The Gathering Storm is the 12th book of the The Wheel of Time fantasy series. It was incomplete when its author, Robert Jordan, died on September 16, 2007, from cardiac amyloidosis. His widow Harriet McDougal and publisher Tom Doherty chose Brandon Sanderson to continue the book after Jordan's death.
Jordan originally intended to finish the series in a single volume titled A Memory of Light, but when Sanderson began writing the book it became clear a split was required as it was believed a single volume would be too large to print. The expected final book was then split into three volumes: The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light. The books would be published a year apart with the first volume, The Gathering Storm, published on October 27, 2009; a week earlier than originally announced. Upon its release, it immediately rose to the #1 position on the The New York Times hardcover fiction Best Seller list, making it the fifth consecutive Wheel of Time book to reach the #1 position on that list.
The three books will together encompass what can be considered Jordan's final vision of the series. In the foreword, Sanderson states that they can be thought of as "the three volumes of A Memory of Light or as the final three books of The Wheel of Time. Both are correct." He also comments on the differing writing style, suggesting that it could be compared to different film directors directing the same script.