The Wheel of Time Book Series Statistics

The Wheel of Time series (created by Robert Jordan) has sold more than 100 million book copies worldwide.
This makes it one of the best-selling epic fantasy series of all time.
Prior to the release of its Amazon TV adaptation, The Wheel of Time’s book sales were significantly boosted with 5 million copies sold since the end of 2020.
With a reported production cost of over $10 million per episode (for 8 episodes in total), the TV series premiered on Prime Video in November 2021.
In 2021, a complete leatherbound set of the series sold for $30,000.
In 2022, a signed copy of Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time #1) sold for $4,999.
Robert Jordan wrote 12 out of the 15 Wheel of Time books as the sole author.
Although it was his intention to finish writing the series himself, he asked his wife, Harriet McDougal, to find somebody to finish it for him as his death approached.
He passed away in 2007 and McDougal became the copyright owner of The Wheel of Time.
She selected Brandon Sanderson to complete the remaining 3 books (with Jordan and Sanderson both listed as co-authors) after initially reading his eulogy for her late husband.

The Wheel of Time books in order

There are a total of 15 books within The Wheel of TIme series.
- Books #1 to #14 make up the main storyline.
- Book #0 is a prequel to the series.
- Books #0 to #11 were authored by Robert Jordan.
- Books #12, #13 and #14 were co-authored by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
The series was published over 23 years between 1990 and 2013.
The first book released in the series was The Eye of the World.
The last book released in the series was A Memory of Light.
All books were originally published by Tor Books in the US and Orbit Books in the UK.

Multiple times, chapters from different books in the series were made available prior to official publication, released as eBooks for promotional purposes.
The Wheel of Time franchise also features a number of short stories:
- The Strike at Shayol Ghul.
- New Spring (initial appearance in the Legends anthology).
- River of Souls.
- A Fire Within the Ways (not considered canon).
Furthermore, there are also a small number of associated encyclopedic works.

In 2021, a complete leatherbound set of the series sold for $30,000.
In 2022, a signed copy of Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time #1) sold for $4,999.
In 2022, a signed limited edition copy of Legends (which includes the original publication of New Spring) sold for $3,245.
In 2022, a signed editor’s proof of Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time #10) sold for $3,000.
In 2022, a signed limited edition copy of A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time #14) sold for $3,000.
In 2021, a signed copy of The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time #2) sold for $2,850.

In March 2004, Red Eagle purchased handling rights for The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time #1) for $35,000 from Robert Jordan.
After multiple extensions to the deal, Red Eagle decided to pay an additional $130,000 on film options for the whole series in early 2008.
By May 2008, they exercised the option to purchase the series’ film rights for $465,000, requiring the company to have a project released in February 2015.
Later that year, Red Eagle re-sold these to Universal for a seven-figure sum.
Although Universal developed an initial script for The Eye of The World, they did not continue with the adaptation and eventually the rights were returned to Red Eagle.
By early 2014, Red Eagle began discussions with Radar Pictures and Sony Television about creating a TV adaptation of The Wheel of Time.
Eventually these talks lead to Sony and Amazon collaborating on the project, alongside other production companies.
With a reported production cost of over $10 million per episode (for 8 episodes in total), the TV series premiered on Prime Video in November 2021.
Robert Jordan’s wife Harriet McDougal who had acted as a continual editor for the book series, also served as a consulting producer for its TV adaptation (alongside Sanderson).

The Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy book series featuring characters that take part in an ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil in a detailed, imaginary world.
Behind the guise of politics and warfare, the series’ underlying themes include destiny, morality and power.
A detailed system of magic also plays an important role in the series.

The Wheel of Time was written primarily by Robert Jordan.
After he passed away in 2007, Brandon Sanderson was selected to complete the series’ final three books.
However, these were still heavily based on an extensive set of notes and outlines from Jordan.

The Wheel of Time series is made up of 15 different books (including its prequel).

It is recommended to read The Wheel of Time books in the order of their release.
However, it is recommended to read New Spring (The Wheel of Time #0) at any point after reading the books #1 through #10.