NIGHT ANGEL NEMESIS by Brent Weeks

Book Review

Elloise Hopkins

Time has passed since the Battle of Black Barrow. Kylar Stern finds himself back on his home turf, in the warrens of Cenaria. The black Ka-Kari still speaks to him. A child stands in the way of his Deader (at least that is what he used to call them), but no matter. He has an order from High King Logan. Trudana Jadwin must die. The Night Angel must decide whether to offer mercy before judgment.

Kylar is still learning the Ka-Kari’s quirks and limitations, as well as facing its obtuse and wry humour on a more regular basis as he relates his story to the magic. In Durzo’s continued absence, Momma K needs to call on Kylar’s skills yet again. There is a kingdom at stake, and for Kylar, failure will mean the loss of Logan as a friend, along with so much more that he does not yet understand.

Viridiana has been released from her bond with Kylar but is still tied to him in other ways. She is the only one who can read the book he enchanted and, thus, the only one who might be able to find him and the much coveted black Ka-Kari. Her sisters, of course, have their own reasons for wanting Kylar, and Vi has no choice but to try to track his movements before the war council convenes.

Night Angel Nemesis picks up the story from the point of view of an older, grittier Kylar who has been worn down by life and seen too many of its horrors… particularly too many at his own hands. It is a brave author who can put his hero through the events Kylar faces in this book and an honest protagonist who can tell them in all their terrible detail. 

Those who know this author well will see more than a little of Kip Guile in this older Kylar Stern. There is a recognisable vulnerability and self-judgment that accompanies the naïvety of the Kylar we know of old. He retains his determination and his sense of humour he still sometimes trusts too easily, particularly when it comes to young women sent to accompany him, and he still battles with the truth of who he is and the deeds he has done. 

If it has been a while, a re-read of the Night Angel trilogy before moving on to this first in The Kylar Chronicles is recommended, as there are so many nuanced details and key moments of the past that would enrich Kylar and Vi’s roles and reactions in this new novel. Weeks has truly embraced the grimdark and poured heart and soul into our hero’s journey. We are granted a long, tantalizing adventure that plucks at the heartstrings and has us turning pages in equal curiosity, celebration and exasperation as events play out. We are left with shock, awe and a definite desire for the next part of the story.