman]

Sanderson has done a superb job. GRRM's story seems to be on the verge of bloating out of his control, where as Sanderson seems to have tamed his sleeping giant, and even woken it up so he can lead it on a merry chase. And yes, a year is quite ridiculous. No matter how they try to spin it, they've never shown that much devotion to editing The Wheel of Time in the past, so it's very difficult for me to accept their reasons for this release date. Sanderson could practically write another novel in that amount of time. I doubt his manuscript will be so terrible as to need THAT much work done to it.

Yer preachin' te the choir, C of K. Preachin' te the choir.

 

[Sho Pi]

It is kind of preposterous to think that they could realistically have the book out by August and they just refuse. The summer would have been a perfect time for me to finally read the final book of this series. It has not been quite 20 years for me, but still 10 years is a long time to finish as well. Still, have to admire Sanderson for bringing pace back into this story.

 

[C Of K]

I of course wouldn't blame Sanderson for the release date, but I dare say, many people are capable of preposterous actions. Have you seen the ending of Mass Effect 3 by any chance? (sorry, that was a bad joke, but then again, so was the ending. I couldn't help myself.) From the statements that I read, the editors seemed very concerned with "not getting it wrong" as though this book being the final one deserves extra editorial care. That's all well and good, but I can think of 4 or 5 books in this series that could have used a little extra editorial care, and the editors didn't seem to care. By this point in the series, I think it might be a little too late to start worrying about "getting it right". Now, they're going to use the better part of a year for editing, and release the book on the last month of the year of the dragon as if that will make the experience more memorable to a predominantly western audience. Last book, last month...it's still just Thursday to me.

 

[Christopher Lee]

You've waited for nearly 20 years. What's one more?

 

[C Of K]

When RJ started the series, I was but a boy, without a care in the world.
Now I am a man, with many cares. In the next year, I suppose I will be an
even older man, with more cares. They could release the book sooner, if
they wanted to. And lets face it, it would be about time. Choosing to make
people wait 5 or 6 months longer than is necessary for frivolous reasons is
not good business. Half the topics in the RJ forum are about how people are
sick and tired of the books for one reason or another. I know this forum isn't
the world, but it's a pretty good representation of what the larger majority of
people are thinking about the series. I can't really see how it benefits anyone to
release it later than is necessary.