I finished Beyond the Shadows, the third and final book in the Night Angel trilogy last night, and it was excellent. Overall, probably my favorite series of the year.
Since I wasn't happy with my reviews of Coe's book and or the last Night Angel book, I'm am going to do something different. I still think my long format (traditional) reviews are pretty week, so lets try this:
Reasons to read this book
-You were a fan of the first 2 books in the series. This is more of the same, but even better.
-Kylar has to make a HUGE decision at the end of the book, and it is truly emotional. If you have become attached to Kylar, you will want to stick around and see what he is forced to do.
-While the entire book is good, the last 150 pages kick major ass.
-You find out the real price of Kylar's immortality. A great twist.
-Reunited and it feels so good (sorry, song reference there, but when you read it, you will understand).
-All the characters grow, and all of them have to face some tough decisions.
-The characters arent perfect and make mistakes, just like in the real world.
-All the threads come together. The scope really is more epic this time around. All of the major countries become involved.
-The twist at the VERY end gives some interesting hints to were the next book could go. And I thought this twist was freaking brilliant.
-You will see how little hints from the first 2 books come back to have an impact on the ending. There were several "ahh" moments.
Reasons not to read this book
-You dislike fast paced, action-packed, in-your-face writing.
-You dont like curse words in your books.
-You are under 13 years old.
-You dont want this series to end.
-You didnt like one of the first 2 books.
-You are looking for elves, dwarves, hobbits, trolls, or Raistlin.
-You like books that have chapters that begin with quotes.
Overall, I was very impressed with this series, especially considering its the authors first go at writing. The book was almost non-stop from the very beginning, and I honestly can't think of one bad thing to say. I didnt find any slow moments, didnt think "how convient" or get the feeling characters were being manipulated. While there were many standout characters, I still believe your enjoyment of the series will directly relate to how well you like Kylar. This book does become more epic in scope, with the threat of the end of the world, etc..but Kylar pulls it all together. His internal conflict, struggles to understand who and what he is and his place in the world, his trying to do the right thing, trying to think before he acts (and sometimes failing)..all these things bring Kylar to life. I would say its worth reading this series just for him, and you get the bonus of some really solid secondary characters, and a pretty darn good story.
Beyond the Shadows was even better than I was hoping it would be.
Monday, November 24, 2008
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3 comments:
I'm really keen on to read SHADOW'S EDGE and BEYOND THE SHADOWS.
IMO book 1 was the best. Brent Weeks' skill as a writer really shone and one could tell how much love had been put into the book. Best book I've read these last 5 months by far.
Starting from book 2, the story went downhill. There were several wtf moments that had me wondering if the author had had a little too much ootai. It felt rushed, but tolerable. For the second book in a trilogy, it could have been worse.
Book 3... ah.. book 3. The first ~ 150 pages were a joy to read. The hand that wrote book 1 was very much present in the first quarter of the book. That hand disappears completely afterwards. The rest of the book was cobbled together with zero development. Things happen with no explanation.
Everything was too freaking convenient. From newbie to battle mistress in one sentence? From newbie to mastering the black kakari in one sentence? From prophet Dorian to whatever the heck Dorian became? Solon, Feir, Elene, Neph Dada, Logan, etc. Their stories defy logic because of the lack of development. One moment, they were one thing, the next they were something completely different.
I wondered many times if someone else wrote the rest of the book. Maybe the author was rushing to meet a deadline. Either way, book 3 was very sloppily done.
I can kinda see what the above comment was saying, but for me i guess i loved the book, despite what other people think, and ultimately that's what it comes down to.
I felt that perhaps, Yes there were a few gaps, that didn't stop me from loving the book. (My way of rating a book is on how much i enjoy it). When solon leaves for seth, and returns, when dorien goes back to khalidor, how neph dada gets to where he was, could have been deatiled, and i wish it were cause that would make me love the book even more. Somethings i do wish were explained such as Feir creating ceur'cestalos (probably not correct spelling), i wish that were explained. But nothing is perfect and i think it was extremely welldone for his first attempt.
One thing i really thought was well done was how i connected with most of the characters. Kylar and Elene, and with Vi tied in there. I could feel the passion, love, frustration, anger and all the other emotions. Not just them but most if not all of the other major characters.
I liked it, but im a sucker for fantasy magic etc.
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