Tor is one of the biggest names in fantasy publishing. One of the biggest series they published was Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, an epic story about a country boy named Rand al’Thor who learns he may be the reincarnation of an ancient messiah destined to either save or destroy the world. The series was finished by author Brandon Sanderson after Jordan passed in 2007.
With Amazon adapting the series as a new fantasy TV show, there’s renewed interest in Jordan’s story, which leads us to an interesting rumor…According to The Wheel of Time YouTube channel WoT Up! (great name), managers at Tor have been asking writers whether they’d be interested in writing prequel stories set in Jordan’s world, or to pitch ideas for what they’d do in this universe if given the chance.
This comes from an unnamed source, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt. And even if this is true, it sounds like all Tor is doing is exploring the idea of writing The Wheel of Time prequels, not committing to anything. But it’s still interesting food for thought.
Is Tor exploring the possibility of a new The Wheel of Time prequel book?
According to LRM Online, Brandon Sanderson was offered the chance to write sequels to The Wheel of Time after the final book in the original series, A Memory of Light, was published in 2013. But he refused, saying that Jordan hadn’t left enough notes to form the foundation of a sequel.
However, Jordan did leave a lot of notes about the history of his fantasy universe, so a prequel might be more appealing. That said, Jordan’s widow Harriet McDougal (who was also one of the founders of Tor) has long been against writing more books set in The Wheel of Time universe. But with the iron hot thanks to the Amazon show, perhaps her thinking has changed?
Again, it sounds like early days on this idea, if it’s happening at all, so we’ll keep our ears open. In the meantime, the second season of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time TV show comes out this year.
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