The long awaited 12th, and final, installment in the Wheel of Time series is on its way. There was, as you may know a “small” roadblock on the path to its publication. I had previously heard rumors that Steven Brust, he of Jhereg fame, would be finishing up the final pieces of Rand and company’s adventures…that just goes to show how much you can trust bookstore gossip.

It was announced yesterday that Brandon Sanderson will be picking up where RJ left off.

I know what you’re thinking, “who?”

I’m not even sure who this guy is and I read fantasy AND I’ve worked in a bookstore for six years…

Apparently he has a blog, which I will be frequenting often over the next two years so that I can adequately judge and ridicule him in his effort to step into some very formidable shoes. Of course, his blog looks much better than this one…but does he have sporadically uploaded webcomics of middling achievement…I THINK NOT!

So Dragonmount says that the proposed time of publication is now 2009. Gives me plenty of time to actually read Sanderson’s books so as to judge him even more harshly.

And I don’t want anyone to think that my instant dislike of Brandon Sanderson is actually fueled by jealousy, oh no! Look, I could have finished the Wheel of Time series, but I turned it down…seriously, I told them that I just didn’t think it was the right “venture” for me at this time in my career. So what do they do? Go out and get a writer who has actually published something…so predictable.