The Way of Shadows by Brent A. Weeks is the first novel in the Night Angel Trilogy. The second and third books are titled;
Shadow's Edge (The Night Angel Trilogy) and
Beyond the Shadows (The Night Angel Trilogy) respectively. I had never heard of Mr. Weeks before, but I was encouraged to read this book and give it a review. I have long been a proponent of giving new authors a shot, after all how else are we really going to know if they are any good or now. I need to stress I went into this novel without any preconceived ideas of what it would be like. Here are my thoughts on the novel.
The plot of this book, where do I start? Usually in this section of my reviews I hit on the key plot, and sub plot, points. Quite frankly though, there is so much that goes on in this novel that I would never be able to do it justice. So, please know that this section only covers a few pieces of the plot. One of the main plot lines, at least on the surface, is a little clichéd in that it is a coming of age story of an orphan turned assassin. But, that cliché is turned on its head with vivid details and a thorough entrenchment into the story. Most types of these stories follow the lines of, I am an orphan therefore I became an assassin. That is no where near what this part of the story is. In his novel we are allowed to see the progression of events and choices that force the character down this road. Another main plot line, which is more apparent later in the novel, is a political coup. The amount of delicate planning, subtle foreshadowing, and setting things up is brilliant. Rarely do we, as fantasy readers, see the meticulous details in planning that are present in this novel. Usually, we are only afforded a summary of what those plans were. Here, we get to see them play out. There is also the requisite love interest, but it fits so well into the story and one of the stories themes that I makes perfect sense. It never seemed forced or contrived. In fact, in the entire 600 page plus novel, I never felt that any of the plot was contrived or forced. It all flowed so smoothly, and enjoyably. As I said before these are only three of the many, many things that happen in this book. I don't have the space to detail each and every one. But, suffice to say. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, particularly the dark/gritty/real vents type novels, then this is certainly a plot line for you.
The characters in this book, much like the plot, are numerous and diverse. The main character, Azoth, is a young orphan boy who's life consists of procuring funds to give to his guild for room and board. It's a tough life, but he needs to do what he can to survive. Another character is the wetboy (think assassin) Durzo Blint who is a legend among the guilds. If he takes a contract to kill someone, they will be killed, there is no question about it. There is the young son a duke, Logan, who is seeking to make his own way and assume control of his father's holdings while his father is away. There is the mysterious Momma K. who runs several brothels in the city, and has her hands in other areas of the city as well. The main villain in this book, who actually appears later in the novel, is Roth who is a sick and twisted man. He has his own motives for his actions, but he adds the sadist/ twisted element on his own accord. There are several other characters that are memorable in this novel, but in interests of space I will leave it to those I mentioned above. Much like the plot, I loved the characters in this book. They all fit their particular roles. I appreciated that they each spoke with their own voice, had their own motives, and they all had faults as well. It made them much more real and easy to connect with.
I only have one minor criticism about this novel:
There was one minor sub plot and character that seemed to get lost in the story. When Logan was asserting himself as the `man of the house' he orders his mother to do something and then we hear no more from her. I would have liked at least one follow-up scene with her and find out where she was at. I fully understand this is a very minor thing in a novel filled with greatness, but never-the-less it is there.
Some things I particularly enjoyed about this novel:
1 - It doesn't hold any punches. There is a grittiness about growing up as an orphan in a city like this. Mr. Weeks shows the reader exactly what perils there are. Life on the street is tough, kids get hit, abused, and left for dead. All those things happen in this book.
2 - The plot. I was pleasantly surprised at the richness of both the plot and the setting The plot twists and additions were perfectly timed and added extra elements to an already very good book.
3 - The prose. Fluid and fast paced. It is one of those rare books that you can start reading before you go to bed and look up later and realize it is three in the morning. The prose is refined and does not waste valuable word count. The fight scenes are both graphic, but succinct. Nothing is wasted.
4 - Too many authors in the fantasy genre become overly attached to characters and therefore when you read about them being in trouble you know they will come out of it unscathed. Not the case here. People die, people who you think should live. This proves especially important when later in the book there are several scenes where the reader has absolutely no idea if a character will live or die, because Mr. Weeks has already proven he can, and will, kill off characters.
When all is said and done, I loved this book. Mr. Weeks weaves a tale with fantastic characters, a succinct plot, and his tremendous word-smithing ability that could easily place this novel in my Top Five Reads of 2008. I simply can not say enough positive things about this book. I have no qualms about telling every fantasy fan to read this book. It is a book that I whole heartedly recommend to anyone even remotely interested in the fantasy genre. I am almost certain there is something in this novel for everyone to enjoy. I for one am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on the next two novels in the series. Do yourself a favor and track down this book. It's a true diamond in the rough. But I do not think it will stay in the rough for very long. Mr. Weeks has a long promising career in his future. I can't wait to see where he takes us!
