Sign up for my email list to get the latest newsletter!

Fan Art Tuesday: The Blinding Knife

Just gonna get right to it today… Check out this 3-D printed version of the Blinding Knife:

This was created by fan Dylan Jacob, using a rendering that was designed by Ryan Ernst. Well done, guys–it looks great!

Dylan has more cool 3-D printed models in his Twitter feed, and Ryan has some super snazzy renderings on his website.

That’s all we’ve got for now, friends. Take care of yourselves, and please do stay home.

Real Life Fantasy: Microwaves and X-Rays

Greetings from the hermitage! In this edition of Real Life Fantasy, we’re taking a closer look at two contemporary machines that have some surprisingly Satrapied roots.

First we’re going to talk about the hardest working multitasker in your kitchen/dorm room, the microwave oven.

For most of us, microwaves are a fast, easy way to transform frozen comestibles into piping hot delectables. You put the dish in, push a couple buttons, wait for the pleasant *ding,* and viola! Dinner is served. Well, friends, we’re about to reveal the secret behind these magic boxes… It’s paryl luxin.

Restored antique schematic of an early microwave oven design.

Yep, scientists found a way to harness the energy from chunks of paryl luxin to safely and effectively heat food. They acquire the luxin shards from archaeologists, who sell the fragments to microwave manufacturers in order to fund other less lucrative but ultimately more profound digs in the Mediterranean.

YES! They finally brought back the Malleus Haereticorum button. That bitch Carol from work is going DOWN.

Second, we’re going to take a closer look at x-ray radiography, aka the x-ray machines used in medical offices and hospitals around the globe. The technology is remarkably similar to that of the microwave oven; a shard of chi luxin is activated electronically, the energy is projected through the object to be imaged, and the machine captures the chi ‘shadow’ onto an x-ray sensitive plate.

Original image by Blausen Medical Annotations by Mikael Häggström – By Blausen Medical., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58054654

I always wondered why my radiologist called herself The Keeper. I guess that explains it!

For those of you who can still draft and/or see in the chi spectrum, you’ll note in the image below the tiny shard of chi luxin hovering ominously between the anode and the cathode in the tube. Shives me the givers, y’all.

By Daniel Frost Comstock – Downloaded from Daniel Frost Comstock & Leonard T. Troland (1917) The Nature of Matter and Electricity: An Outline of Modern Views, D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, p.190, Plate 5 on Google Books, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3270127

.

.

That’s all for this time; we’ll be back next week for Fan Art Tuesday. Everyone stay healthy and safe out there–stay home as much as possible, and take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

With love from everyone on Team Weeks.

Real Life Fantasy: Rainbow Obsidian

Behold, a giant chunk of hellstone, crafted into a work of fine art:



From Heritage Auctions

And this one, which I think is a

Show Spoilers

chi bane:

From Elegant Stones on Ebay

Here’s a chunk found in Davis, California:

From GeologyIn

And another found in Glass Butte, Oregon:

From Oregon Discovery

And this one, found for sale from someone in the UK:

From Soulful Crystals. But listen, friends: do you really want to trust something that came from the bowels of the Wight King to heal your depression?

This post is, I think, pretty self-explanatory.

Fan Art Tuesday: An Animated Burning White Cover

Happy Tuesday everyone!

We’ve been holding on to this bit of fan art for a while, so we could really highlight it’s awesomitude ( or fantabulousness, if you prefer). Author Ben Galley animated the cover of THE BURNING WHITE (it’s a 10-second video, so you’ll need to press play):

Galley sent us a GIF as well, but note that it’s lower res and doesn’t look quite as cool:

Thanks for bringing this beautiful color to life, Ben!

You can check out his other work (including his fantasy series!) on Facebook and Twitter.

Real Life Fantasy: The Sunmirror in Rjukan

A lovely little town in Norway, nestled into a bucolic valley, is home to an array of giant mirrors that bring sunlight to its people for nearly half the calendar year. Without the array, Rjukan receives no natural sunlight from September to March! 

The Sun Mirror in Rjukan

Rumor has it that if you visit, you can see a bit of 400-year-old graffiti on the east-facing outer wall of the library that says, “L-DONI WAS HERE.”

from the New York Times

THE BLACK PRISM is a Kindle Daily Deal, Dec 26

Happy Boxing Day, y’all! Amazon is offering THE BLACK PRISM as a Kindle Daily Deal for $3.99. A steal at twice the price! (The above is also Brent’s affiliate link.)

This smokin’ hot deal won’t last long–open up that Amazon app and buy a copy–your brain will thank you.

Reasons to buy a(nother) copy of Lightbringer #1 for Kindle:

  1. Christmas Day was yesterday? Yikes! I forgot to get a gift for Grandma!
  2. You want to protect your [signed] hardback copy
  3. Your friend/parent/coworker/cousin/roommate/sibling borrowed it months ago & refuses to return it
  4. It’s your bookworm friend’s/parent’s/coworker’s/cousin’s/roommate’s/sibling’s/partner’s birthday
  5. Someone you care about/random stranger asked for a book recommendation
  6. You’ve read Night Angel 5000 times and need a new series to get into
  7. You want to read along while you listen to the dulcet tones of Simon Vance narrating the audiobook
  8. You’re starting a Lightbringer reread now that THE BURNING WHITE is out and want a fresh copy

You’re welcome!

Nine Kings Fan Art: Featured Entries

Y’all sent us some stunning fan art! I know earlier I promised a mega-post with everyone’s entries, but there were just too many to put in one place. So I’m sharing some of our favorites here. Because I can.

Please note: SPOILERS abound for all Lightbringer books!

.

.

.

.

.

“New Ferrilux” by Nicole Wiekierak

“The Ex-Priest” by Jennifer Johnson

“Heresy” by Megan Steadman

“Turtle Bear” by Jessica Dugan

“Black Luxin” by Alli Ryan

“Hellstone Dagger” by Melissa Wallis

“Mist Walker” by Jan Pasik

“The Guile” by Thomas Bernfeld

“Samila Sayeh” by Wilma Jacobs

“Turtle Bear” by Andrew Pulis

“Multicolored Spectacles” by Jerris Heaton

It was an absolute joy to see each submission we received (including all the ones not featured here). Thank you to everyone who participated. It’s obvious that you all worked hard and put your hearts into your work. You each did a magnificent job!

Nine Kings Fan Art Contest Winners

Hi friends,

We have notified the winners of the contest, and we’re here to showcase the five winning entries! There were nearly four dozen entries, each brilliant and beautiful in their own way. A warm, heartfelt thank you to everyone who submitted.

Please note there are SPOILERS for all Lightbringer books in the images below.

Our grand prize winner is Ellen Archer, with “Shimmercloak”:

Our runners-up are as follows:

“Unbreakable” by Morgan G.

“Andross the Red” by Mankin Studios

“Commander Ironfist” by Tim Hoffman

and “Lightbringer” by Alex Untoria.

Congratulations, everyone!

Fan Art Tuesday: The Creator

This is the last Nine Kings Fan Art entry before the deadline this Saturday. We’re featuring a card submitted by Rianna Stahl–one that’s not canon, per se, but it’s fitting nonetheless.

Everyone on Team Weeks LOVES the entries y’all have sent in, and we’re super excited to see what else you’ve got!

Here’s the link to the list of cards mentioned in the books.

And FYI, this is the last week the Brent Weeks webstore will be open, so get those shirts and books while you can!