Brent Weeks - anyone?

chopper

chopper

Steven Poore - Epic Fantasist & SFSF Socialist
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Saw the first in a trilogy by Brent Weeks in Waterstones last night, cover very similar to the Keren Miller ones, but looks quite interesting. Found a Blogspot interview with him today and it appears all three books in the trilogy will be out before Xmas. Ambitious, eh?

anybody know much more , or aim to read it?
 
What is his style like, who can you compare him to? I like the cover art and the summary on the site looks interesting enough but is he like Erikson or like Fiest?
 
biodroid said:
What is his style like, who can you compare him to? I like the cover art and the summary on the site looks interesting enough but is he like Erikson or like Fiest?
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I have read all three, and while the first does not inspire a lot of confidence, the author's overall skill obviously improves through books 2 and 3. I would say better than Feist, but not quite Erikson. I look forward to his future works if the improvement Weeks displayed through three books is any indicator.
 
I recently read the trilogy and on the whole found it to be quite good, book one does introduce some concepts that are perhaps poorly labelled, it does improve throughout all the books though. I eagerly await the fourth book that i believe he is writing. I can't bring myself to agree with Peterwilliam though that he is better than Feist, maybe i'm just too much of a pug and tomas fan ! That said i do think Feist deserves respect for the amount of work he has managed to put out there in his world, yes quality is obviously important but other than a few dips along the road i've always found Feist's quality to be quite high.
 
I did read all three (Waterstones had a 3 for 2 offer that was too good to resist) and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed them. Conversely, I found the first book to be the best, wouldn't say that the story went downhill after that at all, but by the end of book three I was looking forward to a conclusion. I found just too many pov shifts, as so many were involved in the climactic build-up, which was a sort-of necessary evil as there were so many characters. Possibly he could have had composites, but I had no regrets about buying them. If there's another coming, then I'll buy that too, which speaks for itself......
 
Am just over a hundred pages in the first book and really enjoying it. What I do miss though is he does not do world building as much as other writers but his characters are very beleivable. I would almost liken his characters to those of Gemmell but only a minor percentage. Hope it picks up with Azoth's training and the plot gets more intricate other than that really good so far.
 
Biodroid, The training of Azoth will pick up but perhaps more importantly the details in the plot will get more involved, i would say some in the first book but increasingly over books 2 & 3. As a side note to all in the thread, whilst i really like this trilogy does anyone else think that 'wetboy' is the lamest name ever for a really quite cool set of people? And they sneer at the word assassin?! I think this term is what is known as a 'brain fart' :D MAybe its just me so let me know please ?! I'm not saying it spoils the books or anything just seems a dubious error in amongst good writing.
 
I think it's pretty lame as well but it's not cliched like 'assassin'. I think Brent is just trying to be original and make things sound catchy. Also I feel that wetboy is a term for a person who still has to take orders from a higher power. Do you know if he has written anything other than Night Angel trilogy?
 
I wasn't sure so i checked, he hasn't written anything else, wikpedia did say that he is writing another trilogy in a different world, different magic etc. which i receive that news with mixed feeling. I was under the impression that he was writing a 4th in the world of the trilogy.
 
I picked up the first book a month ago when browsing for something new, and I enjoyed it so much I went back and bought the other two and ripped through them in about a week. His writing style reminds me more of Robin Hobb or Trudi Canavan rather than anyone else, in that like both those authors I found his main characters were far better fleshed out than the world which they inhabited. I got the feeling he was going for something really epic, but didn't quite get there. The only way I can think to describe it would be trying to make a film but not having a big enough budget to do it justice. Having said that, I enjoyed the story more than almost anything else I've read in the past couple of years.

It'll be interesting to see how he develops.
 
biodroid said:
I think it's pretty lame as well but it's not cliched like 'assassin'. I think Brent is just trying to be original and make things sound catchy. Also I feel that wetboy is a term for a person who still has to take orders from a higher power. Do you know if he has written anything other than Night Angel trilogy?
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From the Horses Mouth, so to speak...

I’ve also had lots of queries about what’s next. I’ve addressed this on the forum, but you don’t want to pick through posts on some forum, your mouse-clicking finger is tired, you just want the deets, man. Fair ’nuff.
I’ve signed a new three book deal with Orbit. I submitted an outline, and so much happened in the story, they were like, “Looks like three books to us, but do what you think is best. We just want your next three books.” Sweet. “And we want them fast. Your deadline is a book each November.” Gulp. So the trilogy is (extremely) tentatively titled Black Prism. I’m working as fast as I can, and I’m really excited about what’s forming. It’s set in a new world. Think more 1500 Mediterrean Sea, rudimentary fire arms and magic together. Woot. But don’t worry, it’s not a pirates-and-their-peg-legged-mateys book. Cross my heart. But there are awesome characters, lots of action, much cooler magic this time out, secrets, lies, betrayal, and butt-kicking. You know, the good stuff. After this trilogy (if it is indeed a trilogy), I will be returning to Midcyru with a new series. And yes, numerous of the important characters who actually survived the end of the Night Angel Trilogy will show up.
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You know you're getting on a bit when even published writers start to sound twelve years old ...
 
inside every sff writer there's a twelve-year-old kid trying to get out. dammit, i went out and bought new dice last year, and i don't even play D&D anymore!
 
Lol Chopper i admire your dedication :D I too have new dice. transparent and blue with elven runes :D That said i've been lucky enought to restart a new party with some adult friends ! Just going through the Temple of elemental evil ! Take your +2 mace and bash some undead in ! :D
 
I read all three in one big gulp and I loved it. It was fast, pacey, loads of things happen; there are loads of twist and turns and I found the characters engaging and well written. All in all, it's a thumbs up from me.

Can't wait for something new from him. He's now on my automatic MUST read list.
 
Read about a dozen chapters of the first book last night and thought "did he sub-contract the writting of his children to Orson Scott Card" as it came accross very Ender ...

Then I checked out the interview included in the "Extras" section and he specifically mentions OSC's portrail of children as an influence.

So far I'm enjoying it
 
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