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10 reasons why Brent Weeks should be your new favourite fantasy author
1 THEY’RE MOVIE BLOCKBUSTERS IN BOOK FORM
“My writing has a lot of surprising twists,” understates Weeks. Since his first novel, The Way Of The Shadows became the UK’s biggest selling fantasy debut of 2009, he has fast gained a reputation for writing fun and fast-paced fantasy full of page-turning cliffhangers. He’s bought big screen action storytelling techniques to the fantasy novel.
2 METICULOUS WORLD BUILDING
But don’t think blockbuster comparisons mean that Weeks skimps on the depth and detail vital to this genre. His world building skills are impeccable, creating wonderfully rich and multi-layered societies. And they’re not just Middle-earth lite. The Lightbringer series takes place in an alternate version of 16th century Mediterranean area. It makes a refreshing change to have guns and simple technology in a fantasy series!
3 MAGIC IS THE NEW SCIENCE
Even more than his world building, though, Weeks is celebrated for his almost scientific approach to rationalising the magical systems in his books. In the Lightbringer series, for example, the magic is based on the colour spectrum and called Chromaturgy, which is vitally interconnected with the politics and religion of the world. “The magic system is simple on the surface, but like a lot of real-world science, gets delightfully complex as you look at it more,” says Weeks.
4 LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS
Don’t just take our word for how good Weeks is. “Brent Weeks has a style and immediacy of detail that pulls the reader relentlessly into his story,” says Robin Hobb. “Nobody does break-neck pacing and amazingly-executed plot twists like Brent Weeks,” agrees Promise Of Blood author Brian McClellan. “Brent Weeks is so good it's starting to tick me off,” grumbles Peter V Brett.
5 THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Weeks’s debut novel, The Way Of Shadows – the first book in the Night Angel Trilogy – was the bestselling fantasy debut of 2009. The Night Angel trilogy has gone on to sell over two million copies worldwide, and with the Lightbringer series Weeks can now proudly wear his bestselling author badge.
6 HE’S YOUR NEW INTERNET FRIEND!
Weeks has embraced social media in a big way, connecting with his fans through a stream of endlessly entertaining Tweets and Facebook posts. Here’s a recent pic he Tweeted of him signing unbound pages of The Broken Eye.
7 YOU'LL LOVE HIS WOMEN
Actually, you’ll love all his characters, as they’re a colourful bunch, many with a nice line in snark. But he’s especially good at making sure the women grab the spotlight too. They live in a world where magic puts women on equal footing as men in terms of soldiering and combat.
8 HE GETS A MOVE ON
While we wait patiently for the George RR Martins of the world to deliver one book every millenium or so, Weeks gives his fans a chance for quick “closure” (as Americans might say) The Night Angel Trilogy was released in its entirety within a few months, and the first three books in the Lightbringer series have been published in just four years.
9 GOING BACK
Weeks hopes one day to return to the Night Angel world to tell more stories about magical assassins, and the world can never have enough stories about magical assassins.
10 COVER STORY
And yeah, he writes books with cloaked guys on the cover, because you can reinvent the rules of fantasy as much as you like, but a guy in a cloak on a cover is still damned cool.
