Elitist Book Reviews

War. Revenge. Intrigue. Secrets. Magic. Everything you love about Brent Weeks' Lightbringer Series continues in THE BROKEN EYE.

This is what you've been waiting for.

Like I said with THE BLINDING KNIFE (EBR review), trying to read BROKEN without having read the previous books will leave you lost and floundering, the sequence of events lacking real impact. If you love epic fantasy with complex characters, creative world-building, and fast-paced action, then yes you should read this series, starting with THE BLACK PRISM (EBR review) (read the first three chapters for free here!). What follows will contain spoilers if you read them out of order. You have been warned.

At the end of BLINDING everything changes for our heroes. Gavin has lost his ability to draft and now finds himself a slave on a pirate ship's galley. Kip escapes sociopathic half-brother Zymun to return to the Chromeria a changed man. Teia finds herself mixed up with a group of fanatic vigilantes, her ex-slave status in jeopardy. Karris mourns the disappearance of her husband, but must find a new purpose to her life as the wife of the Prism.

A lot happens in BROKEN, covering months as Gavin tries to escape, Kip continues his training, and Lord Guile manipulates the politics of the Chromeria. Without Gavin there and the White's health quickly deteriorating, no one can check Lord Guile's ambitions. But I'll be honest with you, despite a lot happening, BROKEN feels like a middle-of-the-story novel. The pace slows for almost the entire book as characters' situations are suspended in uncertainty. Will Gavin escape? Should Kip trust his grandfather? What is the White's plans for Karris? Is Teia entrapping herself to the Order of the Broken Eye?

Part of the cause of this slower pacing is a focus on the politics of war and power. Certainly there's the Chromeria, but what happens when the Prism disappears and there's a vacuum of power? What happens when a (supposedly) altruistic Color Prince makes his way through the various countries to free them from the thumb of an oppressive Chromeria--but will do anything and kill anyone in order to achieve his goals?

Another reason for the slower pace is the in-depth character development. After two books of setting up our characters and who they are, BROKEN delves into what makes our heroes tick. I really, really enjoyed this about BROKEN, when usually extra characterization is something that drives me batty because nothing happens--fortunately Weeks's characterization is never boring. I was hooked as I watched Kip struggle with the changes in Lord Guile and try to reconcile the loss of his father with his current standing among his peers (as a result of the last battle in BLINDING)--all with his usual snark. I loved that there was more Karris screen time and how she becomes involved in the White's spy network. Teia is a fascinating character whose self-doubt isn't annoying, and she fights to overcome it in realistic ways. Weeks is fantastic with his female characters, they are truly well done. Gavin's struggle to not be bogged down by discouragement in his situation was frankly inspiring. Unfortunately, though, we don't see much of Liv, and only hear secondhand accounts of the Color Prince's army and their exploits. But I'm hoping that in following books we aren't left in the dark about our villains.

There isn't as much world-building this time around as in the last two books, although there's some new tidbits that will satisfy even the most staunch epic fantasy readers. Weeks carries forward the loose threads from BLINDING and adds to them, weaving into the story exciting new possibilities.

Weeks also seems to have more control of his action sequences, making it feel less showy and more like what I'd expect from these characters and what we know they can do--alone and as a team. There was tension, excitement, surprises (Weeks can't help himself when it comes to his twists and surprises). And of course the consequences that we may not yet see the whole of for some time. As a result the conclusion, as in past books, was amazing and game-changing. I'm eagerly anticipating THE BLOOD MIRROR...2016 can't come fast enough.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: A few f-bombs per chapter
Violence: Several violent episodes, variously bloody
Sex: Referenced; teenage hormones

Find this exciting series here:

THE BLACK PRISM

THE BLINDING KNIFE

THE BROKEN EYE

THE BLINDING KNIFE picks up where THE BLACK PRISM ends, throwing you into the exciting action from page one.

Oh, yeah.

If you haven't read book one, the opening chapters of BLINDING won't make any sense to you. Sure Weeks refreshes our memory here and there, but it won't be enough to get new readers up to speed. So if you haven't read THE BLACK PRISM, stop here, go read it, then come back, or else what follows will have spoilers.

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the master of light and magic in a world that's growing unbalanced. After a crushing defeat, he and his followers must escape and find a new place to live to protect them from the Color Prince and his army. Karris has discovered his secret, his own magic is beginning to fail him, and the Chromeria doesn't believe that war is imminent. Everything seems to be going wrong. Despite all this, Gavin has a few bright hopes left.

Kip, Gavin's son, has started classes at the Chromeria as well as training with the Backguard. If his professors don't kill him, then his father's enemies (including Gavin's scheming father) might just finish the job. But Kip's about his father's work at the Chromeria, with his own dangerous assignment.

Persuaded by the Color Prince's altruism, Liv has turned against the Prism. She questions the need to kill drafters when they 'halo' and wonders if it's murder and not the mercy everyone claims it is. The Color Prince keeps hinting that he has great plans for her, but she has yet to guess what they are.

Brent Weeks began the Lightbringer series with a fresh new story in THE BLACK PRISM, and surprisingly enough, the second installment, THE BLINDING KNIFE builds then warps and even crushes the plots that went before. Like I mentioned above, BLINDING starts with exciting action that carries over from book one. The middle slows down as Weeks builds up for the Big Event at the end of book two, setting us for what's going to happen. Then about 2/3 of the way through, the dominoes start to fall and everything explodes. It's messy. It's gruesome. It's awesome.

In THE BLINDING KNIFE we get a couple of new PoVs and main characters. The Color Prince isn't any less saintly than the Prism himself, but has the drive to change the world for the better, even if it means breaking everything first to do it. Liv still isn't completely sure about him, but he delivers results in a way that's more even-handed than the Chromeria. There's Teia, a young Blackguard in training who can only draft in sub-red and befriends Kip despite himself. Weeks weaves in the new cast, each fascinating and adding depth to the magic and setting: like the beautiful seer, the madwoman artist who draws game cards that mirror truth, Gavin's domineering father, and while we don't get much of Karris' PoV she's still an important part of this story.

Here, Weeks also spends a lot of time on the setting itself, particularly the magic that influences the world and its people, weaving it more naturally into the story than he did in his first series. Some of it is just plain weird, but I love the originality. He doesn't make magic only about drafting, and we even learn there's more to drafting yet to be revealed. More layers and details that only enrich the world and the magic.

Sure Week's prose has the occasional blips, sometimes making readers stumble at wording, transition, or flow. There are a couple of infodumps. But these issues are so minor as to be petty. Most of the characterization problems from book one, as well as the problems I had visualizing the magic, were fixed here (mostly). I'm still trying to define Week's style--to myself, anyway. There are those brief moments of goofy camp...but then the very next chapter is darkly disturbing, sometime enough to be nearly barf worthy. His action scenes are still flashy, but by this point I think less about their Jackie-Chan-ishness than I attribute them to being a Brent Weeks book. He has such unabashed joy with showing us the strange and wonderful, and the characters to go along with it, that you can't help but enjoy the ride.

While his Night Angel Trilogy introduced the world to him, it's THE BLINDING KNIFE that will give him a name.

Recommended Age: 17+ for sexual content and violence
Language: Yes
Violence: Lots, including deaths with gory detail
Sex: Many detailed references (sometimes crass), and a couple of scenes

Find this exciting series here:
THE BLACK PRISM
THE BLINDING KNIFE

Brent Weeks' immensely popular Night Angel Trilogy was published in quick succession. Readers had all three of his debut books on hand, devoured them, and then had to wait for his next novel. While imperfect, it was easy to see Weeks' potential for spinning a good yarn. THE BLACK PRISM has been released since then, but Weeks did take a little time to go back to the world he started out with, and gives us a novella about the assassin Durzo Blint.

Durzo is a character with a lot of back story, but since Night Angel wasn't about him, we didn't get to see much of it. "The Perfect Shadow" will give readers a glimpse into his life, specifically about how he became the man that is Durzo Blint. If you haven't read any of the Night Angel books you wouldn't know that Durzo is actually almost 700 years old, and has lived a lot of lives, in different countries, under different names.

As far as character studies go, it's too short and even disappointingly cliche. It's written much like Weeks' first book WAY OF SHADOWS, with its movie-esque action scenes and standard fantasy setting; the pace is quick and the prose easy to read. Unfortunately very little time is spent on Durzo actually learning the assassin trade and the rest of the time we're exposed to frequent wish-fulfillment sex. There's little to no setting, so those unfamiliar with the world will have a hard time creating a mental image of the time and place, especially since Weeks jumps around Durzo's memories.

It's only available on Kindle and Audible for pretty cheap, so if you loved the Night Angel world, and Durzo fascinated you, then you may want to pick this up. It's a quick read with details and insight about what makes Durzo an interesting character. But if you haven't read the trilogy, you'd best pass.

Recommended Age: 16+
Language: Quite a bit
Violence: Well, yes, he is an assassin, so there's blood and killing
Sex: Referenced. A lot.

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful 'drafter' alive in a world where color is magic and power. His role is to keep the magic balanced or else the world will erupt into chaos. Unfortunately most of the problems he has to deal with are the result of the False Prism War against his brother sixteen years ago.

If you're familiar with his hugely popular The Night Angel Trilogy, Brent Weeks' storytelling continues consistently, albeit with more polish. The first book in his new Lightbringer Series THE BLACK PRISM Weeks builds an exciting world, plunging into the story right from the get-go.

There are four main PoV characters: Gavin Guile the ultra-rich, handsome, and powerful man who probably only has five years left to live; Kip, supposed bastard of Gavin, spent his childhood living with a negligent mother and is now thrown into a world of intrigue and power; Liv, child of a military general who had been on the wrong side of the war; and Karris, drafter ninja-babe. The PoV switches are frequent and cliffhangery, but keeps the pace rapid-fire. The characters are well drawn and are what make the story worth reading, with the magic and storyline a juicy cherry on top.

Weeks likes mucking about with the standard fantasy tropes, and that gives PRISM a distinct flavor. He writes characters who are at the core good people, but even good intentions can have disastrous consequences. He also likes to create tension using a blind reveal, creating twists in the plot just when you think you have a handle on the story--he did this a lot in the Night Angel Trilogy, as well, to great effect. The main characters have big secrets, which they don't tell the others for good reason, but will cause readers to writhe in anticipation of when the problem will blow up in their faces. Fortunately this tactic doesn't create forced or unrealistic tension (mostly).

The magic based on the light spectrum is not only interesting in and of itself, but its use affects the world, politics, and culture. A magic user, or drafter, uses the characteristics inherent in color in order to create luxin, a plastic-like material. The Chromeria, which is where they learn magic, is built around the greatest possible exposure to light--and you're reminded that drafters can use magic in the dark, which makes for interesting dynamics. Drafters are sponsored by their home countries to be trained, and then are expected to work for the good of the people. Unfortunately, the use of magic shortens a drafter's life span, and eventually they go mad or die from over-use.

But while Weeks' writing has improved from the last series, he's still settling into his skills as an author, so there are bumps and missteps with the flow. Some of the emotion-related characterization lacks subtlety. Kip is whiny and annoyingly glib; Gavin, while a character in interesting shades of gray, is hard to decipher; and although Weeks does a good job of writing his PoV women, we unfortunately don't see as much of the them as we do the men. The religion that the magic revolves around feels too much like a re-vamped copy of Catholicism. And all the different countries and races got confusing, the continual referencing of unique characteristics is pointless filler in an attempt to create a multi-racial setting.

The biggest problem I had was visualizing some of the magic. For example, Gavin drafts luxin to create boats and propel them across oceans, but I just couldn't get a complete enough grasp on what Weeks was describing. The magic is interesting but some details left me wondering--they'll hopefully be explored in the next novel. And the action can get gimmicky, especially when drafters do magic not mentioned before in the book, only to bring out their fancy skills for the sake of a flashy action scene.

While imperfect, THE BLACK PRISM is fun to read, witty and imaginative, and left me wanting the next installment to see what Weeks will come up with next.

Recommended Age: 14+
Language: Not much.
Violence: Yes and the gore can be graphic.
Sex: Innuendo throughout and one mild scene.