It was 11 p.m. and very cold, yet hundreds of brave fans lined up in front of the BYU Bookstore on Monday night, excitedly waiting for the doors to open. One was holding an axe, a few were wearing cloaks, but most were simply stamping their feet and rubbing their hands to keep warm.

“I’ve been here since 7,” said junior Joel Gardner, holding a fleece blanket around himself.

So what caused these devoted fans to queue up, forming a line that extended along two sides of the Wilk? Nothing more or less than the midnight release of “The Gathering Storm” by BYU professor Brandon Sanderson, the next book in the “Wheel of Time” fantasy novel series.

“The Wheel of Time” has an interesting back-story. The original author, Robert Jordan, wrote 11 very successful books in the series but contracted a fatal heart disease before finishing the final installment.

When he learned of his illness, Jordan began taking notes so another author could finish the series for him when he passed on.

Jordan died in 2007, and Harriet McDougal (Jordan’s wife and senior editor of Tor books) chose Sanderson to complete the series after reading his popular and successful “Mistborn” trilogy.

“I wouldn’t have agreed to do it for anything but this series,” Sanderson said.

He explained it was his personal connection to the series that prompted him to accept McDougal’s offer.

“I really feel like these characters are my high school buddies,” he said. “I was shy and introverted as a kid, a bit of a bookworm, and of course I had friends, but I really spent more time with my books than with anyone else.”

For the fans, the midnight release was a chance to reignite the old excitement. “The Gathering Storm” is the first “Wheel of Time” book to come out in four years.

One group of 10 or so laughed and chatted like old friends, huddled over hot chocolate and Krispy Kremes.

“We’d never met before,” explained Jason Johnson, gesturing to the group. “We just thought we might as well get to know each other, since we’ll be in line together for the next few hours.”

The new friends lightheartedly argued over which “Wheel of Time” book was the best (“Shadow Rising” or “Winter’s Heart”) and speculated about who killed Asmodean.

Sanderson speculated “The Gathering Storm” would make the New York Times best-seller list, a feat that several of the earlier books in the series accomplished.

“It’ll be number one or number two,” Sanderson said. “It’s between us and Dan Brown.”
Sanderson will write two more “Wheel of Time” books following “The Gathering Storm,” ending with “A Memory of Light” (the book title Jordan decided upon before his death).

Sanderson, who graduated with a bachelor’s and a master’s in English from BYU, now lives in American Fork with his wife Emily. He has one son and another child due in January and currently teaches science fiction and creative writing at BYU.