Tor Books has announced that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish the final novel in Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Robert Jordan, whose real name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr. died September 16, 2007 of the rare blood disease amyloidosis.
At the time of his death Robert Jordan has started some work on the twelfth and final book in his Wheel of Time fantasy series with some sections complete and written or dictated notes on others.
Tor’s news release describes Sanderson as follows:
Like Jordan, Sanderson was an avid reader and writer from an early age. His debut novel, Elantris, was an unagented gem discovered after Sanderson, then a college student writing during his late night shift at a local hotel, approached Tor editor Moshe Feder at a fantasy convention. Several months later, after reading the manuscript and deciding he had to have it, Feder tried to find the author, who had since moved. Using the internet, he tracked down Sanderson through a campus directory--and the rest is history. Sanderson has since gone on to establish a loyal fan base as the author of three critically acclaimed fantasy novels: Elantris, Mistborn, and The Well of Ascension, as well as a YA novel, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians. Publishing trade magazines Publishers Weekly and Library Journal gave Elantris starred reviews and it was the winner of the Romantic Times Award for best epic fantasy. The Washington Post also praised Sanderson for his creation of "a fascinating world" in Mistborn.
The scheduled delivery of the manuscript for the final book is December 2008 and a planned publication date of Fall 2009.
Sanderson has a blog posting about the decision.
Now get to work Brandon!