Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.

The final volume of The Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor, his wife, Harriet McDougal, to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will cover the outline left by Robert Jordan, chronicling Tarmon Gai’don and Rand al’Thor’s final confrontation with the Dark One. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of The Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

For more information, please see the A Memory of Light page.

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.

This penultimate novel of Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, the second of three based on materials he left behind when he died in 2007, brings dramatic and compelling developments to many threads in the Pattern. The end draws near.

The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unraveling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight.

The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age.

Perrin Aybara is now hunted by specters from his past: Whitecloaks, a slayer of wolves, and the responsibilities of leadership. All the while, an unseen foe is slowly pulling a noose tight around his neck. To prevail, he must seek answers in the wolf dream and find a way, at long last, to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever.

Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The creatures beyond the stone gateways, the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn, have confused him, taunted him, and left him hanged, his memory stuffed with bits and pieces of other men’s lives. He had hoped that his last confrontation with them would be the end of it, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. The time is coming when he will again have to dance with the Snakes and the Foxes, playing a game that cannot be won. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost.

Dovie’andi se tovya sagain. It’s time to toss the dice

In September of 2007, Robert Jordan—master of the epic fantasy genre—passed away. Like many long-time fans of the Wheel of Time books, Brandon had been eagerly awaiting the final installment of the series. When he heard of Mr. Jordan’s passing, Brandon wrote this blog post, talking about what Mr. Jordan’s writing had meant to him.

A month or so later, Brandon was surprised to receive a call from Harriet, Robert Jordan’s wife and editor. He did not know who brought him to her attention (he later learned that it was Rigney family friend Elise Mattheson), but Harriet was curious to know if he’d be interested in writing the final book of the Wheel of Time series.

Brandon was astounded and humbled by the possibility. He’d been reading the Wheel of Time books since the release of EYE OF THE WORLD nearly twenty years before. To make a long story short, he agreed eagerly, and was commissioned to take Mr. Jordan’s notes, materials, outline, and written sections from Book Twelve, organize them, then fill in the many holes to make a complete novel.

As Brandon worked on writing the book, it eventually became clear that there was too much material to satisfyingly squeeze into just one volume, and everyone involved decided it would have to be split into three books. For more on this decision, please read Brandon’s explanation. The first of the three volumes, The Gathering Storm, was released October 27, 2009, with the final two volumes following in 2010 and 2013.

Today, I have the opportunity to share with you something extra special. As some of you know, during the revision process of A Memory of Light, two lengthy sections ended up on the cutting room floor. The first, which we titled River of Souls, was included in the first Unfettered Anthology. The second, I assumed, would never see the light of day.

However, Grim Oak press (and Shawn Speakman, who runs it) has continued the Unfettered anthologies—the income of which is used to help pay medical fees for authors and artists in need. I thought the arrival of the third anthology would be a great chance to use this other deleted scene. (Which involves Perrin traveling into the Ways.) Harriet has graciously agreed to let it be published, so I’m thrilled to be able to announce its inclusion in the anthology.

I’ve long been fond of this sequence, and it was quite difficult to cut from the book. (In the anthology itself, I’ll explain why we eventually decided that the sequence needed to go.) I do have to warn you that-unlike River of Souls, which we consider canon to events in the Wheel of Time—this as-of-yet untitled sequence is NOT canon. You’ll want to read it in the same way you’d watch an unfinished, alternate film scene that ended up not being used.

Still, I think it’s an exciting and interesting chunk of writing. It’s quite big, as long as a novella, and it addresses one of the big unanswered questions we left hanging at the end of the Wheel of Time. So I think you’re in for a treat.

Look for Unfettered Three March 19th, 2019.

Brandon