A Fantasy Series Book Review
By Brent Weeks
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Epic Fantasy, Adult
ISBN: 0316033669
Publisher: Orbit; (December 1, 2008)
Mass Market Paperback: 720 pages
Publisher's Blurb:
Warning - if you have not read The Way of Shadows, the following description contains spoilers. Click here and highlight to view.
The perfect killer has no conscience, just objectives.
Logan Gyre is king of Cenaria, a country under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance — a desperate gamble, but one that could destroy his kingdom.
In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him.
Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends - and perhaps his enemies - he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess.
Wow! I am almost speechless. I did not believe that the series could possibly get any better. I was wrong. The depth of emotions this story explores - and evokes - is incredible. The weave of the story is a work of art. Yes, I am gushing, I admit it, I am blown away.
As I did in the previous review of book two, I am not going to describe the story. This is for two reasons. One, the story is so complex, it defies simple explanation and two, there is very little in this story that is predictable so I run the very real risk of giving something away, and I refuse to take that risk. The blurb does a better job then I could anyway and even it provides spoilers. See my problem? So instead, here are my impressions.
Every hint, every misdirection, every barely noticed event comes together in ways that make perfect sense, but surprise you nonetheless. Brent Weeks forces his characters to make impossible, painful decisions at every turn. The type of multilayered decisions where no matter what, somebody will suffer the consequences and often that somebody is the person they love most. The type of decisions where the right one is rarely the obvious choice and even self-sacrifice is not always the right path to take. Add to this mix characters you truly care about, and you have an emotional character driven story that grabs you and does not let you go right up to the last page.
Have I gushed enough? Oh but I am not done. I have not touched on the ending. Brent Weeks surpassed himself with a spectacular ending that while bittersweet, still leaves you feeling really good about how things turned out. He also ends things with another of his well-written hooks. I do not think we have seen the last of this world or its characters. I for one am very happy about this, I hope he does return to this story one day, and I know I will be one of the first in line at the bookstore if he does.
I kind of worry when I gush over a series. I am afraid I will lose creditability with anybody who reads it and does not think as highly of it as I do. After all, we are all different and some people may be offended by the violence, sex, and profanity, while others may find the weakness in the world building to be a major factor. However, I love character driven stories with plenty of emotional tension, lots of action and loads of surprises. Yep, that would be this series to a tee! Highly recommended and definitely going on my reread shelf.
Other books in the series
Shelfari Rating 4+/5 Librarything Rating 4.3/5 Amazon Rating 5 out of 5 stars (7 Customer Reviews)  What Should I Read Next? | Kindle: Beyond the Shadows Ebook: Ereadable Buy Book: B&N - Powells Amazon: US  Canada UK |
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