Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

Do you think that there will be post AMoL books that follow Rand or his children at any point in time, or is the Wheel of Time series done for good?

Edit: Actually more like the Wheel of Time universe, since the series that lead to the last battle is completed.

Edit2: Also sorry if you mentioned that you were or weren't going to continue with that universe already, but I had to ask. I just finished the book today at 3:30 am and I just don't want to move on... :(

Sorry for the slow reply. Haven't been around much lately. I figured you'd still want some sort of response, however.

There is no more. I'm sorry. I understand not wanting to move on (I still hope for some good video games or films that will let you explore the world more) but I don't feel comfortable going forward in the world any more. I'm confident Robert Jordan wouldn't have wanted it. He didn't leave enough notes for future books that I feel they would be able to be true to his voice.

I'm sad about this too, honestly. I love the world and the characters. But all good things must end, and it is for the strength of the work as a whole that I think we must allow this one to conclude.

rohittee1

Thanks for the reply, I'm honestly surprised you got around to it. I've actually picked up The Way of Kings and it is a really good story so far, I am loving the awesome world you've created. It's totally taking my mind off of WoT. Anyways, thanks again for the reply, hopefully we get a sweet video game or movie soon or we at least get an updated WOT MUD.

brandon on writing wot

,

prequels

,

outriggers

Thank you so much for AMOL. I cried, I laughed many times, I feel a sense of loss at it being over, which is all to say I will reread it many times in the years to come.

Have you addressed anywhere any of the criticisms for plot points that have popped up in reviews and on fan sites? Would you be willing to address any? For example Padan Fain's being something new that had never been in the Pattern before and yet dying before having a final confrontation with Rand or the Dark One? The TOR reviewer agreed with this point and a few others.

I will try to get to some of these questions in a spoiler-filled AMA in a few weeks, once more have read the book.

Thanks for the kind words.

Brandon

leverofsound

Sort of in line with this. On page 357 of AMoL when Cadsuane says "you have cracks in you..." Was that a reference to how you felt about the final copies of the series?

I think you did a wonderful job, but obviously it was different than it had been originally intended.

Brandon Sanderson

Sorry for the late reply.

I didn't write it that way intentionally, but you can never tell what the subconscious is working into a story.

Brandon

leverofsound

No worries. I was a week after you, so it's NBD. Thanks for the answer, and thanks, so very much, for the books.

bennmann (February 2013)

Thanks for signing this and addressing my question in Atlanta!

For the readers following along, I printed out my comment and Sanderson's reddit post above and he was awesome and humble enough to sign the print out AND TO ANSWER MY SPOILERED OBJECTION! I will put the few points from your answer paraphrased for our and the communities future reference spoiled below:

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

1. RJ left notes for many characters that were open for Sanderson expansion, but the expansion on many was not necessary. Padan Fain is one of those characters, however everything RJ left for Fain specifically for AMoL was used. 2. 'Padan Fain is a weasel' and many, many other characters deserve more words than him. 3. Fans built up several plot points that did not come to fruition and RJ even recognized this explicitly. Padan Fain is one of those characters.

bennmann

Harriet also signed the comment which I feel is very fitting and thank you Harriet so much for being unified with Brandon on his work and your husband's.

I am very much more satisfied now than before you answered me verbally Brandon, thank you again so much. Keep being awesome.

brandon on writing wot

,

a memory of light

,

rj's notes

,

who wrote what?

,

fain

,

cadsuane

Hey Brandon, just wanted to say, thanks for finishing the Wheel of Time. Halfway through A Memory of Light right now and it is fantastic, you really did an incredible job.

I am sad WoT is finally over...but now we have Stormlight, which is shaping up to be magnificent. Can't wait for the next book!

Many thanks. Hope you enjoy the ending.

Arithered

I like the part where Rand is really the name of the sled from his childhood.

Brandon Sanderson

And Perrin was a ghost all along.

opsomath

I just want you to know that I have a job interview on Thursday-Friday and am refusing to get A Memory of Light until Friday evening, because I know I will stay up all night reading and stumble around like a zombie the next day if I get it now.

Very much looking forward to it, though. In this long time fantasy fan's opinion, your contribution (and, dare I say, reboot) was the best thing to ever happen to WoT.

Brandon Sanderson

Ha. Well, good luck with the interview.

opsomath

Hey, thanks.

queentenobia

Another book?? I cannot wait to delve into it. I started on your books with The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. Then I picked up Emperor's Soul because the story looked intriguing and omg the cover art was so brilliant, and now am reading The Way of Kings. I have to say I became an instant fan, I cannot wait to read your other books. I love the way you portray your characters. I don't know if you will ever see this but thank you, your book, your writings they filled me with hope.

Brandon Sanderson

I did see it. Thank you for reading, and for the kind words.

lol

Sanderson AMA? I know he already did one about a year ago, but I remember hearing he was planning on doing another AMA a couple months after the last book came out so we could ask some wrap-up questions. Is this still in the works?

As mentioned in this thread elsewhere, I will be doing it on the 15th of April. I chose the date so there would be time for those waiting for the ebook to at least have a chance to read some before the AMA.

I chose /r/fantasy because the mod there has been asking me for some time, and I feel he does a wonderful job with the community. However, I intend this to be for AMOL, and will happily answer WoT questions.

I'm always willing to answer questions when people find me in a thread, however, and have something they want answered. If you have one or two now, I'd give you a reply (do use the spoiler tags if needed).

ilostmyfirstaccount

I'm trying real hard to think of a question to ask you that I know you can answer but the ones I have, you've already stated that they are meant to be unanswered.

So instead I'll just take this opportunity to thank you for an epic conclusion to a large portion of my life. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. So thank you for your part in that magnificent ending.

Brandon Sanderson

It was an honor. I say that a lot, but I mean it.

brandon on writing wot

I'll bite:

We had some discussion about whether or not the scene in AMOL in which Rand thinks Roedran is Demandred was intended as a bit of a dig at all the fan theories assuming that to be true. Or was Rand really just supposed to be convinced of that same theory? (And how did Shara never occur to anyone in the books?)

Balefire question: If balefire isn't tearing someone's soul out of the pattern, why is it so destructive? Why, in AMOL is it literally tearing the world apart when Darkfriends are using it?

Thanks! I will try and remember to ask more questions on 15 April!

1. The item you discuss was not intended as a dig against fans. You could read it, potentially, as an acknowledgement of fans—though really, all it comes from is the fact that you have a fan writing these books. I'm aware of many of the theories, and even spent years thinking about them and talking of them. In constructing this scene, it was my impression that if we'd spent all of this time working on these theories, how much more effort would those in world have expended?

And so, my impression was that this would be genuinely what the character thought. I thought it would be very strange if he HADN'T considered it. Therefore, I put a note of it in the text—to indicate that the characters had been working through these same issues, and come to some of the same conclusions. It wasn't meant to break the fourth wall, though I can see how it stands out to some readers.

2. I was under the impression that to be killed by balefire meant dying forever. However, Maria and the notes showed me I was wrong about this fact. Balefire does weaken the Pattern, but it can't destroy souls, which are (you might say) the substance of the Pattern. Just like you can take a hammer to a cup and shatter it, but the pieces of glass will still be there. The Pattern can (theoretically) be unraveled, the world end, but the souls still exist.

It should be note that Moridin believed strongly that the soul CAN be ended by other means, and the implication of wolves (at least) being killed with no rebirth means it can happen.

So, in final answer to your question, it is so destructive because it leaves the Pattern in a mess, strained, and more easily subjected to the Dark One's will. His goal is to shatter the cup, so to speak, and then rebuilt it into a cup more to his liking.

poesian

Oh man, I am so happy (a) that you answered my questions and (b) that you answered them well. Thank you for all you've done with the series, Brandon!

(I pointed out the Demandred scene because it is fun on all of those levels. I've thought about the "fourth wall" comment and it doesn't make sense; there's no moment where Rand looks at us. Just at Roedran, in a way that actually is entirely sensical.)

TheBB

And so, my impression was that this would be genuinely what the character thought.

This was a bit jarring for me, because most of the reasons for the Demandred=Roedran theory came from hints given by Robert Jordan, that Rand wouldn't have access to.

Brandon Sanderson

Ah, but Rand would have a whole LOT of information in-world that we don't have. Spy reports, rumors, his knowledge of how the Forsaken like to work. If you remove the places where one of the Forsaken had already set up shop, remove the monarchs that Rand has already met and interacted with, and look for a place that has been suspiciously quiet, you end up with very few options.

poesian

One of which just happens to be as we now know Shara.

NruJaC

It's funny, it was an RJ quote that pushed people away from that particular theory. It turned out to be an extremely Aes Sedai answer.

poesian

I would love to read that quote.

And of course RJ would give Aes Sedai answers. That makes a lot of sense.

NruJaC

I'll try to find it, but he basically said that we'd never see Shara "on-screen".

poesian

Oh right! Yeah. That's a very Aes Sedai answer. Heh. 'You'll never see their country, but they'll see ours!'

a memory of light

,

demandred

,

roedran

,

balefire

,

the pattern

,

dark one

,

moridin

,

rand

Brandon, I'm excited for your AMA. Maybe if you see it you could answer this for me?

First off, thanks for A Memory of Light. Probably my favorite fantasy book to-date! (Way of Kings is competing though) My question is why did RJ have you spend SO much time to build up Egwene as a character (Amyrlin, Dreamwalker, inventor of weaves, super awesome character, etc) just to kill her off in the end? Was this RJ's decision or someone else's? She's the only character I am so angry about dying. It's been a few months and I'm still distraught over her death. Please tell me why?!

It is never my intention to just "kill off" a character for shock value, and I can assume that RJ felt the same way, from what I've read and studied. That said, the answer to your question comes down to believing that almost every character sees themselves as the hero of their own story. Even if you know they are eventually going to die, you usually don't want to write it that way. (The exception is for tragic characters, where the foreshadowing of their impending demise is a natural consequence of their bad choices.)

In the case of a protagonist being lost, the proper course (in my eyes) is to build them up in exactly the same way that you would build up everyone else. Maybe even more. You must make them LIVE before they can die.

Getting back to what I said at the start, I never "kill off" characters. I allow characters to take the risks they demand, and even sacrifice themselves if they demand, for the good of the goals they want to achieve. Again, I can only assume RJ had a similar philosophy from what I've read.

I haven't answered yet who decided that the particularly character you mention should die—because, in the end, it was the character's choice, and not ours. My job is not to coddle them, but to make certain their death is a good one. (And if I failed in that regard, I apologize.)

Shillster

Sigh. Well, while that wasn't quite the answer I was searching for, I think it's the answer I needed. Thank you for starting my heart on the road to recovery.

Yes, this death was a good one. Thank you for doing your job in this regard the right way. You'll always get an upvote from me.

a memory of light

,

rj's notes

,

egwene

Just wanted to say, I love the way you interact with the community. I have only started reading your books in the past year or so (and I've read them all already), and I love your writing style.

When it comes to Wheel of Time, I think you nailed it, Jordan's books got a bit muddy and slow towards the end, but as soon as I get to your 3 it becomes exciting and I honestly think your wrote it better than Robert could have.

I doubt I deserve that particular compliment, but thank you for the kind words.

brandon on writing wot

Hey Brandon! I'm the redheaded dude who was helping at the last two Midnight Release parties, and I am actually at BYU right now. I have two questions:

I know you've said you can't answer these directly, so, rather than give the "official" answer, I was wondering if you could give us your "fan theory" on the answer, as if you weren't the writer.

What do you think about Mat, Rand, and Perrin keeping certain "abilities"? I know you've said that they may or may not still be ta'veren, and Perrin thinks they aren't, but can Perrin still talk to wolves? Is Mat still lucky? Does Mat still have his memories?

In your opinion, who do you think Nakomi was? Do you like the "Nakomi is the avatar of the Creator theory"? Do you think of her as the third member of the Christian godhead?

Finally, Harriet was quoted as saying that she thinks Rand's special ability at the end was a "new magic"? Do you agree? Or do you think it is something else?

Thanks for being awesome!

1. Perrin can still talk to wolves. That is certain. Also, Mat keeps his memories. These two are official, not theories on my part. What I can't give official on is the ta'veren-ness of the guys. I don't think RJ ever even says in the notes. Me? I think they aren't.

2. I'm too close to this one. I can't say, unfortunately. I can answer as a fan for things I don't know because it's not in the notes, or for things I could theorize about before I came onto the project. For things I learned about while working, I don't have a "fan" perspective, only a writer perspective. Sorry.

3. Harriet is more likely to be right than I am, but I don't believe it is a new magic. I think it is a result of Rand touching the Pattern directly.

iwasazombie

Awesome! So, I'm still unsure about Mat's luck. Would you say that's part of his "ta'veren-ness?"

Thanks for the great answers. I'm more at peace now with some of the previous answers you've given.

Brandon Sanderson

My gut tells me Mat still has his luck, but not to the extent he once had. But I have no foundation for this in the notes.

brandon on writing wot

,

rj's notes

,

rand

,

mat

,

perrin

,

wolves

,

wolfbrothers

,

ta'veren

,

mat's luck

,

the last scene

,

nakomi

,

creator

I know this post is 12 hours old but I really hope you get a chance to answer my question. You did a fine job finishing the series, Brandon. This is coming from a 17 year fan.

RJ once mentioned that, during previous iterations of the Wheel, the Dragon turned (or was turned, I can't recall) to the Shadow. Now, it's somewhat apparent that the Dragon, as a stabilising force on the Pattern, is more than a simple mortal who can channel, which makes me wonder what would happen to a Dragon/Creator avatar if its essence became that of the Shadow. I imagine it would be something akin to the Dark One's evil, but still opposite in nature.

So is Mordeth/Ordeith/Fain the roaming essence of a Dragon who never had his Dragonmount Moment?

That's a very interesting theory about Fain. I don't believe that the books specifically rule it out. However, I don't have any special information that can confirm it for you. (Sorry.)

shrevid

Thank you!

fain

I want to echo comments about how wonderful of a job you did juggling this epic and bringing it to a satisfying conclusion.

I do have one question: Was the inclusion of Dannil always planned in your mind or did your re-read of WoT and seeing Jordan's notes on the potential main fourth character revive him? I have to say, seeing him—after knowing his importance from your discussion during the re-read—was one of the dozen moments that made me tear up.

My upping (by just a slight amount) of this character's place in the last few books came exactly because of the reasons you mentioned. It was not planned until I had conversations with Harriet about the character, and I came to have a specific affection for him because of them.

dannil

,

rj's notes

,

brandon on writing wot

If full Dragon had the same amount of power as pre-Dragon with the access key, how much power was full Dragon holding with his power multiplied? Or orders of magnitude larger? Such as, how many people who can hold the power equal him, or what could he do with all of it?

One of the realizations that Rand came to in the books was that brute, raw power was of far lesser importance than he'd once imagined. Comparing his power post and pre access key is a moot point, as it wasn't power he was seeking. It was a method to accomplish what he needed to accomplish. But, to give you something more of an answer to the question you're actually asking, Rand post-epiphany is not more powerful than Rand with the access key. However, he was far more efficient, as he gained hundreds of years of experience with the use of weaves.

Xx255q

Impressive using the sword with the power and skill like that.... He could do anything.

rand

,

channeling

,

channeler strength

,

choedan kal

I can't wait! I had a couple questions I posted asking for another AMA from you a couple months back. I'll reword them here to be more concise, if you feel up to answering.

My questions are more Mistborn related than WOT, so wouldn't be entirely appropriate to the topic of your planned AMA. I got into Mistborn after reading The Gathering Storm—it's now my favorite series, above even WOT. Anyway, my point is this: you gained a number of fans through the Wheel of Time.

So first: Do you feel like your work on WOT has overshadowed your other works at all?

Second: Any plans you can share for the future of the Mistborn series?

And third: Looking back, how was the ride? Were there moments where you despaired of finishing it, or was it a constant fanboy-rush?

First: It probably has right now. I have no problem with that. Being able to work on the Wheel of Time was a literal dream come true for me. If, at the end of my career, the thing I'm remembered for most is being involved with something I love, then I'll be happy I'm being remembered at all. That said, I hope to create some things in my own life that are worth remembering.

I don't know if I can or should strive for the height of popularity the Wheel of Time reached. But I never did get into this for popularity. I did it, and do it, to tell the stories I like telling—and whether one overshadows another isn't a very big deal to me.

2) I do want to get to the modern day trilogy eventually, but more and more, I've been itching to do a few southern continent books. They have a cool way of interacting with the magic.

3) In working on any book, there are many moments of beating your head against the wall. There were a particularly large number of those working on these books—they were far more difficult to do than my own work. The ride was a great one, but was not without its moments of frustration as things weren't clicking, or I missed something important and had to rewrite to get it in, or a character just wouldn't come out right.

depricatedzero

Wow, thank you for the thoughtful reply. I had the pleasure of meeting you at a Towers of Midnight signing, and one thing I keep thinking about it is how truly happy you appeared being there. Every other author I've met seemed to take signings as a chore, and they always felt rushed, dispassionate even. Talking to you, I got the feeling you really enjoyed being there and getting to be a part of the series. Like a fan living his dream. I thought that was amazing.

As my questions go, I like trying to stir thought. It struck me that that's a situation I couldn't even conceive of being in, but which must have some impact and consideration. I already hold a deep respect for you, and that just vindicates it.

As Mistborn goes, again it's my Favorite series. Not just of yours, capital F. You've replaced Orson Scott Card as my favorite author with it. That's a massive tease haha, I would love to read either one. Can you say more about the way they interact with the magic on the southern continent?

And on point 3: That sounds like my job - programming. Haha. I can entirely understand that.

Thanks for answering!

brandon on writing wot

If you're still hanging around, there's something that's been nagging at me since I read A Memory of Light.

SPOILER
Lan. Why is it that Lan ended up surviving? Was this your decision, or RJ/Harriet's? Lan has pretty clearly been building towards dying to the Shadow the entire series. Was it just too obvious of a move? That being said, it was one of my happiest moments when he stood back up. Kinda nice to see Lan stay an unstoppable juggernaut.

Lan's survival was mandated by RJ. It was something we could have changed, in that he didn't say directly "don't kill him", but some of his notes talk of what happens after the Last Battle, and those involve Lan. It is clear to me that he wanted Lan to live. I took comments like this as mandates unless there were very good reasons to do otherwise.

Note that I have not weighed in on whether Lan died or not. The position some fans have theorized (that he died, and Rand changed the Pattern) is defensible. Some asked me about it on tour. I haven't said whether it is the case or not.

And, because I have more leeway with such things now, here are some nice quotes for you directly from RJ's notes regarding what happens to Lan and the Borderlands following the Last Battle.

"Malkier might have a lot of uniting to do with the western end of the Borderlands under Lan, who will find himself made king out there . . ."

"The Blight recedes to some extent, I'm not sure how far, it recedes a good bit, though. And they can reclaim some, I'm not sure they can reclaim all of Malkier at this point, but the Blight has visibly retreated so they can go down there and check on the towers on the Blight Border. And they are miles inside the Borderland now, instead of being right on the Border, towers sitting right on the edge of the Blight. They're not on the Blight anymore."

So, talk that the Blight is completely gone isn't true, though it does retreat. (And there are other pockets of land in the north where it is not present.)

Fencinator

Thanks! I would love to say that I responded like a normal 20-year old would and was mildly happy about getting this extra information. However, instead, I squealed in glee. So thank you for bringing me squeal amounts of joy, Mr. Sanderson.

brandon on writing wot

,

rj's notes

,

lan

,

the blight

,

malkier

Why, of all of the people in the internet, do you have 'Novice Writer' as your flair? I mean, I understand that you don't have the ungodly library of titles to your name that someone like David Weber or Piers Anthony does, but I think once you write more than 1 best seller you have to at least upgrade that to 'Professionla Writer' or at least 'Journeyman Wordsmith' or something!

Also, I must give you many many many thanks for the way you handled completed the Wheel of Time series. I admit to being overcome with trepidation when I heard that you were going to be completing the series because while I really really really liked the Mistborn novels, then didn't seem quite in line with the feel of Jordan's universe. I was worried. But you handled the completion of a series that has been with me since middle school incredibly well and brought everything to a satisfactory conclusion in some an artful manner that it was never at any time obvious that Jordan himself wasn't penning every word.

I'm looking forward to more of your works in the future now more than ever.

See elsewhere in the thread why I chose that flair, but I've been persuaded that at this point, "novice writer" was strange enough on me to be out of place. So I've gone ahead and changed it.

Working on the Wheel of Time was one of the great pleasures of my life. Thanks for the kind words.

brandon on writing wot

Brandon has written 18 books in the last 8 years.

Robot jokes aside, there are three possible explanations for this:

- Brandon writes just over two books every year for 8 years. That's not impossible, but given the size of the work in question it's very difficult.

- Brandon had already written lots of these books in draft form prior to the publication of Elantris/Mistborn. These currently published titles were written in that time period. (He alludes to this in his writing of The Way of Kings).

- (Tin foil hat time!) Brandon isn't just one person, but several people working under the Sanderson name with him having the final say/edit. This one is entirely unsubstantiated and given that it's 18 books and not 30 I'm not inclined to believe it.

You're pretty close on several of these points. I generally write two books a year—a big one and a small one. This is a habit I fell into during my early, unpublished years. I'd do one longer epic fantasy and one shorter "breather" novel to try something new or to keep myself fresh.

Off the cuff, here's how I think it breaks down. (Elantris was finished long before, in 2000.) There's one year of three shorter books instead of an epic. (That was the year I tried to write a book called the Liar of Partinel, and it just didn't work. Wrote The Rithmatist instead. This is also the year I got called and asked to work on the Wheel of Time.) Also, note that the year of Towers of Midnight and The Way of Kings just about killed me, and is the busiest I've ever been.

A Memory of Light—last book of the Wheel of Time—took by far the longest of these all, particularly with the revision demands during 2012 (which is why I had no epic fantasy that year, only the two novellas.)

2002: The Way of Kings (early draft)
2003: Mistborn
2004: Mistborn 2, Alcatraz 1
2005: Mistborn 3, Alcatraz 2
2006: Warbreaker, Alcatraz 3
2007: Steelheart, The Rithmatist, Alcatraz 4 (Alcatraz was a 4-book contract.)
2008: The Gathering Storm, Part of Towers of Midnight
2009: Towers of Midnight, The Way of Kings (New draft from scratch.)
2010: Alloy of Law, half of A Memory of Light
2011: Half of A Memory of Light
2012: Legion, Emperor's Soul,
2013: Words of Radiance, Steelheart 2 (hopefully)

anotherface

Thank you for taking the time to address some of my points!

brandon on writing

,

brandon on writing wot

Was anyone else a little disappointed with the way to Ogier showed up for the Last Battle? Kinda just like "Oh yeah, we are here too." Then that was it. The scenes in which we see Ogier fighting are awesome, but I felt their introduction to the Last Battle was a little lacking. Anyone else?

The way they show up is actually the result of a sequence being cut. Originally, Perrin led an expedition into the Ways to try and close the Waygate in Caemlyn from behind. During this, the Ogier arrived, full of song, to drive off the Black Wind. Unfortunately, this sequence had logistical problems with the rest of the book, and had to be deleted entirely. The biggest casualty of this cut was the Ogier introduction, which didn't work nearly as well in the new sequence as it once had.

kaybeesee

Thanks so much for adding your insight.

Ever thought about publishing a deleted scenes book? If movies can do it, why not books?

Brandon Sanderson

Afraid it isn't my call. You'd have to convince Harriet. That said, we are releasing some deleted scenes in the Unfettered Anthology to help with a friend's medical bills. (They aren't the Perrin ones, though.)

Andre_Gigante

Thank you for being a redditor as well as an awesome author.

Pilkunussija

Did the same thing happen with Mashadar?

Brandon Sanderson

No, no deleted scenes here. I did Mashadar the way I did because of the small amount of information in the notes about it or Fain, and I felt that going with what little I did have was better than exploring widely without knowing where RJ wanted to go. In some other cases, I did extrapolate when we didn't have much from RJ, but here it felt better to go with the "less is more" idea.

There was a big danger in these books in me taking over too much and driving the books far from RJ's original vision. I had to pick and choose carefully which parts I extrapolated, and I did it based more on my own instincts and talents than anything else. For example, I felt very comfortable with Perrin as a character—he'd always been my favorite, and I felt like I knew him very well and could write him strongly. So, in Towers of Midnight where we had very little direction on what to do with Perrin, I felt that the right move was to expand his part and develop a sequence on my own.

However, for Mat in the Tower of Ghenjei, RJ had been planning this sequence for years and years. He wrote or outlined a good portion of it before he died. It was a small sequence, however, only a couple of chapters worth. I realized fans would be expecting more from this sequence, but my instincts said that it would be wrong to develop it into something much larger. That would not only go against RJ's wishes, but would risk messing things up royally. RJ had laid careful foreshadowing and groundwork for the scenes, and had a specific vision for this sequence. Perhaps if he'd lived, he would have expanded it in additional directions, but it would have been the wrong place for me to add.

Fain through my three books feels very similar to me. It wasn't as strict here as it was with the Mat/Ghenjei sequence—I COULD have expanded, and perhaps I would have, given more time. However, at the same time, there is an argument to be had that RJ wanted Fain to have a lesser-than-expected place in the Last Battle, and expanding him would undermine this.

devoidz

I wish the Ways had been touched on. They were very interesting, as well as the portal stones. Was there any more info, or back story, on the Black Wind that hasn't been shared? Thanks for responding to us, by the way. I loved the last three books, you did an awesome job on them. I am getting ready to start going through some of your own stories.

Brandon Sanderson

There is some, but not as much as I think fans hope. In regards to something else mentioned on this thread—I believe that RJ was planning to do the Ogier/Seanchan Ogier relationship exploration in the Outriggers.

1anthony90

What logistical problems were there?

simps984

IIRC in some of Brandon's other posts on Reddit, he indicated that the deleted scenes were casualties of keeping the book reasonable in length. Additionally, Harriet or the publisher preferred that the storyline in A Memory of Light should be directly approaching the Last Battle, and this sequence got a little too far away from that.

Brandon Sanderson

There were a number. The biggest one was that the sequence wasn't needed. As you can judge from the final book, the Waygate didn't NEED to be closed. The structure of the battle worked just fine without it, as the plan was always to draw the Shadow's armies upward and through the woods. By the time the big fights here played out, it didn't matter terribly much if the Trollocs were being resupplied from behind.

Beyond that, the weight of this heavy Perrin sequence in the early middle of the book was distracting, keeping attention away from Rand and from the push toward the rest of the Last Battle. (this is what simps984 mentioned in his reply, which is correct.) The sequence was awesome on its own, but distracting in conjunction with the rest of the novel.

I would still have liked to have found a way to make it work, but I feel that way about every scene I end up deleting from the book. The truth is that aside from the Ogier arrival, nothing big was lost by cutting this ten thousand words—and a whole lot was gained.

brandon on writing wot

,

rj's notes

,

ogier

,

seanchan

,

outriggers

,

tarmon gai'don

,

perrin

,

fain

,

mashadar

,

the ways

,

waygates

,

a memory of light

Just finished the chapter "Older, More Weathered". Funniest chapter so far IMO, what are your most humorous scenes?

woodchuck_vomit

New Spring—Moiraine gets thrown into a pond.

Eye of the World—Min takes Rand aside when he re-enters the inn to tell him about Nynaeve, Thom immediately assumes they're gonna make out, Min says "Go juggle something."

The Great Hunt—Egwene smuggling Rand into the women's quarters to hide from the Amyrlin.

The Dragon Reborn—Moiraine catches some fish.

The Shadow Rising—Elayne gets drunk; Aviendha describes Elayne to Rand in detail.

The Fires of Heaven—The Aes Sedai in Salidar make Siuan and Leane go over every prank they played in the White Tower as novices and Accepted to prove they're really them; "It happened on the other side of the world and the Maidens still knew!"

Lord of Chaos—Aiel humor; Mat before he realizes Egwene really is the Amyrlin.

A Crown of Swords—Mat and Birgitte get drunk, Elayne gets bond-drunk; Min likes it rough.

The Path of Daggers—Aviendha describes some of her night with Rand to Elayne; Elayne and that mysterious red rod ter'angreal; the Maidens collect some toh from Rand.

Winter's Heart—Aviendha, Min, and Birgitte all feeling it in their heads.

Crossroads of Twilight—"She would bond him as her Warder one day, somehow, and she would marry him, and make love to him until he cried for mercy!" Whoa there Egwene.

Knife of Dreams—Tuon allows Mat to kiss her. "Do I remind you of your sister? Or perhaps your mother?"

The Gathering Storm—"Women are like goats..."

Towers of Midnight—"Your royal bloody pain in my back..."

A Memory of Light—Aviendha suggests that the most honorable way to win would be to take the Dark One gai'shain.

A note for those curious, but a spoiler for the ending. Regarding the AMOL one, have you noticed yet that Rand, to an extent, did this very thing?

Mithre

Is it just how he imprisoned the Dark One without killing him? Or did I miss something?

Brandon Sanderson

The usual way to take a person gai'shain is to touch them while they are holding a weapon. Rand seized and held the Dark One in his hand, then chose not to kill him, instead taking him prisoner.

a memory of light

,

tarmon gai'don

,

dark one

,

rand

,

aiel