Tor Books announced today that novelist Brandon Sanderson has been chosen to finish the final novel in Robert Jordan’s best selling Wheel of Time fantasy series. Robert Jordan died September 16th after a battle with the rare blood disease amyloidosis.

The new novel, A Memory of Light, will be the twelfth and final book in the fantasy series which has sold over 14 million copies in North America and over 30 million copies worldwide. The last four books in the series were all #1 New York Times bestsellers, and for over a decade fans have been awaiting the final novel that would bring the epic story to its conclusion.

Harriet Popham Rigney, Jordan’s wife and editor, said of her decision to have Sanderson complete the last book in The Wheel of Time series: “I have chosen Brandon Sanderson to complete Robert Jordan’s great work, and I am absolutely delighted that he accepted. I will of course be editing this book as I have all of the other books of The Wheel of Time.”

President and Publisher of Tor Books, Tom Doherty, also expressed his happiness with Harriet’s decision, saying: “I am delighted that Harriet has chosen Brandon to complete Robert Jordan’s magnificent and timeless epic.”

Like Jordan, Sanderson was an avid reader and writer from an early age. His debut novel was Elantris and he has since gone on to author four other fantasy novels.

Jordan had known the ending of the series for a long time and, according to a blog posting by his cousin, Wilson W. Grooms, Jr., had a few months ago revealed secret details about the end of the series to close members of his family which he had never discussed before.

Delivery of the manuscript is scheduled for December 2008, with a planned publication in Fall 2009.

Posted December 10, 2007