The Way Of Shadows - Book Review

Have decided to post this to distract myself from my thoughts. Might as well be useful for something I suppose.

Quick update on my current situation:
Leaving Certificate Exams approaching in 6 weeks, should be studying.
Relationship status is single, despite my very very very best efforts.
Just played the biggest concert of my life last week with my orchestra, jazz band and choral group.

Anyway, I've literally only decided I'm going to do a book review half way through writing this. This should be good (I always was known for my amazing planning skills).

Put simply, The Night Angel Trilogy is my favourite collection of books, bar only Harry Potter. They are simply unputtdownable, and I hope you understand that that statement is not an exaggeration, these books (doorstoppers all three of them) have kept me up until the wee hours of the morning have long faded.

And here's why: Though yes, they provide plenty of action and violence, the primary purpose of this series is an examination of human morality, mortality, faith, and the limits to which one can be pushed to ultimately do the right thing.


Here I will reviewing the first book in the series; The Way Of Shadows.

The action takes place entirely in  Cenaria City, a cesspool of thievery and whoring in the the fantasy world of Mid-Cyru. The city's poor have been confined to the ghetto like warrens and every child faces a battle for survival as they live among the violent and self-destructive child gangs that roam the streets.

Orphaned Azoth is one of these gutter-children, 11 years old and having never seen his parents, as he digs through the mud to find coins to pay his protection fees and avoid a beating, he spots the legendary wetboy (magical super-assassin) Durzo Blint above him, a man without fear, without worry, without desperation. Azoth vows to become Blint's apprentice and be like him, to lose his his caring.

Spoilerific circumstances come to pass and Azoth is reincarnated into Durzo's apprentice, Kylar Stern. Politics, treachery, love and intrigue ensue as he learns his new lethal trade, until his ultimate test comes and he must face his most deadly enemy.

The violent action flows as seamlessly as it should, if there's one thing Weeks can most definitely orchestrate it is description of the fine art of murder as Kylar leaves a trail of corpses behind him on the way to justice, the movements seem natural, the dialogue can be jarringly vulgar at times, but suits the situations, and the relationships developed (except for one in particular) are highly thought out and only serve to highlight the authors main themes of morality further.

I'd firmly recommend this book for any fans of Batman, Assassin's Creed or The Black Magician Trilogy. It reads at a rip roaring pace and has a character for everyone to connect to, passing through the entire spectrum from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil. You're heart will be in your throat and your blood will surge. This is a must read.


Over and out.