Thursday, January 08, 2009


I just ordered the Wheel of Time books 1 - 8 in hardback. I either wore out the originals I had (most were either paperback or book club editions) or never got them back after loaning them out. This will bring me up to date on the series and should give me enough time to read through the 13 volumes currently out (counting the oversized guidebook and New Spring) before Brandon Sanderson releases the final volume, A Memory of Light. 

Generally when buying books I've found the best prices by checking between Amazon's marketplace and Abebooks. Usually Abebooks is cheaper but sometimes you get lucky at Amazon. This time around I got 1, 2, & 4 from Amazon and the rest from Abe. 

I, like everyone else who has invested so much time into this series, was devasted when James Rigney (Robert Jordan was a psuedonym) passed away in 2007. And I was both relieved and apprehensive when I heard that Brandon Sanderson would be finishing the last book.  Relieved just to know that the series WOULD be finished but apprehensive because Brandon is a relatively new author and I'd never read anything by him previously. Well I've rectified that situation and am happy to say that I'm much less apprehensive after reading his Mistborn series. It certainly wasn't as complex or moving as the Wheel of Time, or A Song of Fire and Ice (which I put at just about the same level), but it did prove that Sanderson is a capable author. Given the enthusiasm he has for the project and what are described as extensive notes for the final book left by RJ I am eagerly awaiting the conclusion. Originally the estimate was late 2009 but I'm expecting something more like Summer 2010. Hey I've waited since '94 already, what's another year?