Official Release Date for A Memory of Light, the final Wheel of Time book

Tor has announced an official release date for A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the final book in The Wheel of Time - it'll be on January 8, 2013. The news release is quoted below:

The first novel in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time®, The Eye of the World, was released on January 15, 1990. Now more than twenty years later, Tor Books is thrilled to announce the official publication date for the final novel in the series.

A Memory of Light will release on January 8, 2013, in the final month of the Year of the Dragon.

A Memory of Light is one of the most important titles that Tor will ever publish. Many of the principal players have been involved with the series since its inception, including Publisher Tom Doherty and Editor Harriet McDougal, who worked with Robert Jordan on all of his books, and who is working with Brandon Sanderson, the writer finishing the series from Robert Jordan’s outline and his notes. This is a landmark publication not just for Tor but for millions of fans of the late Robert Jordan, who eagerly await the conclusion to his epic tale. Everyone involved with the project is committed to making this an ending to remember.

Over the next few seasons, Tor will continue to release new Wheel of Time material, including trade paperback editions of the early novels with new art, new graphic novel editions of the The Eye of the World comics, and other material related to A Memory of Light as we get closer to publication date.

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of The Wheel of Time and it is essentially due to my love of the series that led me to starting this blog a bit over 6 years ago. So, it's no surprise that I am very excited about this book. Of course I'll also be sad to see a series that has had such an impact on me come to a close.

So, what are your thoughts? I see some of the early reactions to the news release are not positive at all due to the later-than-expected release date.

For the Search Engines – The Black Prism by Brent Weeks Release Date

I’m not (quite) the stats junkie that so many bloggers can be, but I do follow general numbers and what topics and such are bringing readers to the blog. I can’t ignore that one of the most frequent search terms/phrases is a query about the release date for forthcoming The Black Prism by Brent Weeks (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound).

So, to actually give provide an answer for those who want to know – the Orbit Spring/Summer catalog lists the release date for The Black Prism as August 10th, 2010 (EDIT: Brent weeks informed me on April 13th, that the end of August is more likely). There is a summary out there on the web, but I’ve seen via Brent’s Twitter account that he’s not happy with it and it’s very preliminary, so I haven’t posted it here (note: I think that the cover art isn't final yet either).

Reaper’s Gale Release Date

Ok, so I’m going to bow to reader demand here – every day I get quite a few search hits looking for the release of Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson. So, here are the dates you need to know.

• May 7, 2007 in the UK – link to Amazon.uk
• June 26, 2007 in Canada – link to Amazon.ca
  

No word (that I know of) for a US release (or other languages) – I would suspect it’ll be sometime in 2008 or early 2009.

Now wait, another very common search is for the release of Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian Cameron Esslemont. To my knowledge, there is no firm date on this one yet, but it is slated for some time in 2008. However, Night of Knives is about to have a wide release:

• June 7, 2007 in the UK – link to Amazon.uk
• July 24, 2007 in the US – link to Amazon.com
• July 24, 2007 in Canada – link to Amazon.ca

Erikson and Esslemont Release Dates!

Good news about release dates from Transworld via Pat over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

At the moment we’re due to publish NIGHT OF KNIVES and RETURN OF THE CRIMSON GUARD in May 2007 following the publication of Steven Erikson’s REAPER’S GALE (Malazan Book of the Fallen 7) in March.

I can hardly wait.

On my own reading progress - well it's been busy. I should finish up The Once and Future King later this week. I haven't decided what to read next, but it will probably be something set in the UK. In the fall I'm traveling to England/Scotland/Wales and in preparation of that trip, I'm reading a bunch of books set over there - mostly with a SF slant.