Completing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series a huge responsibility, Sanderson says

Writing your own novel is hard enough, but when you're trying to finish another writer's epic story that spans 14 books and more than 200 named characters, the stakes are much higher.

It's a responsibility that Brandon Sanderson, a BYU graduate and teacher of creative writing, takes very seriously. The American Fork resident has completed two of three books that will round out Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, Wheel of Time.

"I am holding in my hands the legacy of an author that I respect deeply," Sanderson told the Deseret News. "I can't get too comfortable with this, because I can't let it turn into being about me and not him"

Jordan succumbed to the rare blood disease amyloidosis on Sept. 16, 2007. When he died, Jordan was in the process of writing the 12th and final book in his Wheel of Time series. He never finished.

While ill, Jordan asked his wife, book editor Harriet McDougal, to in some way see that the series was completed. She took his request to heart, and asked Sanderson, a lifelong fan, to pick up where Jordan left off. Sanderson agreed and turned Jordan's final volume into three separate novels.

Since accepting the challenge, Sanderson has completed two books in the series, "The Gathering Storm," which landed in the No. 1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list, and "The Towers of Midnight," which hits bookstores Tuesday.

Fans' reactions to Sanderson's contributions have generally been positive. There are some people who don't like his interpretations of the books, but he says that would be the case no matter what.

From the beginning, Sanderson has tried to make it clear that his goal is not to exactly imitate Jordan's voice. Doing that would equate to a parody rather than a quality interpretation of the material. Instead, Sanderson has adapted his voice and written in Jordan's style, much like an artist might create a painting in the impressionist style.

"People are aware of that," Sanderson said. "Generally their reaction has been, 'In the first chapter or so I could tell there was a difference, but then I got lost in the story, and it was the right story. The characters felt like themselves, and after that I didn't notice.' And that's really the most flattering thing that people can tell me. My primary goal was that the characters still sound like themselves, to stay true to them."