Review: Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks

I must admit to being a bit nervous about reading this book. The first book, The Way of Shadows, came out of nowhere to be one of my top books of 2008 so far. Thus, my expectations were rather high for book 2. But, I was also nervous, as I thought that I would probably have unreasonable expectations. After finishing the book, I can say that my thoughts were a little more mixed than they were for book 1.

NOTE: If you haven't read book 1, I would suggest skipping this review, as some things I discuss might (will) be considered spoilers.

My first impressions of Shadow's Edge were a little underwhelming. The book picks up right after book 1, and follows Kylar, Elene, and Uly as they head to Caernarvon to start a new life. Kylar has promised Elene that he wouldn;t kill again. So, we spend a good deal of the first 200 pages listening to Kylar mope about keeping his promise, how he doesn't deserve Elene, and his internal struggle to come to terms with his true self. Normally, this would sound like a good character building element. However, while I understand the necessity of it, after awhile i just got a bit tired of this particular storyline. We all know it isnt going to last, and waiting 200 pages for Kylar to "return to normal" was too long for me. In fact, I even put the book down twice to read other things, before finally making up my mind to push through this section. Once we get passed the first 200 pages, the last 400 are much quicker paced and more inline with what we saw in book 1.

One thing you won't hear stated about Shadow's Edge is that it has a young adult tone or writing style. You might remember the post I made when Pat made a comment about YA in regards to The Way of Shadows (which I disagreed with). This book is rather dark and more brutal. Its also more graphic. The "f-word" appears quite a bit, as well as all of the violence being a bit more visual. There are also sexually oriented scenes. I would think a little harder before I allowed a young teen to read this one, as it is definitely more adult in nature. I would say if this was a movie, it would get an "R". While it was a bit more adult than books i normally read, none of it was forced or gratuitous. Its a harsh, dirty world the characters live in, and the author doesn't hide that fact. For me, it helped reinforce the darker nature of the story and the world.

As in book 1, the author isn't afraid to kill off major characters. As you read, you have to be careful who you become attached to, as there are no guarantees that the character will make it to the next page, much less the rest of the book. Related to this thought, I must admit that i missed Durzo's character. While there were a ton of things I liked about book 1, one of the main things was the relationship between Kylar and Durzo. Having Durzo die in book 1, while a brave thing for the author to do, removed a large attraction to the series for me. I'll be interested to see if anyone else feel's this way, or if its just me.

So far, you would probably think I didn't care for the book very much, but luckily that isn't case. I still enjoyed it, especially the last 400 pages. The action was fast, there are some interesting side plots, and Kylar is just a flat out great character to spend time with. For me, he is really the driving force of the series. I know he is also the main character, so that stands to reason. But what I am trying to say is that even for a main character, Kylar is well-drawn. There is also a HUGE humdinger of a line to end the book, so now I'm awaiting book 3 as eagerly as I was awaiting book 2.

If you were a fan of A Way of Shadows, I think you will still find a lot to like in this book (as I did). I will say I didn't think quite as highly of Shadow's Edge as I did the first book. But, not every book can be my favorite book of the year. So, while there was a slight drop-off in enjoyment for me, the momentum built up in the ending up book 2 has me very excited to see how the series ends. It was also nice to see that the author isn't a one-hit wonder. This book confirms that Brent Weeks can write very compelling stories, and he is now in my "buy upon release" category. I am hoping my Border's releases the book 2 weeks early again, so that I have the possibility of reading Beyond the Shadows before the Thanksgiving holiday.