The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks

...and even for fans of the genre in can be difficult to pick the dolphins from the red herrings (so to speak). All tend to have imaginative worlds that have slight twists in terms of their mechanics, but ultimately the way that all of this detail is brought together in the plot and the writing makes and breaks a book. The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks is the first book in the Night Angel Trilogy, and I am happy to say that it hits the fantasy nail ...
...FAIL TO KILL." === The focus of Way of the Shadows is assassins, or, to be more specific, wetboys, who are essentially elite assassins hired to kill the most obscure or difficult targets. It takes place in the city of Cenaria, a place that is distinctly divided into the rich side and the poor side, called the Warrens. On the rich side of the city powerful families jostle for political control of affairs. In the Warrens children and adults alike ...

CrazyJamie 27.08.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks

...beggar, heathen, girl, commoner) saving the world (e.g. Frodo) and a king threatened by the usurper (e.g. Arthur). This is, of course, a major simplification, but still, many, many fantasy novels follow one of those plotlines. The Way of Shadows seems to be an example of the first one. Azoth is a guild rat, grown up in the slums, poverty and fear, beatings and abuse his daily reality. When, in a sudden flash of justified anger he crosses the Fist ...
...life is at stake, and the only way out he sees is apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint: the best assassin in the city. Azoth changes his identity to Kylar Stern and has to leave his old life in the slums of the Warrens to face new challenges, from the effort of relentless training to learning to read, and not least the moral ones of learning to kill with a clear head and steady hand. The world of dangerous politics and magic opens up for him as he ...

magdadh 25.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks

...fantasy writing, it breaks all the normal rules of fantasy, this isnt a land of dragons and monsters and goblins and handsome princes saving damsels in distress. This is the tale of a sewer kid who has to crawl through mud under a pub built out of bamboo, to find coppers so that one of the big kids wouldn't beat him up for not having money to pay him. Then the story takes a dramatic turn when our sewer kid (Azoth) encounters the greatest assassin ...
...becom Kylar. We follow the progress of Azoth/Kylar and we see how he tries to hold on to some of his old friends and still become an assassin. Never in a book have I dropped my jaw so many times every page gives you new revolutions to the story and hints keep you guessing throughout the whole book. If you are thinking of buying this book for a child, Do Not! It is a very adult book with constant references to sex and is very violent in some areas ...

kristofski93 16.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks

...could have imagined, I saw the real struggle for survival human nature at its rawest, but the best part, this story has direction, and you want you must follow you can't help it, as you see our main character grow and learn and be human, see him face moral decisions, disasters and death, the most wonderful part of this fantastic story is the hints of more, more! I can't believe it how can there be more than this, the faith of a kingdom an entire ...

TheTheomachable 17.08.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Way of Shadows - Brent Weeks