Wheel of Time Controversy

I am a big fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. There were 11 books plus a prequel written as of the time of the author's death in 2007. He was working on the final volume, tentatively titled A Memory of Light when he died leaving some extensive notes and sections of the book written.
Brandon Sanderson, an author and fan, was chosen by Jordan's widow to finish the book. Originally, the hope was to have the book published this year and have all the little loose ends tied up.
If you know anything about the series, Jordan wrote about many main characters and more than numerous smaller characters. There are almost too many plots and sub plots to count. In the past, every time a new book came out I would spend the months leading up to the release rereading the previous volumes. Sanderson began researching, rereading the original 11 books, reviewing Jordan's notes and preparing to write and realized the enormity of this project. He had two choices as an author:
1. Cram everything into one book, leaving many of the smaller loose ends unresolved and not giving proper due to some of the main characters and basically all of the smaller characters and plots.
2. Write it as truly as he could.
Sanderson chose to tell the complete end to the story, tie up all the loose ends, and try to stay true to Jordan's vision. He admits he can never really fill Jordan's shoes but he wants to do justice to the work. So now the whole think is looking to go upwards of 800,000 words.
The decision was made to split the final novel into three books for a few reasons.
1. Its been 4 years since the last book: we fans want to read something.
2. It is now too big to publish as one volume anyway.
3. The whole thing still isn't written though Sanderson is working his tail off and if we wait for him to finish writing it all and for it to be edited, etc, it could be 2 or 3 more years. He's written over 400,000 words to date and if you know anything about writing that is impressive.

I'm pretty happy with the decisions made all around. I commend Sanderson for being true to the work despite the enormity of the task. I'm happy they are splitting it. I want to read something soon.
It will be an epic end to an epic series instead of a cheap flimsy wrap up.

The Memory of Light is now coming out in three pieces. Part one: The Gathering Storm, will be out November of 2009 and I can't wait.
To Brandon Sanderson I say thank you for keeping the characters and world of the Wheel of Time alive to the best of your ability. And thank you for pouring your heart and soul into doing it right.
You can keep track of Sanderson's progress and get more info on his website: http://www.brandonsanderson.com