Brent Weeks: Beyond the Shadows

Hi

Beyond the Shadows is the third novel in The Night Angel Trilogy.
Another very generic cover hides a novel of 689 pages.
You can find all my Brent Weeks reviews here.

* NO SPOILERS AHEAD *

I will only write about the things that differ in my opinion or in the book itself from the first and the second novel.

This final novel is even more action-packed than its predecessors. Action is basically all there is to it.
The story is fraught with problems. It’s hard to know where we are and what the characters are at because everything is about fighting and it all leads up to this great battle in the end.
So I’m still confused about the story. It feels too fast, very rushed and way too epic. He tried to write an epic conclusion but he failed miserably in my opinion.
It’s not credible anymore. There is so much going on at the end I had trouble keeping up. Everyone just needs to get to the final battle in time and everyone needs to win. That’s it. The motives behind the war are rather weak for some people.
The changing viewpoints helped a lot, but I still had a hard time figuring out why some things happened the way they did or why some decisions were made. The changing viewpoints are unfocused at times, but it does make the story move forward. And we miss a lot too. A character is suddenly in another country for example. Something is recovered and we have no idea how this character managed to do that because it was deemed impossible. Elene turns up out of the blue towards the end and we don’t know why. I mean, that’s just a cheap, lazy trick to play on us Weeks. If you want this to happen, figure out how this character should do it.

* SPOILERS AHEAD *

The real price of Kylar’s immortality is not that surprising, but still very, very sad. This was a very good element in the novel.

But I am so over Elene! She’s such a dollike, perfect and self-righteous, Virgin Mary type of girl. She is a very unbelievable character.
Besides, the Vi/Elene/Kylar relation is ridiculous. They both love him (and I truly can’t see why) but Vi is selfless (all of a sudden) enough to give Elene and Kylar their chance together. And as in any teenage novel (which this actually isn’t) they finally have sex. Enough with this obsession now Weeks!
I also find it very hard to believe there really was no way to break the bond between the wedding rings right until the very end. How convenient.
 And what happens to Uly? She’s mentioned a few times in passing, but that’s it.
But the ending! Oh my word. Love saves everything. Love. F*cking love. As if this is a chick lit or a teenage novel. So lame and cheesy.

Happy reading.
Helena

Lazy weekend.

Brent Weeks: Shadow’s Edge

Hi

Shadow’s Edge is the second part in The Night Angel Trilogy.
It has 636 pages and a very ugly cover.
You can find all my Brent Weeks reviews here.

*  NO SPOILERS AHEAD  *

There are only a few things to add to my review of the first part. 

My main complaint is my dislike of Elene. She’s just way too perfect, too good and too virginal. After all she’s been through I find it very hard to believe how Good she still is. She’s boring, very unrealistic and way too much of a caricature of a Good Wife.
I grew annoyed at Elene trying to change Kylar. He’s the one to save the city, yet she takes him away from it. She’s such an idiot.
Their moving away and their relationship are really dragging the book to a slow pace. It only picks up after Kylar’s visit from someone.
And aside from Elene; every woman in this series is either a whore or a virgin.

I really like Vi though. She’s strong, independent and a daredevil. She’s much better suited to Kylar than Elene ever will be. But Weeks just uses her and the parts where it’s apparent she’s in love with Kylar are almost nauseatingly sticky with her love.

It is a quick and enjoyable read. The novel has some nice surprises, cool fight scenes and fun characters. Just don’t think too much about it.
The (side) characters are better thought out in this one, which I really did appreciate.
It is much darker and crueler then the first novel, and at times you need a strong stomach to keep on reading.
And (one of my bookish pet peeves) Weeks doesn’t just sum up what happened in the previous novel, it is worked into the story.

Happy reading!
Helena

Brent Weeks: The Way of Shadows

Hi

The Night Angel Trilogy was a gift from my husband for my 26th birthday. It was a finalist for the David Gemmell's Legend Award, it has 661 pages and all three novels have some of the ugliest covers I ever saw.

“For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.”

The novel reads as easy as a YA novel. It is fast-paced and it’s written in easy to read prose. A bit too easy in my opinion.  Throughout the novel there are words missing, spelling mistakes and sentences that just aren’t right. It’s as if no one edited this novel. Isn’t that supposed to be a real process when you publish a novel? Apparently, Weeks skipped this step.

It is suspenseful, full of action, fast-paced and it has surprising turns.
But Weeks skips several years for no apparent reason. I don’t like it when a writer does this. It makes me feel disconnected from the characters. We miss important years, decisions and events and he doesn’t even fill us in on them.
Characterization isn’t great as well. Motivations and thoughts aren’t known to us for most of the characters so connecting with them is virtually impossible. Every character has a few main characteristics but that’s all there is to them. Logan, for example, is handsome, strong, just and he has a quick temper. That’s it. All four characteristics stay the same throughout the novel; he doesn’t change is what I mean. Weeks created his characters and they don’t evolve, they don’t learn or change. It’s a very shallow novel.
World-building was almost non-existing in this novel. There’s virtually no background to the characters, to the city or to the world outside this city.
Weeks is not afraid to let his characters die. Almost every major character dies in this single novel. At this rate there won’t be anyone left for the third part in the trilogy.
The climax was a little underwhelming to be honest. The main characters had no real influence or task in it even though it was made out as if they would change the whole outcome.
The magic is intriguing and it seems different from other magic-systems I’ve read about. And Kylar his talent is broken! Now that’s exiting to read about. A hero who needs to find out how he can use his broken talent.

But for all these flaws I had a fun time reading this. It is fast, pure escapism, entertaining and highly enjoyable; just don’t expect this to be Great Literature in any way.

Happy reading.

Helena

Enjoying this!