[Falco]

Ohh man...is Harriet going to seriously write this?

Fans. Screwed. Again.

[Werthead]

Sigh. Only if Jordan can't finish it himself. And at the moment it looks about 90% probable that Jordan will be able to finish it himself (even if he has to dictate or something rather than write himself).

And I think after 17 years, 9,700 pages and 3.3 million words, not having a conclusion would be far more of a case of 'screwing the fans'.

Ah, found the relevant quote on Harriet's involvement in the series to date:

Quote

Harriet has been the editor from the beginning with these books, but she has never been a co-writer is any sense or I would have credited it.

From his blog entry for 1 May 2006.

[Varunwe]

If Jordan dies, he's the worst screwed of all.

I'm not too keen about another author, or Harriet, finishing the story in the event of Jordan's death, but it's better than nothing.

[SiriusL]

I didn't get from the article that Harriet would take over the story. He said he's leaving it up to Harriet (his editor) and Tom Doherty (his publisher), which is quite different from committing Harriet as the contingency.

I think the appeal of Harriet isn't her writing skills, of which I'm no judge, but her intimate knowledge of the story. Who else could possibly understand the mood, characterizations, and overall arc of the story better than his wife and editor?

That said, whoever might take over in the event that he's unable to finish is going to make the story feel different. There's simply no way anyone can write it seamlessly. There is some recent good news from Jordan. It looks as though his treatment is successful so far.

[amphibian]

SiriusL;147426 said:

I think the appeal of Harriet isn't her writing skills, of which I'm no judge, but her intimate knowledge of the story. Who else could possibly understand the mood, characterizations, and overall arc of the story better than his wife and editor?

A rhesus monkey with an incapacitating hangover banging away at non-QWERTY typewriter keys could do a better impression of female group politics and turn out finely tuned details of Perrin's super-slo-mo rescue attempt better than either Jordan at this point.

[SiriusL]

amphibian;147440 said:

A rhesus monkey with an incapacitating hangover banging away at non-QWERTY typewriter keys could do a better impression of female group politics and turn out finely tuned details of Perrin's super-slo-mo rescue attempt better than either Jordan at this point.

So what are you trying to say?

[Werthead]

Jordan seems to be making medical history if he's really going to remission. This disease is absolutely deadly with a 100% mortality rate. Treatment delays the inevitable, possibly by many years, but it's not a cure. If this news is accurate, than not only will Jordan complete WoT, but he will have many years beyond that as well. Impressive!

[Terez]

More recent news shows that RJ's LLC numbers have actually dropped into the normal range. So, it's looking even better for him. Which is good, because I agree that it would totally suck to have anyone else finish the series. I'd rather have TOR publish his notes, personally, if he wasn't able to finish it.

I never did get the complaints about books 8-10 in WoT, or whatever books that people don't like. I liked every book in WoT.

[spiralx]

Terez;152889 said:

More recent news shows that RJ's LLC numbers have actually dropped into the normal range. So, it's looking even better for him. Which is good, because I agree that it would totally suck to have anyone else finish the series. I'd rather have TOR publish his notes, personally, if he wasn't able to finish it.

I never did get the complaints about books 8-10 in WoT, or whatever books that people don't like. I liked every book in WoT.

Same here as well. The fact is that the later books seem "slower" because the characters are so split up rather than all in one or two places. But I happen to like all the intrigue, the fore-shadowing and the calm before the storm...

[Abyss]

re: "Harriet has been the editor from the beginning with these books, but she has never been a co-writer is any sense or I would have credited it."

this is equal parts hearsay and conjencture on my part, but the way my sources tell it (yes, i have 'sources' - i am SO cool ) the downturn on the books overlaps quite nicely with the point in time where she added 'sheboing-buddy' to 'editor'.

- Abyss, talk about taking your work to bed with you.

[flea]

Terez;152889 said:

I never did get the complaints about books 8-10 in WoT, or whatever books that people don't like. I liked every book in WoT.

The problems with the books are the lack of satisfying story arcs and, more importantly, the lack of character growth. The books remind me of other series that are licensed to other writers, with the result that all the pat phrases of characters keep popping up (e.g., the girl who keeps twisting her hair braid, the guy who keeps hearing dice).

It's also fine that you like them.

[ChrisW]

this is equal parts hearsay and conjencture on my part, but the way my sources tell it (yes, i have 'sources' - i am SO cool ) the downturn on the books overlaps quite nicely with the point in time where she added 'sheboing-buddy' to 'editor'.

I'm pretty sure they were married before RJ started WoT.

[spiralx]

flea;164706 said:

The problems with the books are the lack of satisfying story arcs and, more importantly, the lack of character growth. The books remind me of other series that are licensed to other writers, with the result that all the pat phrases of characters keep popping up (e.g., the girl who keeps twisting her hair braid, the guy who keeps hearing dice).

It's also fine that you like them.

I don't know, Mat and Elayne certainly have growth during that period IMO, even Nynaeve seemed to wind down a bit.

Sadly offset with Perrin's ongoing dreary chase, which even I admit was dull as hell 90% of the time

And ChrisW - I'd always got that impression as well!

[MecnunK]

Any further news on RJ's health?

[Sir Thursday]

I haven't heard anything since the news that he had made a remarkable recovery a while back...no news is good news!

Sir Thursday

[paladin]

i read through book 9 and was happy with book 9... book 9 was fast and had lots of resolution(to me, and compared to the other books). when i heard that 10 was all build up again, i quit reading it. that said, grats on rj for getting healthier.. even if he did cripple the series with whatever decisions he made, i cant wish cancer or whatever on someone for it.

[Werthead]

Sir Thursday;175657 said:

I haven't heard anything since the news that he had made a remarkable recovery a while back...no news is good news!

Sir Thursday

Check out www.dragonmount.com for his occasional blog entries (or if he's too unwell, his cousin updates for him). His current position is unchanged, he's okay and still ticking along on various meds. Work on A Memory of Light continues, with publication still expected in early 2009.