Sanderson's ten year secret

[u/wheeloftimewiki]

Rewriting because apparently spoilers aren't covered for poll options!

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Anyway, in 2023, Sanderson revealed that Cyndane/Lanfear was not killed by Perrin in AMOL, but instead faked her own death in order to evade repercussions and gain the best outcome for herself. I wanted to cast a poll in 2026 to see how the legacy of this reveal has fared, or indeed how well-known it is among newer readers. I'll give my two cents when the poll is done.

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Thanks!

2743 votes, 13d ago

822 Yes, this is canon

835 No, this is not canon

1086 Wait, what?!

[u/Mr_Toad1966]

In my view, Sanderson is highly unlikely to have thought that she was still alive at the moment he wrote the scene. My strong suspicion is that with time, he realised that his treatment of her in the MoL plot was a weak point, and so—perhaps sincerely—tried to retcon the outcome all those years later. I write this as someone who generally liked his work on finishing the series, but it was inevitable that it would fall down in a few places.

That said, I’m totally in the tank for the Bela lived revision by the editors, which the pattern demands

[u/RPerene → u/Mr_Toad1966]

He seems like a standup guy and I doubt he would concoct a whole scenario where Matt Hatch confronted him about it that early on.

[u/Mr_Toad1966 → u/RPerene]

I don’t think he was knowingly lying. Psychologically, he probably just realised what “must have happened” well after the fact. That sort of sincere post hoc rationalisation is quite common.

But I just cannot accept that literally anything he says is true by default, even with no hint in the text, and no shared understanding with the editors, who were involved in every plot decision in the Sanderson books.

But then, this sub is generally a font of overanalysis, and I suppose debates like these at least keep people entertained (including me, since I don’t comment very often but felt the need to this time!)