Author: Brent Weeks
Publisher: Orbit
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: October 2008
Cover Artist: Calvin Chu

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks is a book that only came on my radar by accident, but one that I am quite grateful for. If I had the time to talk to an author, describe what I liked most in a book and then said, “Spin me a tale that you know will be something I would like,” it would be realized here in this book. It was an interesting decision for Orbit to release the three books of the trilogy in three consecutive months, but one that works for the reader as there is such a small amount of time before the next volume is published.

From a high level view, the story involves some of my favorite elements in fantasy: assassins, politics, intrigue, battles, magic users, and magic items. So far so good, Mr. Weeks, but now let us talk about world-building, writing style, characters, and storyline all without giving away any spoilers to ruin it for the rest of the readers. This behemoth of a book weighs in at over 640 pages and what I found interesting at times is that it may have been underwritten from the standpoint of fleshing it out. Some things go by a little too quickly for my preference. This is where publishers come in, I am sure Weeks could not have handed in a book over 1000 pages, but yet I think if he had I would have enjoyed it a little more. Weird I know. I actually paused and said to myself, “Wow he is really packing it in there” as I cleared page 300-and-something. Weeks’s writing style is fluid and furious as the story is pushed along rather quickly. While I have stated that I feel some of the story itself could have been filled out, the scenes that Weeks brings to us are a perfect blend of description, action, and character introspection.

Enjoyable characters make or break the story, and Weeks as a first time author does a fantastic job with the characters he has created. He has a cast which is usually larger than one I would care for, but he makes each one so memorable and real that it works. Weeks’s characters remind me of something that Hobb would imagine, Azoth as a type of Fitz character in both character and storyline. Durzo as the mentor has his own past to deal with as well as help Azoth form his future. The political figures also are more than they seem at first and Weeks does well as fleshing them out to give them life not often found in fantasy nobility from novels that I have read. While Weeks deals in nobility he also deals in homeless orphans and mixes them all into characters that the reader not only enjoys following, but that they also come to care for. As we move further in to the book, we are introduced to the real villains of the story, one Godking of Khalidor, as well as some powerful allies we have not met before. Their roles seem to be looming larger in other books, or at least I can hope, but even introduced later in the story they fit like round pegs to a hole. Many figures from Azoth past come to play pivotal roles in the later chapters as well, but not in a contrived or forced way. While I have only mentioned a few of the players in the story, every character that had some sort of role was well done for me. Most of the so called heroes are really shades of gray, but cliche or not it works for Weeks. Durzo and Azoth (among others) become characters you care about, who have a story line and a past that are interesting. They make right decisions and they make poor decisions, but all seem in character. His characters feel real and that is the highest compliment.

If I was forced to pick the weakest part of the book for me it would be the world-building and immersion factor of the world of Midcyru. It sputters to get started in the early going of the book, before actually coming to life. I started to get a feel for Azoth’s and Durzo’s city, Cenaria around the middle of the book. The saving grace is once you get to that point in the book, it is no longer an issue as Weeks brings the city to life. This is a gritty story with a fair amount of adult situations and language, but it fits the story at hand. Also the magic in the world of Midcyru is interesting and while not a monte haul campaign, there is more than enough to go around to satisfy.

Weeks has created another orphan assassin coming of age story with multiple twists and turns, and compelling characters. Character development, along with the storyline surprises, create a page turner. Weeks make you ponder the characters life and the situations and choices that they make. While Durzo trains Azoth, there are other major plots being developed that will test the young student and teacher alike. A plot for a magic artifact, a plot for a hostile takeover of Cenaria, all at the same time of political intrigue will test both Durzo and Azoth. All at the same time Azoth is trying to learn while turning his back on the life he used to lead. If that was not hard enough, Azoth must deal with a love that he thought was forbidden to him.

The Way of Shadows has been a book that I have wanted to read every chance I have gotten, it made me turn off television, it made me skip dessert, it even made me skip a shower once. That has not happened in a long time with a book, and unless something extraordinary happens in the next month or two, this is going to be my book of the year for 2008.

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Topics: Brent Weeks, Calvin Chu, Orbit, The Night Angel Trilogy, The Way of Shadows