The Black Prism (Lightbringer Book 1)

Brent Weeks writes very large imagined stories, that vary quite differently from your standard fantasy stories. This was an epic story with a very original style of magic used. However at times the story did drag on a bit and half way through was a chore to continue, however it improved greatly after that lull.

I would recommend this novel to any Brent Weeks fans as well as fantasy fans after a different take on the genre.

Great book, great characters. Both the characters and the world they live in are fully fleshed out. Hard to put down, and hard not jump right into the next book. If I made a list of my favorite fantasy writers, he'd be on it for sure.

The start of another exciting installment from Brent Weeks! I personally loved the Night Angel Trilogy (honestly, they're my favorite books), so I was especially excited when I heard that Mr. Weeks had started another series. It doesn't quite shine as the Night Angel trilogy had, but this IS the first book. Night Angel's truly epic moments where in the two last books, So I think this book did a great job of setting up characters and settings while still keeping the story flowing.

I'll try not to drop any spoilers

The characters of the book are incredibly well rounded and realistic. The main character, Kip, is a refreshing change from the standard archetype of a books hero. Instead of "naturally fit", brave, gifted at everything he does, Kip is a chubby, overemotional kid, and acts just like one. This also gives him a lot of room to grow, which I hope to see in the coming books. Gavin/Dazen give the readers a great psychological duality to enjoy, if you have the patience to delve far enough into it ^^. Karris is a nice addition as she adds an important feminine role, while still maintaining her position as total badass.

Another thing I loved about the Night Angel books is that Weeks created a whole world, full of shadows, politics and back stabbing. The same looks to be set up in the Lightbringer series. The complex politics of the Prism's domain somehow seems to be more interesting than the politics of the U.S.A. and gives the reader more to enjoy, with it not just being one grand hero who saves the world single-handedly.

Overall, the book hasn't QUITE lived up to its predecessor, but again, this is the very first book of the series. Mr. Weeks is still an amazing writer, as well as a source of inspiration for me. I am definitely buying the next book as soon as it hits the shelves!

Loved this. Just what high fantasy should be. Creative magic system, well developed world, and deep, strong characters, plus a little smart-assery thrown in. Perfect.

It's definitely not pap. There's plenty of darkness to the heroes and much to sympathize with in the villains. Sometimes the bad guys win and the good guys lose--assuming there's a clear distinction between the two that time. But overall you've left feeling satisfied and well entertained at the end. And hungry for the next one.

This is still my favorite book. The series continues to get better book after book. Brent Weeks wrote his best work in the series, and even though I believe the books get better as the series continues, this book remains my favorite book ever. The magic in this world is brilliant and I find myself thinking about it in my day to day life. It's very original and refreshing, and the characters are deep and captivating. Also, Mr. Weeks is a master of twists and major reveals.

I thoroughly enjoy Brent Weeks and this series is one of my favorites. I've read the other two and can't wait for the fourth and final book to come out! I was a little confused about who the main character was, but as the story progresses through the books I just fell in love with it all. If you read this one you might as well buy the other two because you will love them!!!

Excellent storytelling! Brent has created an interesting world, a blend of magic, pirate/civil war era fiepower, meshed with traditional fantasy swords/axes/etc. to create an interesting world in turmoil and at war.

The main character (Kip) is a little unusual in his 'chubby', accident prone, self-deprecating manner, but his humility makes him just likable enough. The other primary character (Gavin) is an excellent character that you find yourself continually hoping doesn't die (no spoiler one way or another here).

The magic system is unique and interesting, and I for one don't mind the detail he goes into explaining it throughout the books (just finished book 2).

Character development is great, and things are continually moving forward, action is always happening... Which is a huge problem with other authors/series. Not in Lightbringer/Black Prism... Things are always moving forward, which I love. Keeps you turning pages and hooked.

The writing style is very conversational and, dare I say, "laid back". There are a lot of contemporary phrases that seem somewhat out of place, but after you settle into it, it colors it uniquely. (This is mostly in the character's thoughts to themselves, which somehow makes it ok).

All in all, I'm really enjoying these books. I was bummed when I ran out of Sanderson books, and am glad I've discovered Brent Weeks... I hope he keeps the Lightbringer series going strong for a while!

An enjoyable introduction to a cast of rich characters with wonderful twists and turns. The magical mechanism of Luxin brings a unique twist to this fantasy world, color and conjuration capturing our imagination.

I've read this series before when they where first being released and absolutely loved them. After having misplaced them moving I absolutely had to get them again and couldn't find a bookstore near my house in the time I needed it.
If you're considering it I would ABSOLUTELY recommend reading this book and ANYTHING by Brent Weeks.

Great story about a world where some are blessed with the power to harness a color from light's spectrum. These Drafters can use the light to create or to fight. You'll root for Kip as he grows in confidence and power and feel for Gavin as he tries to right wrongs. I can't wait to start the next book!

About a quarter of the way through The Black Prism I found myself thinking, "Oh no, not good, this awesome book is the first in a series and it only just came out...I will finish it wanting more, and instead I will have to wait and wait and wait." All the waiting is going to suck. But The Black Prism? The book? It did not suck. It was awesome.

So let's see. What are some of the things I liked about The Black Prism. A good cast of characters. It was nice flipping between chubby, frequently pathetic Kip and gorgeous, endlessly charismatic Gavin. And all the characters in between. Each character faces severe challenges, and their individual storylines weave around one another in interesting ways. There are lots of twists and turns, many of them unexpected, and the pace is furious.

Weeks seems to be really big on choices - there are lots of hard choices, and even the best choices often have terrible consequences. He's not afraid to make his characters suffer, or push them to do things that made me angry. That's all good. Given his focus on choices, it's no surprise that he often walks the reader through a choice as the character makes it. When it makes sense, this is great. But there were a handful of key moments where Weeks led us through a choice it rang utterly false to me. I didn't believe that the character would really think or feel that way.

One early example of this is when Kip's mother dies. She's been a pretty awful, worthless mother - constantly strung out on drugs, unloving and abusive. As she dies, she makes Kip swear to exact vengeance on someone who's wronged her. She doesn't name the person, but Kip fills in the blank. That's already annoying enough; as a reader, I knew that I was being tricked. But then Kip agrees to dedicate himself to fulfilling his mother's wish for revenge, and he seems to really mean it. And, reading, I was thinking: really? Where'd that come from? They don't have enough of a bond to inspire that kind of passion for revenge. On top of which, Kip is way, way too smart to fill in a blank and then act like he's been given really specific marching orders.

Naturally, Kip's promise to his dying mother turns out to be important...sometimes. Most of the time, he's aware that his mother was worthless and doesn't seem to mourn her particularly. But every once and a while, when it's convenient to the plot, he gets all passionate about avenging her. Something like that - important events that ring false; motivations that are here one minute, gone the next - can be pretty problematic if it's repeated too many times. And there are a good handful of them here. That being said, for the most part the characters - and their choices - ring true.

Quibbles aside, I definitely recommend this book. If you can stand all the waiting.

Phenomenal book. If you like Brent Weeks, it is some of the best stuff he's written. I loved the Night angel trilogy, just finished this book and can honestly say I can already tell I'll like this series more.

Inside this massively long fantasy thriller is a fantastic story waiting to be pruned from among the extraneous descriptions that Brent Weeks padded these pages with. There are some terrific characters here, and a twisting plot with lots of surprises, good dialogue, and a complicated magic system and theology that will leave you marveling at as you read them. Sadly, if you're like me, you'll also find yourself zipping along, skimming page after page after page of the many fight scenes where there is no suspense but lots of description of our main characters running through carnage and escaping --- yet again--- unscathed. I also thought the 20 page chapter where the main character built a castle wall using the magics he possesses to be more than boring. Ho-hum.

A bad editor would have trimmed 10% of this book's girth, a good editor would have taken out 20% of the pages. Weeks should DEMAND a better editor next time out.

He is a gifted storyteller, but is far too early into his career to be treated like Stephen King, and needs a firm editor to keep his stories entertaining.

I will read the next book in this series...but am not going to rush out and buy it right away.

This book was recommended to me. I usually prefer SF over Fantasy, but was surprised by the strong storyline and good character development of the book. It might have been improved by holding back a bit longer on the 'character change' revelation ... or perhaps not. I plan to download the next book in the series.

A good read. I recommend it for any Fantasy buff and even for my fellow SF buffs.

Neil Tarey.

I grew up reading Tolkien, King, Heinlein, Clarke, Eddings, Herbert, Donaldson and Dick and can easily say that Brent Weeks has joined those ranks among my favorites with his work in the Lightbringer series. The Black Prism is one of those books you wont want to put down, and when you finish the rest of the books in the series you'll find yourself rereading it all over again to find those subtle hints at a much deeper plot and mythos than you had seen coming.

I'm surprised to find myself writing a review for The Black Prism, since I choose not to when I read it almost a year ago, so why write bother to write one now? Simply put, I find myself continually plagued by the thought of this book and what a disappointment it was, because, as I've found myself in a bit of a cold streak where a number of books and series have been under-performing, I continue to reference this book as an example, as it contains a number of the failures I've been seeing. Given that I haven't read the book in a year, I will keep my comments general and reasonably spoiler-free. I should also add that I quite liked the Night Angel series, and would give it 4 stars overall.

My first recollection is that I remember being annoyed as I read the Black Prism by the inconsistent age of the protagonist, Kip. Rather than acting like a 15-yo teenager, he seemed to jump between the ages of 10 and 25, seemingly at random. His intelligence, maturity, self-image, all wavered dramatically as the plot demanded it, and made him seem completed unrealistic.

Second was the magic system. At first it seemed like it would be clever, but, once the rules and subtleties were explained, it became clear it was a mess. For example, it was emphasized that emotion and color were linked, and stated to be a major factor in using the power. Many times we have a PoV character talk about the impact of using a color on their emotions. Yet, during the major battle scenes, colors are being used in immense quantities, and all of a sudden the emotional impacts don't seem to matter at all. In addition, although we are told that all the colors have this consequence, we are only ever told or shown the easy ones, rage and calmness. In addition, while there was a lot of explanation about the complexity of the color palette, when the battle rages, all the colors simply appear to be Green Lantern rings, with no substantial difference in effectiveness between any of them.

On top of both of those, we have the huge issue with the way that the lifetime limit on magic use is managed. While a solid idea, it is never shown in the book to make any difference. None of the characters make a choice to not use magic based on the fact it will kill them, and in fact, everyone seems perfectly willing to run right to the edge and then, for the first time, start thinking about the consequences! I found the culture described among the magic-users around this issue to be totally unrealistic.

Finally, at the end of the book everyone is in trouble. That's okay, it's a multi-book series. But why are they in trouble? In every case (of the four main characters) its because they aren't honest with each other. Every one of them is keeping a secret from one or two of the others, and if they all simply told each other the truth, they would all be much better off. Not one, or two, but all four, and that is insane. As the reader you just want to slap them upside the head, and when you want to do that to every character, it's a bad sign.

Oh yes, I forgot about the prisoner. Suffice it to say that his prison was cool, rational, and his escape attempt was clever and reasonable within the rules of magic as described. So how frustrating was it to have a 'gotcha' moment at the end, where we are told that escape is actually impossible. Seriously, if there was ever a goal of having him escape in a later book, I can't imagine taking it seriously after that ending.

In conclusion, any book that has stuck with me this intently clearly deserves more that 1 star. But boy, was this ever a huge letdown after Night Angel.

I'm always delighted to find an author willing to create a world, study it, really get to know it, then layer the intrigue. I found Brent Weeks taking corners and alleyways in this book that I couldn't have guessed. He also took a premise that, if you stand back and think, sounds rather juvenile (drafters using the basic ROYGBIV colors to use magic). He somehow made this seem almost normal and delved deeper into what it means, rather than staying rather static with our own interpretation of the color system.

One of the best fantasy fiction series I have read. I read Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy and was mesmerized by the world he build and the magics he explored. This series is just as good if not better!

I loved the Night Angel trilogy, so I purchased the Black Prism on my Kindle as soon as it was released. It started out a little more slowly than the Night Angel books (not hard, as those just slammed right along!) but I appreciated the chance to get to know the characters and the world in a different way. In fact, I became so emotionally involved with the characters that I could hardly take the fireworks ending. Loved the world, loved the magic system - highly recommended!

I really, really like this book. The characters are great, extremely well-formed; the world-building is fantastic with amazing attention to detail; and the plot twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing at every step of the way. I love how the characters are all flawed--it makes it easier to relate to them and maintains the suspense. It's definitely a book worth reading if you like fantasy. I certainly loved it.

Amazing book ! Great pace, great character and amazzing story ! Only downside is the magic system isnt explained to well but you learn what each type and what they do through the characters actually using them and seeing the effects. This book grabs onto you and never lets go till the end where you waiting drooling for the 2nd one !!

If you like The Night Angel series then you will love this one also
If you havent read the Night Angel Series then stop reading here and go buy it !!!

I really, really like this book. The characters are great, extremely well-formed; the world-building is fantastic with amazing attention to detail; and the plot twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing at every step of the way. I love how the characters are all flawed--it makes it easier to relate to them and maintains the suspense. It's definitely a book worth reading if you like fantasy. I certainly loved it.

Amazing book ! Great pace, great character and amazzing story ! Only downside is the magic system isnt explained to well but you learn what each type and what they do through the characters actually using them and seeing the effects. This book grabs onto you and never lets go till the end where you waiting drooling for the 2nd one !!

If you like The Night Angel series then you will love this one also
If you havent read the Night Angel Series then stop reading here and go buy it !!!

As most of Brent Weeks books, this was as inticing as always. He really knows how to capture the moment and relate every character in the story to the reader. Following the adventures of Kip and Gavin is an adventure you won't want to miss!

The voice actor for the first audio-book is hilariously bad, he makes the the main character sound like a hippie surfer. So if you like audio books then read the first book and listen to the next book.

I read Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy last year and it was okay. Interesting enough that I read all three books but I wasn't wowed by them. I was therefore more than pleasantly surprised with The Black Prism. Excellent read. Characters that are not black and white stereotypes. Sufficient twists and turns to keep you engrossed but not excessively complicated. I'm am greatly looking forward to book 2 in this series.

Phenomenal in almost every regard. Brilliant and engaging prose, great characters, novel plot line, mature tone and themes - foremost being how hilarious some characters were. One of the top 10 series starters I've ever read next to notw, wok, got, blood song, furies of cal, etc. Only thing I found to displease me was the magic system was a little absurd and not enough mythological/historical elements tied in. 5 stars tho

One of my new favorite fantasy series, everyone I recommended it to loved it as well. Love the world built up around the characters, it weaves a great story without the need to spend a hundred pages detailing it.

Honestly, I tried. At 30%, I gave up. The writing was fine and the magic system was interesting, but I just didn't find myself caring about the characters. Some books just aren't for you and this one wasn't for me.

A fantasy author managing to flesh out and build characters of both genders is rare but this series does it.

You’ll probably see some of the plots twists a mile away but they are well written and the foundation for an epic saga is definitely there. Can’t wait to read the next book

i choose this book becasue of the autors past work, i realy enojed the other trilogy, sorry i read it some time ago, oh wait perfect shadows, i just remembered. they were fantastic and this series is also. great epic fantasy a world like no other and cool characters. I bow before your greatness Brent Weeks.

Decent fantasy. The author does have a sense of humor, which helps. His notion of magic based on materialization of the spectrum of daylight is convoluted. He needs a whole chapter at the end to describe it all without it becoming any more interesting. However, it is a decent enough fantasy, a cut above the general mediocrity which dominates the genre.

Takes true imagination to bring to life some of the amazing feats drafters can bring to life, but was hard for me to grasp at times exactly the picture of what some of the boats were doing and the differences between them. Just reference the glossary! Story is hands down. 5 star !

This book has a little bit of everything, great world building, a unique and interesting magic system, and multiple interesting story lines. What else could you really ask for in a fantasy novel? This book is a must-own.

This novel is entertaining. Kip's weird self loathing, the gratuitous descriptions of women's bodies, and the whiplash pacing of the narrative were all off putting. The world is interesting but the magic system seems like it was developed by a Montessori preschool teacher but all in all it was entertaining.

I picked up Brent Weeks' book after a recommendation from one of my top authors, Brandon Sanderson. The series offers a unique magic system, great twists, and satisfying character development. The first book (The Black Prism) is solid, and the second book is great. I hope the third and fourth books in the series are equally as strong. I highly recommend the series.

Caution: there is a bit of language in the books, as well as some realistically depicted violence.

This story was very good. the magic system is unique, but it took me some time to understand how it worked. I think that was probably part of the book's charm. At first the plot was a bit unoriginal, but the twists and turns it takes the last half was well worth the trudging at the beginning. I definately felt a connection with the characters, and I want to read more. My only complaint about the book was that I didn't actually read it. I bought the ebook and the audible version. I listened to the audible more often then I read the ebook, which means that the majority of the book was read to me. This is the way I read now, since I have a toddler at home and can't find time to read except during my commute. Anyway, the audible version was terrible! The narrator ruined my experience and I only kept going because the story was so compelling, I needed to know what happened.

I read the Night Angel trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed it. I started reading The Black Prism simply because I like Weeks' writing - I knew nothing about the story. It started off a bit slow (trying to figure out the context of the world, etc.) but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. I went on to read the Blinding Knife (his second book) and loved that as well. If I had one complaint, it would be that the third and fourth book aren't out and now I have to wait. All in all, the action, magic system, world, characters, history, etc are all very well thought out and rewarding. If you are a fan of fantasy and science fiction, this is a novel that is worth your time.