Brent Weeks

Night Angel Trilogy — (2008) Publisher: For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art — and he is the city's most accomplished artist. For Kylar Stern, just surviving is a struggle. As a guild rat, he's learned to judge people quickly — and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint. But to be accepted, he must turn his back on everything he has ever known.

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The Way of Shadows

Azoth, a young boy growing up in the poor ghetto of a large city, witnesses a violent confrontation between a master assassin and some thugs sent to kill him. He soon realizes that the only way to be free of the constant fear and desperation he lives with is to become an assassin himself. Thus begins Brent Weeks’ The Way of Shadows and the journey of young Azoth from child-thief to deadly assassin.

Mingled amidst the decadence and decay of the corrupt capital of Cenaria, Azoth stumbles and struggles to become what he can in order to make a better life for himself. Meanwhile, politics, betrayal, and magic are also afoot in Cenaria, and things don’t turn out quite for the best.

The Way of Shadows is long and meanders back and forth between the different plotlines, but Weeks creates some effective drama and some interesting contrasting characters. For example, one young man has a soul of honor and nobility while another is the epitome of deceit and lies. But then, characters who we assumed to be heartless do good things. I did feel a little like most everyone had a heart of gold underneath it all — and sometimes I found that to be a bit too predictable and not very realistic.

The first 200 pages of The Way of Shadows fairly flew by, but then I got bogged down. Things were taking too long to really get going and by the time I reached the crescendo at the end, I was impatient. It’s a good story and there are some good characters, but it was neither so original nor so compelling that I was overly impressed. Brent Weeks can write, but the story could have gone on a 100+ page diet and still been more than detailed enough to satisfy. —John Hulet

The Way of Shadows

In the back-alley slums of Cenaria, a guild rat named Azoth hopes to survive by becoming the apprentice of Durzo Blint, who is the best of the wetboys — the most elite of assassins. To do this he must unquestioningly follow Durzo’s every command, accept that life — anyone’s life — is worthless, and forget everyone he knew in his old life. He must become Kylar Stern: gentleman by day, stone-cold killer by night. Though Azoth doesn't know it, as Kylar he is destined for much bigger things.

I like stories with strong criminal elements, action, and intrigue — all of which The Way of Shadows has. The plot has so much potential, but I went from interested, to briefly revolted, to almost started to like it, to bored, and ended up forcing myself to finish the book.

The only characters I actually cared about were a few minor ones. The villain was so sadistic and psychopathic — how can his own evil army stomach him? The system of magic is more like Matrix/Neo-superpowers than fantasy sorcery. Many times, things just didn’t make sense as they were written which made the action hard to follow — like reading about Kylar hiding behind a picture, when the author really meant a statue and not a picture at all.

The dialog came across like bad acting in a low-budget movie, and the slang was horrible — like “wetboys” being the best of the best in hired-killers. I assume this came from the term “wet-works” sometimes used in modern-day espionage thrillers to down-play assignations or maybe just because it’s a bloody deed, but every time I read “wetboy,” instead of ninja-like assassins, all I could think of was a kid caught in the rain.

Worst of all, the tone was all over the place. Sometimes it was so dark I could barely stand it, even though dark & gritty is usually my preference. For example, there were descriptions of sexual molestation within youth street-gangs. There were several cheesy descriptions of beautiful women and their breasts (despite breasts being my own personal favorite part — or should I say parts — of the female anatomy) which just didn’t fit the story. And the number of forbidden romances in a single book may be a new record in fantasy. I realize the extreme contrasts are an attempt to make the bright parts brighter, but the result was a story with a strangely wavering tone.

To Mr. Weeks' credit, The Way of Shadows has a solid plot and some writing at the end that I really enjoyed. There was so much potential here — I think perhaps the editing is to blame. It just seemed like it was still in the rough draft stage. I'd like to see what Brent Weeks could do with a different editor. —Greg Hersom

Shadow's Edge

I read Brent Weeks’s debut novel The Way of Shadows some time ago. It was not a brilliant book but it kept me entertained enough to try the second part in the NIGHT ANGEL trilogy, Shadow's Edge. On the whole I liked Shadow's Edge much better than The Way of Shadows. With the wider scope of the story, it is a much more satisfying read, though it still has a number of annoying flaws.

The story picks up right where we left the characters at the end of book one. The army of the Godking (as he styles himself; there is little proof of his divinity that I can see) Ursull has taken the city of Cenaria in an orgy of violence and blood. The nation appears subdued, all resistance broken. Kylar has decided to give up his life as an assassin and prepares to move away from the city with his beloved Elene and their adopted daughter Uly. Elene has made Kylar promise not to kill again whatever the circumstances, but Kylar finds that a promise impossible to keep.

It becomes even harder after his old friend Jarl shows up on his doorstep and tells him Logan Gyre, the recently appointed heir to the last king of Cenaria and close friend of Kylar, is still alive. To escape the Godking, he has hidden himself in the most unlikely of places, the worst prison in the country, a place known as the Hole. It is only a matter of time before Logan is discovered or perishes in his hellish prison. Kylar needs to act and he needs to do it now. Especially since the Godking does not seem to have forgotten Kylar either.

Where the story of The Way of Shadows was very much confined to Kylar and the city of Cenaria, Shadow’s Edge zooms out a little. There's a lot less emphasis on Kylar's character and more on the politics surrounding the conquest and occupation of the nation. It gives the story more depth than the first part of the trilogy. I still think a bit more detail on the Godking and the search that drives him would have done the story good, but there is something to the mysterious bunch of magicians opposing him. I guess Weeks does not want the puzzle resolved too early in the trilogy.

I like the character of Kylar a bit better too, now that he has finally admitted to himself that he is an assassin. With the control over his powers increasing, Kylar gets into a number of very cool, almost Matrix-esque fights. His relationship with Elene, on the other hand, is a bit over the top. Considering Elene grew up in one of the worst parts of town and has seen more than enough human misery, you'd expect her to hold a somewhat more realistic view on human nature. Her religious views were so at odds with the world around her that no reasonably intelligent being would expect themselves to live up to her ideals. It did make for some funny scenes with Kylar trying to talk her into having sex with him, though.

I am not all that fond of another of the major female characters either. The second most talented wet boy after Kylar is Vi. Her apprenticeship with the successful but excessively cruel Hu Gibbet puts her through the same mental and physical abuse Kylar suffered, but on top of that Hu heaps enough sexual abuse to break even the strongest spirit. Vi puts on a brave face but ultimately she has very little control over her emotions, which makes her easy to manipulate. Hu is described as a very cruel man, so I guess the cracks in his apprentice's psyche are fitting. For the story, it is something of a loss though. Vi would have made a very good strong female character but Weeks has turned her into a helpless woman in denial, at the mercy of anyone who is clever enough to pull her strings.

Where The Way of Shadows leaned heavily on the action scenes, the pace in this book slows down just a little to allow a bit more worldbuilding to slip into the story. Personally, I feel Shadow's Edge is a bit more balanced and a much better read than previous novel. In fact, for a middle book it has a surprisingly satisfying end. Weeks leaves a number of storylines open for the final part in the trilogy, of course, but the story arc in this book doesn't suffer from these loose ends. Unfortunately, he manages to undo some of that good work in the epilogue with a plot device that is turning into a pet peeve for me. I can't tell you without spoiling the book. though. Overall, Shadow’s Edge shows significant improvement over the first book. After The Way of Shadows I doubted I would continue this series. Now, I look forward to the final part in the NIGHT ANGEL trilogy, Beyond the Shadows. —Rob Weber (guest)
FanLit thanks Rob Weber from Val's Random Comments for contributing this guest review.

Beyond the Shadows

I hate to leave a series unfinished if it is at all palatable, and while the first two books of the NIGHT ANGEL trilogy were not brilliant, I still couldn't stay away from the final book. In Beyond the Shadows Weeks continues the relentless action we saw in the first two books. After reading Shadow’s Edge, which was a lot better than the first volume, The Way of Shadows, I had hoped the series would continue improving. Unfortunately, Beyond the Shadows is a bit of an unfocussed book, better than the first book but not quite as good as the second.

Cenaria is saved, and while Logan may not have been able to claim the throne, many things now seem possible. This sense of optimism does not last long. Soon it becomes apparent that several parties are trying to relieve the weakened nation of its newfound independence. While Logan is willing to settle for a role in the shadow, Kylar clearly believes he should be king. He is even willing to take up his old profession for it. A major disagreement about how to save the country yet again is in the making.

In the meantime Dorian, the prophet and disowned son of the late Godking, has made his way to his home country. As soon as word of the Godking's demise penetrates to his capital, a bloody battle between his offspring ensues. One of them must succeed him, and only the strongest and most ruthless of his sons stand any chance at all. Dorian came to the capital to rescue Logan's wife Jenine but soon becomes involved in the civil war. The only way to really change something about the brutal culture that rules Khalidor is to take charge himself.

I don't have a whole lot to say about Beyond the Shadows, really. I didn't think it was bad but it's not great either. As I mentioned in the introduction the book is a bit unfocussed. It frequently changes point of view and visits many locations in Weeks's world. No fewer than seven armies are on the move trying to get to the big battle at the end and getting in each other's way. The Night Angel himself is first trying to be a hero in Cenaria before running off to see Elene and Vi, but despite all his powers he does not have a clue what he is supposed to do with them. In fact, it takes Kylar some 500 pages to figure it out. For the main character in the trilogy, he is pretty unimportant to the overall story. That is not to say he doesn't do some pretty cool things, of course, but I won't spoil that for you. The whole triangle with Vi and Elene seemed a little over the top too. Even if it does finally get him laid in this book. Somehow, with Kylar's background, his being a 20-year-old virgin does not seem terribly likely.

Although he can be whiny at times, the character that I thought was most interesting in this book was Dorian Ursuul. The way he has been trying to distance himself from his father's tyranny and the way he almost falls into the same trap of violence followed by more violence is very well done. I think Weeks could have spent a bit more time on the moment where Dorian finally realizes what he has been doing since taking his father's place and what he can do to break the cycle. It would have improved the ending, which relies heavily on an enormous outburst of magic to tie off many story threads and force some prophecies to become reality.

As with the rest of the trilogy, I enjoyed reading Beyond the Shadows at some level. It is not a great book, though. Like the previous books it relies on the fast pace and action scenes to carry the book, and that is simply not enough for a really satisfying read. Maybe he overshot zooming out from the city of Cenaria, which is pretty much the focus of the entire first book, a bit as well. If it had not been for Orbit's unusual marketing strategy, I suspect this trilogy would not have received quite the attention it did. It's not bad for a début, but I don't think I will be rereading this trilogy. —Rob Weber (guest)
FanLit thanks Rob Weber from Val's Random Comments for contributing this guest review.