Mini AMA · Author interview
Mini AMA: Brian J. Nordon
By Bosloe
First published in my Dispatches from Amathera newsletter on 3 March 2026. Release dates and plans mentioned are as they stood at that time.
The gentle Irish Giant himself, Brian J. Nordon, is a LitRPG author from Dundalk, Ireland, who first made waves on Royal Road, where his debut story, Wildcards: The Dread Pirate, climbed into the top ten of the site-wide rankings. Taking the lessons learned from his readers and pouring them into something entirely his own, Brian created the Quest Academy series - a story he was so proud of, he put his own name on it.
Published through The Legion Publishers, Quest Academy follows Salvatore Argento, a young student navigating a world at war with demons, as he trains to become a Hero at the most demanding academy known to man. With five books now in the series: Silvers, Scavengers, Saviors, Legacies, and Legions. Brian has built a richly detailed world packed with intricate crafting systems, compelling characters, and the kind of world-building that keeps readers turning pages well past midnight. The series has earned thousands of glowing ratings and a deeply devoted fanbase. He also has a Patreon and can be found lurking on social media.
1. Salvatore is a refreshingly pragmatic and morally grey protagonist in a genre often filled with pure heroes. What was the biggest challenge or most fun part about writing a lead whose primary power is cannibalising other magic?
Salvatore's primary power is to Replicate. He's not leaving others without their abilities when he copies them, so I wouldn't go so far as to call it cannibalising. There's an argument to be made for showcasing a replicated power at its highest form to someone that is unlikely to ever get there. That's a demoralising reality and was one of his biggest fears when he arrived at Quest Academy.
Pragmatism was something that I aimed for. Far too often, I've groaned in frustration when a character takes the most ridiculous path forward. I wanted Sal to have a method to the madness, and even though most of his day to day is frenetic, he makes solid choices based on what he knows. Is he always right? No, but there shouldn't be too many readers throwing their books across the room because he's acting like an idiot. There are far better reasons to throw these books across the room.
2. Quest Academy blends the "magic school" trope with LitRPG systems and a post-apocalyptic "Silent War" backdrop. How do you balance the cosy progression of academy life with the looming, deadly stakes of the outside world?
There are a few answers to this, and most of it comes down to the subversion of expectations. I added a competent roster of staff, and a collection of aspiring Heroes that are justifiably strong. When you put those two ingredients into the mix, you need to have a compelling sense of tension. I found that in a world of Heroes, the societal threats are just as scary as the demonic hordes trying to break down the barriers.
When Sal was at his weakest, he genuinely feared he'd be kidnapped because of his powers. When he became stronger, he realised just how little of an impact he could make as an individual. The cozy progression comes from the characterisation of Sal's group, and how they're all growing in different directions. The anticipation for readers will be in seeing how Salvatore makes his Guild, and how it grows with the collection of misfits he's assembled. Then, when that's readily established… we move onto how a technology-focused Guildmaster can steer the development within society.
3. Your series is often pinned as a "Crafting LitRPG." Were there any specific books, games, or other media that inspired this very specific and addictive blend of genres?
I think like many others that love the genre, we grew up with Role-Playing Games. Crafting mini-games were always a favourite of mine, and I loved the incremental gains in terms of progression. You could look at the likes of Materia from Final Fantasy 7 as a key example, or Ego-Swords from countless Manhwa and Manga. The idea that weapons hold an evolutionary power that activates after a set amount of kills or through defeating a powerful entity. None of those tropes are particularly new, but I always loved them.
I also loved Iron Man and Forge from Marvel Comics as heroic influences. Supervillains that relied on technology rather than raw strength, like Lex Luthor was another key influence along with Victor Von Doom as a close second. I always wondered what it would be like to have a technology-based power in a progression fantasy setting… which was what resulted in Quest Academy. Despite the massive leaps in individual capability throughout the series, it's still early days in terms of widespread change that will impact society.
4. What advice would you give to any aspiring authors on crafting their stories?
Be ruthless in efficiency and forgiving in reflection. We're not machines, and we need time to ideate our worlds, which can feel like procrastination. Everyone is different, and you'll have plenty of aspiring authors that will personally resonate with different processes. My way is irregular, in that I'm motivated to write my stories because it allows me time to discover more of my world and characters. I don't outline and plot out scenes, but rather… I just keep a visual in my head of something in the future, be it the end of the first Book or the end of the series. I then just keep that as my North Star and write towards it. How do I make people care about that scene, and how do I answer their questions in the chapters leading up to it.
There are practical pieces of advice, like writing a little every day, but I tend to wait until the mood strikes me. Funnily enough, that time coincides with the pressure of getting my chapters ready for Patreon. Deadlines were the bane of my existence in the past, as I hated being micro-managed… but it turns out that it works for me, and I'm my own manager. That's where the ruthless efficiency comes in, where I need to be very honest with myself about what is actually feasible and how I need to break down tasks on a daily basis, or hourly basis to reach a goal that is months away. I always look to the future and try to plan a path toward it.
5. With the series published under "Legion Publishing," is there a larger "Legion" world or multiverse in the works? Can readers expect any crossover elements or shared lore between your future projects and other Legion authors?
Personally, I don't think that's on the cards. I have a very different writing style to many of the other authors in Legion, and I think my pacing and slice-of-life tendencies would end up boring them to death. Instead of a collaboration, I think it's likelier that readers will see homages to their favourite authors within my series, often acting as Professors, Students or Heroes and Hunters in the wider world. That's my way of including the 'Legion' as an entity, but without spoilers for Book 5, there's another meaning to the term.
I'd never say never, though. When the right opportunity comes along, I'd be open to it… but it would need to fit into my timeline, and it would need to make sense. My priority is on making the world of Quest Academy the best it can possibly be.