Don’t miss a brand new interview between SFSignal’s Patrick Hester and Brent on the wonders of Oregon gas stations, the perils of lengthy book signings, trilogies versus mega-series, and whether Teddy Bears can save bookstores…
Back by popular demand – more book tour! Because I just couldn’t get enough. And someone asked me. And it worked out. Allegedly I have some fans there, so please come see me!
September 25th, noon
Borders Bookstore
4980 Stockdale Highway
Bakersfield, CA 93309
661-328-9800
Then, really, I’m done. No more book tour for a while.
Woo hoo! It looks like the hometown kid made good. Making the transition from paperback to hardcover is a bit scary: Will anyone think a Brent Weeks book is worth 25 bones? Well, it seems that some people do. Enough people, in fact, to make the Gray Lady notice.
The Black Prism debuted on The New York Times best seller list at number 23.
Last time, with the mass market paperback, I reached my apogee at number 29, so I’m very pleased. Of course, the printed list only shows up to 15, so if you go hunting my name, you’ll actually need a computer. But hey, look at this, you have a computer right in front of you! Marvelous! See that thingy near your hand? Use it to point HERE.
And I’m not a big ware-hawker… (Hmm, a were-hawk, there’s a story in that somewhere).
*ahem*
So, you’re looking for a signed book. Some authors are crazy enough that they grow big beards and say, Send All Your Books To My House (With Something Interesting) And I Will Sign It. Problem is, I’m not that guy. I have only a small goatee, and a penchant for losing even my own things.
Ergo, come to a book signing.
“Ah, Brent,” you say, “but I live in a foetid corner of Tasmania, and though I voted as per your instructions, you are not coming to an urban center near me. More’s the pity. Do you hate Australians?”
No, in fact, I like Australians so much, I don’t even attempt to do the accent–unlike many Americans, who are totally unable to restrain themselves from that whole “shrimp on the barbie” line. (I’m strong. I also don’t attempt the Sean Connery accent. Though that one’s a near thing.)
But, granted, there are a few thousand corners of the globe to which I have not trotted, or at least not while anyone knew that my scribble on a piece of paper might have some sentimental value to someone on the Australian version of Ebay. (Do you have Ebay Down Under? I heard in Russia it’s Mobile Money or something…)
To the matter at hand: You want a book with a Brent Weeks scrawl in it. I want you to be a happy fan. Here’s where The Signed Page steps in.
Basically, you buy the book through The Signed Page at a reasonable mark-up; I sign it (for free, I don’t make any money off this), and they will send it to you–and if I understand correctly, they send books anywhere in the world. And I will be happy to personalize your book for you. HERE is the direct link to Shawn’s Brent Weeks page.
I’m signing the first batch of books when I’m up in Seattle for my book tour on August 26th, so if you want your book without delay, please get your order in. Sorry for the short notice. (I live 3.5 hours away from Shawn, so I can’t promise the fastest signing all the time.)
Those of you not interested in were-hawks, carry on.
I was flattered when local (amazing) indie bookstore Powells asked me to do an essay for Powells.com, and stunned when I saw the great list of other authors they’ve had do the same. I didn’t want to just phone in some marketing schtick, so I worked hard on this. I really hope you enjoy it. And while you’re there, check out some of those other essays.
And now comes the terrifying time when I start to hear from reviewers–who often read differently than fans. Gulp. Here we go…
Grasping for the Wind says, “When I expected [Weeks] to zig, he zagged, and when I expected a character to be a certain type of person, Weeks would throw me for a loop…. Weeks has written an epic fantasy unlike any of its contemporaries. It is a truly visionary and original work, and has set the bar high.” Oh, hey, that wasn’t too bad.
Fantasy Book Review says, “‘The Black Prism’ is first and foremost a novel with tremendous narrative energy. It just grabs you and never lets go…. I am still awed at how Mr. Weeks infuses the story with so much vigor, while keeping quite a few balls in the air and never slipping a bit…. There are dramatic twists and turns and scenes that will just floor you….[and] The world building is superlative.” Yeah, definitely, I’ll take that!
*UPDATE*
But you know you’re in trouble when The Onion reviews you. “His prose rings like crystal; his dialogue is witty, chatty, and brisk; and his pacing is frictionless, even when he’s embedding convoluted exposition into action scenes… The narrative flies along…” No, no, wait! Don’t go! He didn’t actually like it. There’s a critical art called “damning with faint praise.” Check this out; it’s awesome: “Weeks does deserve props for his oh-so-slight deviation from the fantasy formula, not to mention his lively, engaging storytelling.”
This is what it is to be a writer: one review says “truly visionary and original” the next says, “oh-so-slight deviation.” Is there cognitive dissonance in this job? Oh yes.
I will be posting links to pretty much every review, good and bad, on the review page. The next time you see me, either my skin will be thicker, or my head will be. Thanks to all the reviewers for taking the time to read and write your reviews.
*UPDATE 2*
A couple more reviews have rolled in before I head out on book tour.
WordTipping has more of an analysis than purely a review, dissecting what makes my books tick. Although I’m definitely quoting that bit about “flat out great storytelling” and “the best male writer of female characters I’ve ever read.”
Janicu’s Book Blog also gave me such a nice review that I’m going to have to restrain myself from pulling too lengthy of a quote from it. (Ahem) She found the female characters “spot on…the world building unique and better than Weeks’ last series, and the twists and turns addictive.” It was “jam packed with epic goodness.”
*UPDATE 3*
The reviews are coming in faster now, so after this round, they’ll go straight to the REVIEWS page of my website. I take a pretty laissez-faire approach to reviews: I’ll post good and bad so long as they appear to be from book-focused blogs or review sites. I don’t post reviews that spring spoilers on you without warning. I always include links so you can see the whole review if you wish.
Civilian Reader gives it a “very highly recommended,” saying, “The dialogue is great (witty, intelligent, brisk); his characters are complex, realistic, and likeable; and the story is highly imaginative and original… this is brilliant, epic fantasy.”
The Bookbag (which was a little tough on the Night Angel Trilogy), says The Black Prism “is an excellent start to what promises to be a superb trilogy. Highly recommended.” “The size of ‘The Black Prism’ is only indicative of the huge imagination Weeks has.”
The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf and Book Review says, “Weeks managed to surprise me again and again with the depth [his characters] have. His greatest strength to date has been hiding secrets in plain sight yet still making them difficult enough to decipher that you have to laugh at yourself for not realizing the truth.”
Alternative Worlds calls The Black Prism “an exhilarating thriller…. Fast-paced and character-driven.”
The Falcata Times asks, “Is [Weeks] a one world, one series author and [will] his next project expand on his creativity? What unfurls is a rich new tapestry… Great stuff.”
Got Schephs gives it a 9/10, noting “the trademark humor…great characters…The fight scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read…. Ultimately, this book takes it to another level that even the NAT [Night Angel Trilogy] didn’t reach.”
LEC Book Reviews says “It establishes a thrilling world, fascinating magic system, and satisfying engaging characters.”
The King of the Nerds praises The Black Prism for having “extraordinarily entertaining characters absolutely bubbling over with vitality.”
Sometimes these things come to me in the strangest ways. Apparently, The Way of Shadows was just released in Russia by EKSMO Publishing. Someone in the comments dropped me the link, and sure enough, this has got to be my book: blue glowy sword, crumpled guard, broken window. This is a good example of what’s known as a ‘narrative cover’. The art tells a story. It’s a concept of what a cover should do that you don’t see as often in America or the UK anymore. (Blame short attention spans or evolving market demand or a simple quest for novelty.) But it can be a lot of fun to pick out things from the book and see how the artist has worked those together. It’s also proof that the artist read the book–which is definitely not guaranteed. I’ve seen hugely successful books by great authors that got totally random covers overseas–just because maybe the editor had rights to some piece of art that he liked. So… it’s a big world, strange things happen. So my thanks to my Russian editors and the translator, who contacted me many times (something I love!) to get things just right.
The Russian language version isn’t a huge launch, but if you see it and speak Russian, please let me know what you think!
In case you can’t stand the sight of me anymore… The barely toned baritone strikes again. This time without awkward hand gestures!
Shaun Farrell runs a website and podcast called Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing. Shaun wasn’t on my planned itinerary of interviews, but I’m glad we threw something together. I’ve heard other authors praise Shaun’s interviews, and for good reason.
Check out the podcast here.: And while you’re there, you might want to grab some of the others. He’s got quite a Who’s Who of writers on there.
Pixelated Geek, a website focusing on…well, all things geek, caught up with me at the Orbit Booth at San Diego Comic-Con. Check out the fifteen minute long video interview filmed amidst the craziness of nerdvana. Thanks, Andrew!
For all of you who’ve been interested in seeing me, but who don’t live in any of the cities I’ll be visiting on my book tour, Orbit had the great idea of sending me on The Great First Annual Video Blog Tour. Sure, sure, other guys have done blog tours before, but TGFAVBT is new, different, amazing, novel! TGFAVBT has video.
That’s right. Some other authors might make you read several thousand words of text interview on your computer screen–and then expect you to read 210,000 more words in their book. Sheesh! They’ll tire your eyes out! Not me. Sit back, blink once in a while, look away from the screen for a bit as an Interesting Person walks past you in the coffee shop, and you can still hear the mellifluous strains of baritonal brilliance. Alternately, mute the sound and watch awkward hand gestures! Try to guess the times at which I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about! Imagine the contortions of the video editor, trying to make me look good!
The choice is yours. Personally, I can’t bear to watch. Too embarrassing. Plus, I was there.
Seriously, thanks to my blog hosts, who asked great questions and let me come stomp around their blogs and track dirt in. And thanks to A. at Orbit, who had the idea. This was just us trying to have some fun and hit a bunch of your questions.
Note: We’ll be releasing a new video interview each Monday of August, check here for new links.
Released 8/2: John at www.graspingforthewind.com
Released 8/9: Liviu at www.fantasybookcritic.com
Released 8/16: Janicu at www.janicu.livejournal.com
Released 8/24: The Book Smugglers at www.thebooksmugglers.com