MiM meets Brandon Sanderson plus the Suvudu Cage Match of the multiverse…
MiM met Brandon Sanderson at his book signing for The Gathering Storm..
Warbreaker is out in paperback, and Alcatraz Book 3 was awesome according to MiM Jr..the Wheel of Time collaborative work is a sad but satisfying read as we await the final two volumes of Memory of Light..
Check it out -Best thing I’ve read today (I can haz in gamer format please?!) from Brandon’s Amazon Blog – Suvudu Cage Match:
So, from what I’ve heard, Rand won the Suvudu cage match.
This leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, I am pleased and proud. On the other hand, George R. R. Martin’s write-up of how he thought things would go was simply epic. In his version, the fight went as it should have in many ways, particularly near the end. Rand and Jamie, sword to sword, man to man. A win without a kill, respect given on both sides.
Robert Jordan is smiling somewhere, Mr. Martin.
If we take an infinite multiverse view of things (as is suggested in the Wheel of Time world) then what Mr. Martin wrote did indeed happen. And it didn’t. And everything in between happened as well.
However, in the version imagined by Brandon Sanderson, here’s how the fight goes down.
Mr. Martin’s narrative is more or less dead on until the end. Rand and Jamie struggle and fight, and it comes down to man against man. However, neither man can gain advantage over the other.
Then something flickers in Rand’s vision. Perhaps it’s a trick of the light. Perhaps it’s an assassin’s bolt, dipped in the poison of an asp and fired toward Rand in a moment of weakness. Perhaps it’s Rand’s madness asserting itself. Regardless of the cause, he thinks he’s being attacked by someone other than Jamie and his allies. Treachery, a violation of the trial of seven.
It may be real. It may not be.
Rand, in desperation, somehow forms weaves of power. Reckless weaves, fueled by anger, perhaps delusion (or perhaps when the One Power pool surrounding King’s Landing was used up, some started trickling in from surrounding areas through One Power drainage ditches and has just come close enough for Rand to tap). He creates a gateway through which to escape, but also lets loose a brilliant bolt of balefire, firing it at shadows moving on the other side of that gateway.
A column of liquid light springs forth, passes through the gateway, and hits Suvudu itself.
Now, it’s hard to say what effect this should have. Balefire, for those unaware, has the power to burn threads from the pattern and rework time itself. Kill someone with balefire, and things they did prior to being killed will be reversed.
Perhaps this should mean that the battle never happened. Perhaps it should wipe the entire experience from our minds. But balefire is an odd thing, as is a contest such as this one. And so, Rand’s actions remove the previous fights from existence, but don’t change what is happening between him and Jamie.
Through accident, Rand’s balefire brings back each and every fighter who participated in this tournament. Everyone appears on the battlefield at once.
Rand and Jamie stare in wonder at the chaos that follows.
Aragorn, Garet, and Hiro have a conversation about who is really the greatest swordsman in the world. It involves much stabbing, some pizza, and very little coding.
Kahlan exclaims that she was never part of a “fantasy” novel in the first place, and so disappears in a puff of hypocrisy.
Arthur Dent says, “Oh no, not again.”
Dumbledore tries to send Lyra on a quest to find some random magical object that is going to save the world, really, and is terribly important. So important that he can’t go himself. Honestly.
Roland ponders for twenty-two years before telling you what he does.
Harry Dresden decides this is really all too much work, and wanders off to get himself something to drink. He gets beaten up seventeen times on his way, but saves two orphanages.
Ender writes a poem about the Shrike, entitled “It Might Be a Demonic, Sadistic, Terrible Monster Made of Blades, Thorns, and Terror—but It’s Really Just Misunderstood.”
Kvothe flies in, riding Temeraire, Hermione at his side, and— (I’ve written the second two thirds of this sentence, but I’m not giving them to you yet.)
The Wee Free Men start chatting about this interesting fellow they met WHO SPEAKS IN ALL CAPS and wonders if this is all going to create a great big paradoxical mess he will have to fix.
Edward broods.
Ged, Vlad, and Conan give Eragon a wedgie.
Polgara throws something breakable at somebody, then goes to find Belgarath, who is most likely drinking with Mat, Tyrion, and Harry at this point.
Haplo and Raistlin get into an argument about how to pronounce Drizzt’s name.
Elric tries to decide just who among these people he likes the most, so that he can be forced to feed them to Stormbringer at a terribly dramatic moment, causing much personal angst.
Anita takes out Edward for good measure.
Gandalf and Aslan eye everyone mysteriously, then have a discussion over tea about whose resurrection was more meaningful.
Locke steals Gandalf’s staff and sells it on eBay as an authentic prop from the film trilogy. He then does the same thing with Hermione’s wand.
And at that point, the great Cthulhu himself awakens, and his terrible, alien nature drives everyone irrevocably insane.
Rand wins by default, since he was already insane, and Cthulhu showing up doesn’t really change him at all.
Ladies and gentlemen, we just got Cthulhu’d.
Best,
Brandon
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
This is syndicated from Brandon Sanderson Blog.
TOR: The Storm is Here!!! ‘The Gathering Storm’ Book 12 of the WoT releases today!!
WOOT!!!!!!
HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!
Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.
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 watch in terror 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 possibly 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.
………………………………
TOUR DATES: MEET Brandon Sanderson (and if you’re lucky Harriet too!) MiM will be at the Scottsdale signing (you will likely be able to identify me as the one doing the happy Snoopy dance, lol!!)
Dates and locations after the break:
Wheel of Time Roundup: JordanCon April 17th-19th…Countdown to Robert Jordan’s WoT: A Memory of Light release November 2009…
It’s coming!!! NOVEMBER 2009 !!!!!
Counting Down to A Memory of Light release date with TOR books:
Setup your own countdown clock from TOR Books here
A Memory of Light is one of the most anticipated fantasy books right now. Unfortunately there is no official date of the release for the last book of Wheel of Time series, however sources on DragonMount.com claim that “manuscript for A Memory of Light is expected to be completed by December, 2008. From there it will undergo further editing and preparation. It is currently expected to be published in the Fall of 2009.”
God Bless Robert Jordan, we at MiM were lucky enough to meet him in San Diego at a book signing many moons ago
"The Wheel of Time turns and ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time…”
NY Book Times:
Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish the final novel in Robert Jordan’s bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Robert Jordan, one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th and early 21st centuries, died September 16th after a courageous battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.
The new novel, A MEMORY OF LIGHT, will be the twelfth and final book in the beloved fantasy series which has sold over 14 million copies in North America and over 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers, and for over a decade fans have been eagerly awaiting the final novel that would bring the epic story to its conclusion…..
…It is the perfect match for Sanderson, who gratefully acknowledges the role Jordan played as an inspiration to him as a writer. In the tribute piece “Goodbye Mr. Jordan,” posted on his blog, Sanderson writes to Jordan: “Personally, I feel indebted to you. You showed me what it was to have vision and scope in a fantasy series–you showed me what could be done. I still believe that without your success, many younger authors like myself would never have had a chance at publishing their dreams. You go quietly, but leave us trembling.”
Jordan has also often been referred to as Tolkien’s heir and in an article about The Wheel of Time series, The New York Times lauded Jordan for his extraordinary story-telling ability: “The books’ battle scenes have the breathless urgency of firsthand experience, and the ambiguities in these novels—the evil laced into the forces of good, the dangers latent in any promised salvation, the sense of the unavoidable onslaught of unpredictable events—bear the marks of American national experience during the last three decades, just as the experience of the First World War and its aftermath gave its imprint to Tolkien’s work.” John Clute said of Jordan’s magnum opus, “when complete, the sequence will almost certainly constitute one of the major epic narratives of modern fantasy.”
Film rights to WoT update from Aint It Cool via Variety:
Universal Pictures has acquired film rights to the late Robert Jordan’s bestselling “The Wheel of Time” novel series in a seven-figure deal.Adaptations of the fantasy tomes will begin with the first book in the cycle, “The Eye of the World.”
Rick Selvage and Larry Mondragon will produce for Red Eagle Entertainment, which published graphic novel adaptations of Jordan’s books.
“The Wheel of Time” follows, among its dozens of characters, Rand al’Thor, the latest incarnation of a force for good called “The Dragon.” Rand is born to fight an evil character called Shai’tan.
JordanCon Update from TOR Twitter feed:
Tom Doherty, the founder of Tor Books, the publisher of The Wheel of Time series, will be attending JordanCon. Doherty formed Tor Books in 1980, after a stint as publisher at the venerable Ace Books publishing house. Since 1988, Tor has been selected by Locus Magazine readers as “Best Science Fiction Publisher”. Tor authors include the late Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, Orson Scott Card, Mercedes Lackey and many other notables. Doherty will be appearing on panels regarding the upcoming publication of A Memory of Light, the final book in The Wheel of Time series and on the future of fantasy publishing in general.
JordanCon is the first convention dedicated to exploring the literary legacy of Robert Jordan and his ground breaking The Wheel of Time series. JordanCon takes place April 17-19, 2009 at the Alpharetta Embassy Suites in Alpharetta, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. Pre registration is currently $60. Other guests include Harriet McDougal, Wilson Grooms, The Lost Boys, Big City Burlesque, Jendaiyi Belly Dance of Atlanta and Brandon Sanderson. For more information, please see our website at http://www.ageoflegends.net
Complete Bibilography of the Wheel of Time Novels from TarValon.net here
WoT Happenings:
TarValon.net announced Wheel of Time Charity Drive on their website:
The Robert Jordan estate, Brandon Sanderson and the Wheel of Time community are pleased to announce a fandom wide fundraiser to assist Heifer International, a charity that provides farm animals and training to the worlds poorest populations.
Moderate in the Middle 