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ageorgiadis 's review for:
The Way of Shadows
by Brent Weeks
Schizophrenic
The opening novel of the Night Angel trilogy counts the following among its strengths: adult plotting, fast pace, considerable intrigue, lots of full-circle identity reveals (“oh no he isn’t!”) and many offscreen characters who will undoubtedly surface in its later installments.
Azoth is your stereotypical street urchin: unloved, downtrodden, and brimming with potential. His hopes are singular: to apprentice the premiere wetboy (read: assassin) of his generation. It takes some convincing to procure this position with the infamous Durzo Blint, a man who is feared and respected by all. Durzo breeds him into an unfeeling, unthinking, killing machine of unparalled skill. Or does he?
It goes without saying that the following happens: Azoth’s change in identity is not wholly accompanied by a change in personality. He still loves and cares for a select few people, in particular a vulnerable young woman who suffered mutilation because of his inaction during adolescence. He might break some of Durzo’s cardinal rules to protect her. Durzo himself is mysterious and demands tremendous loyalty, discouraging questions. As the plot unpackages, we are treated to a moderately sized cast of characters, ranging in importance and power.
Weeks does all of this capably. Magic is almost wholly absent from the first half of the novel, but after surfacing it is used with reckless abandon. The rules are completely unclear. If you are looking for a magic “system” that can be puzzled over or reasoned through, you will be sorely disappointed. The magic mechanism furthermore sounds eerily like the One Power of [b:The Eye of the World|228665|The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)|Robert Jordan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337818095s/228665.jpg|2008238] (i.e. characters “weave power” and “draw upon the source” and “channel” etc.). In the least accusing way possible, Weeks does use the phrase “words are wind” in the opening chapters. Rabid [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg] fans will need to figure out which author deserves credit for this phrase.
The Way of Shadows’ narrative does jump from a logical precipice, however. The plot grows increasingly thick and points of political intrigue are introduced briefly before becoming way-too-complex-than-they-deserve. The nations in question are given almost no background, so invasions don’t really incite reader sympathies. Another trouble: one character undergoes a preposterous change in worldview that fuels the intrigue of the latter half of the novel. It is completely out of step with everything that has come before. This is the fulcrum of the entire novel. The ascetic, emotionless character suddenly becomes goofily out of sync, and the deus ex persona rings false.
Other readers could potentially tire of the bloody, violent, jugular-slicing bowel frenzy. I for one like adult fantasy, and this only periodically gets gratuitous.
In sum – the plot takes some nice, interesting turns, even if they are not completely explained or downright confusing. Editing is shaky. Characters are strong and worthy of following further. A promising first novel, and cool, but not unassailably so.
The opening novel of the Night Angel trilogy counts the following among its strengths: adult plotting, fast pace, considerable intrigue, lots of full-circle identity reveals (“oh no he isn’t!”) and many offscreen characters who will undoubtedly surface in its later installments.
Azoth is your stereotypical street urchin: unloved, downtrodden, and brimming with potential. His hopes are singular: to apprentice the premiere wetboy (read: assassin) of his generation. It takes some convincing to procure this position with the infamous Durzo Blint, a man who is feared and respected by all. Durzo breeds him into an unfeeling, unthinking, killing machine of unparalled skill. Or does he?
It goes without saying that the following happens: Azoth’s change in identity is not wholly accompanied by a change in personality. He still loves and cares for a select few people, in particular a vulnerable young woman who suffered mutilation because of his inaction during adolescence. He might break some of Durzo’s cardinal rules to protect her. Durzo himself is mysterious and demands tremendous loyalty, discouraging questions. As the plot unpackages, we are treated to a moderately sized cast of characters, ranging in importance and power.
Weeks does all of this capably. Magic is almost wholly absent from the first half of the novel, but after surfacing it is used with reckless abandon. The rules are completely unclear. If you are looking for a magic “system” that can be puzzled over or reasoned through, you will be sorely disappointed. The magic mechanism furthermore sounds eerily like the One Power of [b:The Eye of the World|228665|The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time, #1)|Robert Jordan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337818095s/228665.jpg|2008238] (i.e. characters “weave power” and “draw upon the source” and “channel” etc.). In the least accusing way possible, Weeks does use the phrase “words are wind” in the opening chapters. Rabid [a:George R.R. Martin|346732|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg] fans will need to figure out which author deserves credit for this phrase.
The Way of Shadows’ narrative does jump from a logical precipice, however. The plot grows increasingly thick and points of political intrigue are introduced briefly before becoming way-too-complex-than-they-deserve. The nations in question are given almost no background, so invasions don’t really incite reader sympathies. Another trouble: one character undergoes a preposterous change in worldview that fuels the intrigue of the latter half of the novel. It is completely out of step with everything that has come before. This is the fulcrum of the entire novel. The ascetic, emotionless character suddenly becomes goofily out of sync, and the deus ex persona rings false.
Other readers could potentially tire of the bloody, violent, jugular-slicing bowel frenzy. I for one like adult fantasy, and this only periodically gets gratuitous.
In sum – the plot takes some nice, interesting turns, even if they are not completely explained or downright confusing. Editing is shaky. Characters are strong and worthy of following further. A promising first novel, and cool, but not unassailably so.