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A review by brainstrain91
The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks
3.0
The penultimate volume in the Lightbringer series brings huge twists and substantial character growth, alongside a handful of terribly weak scenes and some truly cringe-worthy digressions.
Even with almost an entire book dedicated to them, the revelations about Gavin felt rushed. There just wasn't enough foreshadowing. There's a reason for that, but it doesn't keep the twist from feeling cheap and a bit unearned.
Another scene between Karris and her estranged son is almost unreadable - I suspected then, and was validated later, that this was on purpose. Weeks just needed to use the narration a bit more bluntly to flag it as intentionally unsettling, instead of accidentally, which is how it reads.
The low point for the book was Weeks using a minor female character as a mouthpiece for his opinions on feminism. I worry any sarcasm would be misconstrued - it's obvious and jarring, even if he makes a worthwhile point.
I'm also left very worried for Teia. I hope Weeks doesn't follow the path of Brian Staveley and make his assassin unredeemable. It is so incredibly tiresome, guys. Stop it. And poor Liv gets barely any screen time at all. It really sucks to be a girl in a Brent Weeks book...
The ending was incredibly abrupt. A nearly 100-page glossary makes for quite the fake-out. I was waiting for a climax and... the end.
Despite all that, it's a riveting book. I worried Kip's exploits with the Mighty were going to be a frustrating distraction from the main plot, but Weeks takes the time to really build up Kip's growth as a leader and to give his marriage to Tisis room to develop naturally. It's all very satisfying, though Weeks' descriptions reach discount romance levels of hilarity at the end.
Despite its shortcomings, "The Blood Mirror" promises high stakes and good reading in the final volume. Don't blow it, Weeks.
Even with almost an entire book dedicated to them, the revelations about Gavin felt rushed. There just wasn't enough foreshadowing. There's a reason for that, but it doesn't keep the twist from feeling cheap and a bit unearned.
Another scene between Karris and her estranged son is almost unreadable - I suspected then, and was validated later, that this was on purpose. Weeks just needed to use the narration a bit more bluntly to flag it as intentionally unsettling, instead of accidentally, which is how it reads.
The low point for the book was Weeks using a minor female character as a mouthpiece for his opinions on feminism. I worry any sarcasm would be misconstrued - it's obvious and jarring, even if he makes a worthwhile point.
I'm also left very worried for Teia. I hope Weeks doesn't follow the path of Brian Staveley and make his assassin unredeemable. It is so incredibly tiresome, guys. Stop it. And poor Liv gets barely any screen time at all. It really sucks to be a girl in a Brent Weeks book...
The ending was incredibly abrupt. A nearly 100-page glossary makes for quite the fake-out. I was waiting for a climax and... the end.
Despite all that, it's a riveting book. I worried Kip's exploits with the Mighty were going to be a frustrating distraction from the main plot, but Weeks takes the time to really build up Kip's growth as a leader and to give his marriage to Tisis room to develop naturally. It's all very satisfying, though Weeks' descriptions reach discount romance levels of hilarity at the end.
Despite its shortcomings, "The Blood Mirror" promises high stakes and good reading in the final volume. Don't blow it, Weeks.