Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Well, looking at the places that Brandon was going on the Way of Kings tour, I saw that the day after the midnight release, he was making an appearance at a Barnes and Noble at Jordan Landing. For those who don't know, Jordan Landing is a big shopping area in West Jordan, UT, and happens to be about ten minutes from my house. And, being the lucky guy that I am, I got to go see Brandon two nights in a row! Awesome.

I arrived at about seven'o'clock, Brandon was running a bit late, which he often does, so I got there first. The atmosphere wasn't as electric as the midnight release, but neither were the people dead tired either. Pluses and minuses, I guess.

I managed to snag myself a spot on one of the front rows and sat down to wait. There was much talk going on in anticipation of the author's arrival. And then he was there!

After a quick introduction by (who I think was) the store manager. Brandon thanked us for coming and dove right in, reading the prelude for the book. After which Brandon opened up the time for questions. Unfortunately, I don't have a recording, not being quite as awesome as Pooka in that regard. But he talked some about the structure of the book, his idea process, and a bit about the WoT. Then we moved onto the signing.

At the beginning of the night, we had about 200 people, but as time went on folks started to trickle out until about 150 people got to see Brandon. But there were still enough people that we actually ran out of pre-signed books and had to start handing out numbered sticky notes.

It was about 11 when everyone who had stuck around got their books signed and left. Those of us who were still there, and a few who had showed up only a little while ago for what was to happen next, went with Brandon to a (sorta) nearby Denny's to play Magic! People there were myself, fRR, Rubix, Nehex, Swift, and a few others who may or may not be members here. (if you were there and I missed you, let me know!)

Brandon treated us to a late night snack, which was nice, though appetizers are a little greasy when playing card games. Things went along very nicely, fun conversation, pleasant company, etc, until Cthulu showed up. Or rather, Brandon owned us with his "Cthulu to the face" Archenemy deck. Twice.

Here's the group that challenged Brandon. From the left: Adam, Brandon!, Me!, Logan (the leader of the rebellion against Brandon's oppression, who fought nobly), Josh, and Jessica.

And then we left! Ta-dah!