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A review by morgob
Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks
4.0
Wow. What an ending to the trilogy. You know, with only one hundred pages to go, I was worried not everything would be resolved before the end. I was partially right. There were some questions left unanswered, some mysteries left over. I guess those questions I have will never be satisfied. Let's break this story down bit by bit.
First, how it compares to the other two books in the series. I think the second book was the weakest link, as sometimes happens in trilogies. This one was very nice. It had the right amount of dark and light, I believe. Maybe not quite--there was still an awful lot of dark--but it was good. The ending was satisfying anyway (mostly). I guess it was a relatively happy ending as well. The best thing about this book is it pretty much totally moves away from the riddled-with-teenage-virgin-angstyness that the last book had. It didn't spend nearly as much time talking about virginity as the last one. I'd say the first book was still the best, as much as I hate to admit it, but this one was also very good, if not a bit predictable. You can pretty much guess how it's all going to shake out, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable to read.
The magic systems were actually quite cool in this book, how there's technically a "good" and "bad" magic, or at least a magic that feeds off of you and sends you down a not so good path. Honestly, I would have been content with several hundred pages of getting to see how mages worked, or inside the school, but what I got was alright, with the Sisters and the Chantry.
Elene's character got a bit better, as did Vi's. Pretty much everyone's character arc was good and well-developed. Dorian's character was really sad and disappointing how it all ended up, but I suppose it shouldn't come as a shock to me. I mean, he did say in the first book that was going to happen. Logan's character was one of my favorites. He really turned out very well. Okay, mostly. I still do not buy that he and Jenine could possibly be so deep in love, because they had barely spoken in the first book before being separated by the other's supposed death. I do not buy it one bit. Probably my favorite new character that arose from this book was Lantano Garuwashi. He was freaking amazing. I loved him. I know he was kind of a bloodthirsty warlord, but he was all like "Honor!" and "Sacrifice!" and "Fight me!" He was really cool, and it was neat to actually interact with a character from a different culture, like a completely different culture, besides the Khalidorians. Those dudes just sucked. Lantano was cool. Kyler's character really didn't change much. The bit of a plot twist in which we figure out the cost of his immortality was really good, but Kyler was such a self-loathing dude to begin with that it didn't make too much of a difference, except that this time it would be Elene. Honestly, parts of it reminded me of Vin and Elend, especially the part at the end with the flowers. Ahhh that made me remember that trilogy and get sad. Otherwise, my favorite character was still--after all this time--Durzo. Especially when he showed up flying at the end! He is amazing. I loved the actual bonding the two of them did, and the heart-to-hearts they finally had. Those were really touching. And he almost had me at the end, when it appeared Neph killed him! Really, though, at the end, I didn't feel as upset about Elene as I did about Durzo and Kyler's relationship. No, nothing detrimental happened between them, their bond was just so great that it left my heart aching at times.
Speaking of the end, I kind of don't like what he did with Vi and Elene and Kyler at the end of this book. Like so often, it seems as though Kyler is going to move on from Elene and get with Vi. That's disappointing, because, based on all their talk and the fact that the rings' bond broke, I would have thought Kyler would really be a one woman type of guy, at least for the first several decades of his immortality. Elene's bit at the end where they felt guilty for having Vi do the thing to block the bond while they were together really rubbed me the wrong way. It was almost like the author was trying to hint that Elene and Kyler really hadn't been in love that whole time, it was really meant to be Kyler and Vi. Yeah, I was not a big fan of that. Oh also I wasn't a fan of how Uly just entirely slipped away in this book and we didn't get anything from her. Not even a very sweet scene between her and her father. What the heck? I would have paid to see that. Uly was gearing up to be such an important character, and then nothing. She didn't even have a speaking part in this book, I'm pretty sure. Disappointing.
But besides that, it really was a great book, and a great trilogy altogether. I am happy I forced myself through that first book. Right now, I'm still upset from the ending. There's a bit of a pit in my chest. It's not quite a book hangover, but it's the raw emotions from the ending. And having to say goodbye to all of those characters I actually loved, like Durzo, Solon, Logan, Sister Ariel (badass). Most of all, I'm glad the world was saved, and most of the people in it. Some sacrifices always have to be made, it's inevitable. But these sacrifices were for good reason, so it's alright. Now I may have to go check on the Durzo Blint prequel.
First, how it compares to the other two books in the series. I think the second book was the weakest link, as sometimes happens in trilogies. This one was very nice. It had the right amount of dark and light, I believe. Maybe not quite--there was still an awful lot of dark--but it was good. The ending was satisfying anyway (mostly). I guess it was a relatively happy ending as well. The best thing about this book is it pretty much totally moves away from the riddled-with-teenage-virgin-angstyness that the last book had. It didn't spend nearly as much time talking about virginity as the last one. I'd say the first book was still the best, as much as I hate to admit it, but this one was also very good, if not a bit predictable. You can pretty much guess how it's all going to shake out, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable to read.
The magic systems were actually quite cool in this book, how there's technically a "good" and "bad" magic, or at least a magic that feeds off of you and sends you down a not so good path. Honestly, I would have been content with several hundred pages of getting to see how mages worked, or inside the school, but what I got was alright, with the Sisters and the Chantry.
Elene's character got a bit better, as did Vi's. Pretty much everyone's character arc was good and well-developed. Dorian's character was really sad and disappointing how it all ended up, but I suppose it shouldn't come as a shock to me. I mean, he did say in the first book that was going to happen. Logan's character was one of my favorites. He really turned out very well. Okay, mostly. I still do not buy that he and Jenine could possibly be so deep in love, because they had barely spoken in the first book before being separated by the other's supposed death. I do not buy it one bit. Probably my favorite new character that arose from this book was Lantano Garuwashi. He was freaking amazing. I loved him. I know he was kind of a bloodthirsty warlord, but he was all like "Honor!" and "Sacrifice!" and "Fight me!" He was really cool, and it was neat to actually interact with a character from a different culture, like a completely different culture, besides the Khalidorians. Those dudes just sucked. Lantano was cool. Kyler's character really didn't change much. The bit of a plot twist in which we figure out the cost of his immortality was really good, but Kyler was such a self-loathing dude to begin with that it didn't make too much of a difference, except that this time it would be Elene. Honestly, parts of it reminded me of Vin and Elend, especially the part at the end with the flowers. Ahhh that made me remember that trilogy and get sad. Otherwise, my favorite character was still--after all this time--Durzo. Especially when he showed up flying at the end! He is amazing. I loved the actual bonding the two of them did, and the heart-to-hearts they finally had. Those were really touching. And he almost had me at the end, when it appeared Neph killed him! Really, though, at the end, I didn't feel as upset about Elene as I did about Durzo and Kyler's relationship. No, nothing detrimental happened between them, their bond was just so great that it left my heart aching at times.
Speaking of the end, I kind of don't like what he did with Vi and Elene and Kyler at the end of this book. Like so often, it seems as though Kyler is going to move on from Elene and get with Vi. That's disappointing, because, based on all their talk and the fact that the rings' bond broke, I would have thought Kyler would really be a one woman type of guy, at least for the first several decades of his immortality. Elene's bit at the end where they felt guilty for having Vi do the thing to block the bond while they were together really rubbed me the wrong way. It was almost like the author was trying to hint that Elene and Kyler really hadn't been in love that whole time, it was really meant to be Kyler and Vi. Yeah, I was not a big fan of that. Oh also I wasn't a fan of how Uly just entirely slipped away in this book and we didn't get anything from her. Not even a very sweet scene between her and her father. What the heck? I would have paid to see that. Uly was gearing up to be such an important character, and then nothing. She didn't even have a speaking part in this book, I'm pretty sure. Disappointing.
But besides that, it really was a great book, and a great trilogy altogether. I am happy I forced myself through that first book. Right now, I'm still upset from the ending. There's a bit of a pit in my chest. It's not quite a book hangover, but it's the raw emotions from the ending. And having to say goodbye to all of those characters I actually loved, like Durzo, Solon, Logan, Sister Ariel (badass). Most of all, I'm glad the world was saved, and most of the people in it. Some sacrifices always have to be made, it's inevitable. But these sacrifices were for good reason, so it's alright. Now I may have to go check on the Durzo Blint prequel.