Tor.com brought us the first chapter of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s The Gathering Storm, 11th volume in the Wheel of Time series, and now they, along with several other online retailers, have made the 20,000 word prologue, reportedly written mostly by Jordan, before his death, available to purchase for $2.99.
Synopsis:
In “What The Storm Means,” Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.
Dragonmount explains why the eBook costs $2.99:
This is the 4th time that the prologue to a Wheel of Time novel has been released online as an eBook. The previous prologues were published by Simon & Schuster. If you’re wondering why you have to “pay twice” for this content, keep in mind a few things: First, you don’t have to buy it. It is being made available to you over a month early, and you’re paying for that opportunity. Also, the prologue is about 20,000 words, which is close to 100 pages in some books. Thirdly, if you would rather not pay, you can still get free content from this book in the form of chapter 1, Tears from Steel, which is currently available for free from Tor.com.
My favourite excuse? Well, you don’t have to buy it!. In any case, at 20,000 words, the prologue is more of a novelette, than anything, and when one considers it in that sense, $2.99 seems fair(ish). Still, it would have been a good show of faith by the publisher to release the prologue for free.
The prologue can be purchased at the following places:
- Tor.com
- Amazon.com (support Dragonmount)
- Amazon.com (Kindle Format; iPhone, iPod Touch)
- Mobipocket
- Audible.com (audio version)
- BarnesandNoble.com(Barnes & Noble reader; iPhone; iPod Touch; Mac or PC)
- Powell’s Books
- Sony eBook Reader store
- IndieBound.org
If the prologues from previous volumes are anything to go by, this is sure to be a meaty look at what The Gathering Storm has to offer. I won’t be downloading it myself, since I never made it past A Crown of Swords, but I’m certainly getting closer and closer to jumping into an extended re-read of the series. Maybe I’ll be ready by the time the real final volume is out!