Helpful Score: 1
Entertaining reading. Well-fleshed-out characters. Very few slow moments. Great book two in a trilogy. I am looking forward to reading "Beyond the Shadows", the third book in the trilogy.
Helpful Score: 1
Shortly after Cenaria's fall to Khalidor and the death of his teacher, Durzo Blint, Kylar Stern decides to give up the violent life of the wetboy. He moves with his childhood love, Elene, and Blint's daughter to another country, hoping to start over as an herbalist in a more peaceful setting. But unable to give up his training, Kylar takes to stalking the streets at night as a vigilante. After some time, an old friend seeks Kylar out, and asks him to return to help the resistance movement. At first, Kylar refuses because he wants to make his relationship with Elene work. But then his ward is kidnapped, and he has no choice but to rush back into the life of killing that he tried to forsake.
Like THE WAY OF SHADOWS, SHADOW'S EDGE shaped up to be a really strong, action-packed story. It isn't going to win any acclaim as great literature, but I'll certainly remember it as one of the more fun books I read this year. Weeks does a great job continuing the story from where it left off. SHADOW'S EDGE has a bit of a more magical feel to it, and I think that added a nice change. Kylar was frustrated for much of the previous volume because he couldn't access his Talent. Now that he's overcome that hurdle, it's really neat to see how he plays with his abilities.
One thing I really liked about the story was that Kylar's role as the Night Angel. He at first rejects the idea of being a wetboy because he doesn't want to be a person who loves violence. But he realizes that he can use his powers and abilities to do actual good and to meet out real justice. That changes his entire outlook about his abilities. He also learns that he needs to release his own desires and put the good of others first.
Also, I thought that the story was incredibly well plotted. Weeks made sure not to leave any major plot points unresolved, and was even able to throw in a really big twist during the climax that caught me off guard.
A year from now, I think I'll take away an aspect of Weeks' world-building that I hadn't really noticed before. He seems to really like using "real-world" ideas in an epic fantasy world. For example, he used the Hebrew concept of the nephilim as a kind of angelic messenger, even going so far as to echo some of the language found in Genesis. I don't typically like this type of allusion in my epic fantasy, and I wasn't 100% thrilled about it here. But from a creative perspective, Weeks is still working on his story crafting. I think the story is strong enough to stand a little real-world intrusion.
I'd recommend this book to epic fantasy fans who like the action and tone of Brandon Sanderson's MISTBORN trilogy, but with the salty language of Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. And, of course, if you enjoyed THE WAY OF SHADOWS, pick this up.
Like THE WAY OF SHADOWS, SHADOW'S EDGE shaped up to be a really strong, action-packed story. It isn't going to win any acclaim as great literature, but I'll certainly remember it as one of the more fun books I read this year. Weeks does a great job continuing the story from where it left off. SHADOW'S EDGE has a bit of a more magical feel to it, and I think that added a nice change. Kylar was frustrated for much of the previous volume because he couldn't access his Talent. Now that he's overcome that hurdle, it's really neat to see how he plays with his abilities.
One thing I really liked about the story was that Kylar's role as the Night Angel. He at first rejects the idea of being a wetboy because he doesn't want to be a person who loves violence. But he realizes that he can use his powers and abilities to do actual good and to meet out real justice. That changes his entire outlook about his abilities. He also learns that he needs to release his own desires and put the good of others first.
Also, I thought that the story was incredibly well plotted. Weeks made sure not to leave any major plot points unresolved, and was even able to throw in a really big twist during the climax that caught me off guard.
A year from now, I think I'll take away an aspect of Weeks' world-building that I hadn't really noticed before. He seems to really like using "real-world" ideas in an epic fantasy world. For example, he used the Hebrew concept of the nephilim as a kind of angelic messenger, even going so far as to echo some of the language found in Genesis. I don't typically like this type of allusion in my epic fantasy, and I wasn't 100% thrilled about it here. But from a creative perspective, Weeks is still working on his story crafting. I think the story is strong enough to stand a little real-world intrusion.
I'd recommend this book to epic fantasy fans who like the action and tone of Brandon Sanderson's MISTBORN trilogy, but with the salty language of Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. And, of course, if you enjoyed THE WAY OF SHADOWS, pick this up.
This is the second book in the Night Angel Trilogy. The first book left the reader in quite a tangle and this book picks up right where that one left off. It was a good installment in this series, the plot and characters are well woven and engaging. I listened to this on audio book and it was very well done (please excuse any name mispellings, as I listened to this).
Kylar has fled the city with Elene and Uli and they are trying to make a life for themselves in a city neighboring Cernaria. Of course that is not mean to be. As the God King destroys Cernaria, Jarl who now rules the Sa'kage, is trying to figure out a way to save a city doomed by the God King's rule. Eventually Jarl finds out that Logan is alive and in the hole and travels to tell Kylar; Kylar is again forced to choose between a peaceful live with Elene or possible saving the city he loves. There are billion other things going on at the same time; but that is the core of the story.
Weeks does an excellent job of weaving a story from numerous viewpoints. The detail and description he puts into the story is fantastic; he can really write. The scenes are engaging and really carry the reader from one section of the book to the next. The characters are realistic and people you really care about; they are human and make mistakes but they also have moments of glory. It was fun to see all the minor players from the first book finally coming into their power.
You absolutely must read the first book before this one or you will be completely lost. I had also forgotten how Weeks doesn't shy away from describing extremely uncomfortable and gory situations in great detail; definitely not for those with a week stomach. Our poor characters never get a break and Weeks absolutely breaks your heart with some of the things he puts these characters through.
I do have a couple of complaints. The first is the incredibly vast number of viewpoints the story is told from; while generally well done, at times it was confusing as to how much time had passed (or not passed) when viewpoints were switched. The other complaint is that Weeks has a tendency to over-explain. When a character does something complicated or clever, he always feels the need to spell out the reasons behind it for the reader. I personally think the reader deserves more credit; if a character does something clever let the reader think "Ah, that was clever"...don't spend two sentences explaining exactly why the character did it when it could be easily deduced by the reader.
The story ends at a good point and I am curious to see what things are dealt with in the final book. To be honest I cringe a little bit when I think what else our poor characters will have to go through in the next book. I would like to think things end well for them all, but I am going to guess that they don't. We will see.
Overall the book is incredibly complex and very well written. Weeks does an excellent job of making complex characters that you really care about and an excellent job of really engaging the reader. The world building is spectacular. Readers should be ware though that he is very detailed in gory and disgusting description so those with week stomachs may want to check out Jim Butcher's Codex Alera of any of Brandon Sanderson's works instead. The only other things I had trouble with were the vast multitude of viewpoints and the constant over-explanation of character actions. I enjoyed the book and am excited to see how everything turns out in Beyond the Shadows.
Kylar has fled the city with Elene and Uli and they are trying to make a life for themselves in a city neighboring Cernaria. Of course that is not mean to be. As the God King destroys Cernaria, Jarl who now rules the Sa'kage, is trying to figure out a way to save a city doomed by the God King's rule. Eventually Jarl finds out that Logan is alive and in the hole and travels to tell Kylar; Kylar is again forced to choose between a peaceful live with Elene or possible saving the city he loves. There are billion other things going on at the same time; but that is the core of the story.
Weeks does an excellent job of weaving a story from numerous viewpoints. The detail and description he puts into the story is fantastic; he can really write. The scenes are engaging and really carry the reader from one section of the book to the next. The characters are realistic and people you really care about; they are human and make mistakes but they also have moments of glory. It was fun to see all the minor players from the first book finally coming into their power.
You absolutely must read the first book before this one or you will be completely lost. I had also forgotten how Weeks doesn't shy away from describing extremely uncomfortable and gory situations in great detail; definitely not for those with a week stomach. Our poor characters never get a break and Weeks absolutely breaks your heart with some of the things he puts these characters through.
I do have a couple of complaints. The first is the incredibly vast number of viewpoints the story is told from; while generally well done, at times it was confusing as to how much time had passed (or not passed) when viewpoints were switched. The other complaint is that Weeks has a tendency to over-explain. When a character does something complicated or clever, he always feels the need to spell out the reasons behind it for the reader. I personally think the reader deserves more credit; if a character does something clever let the reader think "Ah, that was clever"...don't spend two sentences explaining exactly why the character did it when it could be easily deduced by the reader.
The story ends at a good point and I am curious to see what things are dealt with in the final book. To be honest I cringe a little bit when I think what else our poor characters will have to go through in the next book. I would like to think things end well for them all, but I am going to guess that they don't. We will see.
Overall the book is incredibly complex and very well written. Weeks does an excellent job of making complex characters that you really care about and an excellent job of really engaging the reader. The world building is spectacular. Readers should be ware though that he is very detailed in gory and disgusting description so those with week stomachs may want to check out Jim Butcher's Codex Alera of any of Brandon Sanderson's works instead. The only other things I had trouble with were the vast multitude of viewpoints and the constant over-explanation of character actions. I enjoyed the book and am excited to see how everything turns out in Beyond the Shadows.
As graphically violent and brutal as the first novel. The story was more enjoyable in that Kylar wasn't constantly moaning about how unfair everything was.
Lots of action, lots of magic.
The only thing that concerns me is how Weeks is going to wrap up the story neatly enough in the final volume. There seems to be enough possibilities for several more books!
Lots of action, lots of magic.
The only thing that concerns me is how Weeks is going to wrap up the story neatly enough in the final volume. There seems to be enough possibilities for several more books!
Good read. Lots of action with a personality. Moves along nicely. Balances the separate story lines very well.
In the middle volume of this trilogy, Weeks continues the character development and fleshes out his fantasy world. Recommended.
