One of the reasons that the worlds hang together or that you feel like there’s this foreshadowing…is the first novel I wrote was set in this world but 20 years later. I had this one really amazing character show up — I actually had three or four characters cross over, and I love these characters but the novel was broken. I’d done some things wrong structurally. And so when I threw it away I was like you know what…I like some of the worldbuilding I did, and I know where things are going. I know where history is headed. And in that [book] there was this one character who showed up and I was like that guys’ a badass. He’s scary and yet he’s got this code. And so…who is he? But Kylar’s best – and maybe only – friend, the High King Logan Gyre, needs him. To protect a fragile peace, Logan’s new kingdom, and the king’s twin sons, he needs Kylar to secure a powerful magical artifact that was unearthed during the war. You’re rereading the original Night Angel Trilogy while you wait for NIGHT ANGEL NEMESIS, scheduled to be released on April 25, and you’re just so freakin’ excited to return to Midcyru with Kylar and revisit some friends and foes, both old and new… Last question! You seem to enjoy putting Kylar through the ringer, so let’s end by fielding one Kylar’s way. If you had to send any three fictional assassins or characters from other stories after him, who would you send? Although this novel has its faults, I found them minor niggles in an otherwise great reading experience. I will be shoving Night Angel Nemesis into the palms of anyone who asks me for a dark and twisty recommendation. If any fans of grimdark are yet to discover this world, I thoroughly recommend it, and if, like me, you want to return to Midcyru I do not think you will be disappointed. It is one of my favourite reads of this year. Thank you so much to Brent Weeks and the team at Orbit for sending over a copy of Night Angel Nemesis for me to review.

BW: The reason I wanted to shift narrative styles in this one was partly to give this series its own identity. But another huge part is, as a writer I’m always looking for new narrative challenges. I’m trying to grow my skills, and I’m trying to do different things. I know I could probably make a really great living doing books just like the Night Angeltrilogy yearly, and just put out the same thing, change the names a little bit, change who Kylar’s killing this week. I could spin that out for a long time and have a very lucrative career, but that’s just not the kind of personality I have. If I do that, boredom is death for my art. So I always need to be doing new things, I always want to be stretching myself and trying things that are hard and scary for me.

BW: I was an early discoverer of George’s, not of his earlier work but of A Song of Ice and Fire. I think I read it in ’97? I didn’t get the hardcover version because…I was a a poor high school student, I didn’t have any money. But I saw the cover, it looked really different. I read the book and I was like oh my gosh, this is fantastic. This is really different and this writer is really good, like he’s really in control of his skills. And I liked how he was doing something that seemed really new. Fourteen years after the conclusion of his hugely popular Night Angel trilogy, fantasy author Brent Weeks has returned to the world of Midcryu with the long-awaited sequel Night Angel Nemesis. Nemesismarks the beginning of a new sequence of novels, The Kylar Chronicles, which follow titular assassin Kyler Stern on the next chapter of his dark journey. Weeks is a giant of the genre."—Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld After the war that cost him so much, Kylar Stern is broken and alone. He's determined not to kill again, but an impending amnesty will pardon the one murderer he can't let walk free. He promises himself this is the last time. One last hit to tie up the loose ends of his old, lost life.

With rumors that a ka'kari may be found, adversaries both old and new are on the hunt. And if Kylar has learned anything, it’s that ancient magics are better left in the hands of those he can trust. Night Angel Nemesisis the beginning of a new trilogy set in the world of Midcyru: The Kylar Chronicles. It signals a huge expansion of the Night Angeluniverse, and now that it’s out, Weeks is finally teasing the grand plan he has ahead for characters like assassin Kylar Stern. Nemesis is a very well written book. It twists and turns and makes you uncertain of where it is going, but in the best way possible. Brent weaves several complex plots through the story and frequently changes between first and third person. The majority of the book is in first person from Kylar’s perspective and this gives us a window into his mind like we’ve never had before. While I initially found it jarring coming from the original series and Lightbringer, Brent executes it very well.But Kylar’s best–and maybe only–friend, the High King Logan Gyre, needs him. To protect a fragile peace, Logan’s new kingdom, and the king’s twin sons, he needs Kylar to secure a powerful magical artifact that was unearthed during the war.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say new readers might even have an advantage here. One of the most notable aspects of Night Angel Nemesisis that, stylistically, it is an enormous departure from the original Night Angeltrilogy. Those books were dark, brooding medieval fantasies that recalled George R.R. Martin or Joe Abercrombie, told in limited third person with a variety of viewpoint characters. Nemesis, on the other hand, is split between only two characters, with the vast majority of the book being told as a recorded first person account by assassin Kylar Stern about a fateful heist that goes wildly out of control.If he does the job right, he won't need to kill at all. This isn't an assassination - it's a heist.

Weeks has truly cemented his place among the great epic fantasy writers of our time' British Fantasy Society You’re rereading the original Night Angel Trilogy while you wait for ANY information about NIGHT ANGEL NEMESIS because those blasted people at Team Weeks are being stubborn and refusing to share even the teeniest bit of information about it and you can’t keep combing social media for some morsel of what’s to come. It’s your bookworm friend’s/parent’s/coworker’s/cousin’s/ roommate’s/sibling’s/spouse’s/neighbor’s/partner’s birthday Unforgettable characters, a plot that kept me guessing, non-stop action and the kind of in-depth storytelling that makes me admire a writer’s work‘ Terry Brooks Your friend/parent/coworker/cousin/roommate/sibling borrowed it months ago and refuses to return it

DR: Before the call we got talking a little bit about George R.R. Martin, and you had mentioned that he was an influence on you. So I was just curious about the story there. How did you discover George’s books? Hello friends! Team Weeks is thrilled to announce that The Broken Binding ( EU link here) is offering a beautiful limited edition hardcover of NIGHT ANGEL NEMESIS. Isn’t it gorgeous?! ( HERE’s the link for fans in the EU) Whether you enjoy that or not will largely depend on personal preference. I expect that Night Angel Nemesis will be divisive among longtime fans on account of the different style. On the whole though, I enjoyed this stylistic choice quite a lot. It’s refreshing to see an author be bold enough to try such a big stylistic shift in the same overarching series. Weeks pulls it off quite well, even if it feels slightly self-indulgent at times. Night Angel Nemesis isn’t your typical fantasy novel While Night Angel Nemesisfunctions as an immediate sequel to Brent Weeks’ original Night Angeltrilogy, the author has said more than once that you canread this latest novel without having read his older works. Night Angelis one of those series I’ve had recommended to me many times over the years, and with Nemesis coming out it felt like time to finally take the plunge. I read both this new book and started in on the old series at the same time. Weeks creates a rich blend of politics, culture and character . . . then throws in magic-using assassins‘ Peter V. Brett