Provided the world doesn’t actually end at the Winter Solstice this year (Mayan prophecy and all that), and missing the holiday season completely because they want to bring it in line with the publication of the very first novel in the series 23 years ago …

The final instalment in the epic Wheel of Time fantasy series finally has a release date: 8 January 2013. While this is a whole two months after we were expecting … well … at least it’s just a couple of months, and it’s nice to finally have a confirmed date. Says Jordan/Sanderson’s publisher Tor Books:

A Memory of Light is one of the most important titles that Tor will ever publish. Many of the principal players have been involved with the series since its inception, including Publisher Tom Doherty and Editor Harriet McDougal, who worked with Robert Jordan on all of his books, and who is working with Brandon Sanderson, the writer finishing the series from Robert Jordan’s outline and his notes. This is a landmark publication not just for Tor but for millions of fans of the late Robert Jordan, who eagerly await the conclusion to his epic tale. Everyone involved with the project is committed to making this an ending to remember.

Golly gosh, I can’t wait. In preparation, I’m currently reading the penultimate novel, Towers of Midnight, and you can also read my review of the novel before that, The Gathering Storm.