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Night Angel #2
Shadow's Edge
The second novel in the Night Angel trilogy, the breakneck epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Brent Weeks.
Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession.
But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?
Devour this blockbuster tale of assassination and magic by Brent Weeks, which has delighted readers all over the world--with over one million copies in print!
Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin's life. The Godking's successful coup has left Kylar's master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession.
But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?
Devour this blockbuster tale of assassination and magic by Brent Weeks, which has delighted readers all over the world--with over one million copies in print!
636 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
2113 people are currently reading
25236 people want to read
About the author
Brent Weeks
96books22.9kfollowersIn a small-town Montana school at age 12, Brent Weeks met the two great loves of his life. Edgar Allan Poe introduced him to the power of literature to transcend time and death and loneliness. Fate introduced him to The Girl, Kristi Barnes. He began his pursuit of each immediately.
The novel was a failure. The Girl shot him down.
Since then–skipping the boring parts–Brent has written eight best-selling novels with the Night Angel Trilogy and the Lightbringer Series, won several industry awards, and sold a few million books.
Brent and his wife Kristi live in Oregon with their two daughters. (Yeah, he married The Girl.)
The novel was a failure. The Girl shot him down.
Since then–skipping the boring parts–Brent has written eight best-selling novels with the Night Angel Trilogy and the Lightbringer Series, won several industry awards, and sold a few million books.
Brent and his wife Kristi live in Oregon with their two daughters. (Yeah, he married The Girl.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,493 reviews
April 26, 2023
My ocular muscles are sore from all the eyerolling I did when I read Shadow's Edge. It is even more obsessed with virginity/chastity than an average American Sex Ed class. Because all women are either virgins or whores, right? *sigh*
The terrible, atrocious portrayal of female characters annoyed me even more than in the first book. I cringed very time a female character took stage. They all lack any depth whatsoever, becoming little more than caricatures. The virgin/whore dichotomy rules this book and the entire worth of a woman is reduced to her sexuality. This may be the view of this quasi-medieval society, but we are not shown anything to disprove it at all. This is NOT.COOL.
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Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to some examples of the aforementioned virgin-whore situation we've got on our hands:
.....
......
EXHIBIT A: ELENE (VIRGIN): Saintly mind-numbingly boring Elene is clearly the embodiment of goodness in this book (and the entire story arc, as the events of the sequel show). She is supposed to be sweet, kind, and innocent. She tries to help Kylar denounce his former murdering ways by turning him into a mundane law-abiding peacefully-living sorta-spouse.
Well, that's good, right? Well, unless you take the only guy that can use his super-powers to save thousands of the inhabitants of his hometown from bloodthirsty invaders and force him to leave he city and start a 'regular' life with you - as long as he does not kill, even the bad guys. Let me repeat - she abhors murder and thus removes from the city the only guy WHO COULD HAVE STOPPED THOUSANDS FROM BEING MURDERED. Instead of righting the wrongs, Kylar gets to be all sickeningly cute and sugary with Elene while attempting to raise the world's most annoying child ever.
Both my hand and my head hurt from the endless facepalming in addition to all the eyerolling.
The terrible, atrocious portrayal of female characters annoyed me even more than in the first book. I cringed very time a female character took stage. They all lack any depth whatsoever, becoming little more than caricatures. The virgin/whore dichotomy rules this book and the entire worth of a woman is reduced to her sexuality. This may be the view of this quasi-medieval society, but we are not shown anything to disprove it at all. This is NOT.COOL.
Sidenote: By the way, can somebody please explain to me why EVERY SINGLE "GOOD" CHARACTER (men included, at least no misogyny there) must be a virgin? Because CLEARLY the state of your reproductive organs is what determines who you are. *cue exasperated eyeroll*The only acceptable state of unmarried genitalia.
.................
...............-------------------------------------------------------
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to some examples of the aforementioned virgin-whore situation we've got on our hands:
.....
......EXHIBIT A: ELENE (VIRGIN): Saintly mind-numbingly boring Elene is clearly the embodiment of goodness in this book (and the entire story arc, as the events of the sequel show). She is supposed to be sweet, kind, and innocent. She tries to help Kylar denounce his former murdering ways by turning him into a mundane law-abiding peacefully-living sorta-spouse.
Well, that's good, right? Well, unless you take the only guy that can use his super-powers to save thousands of the inhabitants of his hometown from bloodthirsty invaders and force him to leave he city and start a 'regular' life with you - as long as he does not kill, even the bad guys. Let me repeat - she abhors murder and thus removes from the city the only guy WHO COULD HAVE STOPPED THOUSANDS FROM BEING MURDERED. Instead of righting the wrongs, Kylar gets to be all sickeningly cute and sugary with Elene while attempting to raise the world's most annoying child ever.
Both my hand and my head hurt from the endless facepalming in addition to all the eyerolling.
EXHIBIT B: VI (WHORE): Unlike whiny Elene, Vi is a trained assassin. She is supposed to be a badass, but a deeply flawed one. Well, apparently all her badassery goes out the window the moment Kylar's sexy man-charms reach her. And ALL of her problems obviously stem from being sexually used from a young age. But hey, there's still hope for her since all those bad sexy things she's done - yeah, none of those were for pleasure, so it's gotta be okay.
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The rest of the characters remain rather flat and underdeveloped in this exclusively plot-driven story. We are quickly introduced to a slew of characters, given one or two defining characteristics, and move on. And these characteristics are told, not shown. In the whirlwind switch between POVs every few pages, we lose what little character development there could have been, since no page time is devoted to showing any of it.
For instance, I know that Kylar and Logan are supposed to be best friends, to the point where Kylar is willing to risk everything for Logan's sake. I know Kylar and Jarl are supposed to be like brothers. I know Kylar is supposed to be madly in love with Elene. Unfortunately I only know that because I was told that at some point, often by the characters themselves, but I have not seen any interaction between any of them in the book to actually convince me and show me that those feelings and emotions are true. With all the telling but little showing, I just don't believe the characters' motivations; their actions just become the ways to advance the plot and not much more.
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Despite all of my issues with this book, this was still a better story than the first installment. The action scenes remain fun and well-written. The plot, after the stumbling block of Elene-Kylar tortured love, picks up and moves at a breakneck speed. The loose ends continue to be nicely tied up, even if often in a predictable way. Basically, this can be a quick, fun and mindless read, if you don't stop and think much along the way. I still think that Weeks has potential if he learns better characterization; his storytelling skills are already better than many fantasy writers. 3 stars 2 stars¹.
¹ After realizing that I have given 3 stars to quite a few books that I liked way more than this one (and its predecessor), I realized that the fair thing to do would be to knock this one down a star. For the life of me, I have no idea why I was so generous with rating it in the first place.
November 1, 2024
The author's obsession with virginity, male or female, almost ruined the series for me. Kylar, a virgin, spends half of the book trying to get laid with his virgin girlfriend. The only person capable of actually doing something about the state of the affairs in which Cenaria was left in the 1st volume, gives up his skills for unfulfilled sex. Good women are virgins, bad women are whores. Not much in between. How this went from grimdark fantasy to teenage angst drama, I have no idea.
Another annoying thing in this novel was the choice to shift way too often from one character to the other. It got me dizzy and confused about many aspects of the world building and it did not allow the characters to develop.
The last 30% or so was pretty good but I hope the last volume will be different than this one from the start or it will probably be a DNF. I do not think I will stomach more of this lame whining.
Another annoying thing in this novel was the choice to shift way too often from one character to the other. It got me dizzy and confused about many aspects of the world building and it did not allow the characters to develop.
The last 30% or so was pretty good but I hope the last volume will be different than this one from the start or it will probably be a DNF. I do not think I will stomach more of this lame whining.
June 27, 2012
I think a lot of people who are complaining about the role of women in this book completely missed something important; it adds to the development of the world. It is a medieval fantasy and the women in this time period are relegated to nothingness however they play a huge role in this book itself. Elene and Vi are FOILS; they are meant to be eachother's anti-thesis in every way. Vi was abused sexually, physically, and mentally in every way conceivable while Elene grew up in a relatively happy and loving home. If anything, Brent Weeks is taking a pot shot at how most writers of this genre makes women seem completely feeble. I personally loved Vi and Elene in their own rights; I grew annoyed at Elene trying to change Kylar and I felt a twang of pity for Vi. For those who are curious as to who is my favorite I'd say both; Vi in a sort of bonding way.. Its not easy to trust nor love after being the victim of abuse and Elene for her naivete of the world (Elene can also be considered a Siddhartha character; oblivious to the plagues of man and learning them in a cruel manner).
Also, I enjoy the fact he switched points of view; it let you connect with each character and sit on edge over their coming fate. I know certainly I did; I wanted to know what would happen to Jenine, to Dorian, Durzo, Momma K, etc. It also developed character growth in variable rates; some more then others because there was NO minor or major characters in this theater which Weeks tried to capture I think.
All in all, this has been one hell of a read from start to finish for me. It has been quite some time since I've put my whole being into a book to read. Definitely a book I will recommend to everyone I know and hope they like it as well as I do.
Also, I enjoy the fact he switched points of view; it let you connect with each character and sit on edge over their coming fate. I know certainly I did; I wanted to know what would happen to Jenine, to Dorian, Durzo, Momma K, etc. It also developed character growth in variable rates; some more then others because there was NO minor or major characters in this theater which Weeks tried to capture I think.
All in all, this has been one hell of a read from start to finish for me. It has been quite some time since I've put my whole being into a book to read. Definitely a book I will recommend to everyone I know and hope they like it as well as I do.
November 2, 2015
Some time has passed, and I’m trying to think of something positive to say about this book. And it turns out to be a real struggle.
Most of it is about Kylar constantly complaining that he’s a virgin, Logan constantly complaining that he’s a virgin, Elene being dreadfully annoying and Kylar and Elene trying to avoid the topic of sex around little Uly. It’s like the book is a pendulum switching constantly between annoying and awkward.
The storyline is just a sidetrack. A break between the actually interesting stuff. It still is exciting occasionally, I’ll give it that. But mostly it’s six hundred pages of boring, annoying, juvenile stupidity that ends with going more or less no changes. And it also includes the utter destruction of my sole remaining favourite character.
Now, me not being able to recall any positive things does not necessarily mean that there weren’t any. I like this world, some of its characters, concepts and background stories very much, and I really like Brent Weeks himself. I would feel justified in giving this the capital punishment of a one-star rating because I know that he can do much, much better.
However, I’m going to be nice because of two amazing lines near the end that single-handedly saved my enjoyment of the series enough to go on.
Most of it is about Kylar constantly complaining that he’s a virgin, Logan constantly complaining that he’s a virgin, Elene being dreadfully annoying and Kylar and Elene trying to avoid the topic of sex around little Uly. It’s like the book is a pendulum switching constantly between annoying and awkward.
The storyline is just a sidetrack. A break between the actually interesting stuff. It still is exciting occasionally, I’ll give it that. But mostly it’s six hundred pages of boring, annoying, juvenile stupidity that ends with going more or less no changes. And it also includes the utter destruction of my sole remaining favourite character.
Now, me not being able to recall any positive things does not necessarily mean that there weren’t any. I like this world, some of its characters, concepts and background stories very much, and I really like Brent Weeks himself. I would feel justified in giving this the capital punishment of a one-star rating because I know that he can do much, much better.
However, I’m going to be nice because of two amazing lines near the end that single-handedly saved my enjoyment of the series enough to go on.
March 28, 2015
Quite honestly, this falls at two stars on my enjoyment scale. While Weeks is talented at developing the video game fantasy, a genre I am now officially defining for public benefit, it lacks most of what I love in a good read. Shadow's Edge is an improvement over , but ultimately the shortcomings of the storytelling cripple the book.
A hallmark of the video game fantasy is a telegraphed narrative with cursory character development. Weeks jumps from person to person, almost never focusing on a single character for more than eight pages, and the rough average is five. That's right, I said 'five.' I've given my ten year-old nephew chapter books with longer story segments. Many of the characters, while interesting, only provide the smallest of background to the storyline, such as the former pirate-turned-whore Kaldrosa, so the sacrifice of a larger coherency hardly seems worth it. Kylar, the Godking, a Khalidoran soldier named Ferl, Jarl, Momma K, Elene, Logan, Dorian, Vi, Feir, Sister Ariel, a high mage named Neph Dada, a elite soldier named Lantano, Agon Brandt--it's a broad cast of characters we visit for a few moments at a time. He's written a screenplay broken down into scene shots, with us dropping in on discrete scenes and allowing us to gestalt the whole mess together.
The breakdown lends itself to a dissociation from the novel. Every shift of scene and voice creates a sense of disruption, and I found myself frequently making use of it, setting the book down to go get a glass of water, maybe check in to ŷ, walk the dogs, and so on. Some books are so immersive that when I finish, it's like coming up for air from an underwater swim, gasping for air and with the shock of returning to the world. This is not one of them.
What also became apparent is that Weeks sacrificed a great deal of background for the opportunity to character shift. One small example is found in the description of Neph Dada: "twelve knotted cords hung over the shoulders of his black robes for the twelve shu'ras he'd mastered." I'm relatively certain I read no more about the cords or the shu'ras, except when Neph appears again. In fact, I couldn't tell you if that's part of a magic or religious system, or if it makes him especially intimidating. It's a challenge to be given details like that that lack context and seemingly never appear again. It reminds me a great deal of when one first starts to play a video game and one has to pay attention to every sign, pick up every object, or go down every walkway in case it becomes significant later. Most of it, of course, never becomes meaningful. Once in awhile it does, but if I have to flip hither and yon to determine where I saw that character last and what was he up to, well, I don't.
In order to compensate for the lack of world-building, a common crutch of the video game fantasy is a reliance on the background cultural knowledge of the reader to fill in the gaps. The decision to name the sorcerous order the "Chantry" reminded me of Dragon Age, along with the historical real world reference of a fund/land/priest dedicated to a specific patron. The Vurdmeisters sounds like Norse mythology, and of course, dedicating their deaths to "Khali" sounds a lot like the Hindu goddess. So much is ignored here--I'm not sure I could tell you much about what people eat, and I don't think we ran into any animals besides horses. Transportation seems to be cart/horse and ship based. We're given the broad outlines of a vaguely European feudal system with a pre-industrial level of technology, and our own imagination fills in most of the details.
Antagonistic, aggressive conflict is the hallmark of almost every interaction/ scene in the book. If it is not Kylar conflicted with himself over Elene, it's likely there's an undertone or outright flurry of physical violence.
I'm a character reader, but I can be a sucker for a good action story and only minor character development if it's done well. These are not. Given their extraordinarily troubled background, Kylar and Elene are crazy young. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that is intentional or not. Kylar's obsession with Elene's "goodness" has become oh-so-boring and it's quite obviously doomed from the start. The most insight we get during Elene's five pages is her own frustration about their chastity. Enough already, and isn't it a bit weird that parentless children running rough in gangs and occasionally seeking refuge in whorehouses haven't had sex? I'm sure there's some big reveal in book three that has to do with their virginity, but I'm not sure I care. There's a weird incongruity I ended up getting stuck on--we actually spend time learning how Kylar disguises himself as a smelly tanner, an experience most people instinctively avoid. And yet for the rest of the book, all our experienced magic users comment on how Kylar doesn't smell. At all. Elene notes perfume doesn't work on him. Not even his clothes smell after riding horseback for days.
Another hallmark of the video game fantasy is the limited development of female characters. Really, isn't it about time for the fantasy male writer's fascination for the virgin/whore dichotomy to be over? So been there, done that, and these men were brought up in America post 1970, so I can't quite get the fascination. Oh wait, I can. That way women aren't scary.
So what kept me reading? Probably my own book OCD. I do like the Logan storyline, and I thought his development and time in the Hole was a fabulous and frightening look into the depths of humanity. His fellow denizens were fascinating, especially his connection with Lilly and Gnasher. .
I know, I know, people loved it. I just can't. I ended up picking up Sanderson's Mists shortly after and sighed with relief.
A hallmark of the video game fantasy is a telegraphed narrative with cursory character development. Weeks jumps from person to person, almost never focusing on a single character for more than eight pages, and the rough average is five. That's right, I said 'five.' I've given my ten year-old nephew chapter books with longer story segments. Many of the characters, while interesting, only provide the smallest of background to the storyline, such as the former pirate-turned-whore Kaldrosa, so the sacrifice of a larger coherency hardly seems worth it. Kylar, the Godking, a Khalidoran soldier named Ferl, Jarl, Momma K, Elene, Logan, Dorian, Vi, Feir, Sister Ariel, a high mage named Neph Dada, a elite soldier named Lantano, Agon Brandt--it's a broad cast of characters we visit for a few moments at a time. He's written a screenplay broken down into scene shots, with us dropping in on discrete scenes and allowing us to gestalt the whole mess together.
The breakdown lends itself to a dissociation from the novel. Every shift of scene and voice creates a sense of disruption, and I found myself frequently making use of it, setting the book down to go get a glass of water, maybe check in to ŷ, walk the dogs, and so on. Some books are so immersive that when I finish, it's like coming up for air from an underwater swim, gasping for air and with the shock of returning to the world. This is not one of them.
What also became apparent is that Weeks sacrificed a great deal of background for the opportunity to character shift. One small example is found in the description of Neph Dada: "twelve knotted cords hung over the shoulders of his black robes for the twelve shu'ras he'd mastered." I'm relatively certain I read no more about the cords or the shu'ras, except when Neph appears again. In fact, I couldn't tell you if that's part of a magic or religious system, or if it makes him especially intimidating. It's a challenge to be given details like that that lack context and seemingly never appear again. It reminds me a great deal of when one first starts to play a video game and one has to pay attention to every sign, pick up every object, or go down every walkway in case it becomes significant later. Most of it, of course, never becomes meaningful. Once in awhile it does, but if I have to flip hither and yon to determine where I saw that character last and what was he up to, well, I don't.
In order to compensate for the lack of world-building, a common crutch of the video game fantasy is a reliance on the background cultural knowledge of the reader to fill in the gaps. The decision to name the sorcerous order the "Chantry" reminded me of Dragon Age, along with the historical real world reference of a fund/land/priest dedicated to a specific patron. The Vurdmeisters sounds like Norse mythology, and of course, dedicating their deaths to "Khali" sounds a lot like the Hindu goddess. So much is ignored here--I'm not sure I could tell you much about what people eat, and I don't think we ran into any animals besides horses. Transportation seems to be cart/horse and ship based. We're given the broad outlines of a vaguely European feudal system with a pre-industrial level of technology, and our own imagination fills in most of the details.
Antagonistic, aggressive conflict is the hallmark of almost every interaction/ scene in the book. If it is not Kylar conflicted with himself over Elene, it's likely there's an undertone or outright flurry of physical violence.
I'm a character reader, but I can be a sucker for a good action story and only minor character development if it's done well. These are not. Given their extraordinarily troubled background, Kylar and Elene are crazy young. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that is intentional or not. Kylar's obsession with Elene's "goodness" has become oh-so-boring and it's quite obviously doomed from the start. The most insight we get during Elene's five pages is her own frustration about their chastity. Enough already, and isn't it a bit weird that parentless children running rough in gangs and occasionally seeking refuge in whorehouses haven't had sex? I'm sure there's some big reveal in book three that has to do with their virginity, but I'm not sure I care. There's a weird incongruity I ended up getting stuck on--we actually spend time learning how Kylar disguises himself as a smelly tanner, an experience most people instinctively avoid. And yet for the rest of the book, all our experienced magic users comment on how Kylar doesn't smell. At all. Elene notes perfume doesn't work on him. Not even his clothes smell after riding horseback for days.
Another hallmark of the video game fantasy is the limited development of female characters. Really, isn't it about time for the fantasy male writer's fascination for the virgin/whore dichotomy to be over? So been there, done that, and these men were brought up in America post 1970, so I can't quite get the fascination. Oh wait, I can. That way women aren't scary.
So what kept me reading? Probably my own book OCD. I do like the Logan storyline, and I thought his development and time in the Hole was a fabulous and frightening look into the depths of humanity. His fellow denizens were fascinating, especially his connection with Lilly and Gnasher. .
I know, I know, people loved it. I just can't. I ended up picking up Sanderson's Mists shortly after and sighed with relief.
July 13, 2016
Nope.
Just no.
What the hell Brent? This is more like some teenage sexual angst sketch than an epic fantasy. I can see some sexual innuendos, some earthy and frank sexuality; hell I read and dozens of Robert Silverberg books so a prude I’m not, but neither am I a sophomore pornographer and I walked past this line of fiction in middle school.
And 700 pages? I might have stayed with you for another 100 or so pages, but I was not going to wade through this muck for the next week at least.
I did not love but I liked it enough to give this a try, especially after scores of rave reviews from readers whose criticisms I enjoy. The world building and magic systems are cool, but I cannot get past writing that seems almost misogynistic.
To each his own, but life is too short and you’ve lost me after 100 pages.
Just no.
What the hell Brent? This is more like some teenage sexual angst sketch than an epic fantasy. I can see some sexual innuendos, some earthy and frank sexuality; hell I read and dozens of Robert Silverberg books so a prude I’m not, but neither am I a sophomore pornographer and I walked past this line of fiction in middle school.
And 700 pages? I might have stayed with you for another 100 or so pages, but I was not going to wade through this muck for the next week at least.
I did not love but I liked it enough to give this a try, especially after scores of rave reviews from readers whose criticisms I enjoy. The world building and magic systems are cool, but I cannot get past writing that seems almost misogynistic.
To each his own, but life is too short and you’ve lost me after 100 pages.
February 6, 2022
DNF@39%
Brent, did it cross your mind that some women might read your book? And that they might be repulsed by your female characters being either the Second Coming of the Virgin Mary or the personification of the Whore of Babylon?
And have you considered that most fantasy readers, regardless of their sexual identity, don't usually pick up books about badass assassins because they actually want to read about sorry teenagers lamenting their virginity, lusting over each other and doing nothing about it for hundreds of pages?
His country has been invaded and his friends are dead. He's a Master Killer with the coolest Killer-toy in all the Land. He learned his trade from the Master Killer with the coolest Killer-toy in all the Land. I'm expecting serious badassery.
Instead...
His country has been invaded. He runs away to the Back of Beyond to sell herbs, twiddle his thumbs, and marry a girl who says she loves him but won't let him touch her and who wants to transform him into a totally different person.
And so I get a seriously nauseating snooze-fest.
And a female character who has been forced to whore and has a permanently numb vag. Wait what? For reasons unknown she worships a God whose pilgrimage involves a weeklong festival of debauchery where you must accept any and all sexual advances. She hated every second of it so she put on baggy pants hoping to look less desirable. Really? Go jump in a lake, Brent.
Brent, did it cross your mind that some women might read your book? And that they might be repulsed by your female characters being either the Second Coming of the Virgin Mary or the personification of the Whore of Babylon?
And have you considered that most fantasy readers, regardless of their sexual identity, don't usually pick up books about badass assassins because they actually want to read about sorry teenagers lamenting their virginity, lusting over each other and doing nothing about it for hundreds of pages?
His country has been invaded and his friends are dead. He's a Master Killer with the coolest Killer-toy in all the Land. He learned his trade from the Master Killer with the coolest Killer-toy in all the Land. I'm expecting serious badassery.
Instead...
His country has been invaded. He runs away to the Back of Beyond to sell herbs, twiddle his thumbs, and marry a girl who says she loves him but won't let him touch her and who wants to transform him into a totally different person.
And so I get a seriously nauseating snooze-fest.
And a female character who has been forced to whore and has a permanently numb vag. Wait what? For reasons unknown she worships a God whose pilgrimage involves a weeklong festival of debauchery where you must accept any and all sexual advances. She hated every second of it so she put on baggy pants hoping to look less desirable. Really? Go jump in a lake, Brent.
March 12, 2018
Brent Weeks packs lots of content into ''Shadow’s Edge'' and as with the first novel in the series there are lots of different story strands which tie together nicely, although a few are left open for the final book.
This is a great book and I found it to be well written, with some strong characters and I look forward to reading the final novel in the series soon.
This is a great book and I found it to be well written, with some strong characters and I look forward to reading the final novel in the series soon.
October 16, 2015
3/5 stars
Warning: Possibly the laziest review in all of humanity follows.
Beginning (AKA the Kylar-Elene-'sex'-soap opera):
The ENTIRE 200 pages were about as thrilling and sexy as:
- Basically, a total snoozefest.
Middle (AKA shit starts to get real):
- Kylar actually starts acting like the man I knew and loved from book #1.
- Vi becomes infinitely more interesting.
- Awesome deaths occur.
The end (AKA the shit is here):
>
- The ending is pretty much the holy mother of all surprises.
- More awesome death.
Onward to book #3
Plz don't disappoint me o.O
Warning: Possibly the laziest review in all of humanity follows.
Beginning (AKA the Kylar-Elene-'sex'-soap opera):
The ENTIRE 200 pages were about as thrilling and sexy as:
- Basically, a total snoozefest.
Middle (AKA shit starts to get real):
- Kylar actually starts acting like the man I knew and loved from book #1.
- Vi becomes infinitely more interesting.
- Awesome deaths occur.
The end (AKA the shit is here):
>
- The ending is pretty much the holy mother of all surprises.
- More awesome death.
Onward to book #3
Plz don't disappoint me o.O
November 17, 2019
Its so sad when the first book in a series is better than the second one, it makes it harder fir readers to continue the series, but since I'm already invested in the series I'll read the third and final book in this series.
“I was ashamed,� Logan said. “Let me tell you what I learned in the Hole. I learned that in suffering, we find the true measure of our strength. I learned that a man can be a coward one day and a hero the next. I learned that I’m not as good a man as I thought I was. But the most important thing is this: I learned that though it costs me dearly, I can change. I learned that what has been broken can be made new.
The first half of this book was so frustratingly annoying, Kylar was trying to plan the regular guy and Elene is trying her possible best to turn him into a boy toy, I don't know how she thought that it work out, everyone knows that it always end in diaster when you try to change someone for yourself not for them. To make matters worse she used religion. My second favourite character after Logan is Ullysandra, that child is awesone and so so smart.
The second half of the book was better but still didn't live up to the first book, the most important part of this book was Logan's POV, he is the only character that actually had a development. Kylar is still a whinny man, I think forgets that he is now not only an immortal but no longer a child. Viridiana wasn't too bad, I actually felt bad for her, she has been through so much, even more than Kylar.
The writing and world building improved a little, for that I'm happy. But what didn't change is the terrible switch of POV, there is still no demarcation whatsoever to indicate that its another character that is narrator.
There is something about this book that people complained about, that the author is a misogynist cause the female characters are all basically prostitutes and the good girls are virgins, despite the pattern I don't agree with them, In my opinion what the author is trying to portray is that whatever situation you find yourself, even though its forced prostitution you can still do good, been in a bad situation doesn't make you bad. Elene been somewhat judgey is showing that not all virgins are good people. Also I've read his Lightbringer series and the females in that book didn't follow that pattern.
“I was ashamed,� Logan said. “Let me tell you what I learned in the Hole. I learned that in suffering, we find the true measure of our strength. I learned that a man can be a coward one day and a hero the next. I learned that I’m not as good a man as I thought I was. But the most important thing is this: I learned that though it costs me dearly, I can change. I learned that what has been broken can be made new.
The first half of this book was so frustratingly annoying, Kylar was trying to plan the regular guy and Elene is trying her possible best to turn him into a boy toy, I don't know how she thought that it work out, everyone knows that it always end in diaster when you try to change someone for yourself not for them. To make matters worse she used religion. My second favourite character after Logan is Ullysandra, that child is awesone and so so smart.
The second half of the book was better but still didn't live up to the first book, the most important part of this book was Logan's POV, he is the only character that actually had a development. Kylar is still a whinny man, I think forgets that he is now not only an immortal but no longer a child. Viridiana wasn't too bad, I actually felt bad for her, she has been through so much, even more than Kylar.
The writing and world building improved a little, for that I'm happy. But what didn't change is the terrible switch of POV, there is still no demarcation whatsoever to indicate that its another character that is narrator.
There is something about this book that people complained about, that the author is a misogynist cause the female characters are all basically prostitutes and the good girls are virgins, despite the pattern I don't agree with them, In my opinion what the author is trying to portray is that whatever situation you find yourself, even though its forced prostitution you can still do good, been in a bad situation doesn't make you bad. Elene been somewhat judgey is showing that not all virgins are good people. Also I've read his Lightbringer series and the females in that book didn't follow that pattern.
July 13, 2016
What can I say about this book? How about a list of reason why you might love it.
If you think the power of love overcomes all, and that belongs in a story about an Assassin, you know a guy that kills people for money. Then this book is for you.
If you think all women fall into one of two categories. Those being virgins or whores. Then you found your book right here.
If you like reading books that feel like the story to an 80's video game, you know a plot just thrown in there so you can watch some cool action. Then this is for you.
If you think people should sacrifice themselves for no real good reason at all. Then this book is for you.
If you enjoy cannibalism and pissed on bread, then you are in real luck here.
If you like your relationships in stories awkward. Like a playboy model walking up to these guys awkward:
Man is this your book.
Oh, and the action scenes were good too.
If you think the power of love overcomes all, and that belongs in a story about an Assassin, you know a guy that kills people for money. Then this book is for you.
If you think all women fall into one of two categories. Those being virgins or whores. Then you found your book right here.
If you like reading books that feel like the story to an 80's video game, you know a plot just thrown in there so you can watch some cool action. Then this is for you.
If you think people should sacrifice themselves for no real good reason at all. Then this book is for you.
If you enjoy cannibalism and pissed on bread, then you are in real luck here.
If you like your relationships in stories awkward. Like a playboy model walking up to these guys awkward:
Man is this your book.
Oh, and the action scenes were good too.
November 23, 2015
Wow, does Brent Weeks pack a punch or what?
For most of this book, I thought I would be giving it four stars, simply because I had enjoyed The Way of Shadows more. I loved the early years of Kylar's life and his training to be a wetboy. My favorite character had been Durzo Blint, his mentor, master, and father figure during this training. This was more epic a story, focusing not only on Kylar as he tries to learn the simple life of an herbalist, but on the primary players in a power struggle between the conquering kingdom of Khalidor and the now oppressed people of Cenaria.
Logan Gyre's story is further explored as the Cenarian heir is hidden away in Hell's Asshole, a most notorious section of an already horrible prison.
We see Kylar as he takes Elene and Uly and moves to a neighboring kingdom to settle into the simple life. One of the book's main strengths is the struggle that Kylar goes through trying to deny his training and his history in order to be a "good" man and be what Elene wants him to be.
The other strength of this book is that it brings Viridiana, or Vi as she prefers, into the role of a main character. She was introduced in the first book, but in this one she becomes the focus of much of the point-of-view action. And what wonderful results Weeks gets from this. I love Vi!
Though Weeks shifts to a more epic scope, this book is nearly as good as the first one. It might even be better, it's simply hard to choose it over the wonderful weaving of story he exhibited in Book 1. But regardless to which way I'd go, I know what my next book will be. Weeks ends this with a massive cliffhanger and has several of the characters at major crossroads. So with that, next stop is Beyond the Shadows.
For most of this book, I thought I would be giving it four stars, simply because I had enjoyed The Way of Shadows more. I loved the early years of Kylar's life and his training to be a wetboy. My favorite character had been Durzo Blint, his mentor, master, and father figure during this training. This was more epic a story, focusing not only on Kylar as he tries to learn the simple life of an herbalist, but on the primary players in a power struggle between the conquering kingdom of Khalidor and the now oppressed people of Cenaria.
Logan Gyre's story is further explored as the Cenarian heir is hidden away in Hell's Asshole, a most notorious section of an already horrible prison.
We see Kylar as he takes Elene and Uly and moves to a neighboring kingdom to settle into the simple life. One of the book's main strengths is the struggle that Kylar goes through trying to deny his training and his history in order to be a "good" man and be what Elene wants him to be.
The other strength of this book is that it brings Viridiana, or Vi as she prefers, into the role of a main character. She was introduced in the first book, but in this one she becomes the focus of much of the point-of-view action. And what wonderful results Weeks gets from this. I love Vi!
Though Weeks shifts to a more epic scope, this book is nearly as good as the first one. It might even be better, it's simply hard to choose it over the wonderful weaving of story he exhibited in Book 1. But regardless to which way I'd go, I know what my next book will be. Weeks ends this with a massive cliffhanger and has several of the characters at major crossroads. So with that, next stop is Beyond the Shadows.
October 23, 2016
Not too sure how to rate this book and decided to stick to 3-stars for a more neutral standpoint. There were some awesome scenes, some not-so-awesome, and some meandering which I'm not sure went anywhere.
The character that made the first book better was not present and boy, do I feel the absence. Kylar is a decent enough character although the first one-third of the book was annoying - all thanks to Elene who was truly beginning to irritate me. Kylar's arc only got interesting after he discovered that Logan might still be alive and went off to save him. And even more so, when he finally encountered Vi. Now this is a ship that I will like to see develop further.
The better parts of the book dealt with the magic of the world - the ka'kari, Curoch, Ezra's Wood - and as well as the bite-sized back stories of Dorian, Solon and Feir. I really wished that there was more about these three secondary characters.
From Logan's arc in the Hole of the Maw, the depravity of the Godking and the sickening ferali, there were also plenty of scenes which turned the stomach. I can't really tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing. but somehow strangely compelling at times. *Shakes head*
In any case, I am sufficiently invested to complete this series.. especially with that ending.
The character that made the first book better was not present and boy, do I feel the absence. Kylar is a decent enough character although the first one-third of the book was annoying - all thanks to Elene who was truly beginning to irritate me. Kylar's arc only got interesting after he discovered that Logan might still be alive and went off to save him. And even more so, when he finally encountered Vi. Now this is a ship that I will like to see develop further.
The better parts of the book dealt with the magic of the world - the ka'kari, Curoch, Ezra's Wood - and as well as the bite-sized back stories of Dorian, Solon and Feir. I really wished that there was more about these three secondary characters.
From Logan's arc in the Hole of the Maw, the depravity of the Godking and the sickening ferali, there were also plenty of scenes which turned the stomach. I can't really tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing. but somehow strangely compelling at times. *Shakes head*
In any case, I am sufficiently invested to complete this series.. especially with that ending.
September 1, 2024
3,5 estrellas en realidad.
Al libro le penaliza sobremanera que no haya un resumen de la primera parte. Me he pasado todo el sin saber bien qué pintan ciertos personajes. Y para colmo acaba bastante “a cuchillo�, con todo abierto.
Si consigues superar esos dos escollos el libro está bien, lo reconozco.
Engancha bastante, la trama es muy ágil y la mayoría de personajes lo suficientemente atractivos como para que se lean con interés los capítulos de los distintos puntos de vista.
El sistema de magia igual que en el libro anterior, aunque malamente lo recordaba. Y es un poco confuso, no queda claro qué puede hacer cada tipo de personaje o tipo de poder.
La ambientación la típica de Fantasía: reinos tipo medievales enfrentados con espadas, flechas, lanzas y tal y donde no hay armas de fuego.
Resumen: el anterior se llevó 5 estrellas y este me hubiese gustado mucho más si tras acabar aquel hubiera empezado este.
Una vez más: las editoriales o los autores o a quien competa, porfavor, porfavor, porfavor, que metan resúmenes al comienzo de lo que paso en los libros anteriores de las trilogías o sagas. Coño!, que no tenemos por qué tener en la cabeza miles de personajes o tramas de vuestras novelas. Ayudadnos un poco, anda.
Al libro le penaliza sobremanera que no haya un resumen de la primera parte. Me he pasado todo el sin saber bien qué pintan ciertos personajes. Y para colmo acaba bastante “a cuchillo�, con todo abierto.
Si consigues superar esos dos escollos el libro está bien, lo reconozco.
Engancha bastante, la trama es muy ágil y la mayoría de personajes lo suficientemente atractivos como para que se lean con interés los capítulos de los distintos puntos de vista.
El sistema de magia igual que en el libro anterior, aunque malamente lo recordaba. Y es un poco confuso, no queda claro qué puede hacer cada tipo de personaje o tipo de poder.
La ambientación la típica de Fantasía: reinos tipo medievales enfrentados con espadas, flechas, lanzas y tal y donde no hay armas de fuego.
Resumen: el anterior se llevó 5 estrellas y este me hubiese gustado mucho más si tras acabar aquel hubiera empezado este.
Una vez más: las editoriales o los autores o a quien competa, porfavor, porfavor, porfavor, que metan resúmenes al comienzo de lo que paso en los libros anteriores de las trilogías o sagas. Coño!, que no tenemos por qué tener en la cabeza miles de personajes o tramas de vuestras novelas. Ayudadnos un poco, anda.
March 9, 2015
This book was just as wonderful as I had hoped it would be and even though this took me a lot longer to get through (due to life taking over and getting crazy) I always found it really easy to slip back into the world and see the characters again.
This book is book 2 of the Night Angel Trilogy and we pick the story up not too long after the ending of book 1 and we're continuing to follow Kyler. I have various reasons why I really enjoy this series and one of those is because the characters of the book are all really interesting and I enjoy reading about them. Even the characters who are nasty and bad are SO nasty and bad that they're great to read about and try to understand and decipher. I have to say that although this book is certainly dark and has some grim and terrifying monsters and moments, it also has some wonderful moments of humour and sarcasm and fun, and this really helps to keep you racing through and enjoying the book despite the sinister things happening.
In this book I think the intensity is certainly a little bit more than in the first book (and I wish I had the time to just sit and read it straight through as I know it would have been wonderful) and I loved being kept constantly on my toes and trying to guess (mostly unsuccessfully) what would happen next. There's so many cool scenes and fights in this book and the main character is wonderful too so we're constantly enjoying seeing what he's up to.
Kyler is not the only main character in this book but he is the one who we focus on most. He's a kind and generous person, but he's had a very hard life and that's rubbed off on him in some rather unusual ways. He's also not your ordinary guy, he's actually a Wet-Boy (or Assassin) and when this book starts he's trying his best to leave that all behind and start a new life. naturally things are never that easy and various things happen to lead him away from what he wants, but that's where everything gets exciting!
Vi is the other main character who we see a fair amount of within this story and I was very pleased by this as she was someone I was curious about when we met her in the first book. She's also a Wet-boy and she's a very interesting character because she acts very tough and strong, but actually she's easily hurt and very damaged by the things she's had to go through to get to where she is today. Vi's story was certainly just as interesting as Kyler's and I felt my opinion of her constantly shifting as she grew as a character and made different decisions.
The other character whom we see a fair bit of is Logan and he's stuck in an incredibly bad situation for a lot of this book. He's in a situation where there seems like there's very little hope and a lot of despair and corruption, but I admired how he handled himself throughout that and I thought that this book solidified the way I already felt about him which was that he was a great character. I loved seeing how he handled the backlash and hatred directed at him and how he managed to recruit people to his side and stay noble despite where he was. He was certainly one of my favourite characters :)
We don't only focus on these three we also have various other minor or slightly major characters whose povs we do see at certain intervals, but those three are the main focuses and of course their stories do all gradually come together and form a wonderful story.
I very much enjoyed seeing and visualising the various battles and cultures that we see within this book and it seems that this world was certainly built upon over the course of this second instalment. I felt like we got glimpses of possible book 3 storylines, we saw snippets of what 'might' or 'could' be, and it was all very tantalising and exciting.
So far I am really enjoying the direction that the story has taken and getting to see more of the magic is some of the most exciting parts of this book. There is so much potential and so much wonder in the things which happen and are created in this book, and I really loved seeing it all and reading it all!
I love Weeks' writing style as I feel that it's very approachable and easy to get into. I think this series is one I will forever enjoy and hold high, and I cannot wait to read book 3 and to see what happens to our character next as some pretty interesting and crazy stuff happens and gets revealed in this one. I just know it's going to be great because this book made me tear up at some moments, and if it's the last one I am sure it'll be even more emotional! A definite 5* book and a series I'd highly recommend!
This book is book 2 of the Night Angel Trilogy and we pick the story up not too long after the ending of book 1 and we're continuing to follow Kyler. I have various reasons why I really enjoy this series and one of those is because the characters of the book are all really interesting and I enjoy reading about them. Even the characters who are nasty and bad are SO nasty and bad that they're great to read about and try to understand and decipher. I have to say that although this book is certainly dark and has some grim and terrifying monsters and moments, it also has some wonderful moments of humour and sarcasm and fun, and this really helps to keep you racing through and enjoying the book despite the sinister things happening.
In this book I think the intensity is certainly a little bit more than in the first book (and I wish I had the time to just sit and read it straight through as I know it would have been wonderful) and I loved being kept constantly on my toes and trying to guess (mostly unsuccessfully) what would happen next. There's so many cool scenes and fights in this book and the main character is wonderful too so we're constantly enjoying seeing what he's up to.
Kyler is not the only main character in this book but he is the one who we focus on most. He's a kind and generous person, but he's had a very hard life and that's rubbed off on him in some rather unusual ways. He's also not your ordinary guy, he's actually a Wet-Boy (or Assassin) and when this book starts he's trying his best to leave that all behind and start a new life. naturally things are never that easy and various things happen to lead him away from what he wants, but that's where everything gets exciting!
Vi is the other main character who we see a fair amount of within this story and I was very pleased by this as she was someone I was curious about when we met her in the first book. She's also a Wet-boy and she's a very interesting character because she acts very tough and strong, but actually she's easily hurt and very damaged by the things she's had to go through to get to where she is today. Vi's story was certainly just as interesting as Kyler's and I felt my opinion of her constantly shifting as she grew as a character and made different decisions.
The other character whom we see a fair bit of is Logan and he's stuck in an incredibly bad situation for a lot of this book. He's in a situation where there seems like there's very little hope and a lot of despair and corruption, but I admired how he handled himself throughout that and I thought that this book solidified the way I already felt about him which was that he was a great character. I loved seeing how he handled the backlash and hatred directed at him and how he managed to recruit people to his side and stay noble despite where he was. He was certainly one of my favourite characters :)
We don't only focus on these three we also have various other minor or slightly major characters whose povs we do see at certain intervals, but those three are the main focuses and of course their stories do all gradually come together and form a wonderful story.
I very much enjoyed seeing and visualising the various battles and cultures that we see within this book and it seems that this world was certainly built upon over the course of this second instalment. I felt like we got glimpses of possible book 3 storylines, we saw snippets of what 'might' or 'could' be, and it was all very tantalising and exciting.
So far I am really enjoying the direction that the story has taken and getting to see more of the magic is some of the most exciting parts of this book. There is so much potential and so much wonder in the things which happen and are created in this book, and I really loved seeing it all and reading it all!
I love Weeks' writing style as I feel that it's very approachable and easy to get into. I think this series is one I will forever enjoy and hold high, and I cannot wait to read book 3 and to see what happens to our character next as some pretty interesting and crazy stuff happens and gets revealed in this one. I just know it's going to be great because this book made me tear up at some moments, and if it's the last one I am sure it'll be even more emotional! A definite 5* book and a series I'd highly recommend!
November 27, 2018
4.5 Stars!!
“Tell them the Night Angel walks. Tell them Justice has come.�
WOW!!! I really enjoyed The Way of Shadows... but I LOVED this installment! This one, like the first was brutal, and deliciously dark. There is a ton of character growth and the plot only continues to thicken. Some of my favorite characters go through some horrible things and it made me extremely emotional. The humor was such an added bonus and just freaking fantastic!! It's literally what kept me engaged when things were getting serious. Weeks really hit his stride with this one. There were quite a few WTF moments and major plot twists. AND - OMG 🤯 that epilogue - DID NOT SEE THAT COMING AT ALL. Shadows edge was a fantastic sequel - I can not recommend it enough.
“Tell them the Night Angel walks. Tell them Justice has come.�
WOW!!! I really enjoyed The Way of Shadows... but I LOVED this installment! This one, like the first was brutal, and deliciously dark. There is a ton of character growth and the plot only continues to thicken. Some of my favorite characters go through some horrible things and it made me extremely emotional. The humor was such an added bonus and just freaking fantastic!! It's literally what kept me engaged when things were getting serious. Weeks really hit his stride with this one. There were quite a few WTF moments and major plot twists. AND - OMG 🤯 that epilogue - DID NOT SEE THAT COMING AT ALL. Shadows edge was a fantastic sequel - I can not recommend it enough.
January 11, 2024
Middle book syndrome kinda hits with this one, but it could be much, much worse. I thought it was fine to have some romantic woes, but the direction it took was a bit too funny for such a big, badass assassin to have to deal with. Of course, all of that setup was necessary for later plot reasons, but it was my least favorite part of an otherwise excellent grimdark epic fantasy.
My favorite part was the focus on the more epic scale and the God King and just how deliciously evil he is. There's something to be said about madness in one's powerful foes.
Otherwise, I love seeing Kylar grow (or slide) in his ways. It will make it all the more sweet, later.
However, I should like to mention that Logan is the real stand-out for me. His adventure in the pit was rather awesome. I think every would-be king should know the true smell of the pit. Gives one a bit of perspective.
My favorite part was the focus on the more epic scale and the God King and just how deliciously evil he is. There's something to be said about madness in one's powerful foes.
Otherwise, I love seeing Kylar grow (or slide) in his ways. It will make it all the more sweet, later.
However, I should like to mention that Logan is the real stand-out for me. His adventure in the pit was rather awesome. I think every would-be king should know the true smell of the pit. Gives one a bit of perspective.
December 9, 2023
3.5
“Nos condenarás a todos. Tienes la clase de poder por la que yo moriría, y no quieres usarlo para ayudarnos�.
No eres tú, cariño. Soy yo, como siempre.
“Un hombre puede ser cobarde un día y un héroe al siguiente. Aprendí que no soy un hombre tan bueno como me creía. Pero lo mas importante es lo que aprendí: aprendí que, aunque me cueste muchísimo, puedo cambiar.�
Segunda parte de esta trilogía o primera trilogía, aún no estoy segura del todo. He de admitir que siento por esta novela amor-odio hasta el punto que casi ni quería seguir leyendo.
“Eres un dios cruel, Nysos. ¿No podías dejarme con algo que no fuese polvo y cenizas?
Desde un punto de vista objetivo está novela está bien escrita, fluye bien, desarrolla bien sus personajes y el escenario, aunque falte un poco de profundidad yo lo veo bastante decente. Por este motivo tiene la calificación que tiene.
Ahora, el problema que tengo radica desde un punto de vista argumental y el hecho de que no me ha gustado nada. Me he enfadado porque ha habido muchísimas cosas que me han parecido de mal gusto y al mismo tiempo innecesarias. No las voy a nombrar por el simple hecho que sería destripar la historia.
“Un lobo puede convertirse en perro lobo, pero nunca será un perrito faldero.�
En fin, voy a leer el siguiente cuando me calme y deje pasar un tiempo.
“Nos condenarás a todos. Tienes la clase de poder por la que yo moriría, y no quieres usarlo para ayudarnos�.
No eres tú, cariño. Soy yo, como siempre.
“Un hombre puede ser cobarde un día y un héroe al siguiente. Aprendí que no soy un hombre tan bueno como me creía. Pero lo mas importante es lo que aprendí: aprendí que, aunque me cueste muchísimo, puedo cambiar.�
Segunda parte de esta trilogía o primera trilogía, aún no estoy segura del todo. He de admitir que siento por esta novela amor-odio hasta el punto que casi ni quería seguir leyendo.
“Eres un dios cruel, Nysos. ¿No podías dejarme con algo que no fuese polvo y cenizas?
Desde un punto de vista objetivo está novela está bien escrita, fluye bien, desarrolla bien sus personajes y el escenario, aunque falte un poco de profundidad yo lo veo bastante decente. Por este motivo tiene la calificación que tiene.
Ahora, el problema que tengo radica desde un punto de vista argumental y el hecho de que no me ha gustado nada. Me he enfadado porque ha habido muchísimas cosas que me han parecido de mal gusto y al mismo tiempo innecesarias. No las voy a nombrar por el simple hecho que sería destripar la historia.
“Un lobo puede convertirse en perro lobo, pero nunca será un perrito faldero.�
En fin, voy a leer el siguiente cuando me calme y deje pasar un tiempo.
April 29, 2016
Brent Weeks first Way of Shadows book was interesting (See my review of it) although nonsensical and pointless and I had little hopes of the next one in the series being any better. The only reason I read it was because there were some characters that I liked and was interested to see what happened too them. Well I got 80 pages into this one and decided to stop reading it because;
A. As the last one it made no sense and was pointless
B. The writing felt cheesy and stupid
C. (And most importantly) there was seriously too much sex innuendo and scenes in it. Not full scenes mind you but just enough to make me roll my eyes and say "Again?". Really it seemed that Weeks threw them in just to try and keep his audience 'hooked' to the story because the writing and plot was so dumb and boring.
I will not be finishing this series.
A. As the last one it made no sense and was pointless
B. The writing felt cheesy and stupid
C. (And most importantly) there was seriously too much sex innuendo and scenes in it. Not full scenes mind you but just enough to make me roll my eyes and say "Again?". Really it seemed that Weeks threw them in just to try and keep his audience 'hooked' to the story because the writing and plot was so dumb and boring.
I will not be finishing this series.
March 3, 2013
“Tell them the Night Angel walks. Tell them Justice is come.�
Kylar Stern is the Night Angel. Immortal but not invincible. The black kakari that has bonded to him grants Kyler god-like powers. Powers to be used in the cause of Justice, Vengeance and Mercy.
But Kylar's done with that life. He wants to live his life in peace with Elene and Durzo's daughter Uly. But some destinies are too large to be contained by a domestic life. And Kylar's former life is not content to let him be. The God King Ursuul wants Kylar's kakari - and while the God king lives, The Night Angel has work to do.
I really enjoyed this second book in The Night Angel series. In many ways it's a better book than the first in that the plot is more streamlined and not as messy as the first. The pace and action is slowed down quite a bit in the first half of the book and then builds to a crescendo from the second half on. The one thing that the first book has over this one though is that we get to see Kyler level up from guild rat to assassin apprentice to wetboy to The Night Angel - and I really enjoyed that process of discovery. Also enjoyable in the first book was the world building and unfolding of the politics and structure of the Sakage and where everything fit together in the Warrens. In this second book Kyler is fully levelled. He is the badass of badasses and there's really nowhere to go from here except to take all this badassery for a spin. except Kylar spend half the book trying his hand at domestic bliss. That whole arc felt a bit like an extra limb as far as the plot goes because it's only purpose appears to be to keep an overpowered character out of the action long enough for the story to develop. Fortunately Kyler does come to his senses and gets down to the business of being The Night Angel a bit before the second half of the book.
The thing I did like about this book is we get to see a couple other characters develop. My favourite being Logan Gyre, who spend a goodly portion of the book in the prison fondly known as "Hell's Asshole" - complete with bottomless pit and even has an inmate known as "Gnasher" (ie as in "the weeping and gnashing of teeth"). The things the king in hiding has to do to stay alive are pretty gruesome at times. I won't spoil it for anyone in case it leaves a sour taste in the mouth (wink wink).
We also get a closeup view of Vi, Wetboy Hu's apprentice who we meet briefly in the first book and I liked her story arc as well.
I should also mention this book has one of the best snapshot images of both books put together in the sequence of events now known as "Nocta Hemata" ie The Night of Blood. A night of outrage in the Warrens that had me fist pumping (on the inside). I can't really describe it without spoiling but you'll know when you see the lightning, the howling, and streets filled with blood.
While the first book had a more natural ending as far as the main character's story goes, this book has left a lot to be resolved in the final book. I'm really looking forward to see how Brent weeks ties all these loose ends up.
I'm giving this one 4 stars compared to the 5 I gave the first book mainly for the reasons already mentioned but also because the first book had it's own payoff, while this one has left a lot for the final book in the trilogy to bring together. But I'm well and truly on the hook.
4 stars
Kylar Stern is the Night Angel. Immortal but not invincible. The black kakari that has bonded to him grants Kyler god-like powers. Powers to be used in the cause of Justice, Vengeance and Mercy.
But Kylar's done with that life. He wants to live his life in peace with Elene and Durzo's daughter Uly. But some destinies are too large to be contained by a domestic life. And Kylar's former life is not content to let him be. The God King Ursuul wants Kylar's kakari - and while the God king lives, The Night Angel has work to do.
I really enjoyed this second book in The Night Angel series. In many ways it's a better book than the first in that the plot is more streamlined and not as messy as the first. The pace and action is slowed down quite a bit in the first half of the book and then builds to a crescendo from the second half on. The one thing that the first book has over this one though is that we get to see Kyler level up from guild rat to assassin apprentice to wetboy to The Night Angel - and I really enjoyed that process of discovery. Also enjoyable in the first book was the world building and unfolding of the politics and structure of the Sakage and where everything fit together in the Warrens. In this second book Kyler is fully levelled. He is the badass of badasses and there's really nowhere to go from here except to take all this badassery for a spin. except Kylar spend half the book trying his hand at domestic bliss. That whole arc felt a bit like an extra limb as far as the plot goes because it's only purpose appears to be to keep an overpowered character out of the action long enough for the story to develop. Fortunately Kyler does come to his senses and gets down to the business of being The Night Angel a bit before the second half of the book.
The thing I did like about this book is we get to see a couple other characters develop. My favourite being Logan Gyre, who spend a goodly portion of the book in the prison fondly known as "Hell's Asshole" - complete with bottomless pit and even has an inmate known as "Gnasher" (ie as in "the weeping and gnashing of teeth"). The things the king in hiding has to do to stay alive are pretty gruesome at times. I won't spoil it for anyone in case it leaves a sour taste in the mouth (wink wink).
We also get a closeup view of Vi, Wetboy Hu's apprentice who we meet briefly in the first book and I liked her story arc as well.
I should also mention this book has one of the best snapshot images of both books put together in the sequence of events now known as "Nocta Hemata" ie The Night of Blood. A night of outrage in the Warrens that had me fist pumping (on the inside). I can't really describe it without spoiling but you'll know when you see the lightning, the howling, and streets filled with blood.
While the first book had a more natural ending as far as the main character's story goes, this book has left a lot to be resolved in the final book. I'm really looking forward to see how Brent weeks ties all these loose ends up.
I'm giving this one 4 stars compared to the 5 I gave the first book mainly for the reasons already mentioned but also because the first book had it's own payoff, while this one has left a lot for the final book in the trilogy to bring together. But I'm well and truly on the hook.
4 stars
August 20, 2017
Woah! This book was such an amazing ride, and nothing short of a constant heart attack.
"The red and black traitor's arrow leapt across that narrowest of chasms: the distance between a wetboy and her deader. It cut a red path through the air as if the night itself were bleeding"
Although I missed Durzo for most of the book (the last page of the book had me screaming) I must admit that I now like and Kylar as well. As Vi says, sometimes he has such innocence about him to the point of being endearing. Besides the friendship between him and Logan was definitely beautiful and so was the relationship between him, Uly and Elene.
Talking about Elene, I really couldn't stand her pious shit or her until page 630 when she finally "gets it".
Back on track, Vi it's another character I liked even though I wasn't expecting to. I loved her cutting tongue. She is a skilled killer, harsh and brash but broken. However, the end she has the courage to hope and to act on it.
"Not only the winds but the spirits of the murdered were gathering to the general's voice, rising with the cadences of vengeance"
The Godking is not simply evil, he's a sick twisted freak and makes for an excellent antagonist.
Compared to the 1st one, the pacing of the book is faster since we are now in the middle of the action. But that's not all, there are still political intrigues, assassinations, battles, romance, infatuations, biting sarcasm and much more. At times the book is quite crude but it suits the world built by the author perfectly and it is just right (in this case, sugarcoating would have been ridiculous). One thing I appreciated was how casual sex, infatuations and occasional romances were never over-sweetened or excessively dramatized. Besides, the fact that the black ka'kari had a freaking sense of humour was terrific.
"So Kylar moved through the trees like the breath of a vengeful God, only rustling the branches in time with the evening wind"
Last but not least,the author has got better at describing action scenes, so this book definitely gets 5 stars from me.
"The red and black traitor's arrow leapt across that narrowest of chasms: the distance between a wetboy and her deader. It cut a red path through the air as if the night itself were bleeding"
Although I missed Durzo for most of the book (the last page of the book had me screaming) I must admit that I now like and Kylar as well. As Vi says, sometimes he has such innocence about him to the point of being endearing. Besides the friendship between him and Logan was definitely beautiful and so was the relationship between him, Uly and Elene.
Talking about Elene, I really couldn't stand her pious shit or her until page 630 when she finally "gets it".
Back on track, Vi it's another character I liked even though I wasn't expecting to. I loved her cutting tongue. She is a skilled killer, harsh and brash but broken. However, the end she has the courage to hope and to act on it.
"Not only the winds but the spirits of the murdered were gathering to the general's voice, rising with the cadences of vengeance"
The Godking is not simply evil, he's a sick twisted freak and makes for an excellent antagonist.
Compared to the 1st one, the pacing of the book is faster since we are now in the middle of the action. But that's not all, there are still political intrigues, assassinations, battles, romance, infatuations, biting sarcasm and much more. At times the book is quite crude but it suits the world built by the author perfectly and it is just right (in this case, sugarcoating would have been ridiculous). One thing I appreciated was how casual sex, infatuations and occasional romances were never over-sweetened or excessively dramatized. Besides, the fact that the black ka'kari had a freaking sense of humour was terrific.
"So Kylar moved through the trees like the breath of a vengeful God, only rustling the branches in time with the evening wind"
Last but not least,the author has got better at describing action scenes, so this book definitely gets 5 stars from me.
August 18, 2009
4.5 stars. This is certainly on my top ten list of Fantasy books/series to come out of the last ten years. Great characters, excellent world-building and the magical/fantasy elements (e.g., powers, creatures, artifacts and magic systems) are as good as it gets.
February 10, 2017
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, which was bloody, gruesome, grim, in parts funny, entertaining, fast paced and had great characters.
It all changes a bit with the second one - I miss one of my favorite characters, and I hate the romance part that is introduced. A) I hate romance in my fantasy at all times, and B) I especially hated the female part of the relationship. To me she felt like she was always whining and complaining, and just not a good female character at all. That really took away from the story for me.
Another problem I had was spoiler:
It was still an entertaining book, and I liked it - so I do give it 4 stars, but it was in no way up to how much I loved book one.
It all changes a bit with the second one - I miss one of my favorite characters, and I hate the romance part that is introduced. A) I hate romance in my fantasy at all times, and B) I especially hated the female part of the relationship. To me she felt like she was always whining and complaining, and just not a good female character at all. That really took away from the story for me.
Another problem I had was spoiler:
It was still an entertaining book, and I liked it - so I do give it 4 stars, but it was in no way up to how much I loved book one.
October 14, 2015
I'm torn between 4 and 5 stars. If I could split this into parts, I'd rate the first half of the book 2 stars and the last 100 pages 5 stars. the stuff in between would be around 3.5 stars.
That ending though. That's an epilogue of epic freaking proportions. Absolutely excellent ending. Horrid beginning. I was soooo bored for the first 250 pages or so. The nonsense with Elene felt like it would never end. All I wanted was to see Kylar fight. That's it. I didn't think I was asking for much. Thankfully badass Kylar shows up towards the end.
And Vi. Who would have ever thought I'd like that girl? She's crazy, but powerful. And those end scenes with her, Kylar, and Garoth? Perfect. I can't wait to see where that particular storyline goes in the next book.
Yes, I will be reading the next book. Who's with me?
That ending though. That's an epilogue of epic freaking proportions. Absolutely excellent ending. Horrid beginning. I was soooo bored for the first 250 pages or so. The nonsense with Elene felt like it would never end. All I wanted was to see Kylar fight. That's it. I didn't think I was asking for much. Thankfully badass Kylar shows up towards the end.
And Vi. Who would have ever thought I'd like that girl? She's crazy, but powerful. And those end scenes with her, Kylar, and Garoth? Perfect. I can't wait to see where that particular storyline goes in the next book.
Yes, I will be reading the next book. Who's with me?
February 7, 2023
4.0 Stars
This was such a fun assassin fantasy story.
I have previously read and enjoyed the Lightbringer series so I was interested to read the author's debut series. While I still prefer his sophomore series, this series is a surprisingly close second.
I have been previously hit or miss with assassin fantasy but this one proved that it's just a matter of finding the right series. I often struggle with action driven stories but this one had a good balance that worked well for me.
My favourite aspect of the story was easily the characters. I loved their backstories, their humour and their flaws. Like in the Lightbringer, this story addresses division in gender and the challenges of being a woman in a patriarchal world. I was impressed by the depth and complexity of the themes explored within this series.
I would highly recommend this series to readers looking for a underhyped fantasy series with a great balance between character development and an exciting plot.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher in preparation for the release of the new Night Angel book which I am excited to read closer to the release date in April.
This was such a fun assassin fantasy story.
I have previously read and enjoyed the Lightbringer series so I was interested to read the author's debut series. While I still prefer his sophomore series, this series is a surprisingly close second.
I have been previously hit or miss with assassin fantasy but this one proved that it's just a matter of finding the right series. I often struggle with action driven stories but this one had a good balance that worked well for me.
My favourite aspect of the story was easily the characters. I loved their backstories, their humour and their flaws. Like in the Lightbringer, this story addresses division in gender and the challenges of being a woman in a patriarchal world. I was impressed by the depth and complexity of the themes explored within this series.
I would highly recommend this series to readers looking for a underhyped fantasy series with a great balance between character development and an exciting plot.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher in preparation for the release of the new Night Angel book which I am excited to read closer to the release date in April.
July 28, 2021
خب راستش هنوز مطمئن نیستم با این مجموعه چندچندم. هرچی لایت برینگر جذاب بود برام این کتاب منو به حالت پوکر فیس میبره. تا میام بهش امیدوار بشم گند میزنه به کل داستان.
نبود دورزو هم مزید بر علت بود که این کتابو با اکراه شروع کنمو ادامه بدم. اما همون پاراگراف آخر باعث شد تصمیم بگیرم جلد آخرم بخونم، نه به این زودی، ولی توی چندماه آینده.
نبود دورزو هم مزید بر علت بود که این کتابو با اکراه شروع کنمو ادامه بدم. اما همون پاراگراف آخر باعث شد تصمیم بگیرم جلد آخرم بخونم، نه به این زودی، ولی توی چندماه آینده.
August 29, 2016
4.5 Stars. It took a while to get into its stride and i think enjoyed the first one better. But overall it was a very fun read.
P.S: You cant talk about grim dark fantasy without mentioning Brent Weeks. This was one dark, gritty sunnuva...you know.
P.S: You cant talk about grim dark fantasy without mentioning Brent Weeks. This was one dark, gritty sunnuva...you know.
August 3, 2013
The second volume of the Night Angel Trilogy still lacks the craftsmanship I feel Weeks demonstrated in the Black Prism, which (at the time of this review) is his latest book. I can forgive the book its momentary awkwardness for the bigger picture of utter awesomeness. This book is pretty awesome. Ezra's Wood was particularly captivating. I am enjoying getting to experience a larger part of Midcyru.
However, I hate that he introduces a brand new group/character/situation without any back story or explanation of what is happening. Some authors can pull that off (see The Darkness That Comes Before), but Bakker had a handy-dandy reference guide to characters and factions. That would be extremely helpful for this series. It's much more complicated than a story about a guy who wears black and kills things. That's not to say I wish it was just about a a guy who wore black and killed things, that wouldn't be nearly as interesting.
I'd like to nominate Elene for Most Irritating Character In a Series.
Also, I'd love to see a map. I was under the impression that the Gyre estate was very close to the city, and then was confused when Sister Arissa (I think that's her name) and Uly find Kylar on the road, when I thought they were going an entirely different direction.
However, I hate that he introduces a brand new group/character/situation without any back story or explanation of what is happening. Some authors can pull that off (see The Darkness That Comes Before), but Bakker had a handy-dandy reference guide to characters and factions. That would be extremely helpful for this series. It's much more complicated than a story about a guy who wears black and kills things. That's not to say I wish it was just about a a guy who wore black and killed things, that wouldn't be nearly as interesting.
I'd like to nominate Elene for Most Irritating Character In a Series.
Also, I'd love to see a map. I was under the impression that the Gyre estate was very close to the city, and then was confused when Sister Arissa (I think that's her name) and Uly find Kylar on the road, when I thought they were going an entirely different direction.
August 5, 2018
Rating: 3.75 or 4 Stars
Great improvement! I can see why people don't like this series because some things are "offensive" but for me it's a book with flawed characters and questionable actions. Brent Weeks seems like a wonderful human being although his characters are not (obviously assassins have character flaws lol). I don't get the trend of hating books that have bad or questionable characters and actions. It's a fantasy book. It's not going to be about rainbows and butterflies and how life is so easy. Because even in the real world it's not like that. I hope this trend ends because I don't want to be sheltered.
Great improvement! I can see why people don't like this series because some things are "offensive" but for me it's a book with flawed characters and questionable actions. Brent Weeks seems like a wonderful human being although his characters are not (obviously assassins have character flaws lol). I don't get the trend of hating books that have bad or questionable characters and actions. It's a fantasy book. It's not going to be about rainbows and butterflies and how life is so easy. Because even in the real world it's not like that. I hope this trend ends because I don't want to be sheltered.
July 11, 2016
Second time... loved it again!
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