A couple of weeks back, fantasy author Brandon Sanderson gave a lengthy interview all about his impressive career. Among many other things, he touched on being chosen to finish writing The Wheel of Time series after original author Robert Jordan passed in 2007. Sanderson would go on to write the final three books in The Wheel of Time, which is in the process of getting adapted for TV by Prime Video; the third season airs next month!
Anyway, during that interview, Sanderson mentioned something we hadn't heard before: that before he was picked to finish The Wheel of Time, people were talking about asking A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin to do the job! Obviously that didn't happen, but it's wild to imagine a world where it might have.
Today, I learned that not only did Sanderson read our article on the topic (thanks to Los Siete Reinos for the tip-off), but that he responded on Reddit, providing more details about what happened back when he was chosen to finish The Wheel of Time in the process.
George R.R. Martin would have been "a fantastic choice" to finish The Wheel of Time "in some regards"
First of all, Sanderson takes issue with us saying that Martin was "nearly" chosen to finish The Wheel of Time books, and fair enough; while Martin's name was brought up a lot, him stepping in was always unlikely. "[P]eople kept mentioning George because he and RJ were friends and liked each other's work," Sanderson wrote. "By 2007, George was the leading name in fantasy. It's a very natural fit, and I believe if he'd had time, he'd have done an excellent job. People who assume all of George's writing is like ASoIaF haven't read enough of his short fiction--he has a great deal of range, and interestingly for Wheel of Time, George is a renowned editor as well as writer."
"So, he'd have been a fantastic choice in some regards. I doubt he was up to date on the books, but he could have become so. I really think if he'd written that final WoT novel, everyone would have sincerely loved it. No, the big reason nobody seriously considered him is the obvious one--he had his own series to finish, and simply could never have spared the time. He wasn't as behind in 2007 as he has been lately, but George has never been a particularly fast writer, and could never have been spared for this.
I don't believe he was ever asked, though I could be wrong. My understanding is that everyone involved at the time thought of his name first, then immediately discarded it, without giving it serious consideration because of the deadlines involved. Almost all conversation that I know about at the publishers was around newer, younger writers. (As a note, I don't know any other names considered--and when I reference people being considered, it was people at the publisher trying to think of possibilities to present to Harriet. Not names Harriet actually was mulling over. So far as I remember, the only people she ever considered were George, and then me.)"
It is a truth universally acknowledged that George R.R. Martin is a slow writer — just ask the fans who have been waiting for him to complete The Winds of Winter these past 14 years — so I'm not surprised to hear that, even back then, people didn't think he could spare the time.
Adam Whitehead, who runs the fantasy news blog The Wertzone, responded to Sanderson on Reddit, opining that even if Martin had been asked, he probably would have said no. Sanderson agreed. "He would have turned it down absolutely--and I don't really think anyone would have asked him," the author wrote. "As you say, it wouldn't have been appropriate to put him in that position for a variety of reasons. In fact, I'd say that is why the publisher mostly looked at newer authors--people whose careers COULD handle a five year disruption on this level. I think the only other valid choice would have been a ghostwriter, something that [Robert Jordan's widow] Harriet was adamantly opposed to, as she said that people deserved to know what was up with the book and read knowingly."
"That said, I DO think GRRM's editing skill would have been a valuable resource if, in some parallel world, he had been able to take on the project. I've worked with him in that capacity on one of his anthologies, and can say personally that he was very good in the role. That mixed with the range of different stories he can tell would have, I'm sure, produced a great conclusion. (If he can do Jack Vance, he could do Robert Jordan.) I don't think the style is a clash as people say on other threads--RJ and GRRM's writing both show exceptional fluency at the same skill, which is powerful third person viewpoint.
I think the biggest impediment story wise (not considering all else) to George finishing the series is his expressed dislike of endings that involve too much magical resolution. He doesn't like that aspect of fantasy very much: the crunchiness of magic systems, with big plot threads being resolved by powerful clashes of its use. In fact, that was his biggest complaint to me about Elantris, something he called a stylistic difference in how he prefers narrative, not an express flaw with the story. (Which was kind of him to say.)"
Everything Sanderson is saying here sounds sensible, and he would know; he was there. Anyway, it all worked out for the best. Sanderson finished The Wheel of Time books while finding great success with his own series like Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive, while HBO adapted A Song of Ice and Fire as Game of Thrones and turned George R.R. Martin into a household name. Both authors are still plugging away, pushing fantasy forward.
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