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. 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? 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. It’s your bookworm friend’s/parent’s/coworker’s/cousin’s/ roommate’s/sibling’s/spouse’s/neighbor’s/partner’s birthday

Your friend/parent/coworker/cousin/roommate/sibling borrowed it months ago and refuses to return itBW: Certainly elements of this will continue. There’s reasons why this story in particular needed to be told this way, and the next story, the next chapter, will be told differently I think for reasons that will become obvious as you reach the ending.

DR: The opening scenes of both Night Angel Nemesisand The Way of Shadowshavean interesting parallel of two different characters being in a situation where they’re wondering about their assassin profession in relation to a child who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Were there any themes or parallels that you were especially excited to try and sneak into Nemesisor revisit? Night Angel Nemesis begins mere months after the final events of Beyond the Shadows. They are separate narratives, but many of the characters from the first trilogy are still key players in this novel. However, given that there is well over a decade between their publications, I think Night Angel Nemesis could only be enjoyed by having read (or carried out a recent reread) of the earlier novels. While not essential, it would vastly increase your understanding of the world and the characters. There are some characters in Night Angel Nemesis that only play a relatively small part in this novel but were much more critical in the original trilogy. In terms of the main characters, Kylar and Vi, what they went through before the events of Night Angel Nemesis is very relevant to why they are the way they are now. Weeks does summarise their histories very well as part of the narrative. Still, to get the complete picture, I think Night Angel Nemesis should be seen as a continuation of The Night Angel Trilogy rather than a completely independent novel. 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… Nemesis was a hard book for me to read for many reasons. I read the original Night Angel trilogy when I was in High School shortly after they came out. The books were instrumental in my transitioning from teen fantasy to adult fantasy and they informed my preferences for years to come. They were important books to me and I have longed for more for a very long time. All of this said, I now find myself conflicted because some small part of me hoped for the future of these characters who I had fallen in love with. I wanted to see them heal and to be happy, but anyone who has read the original trilogy knows that things could never be quite that simple.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? 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. 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.

Nemesis is most definitely the first chapter in a much larger story. Much of this story is laying the groundwork for what will come, but Nemesis does not suffer for it. It is a well told story with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. While that ending left me with questions and very complex and conflicting emotions, I am content with the story that Brent told. DR: The original Night Angeltrilogy is mostly in third person, which is a very familiar style for a lot of fantasy readers. But Nemesisis largely written in first person; it’s an account being relayed and there’s a very clear question of how reliable that account is at times. Can you talk a little bit about the evolution of the style of the series?

AUTHOR OF THE LIGHTBRINGER SERIES AND THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY

I was fortunate enough to be chosen to be a beta reader for Brent Week's upcoming novel, Night Angel: Nemesis. While I cannot go into details regarding the exact process involved in the beta read, I can say that it gave me a very interesting perspective on the novel and ended up elevating my opinion of the book. But some jobs are too hard for an easy conscience, and some enemies are so powerful the only answer lies in the shadows. 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.

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 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.

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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 Weeks has truly cemented his place among the great epic fantasy writers of our time' British Fantasy Society reality can really disappoint with a new release you are most excited about. This was not the case here.