The Complete Trilogy (The Night Angel Trilogy) - Night Angel

The book itself is great, but there were some deficits:

* The cover was damaged in one spot (in a place that was definitely not caused by transportation)
* The invoice was not fixed to the outside of the package, which caused it to get stuck on custom office - so I had to travel there to pick it up

But besides that, everything was ok!

There was a great two books to this story and if there were only two books I would have given it 4 stars. Not five because there are too many loose ends at the end of the second book and the story needs that third book. The third book though was bad, what made it horrendous was that, after reading his first two books, you know how good of a writer he is. It's as if (to borrow a description from a friend) he decided to fast forward through a movie skipping the good parts and watching the slow boring parts that now suck since they are not in context of the story that was skipped. I spent a week after reading this trilogy upset at how many plot points in the story were rendered meaningless by the conclusion they were given.

I have friends who love watching B movies for how bad they are, and after giving this description of the book I recommended it to one of them. He was not able to appreciate it because of how good the first two books are.

As a big fan of this genre and an avid reader, I had looked forward to this series based on the reviews at the store. I am by no means deterred by gore, but the utter debauchery, vivid rape and child torture/abuse descriptions are pretty awful and go on and on for a good portion of the first novel. Once the story starts moving in the first two books, it was hard to find a character to really like. Neither the protagonist or his mentor are really likable and there is not a shred of comic relief within all the darkness. The first book in the series is awful, the second gets better but only near the end. The third book in the trilogy is almost as if written by a different author. There is humor, the protagonist is suddenly likable, characters suddenly come to life and are interesting, things make sense. But the last book seems rushed. Obviously, different books appeal to different people and as can been seen by other reviews, some love this trilogy. Unlike Goodkind, Eddings, Sanderson, Butcher, and many other authors I like, this is not a series I would personally recommend to a friend, nor is it one I would re-read. Just my opinion and I hope it helps you in your decision.

I purchased this series because it was on-sale and the reviews were good. Upon reading the first book, I strongly believe that the reviewers must be teenagers who are fans of easy to read Harry Potter and Twilight books. The characters are bland and as deep as my little toe. The writing is trite and joyless. I quickly lost interest and returned to my Raymond Feist and Terry Goodkind books.

Be forewarned - while the storyline is interesting; this series of books is extremely gory, lots of murders, rapes, vicious torture scenes and extremely unpleasent and unnecessarily detailed acts of violence. I bought this set for my teenage son upon an the store recomendation based on other books I purchased for him in the past. We've NEVER bought books that were anywhere close to what these are like.
Honestly, had I known what was in these, I NEVER would have purchased them and he told me after he'd read them that he thought they were pretty disgusting. This from a 17 year old who plays some of the gory video games so he's not sheltered. I just read them myself and found them hard to get through.

This book is crack. Pure COCAINE. I got the first book because of the cool cover and went back that night to grab the rest. Did not regret my decision. I was jonesing for a week and I went and got all my friends addicted like a good little dealer.

Finally, a book that doesn’t treat you like an ignorant aborigine born on the fifth of naive town. Brent does not bog you down with excessive exposition and inane details that have no bearing on the plot. Weeks’ grabs you by the short hairs by the first sentence and drags you along like the good little masochist you know you are.

Get this book.

My copies of these books have been sitting on my shelf for years. I bought all three at a local book shop, together and like a lot of my books they waited for my attention.
I finished the Fifth Wave Trilogy and decided to open the first one.
I WAS HOOKED!! I read them one after another.
The descriptions are lyrical and beautiful. The battles are fierce and the blood almost splatters off the page. The lovers feelings and the sufferers can be felt and the magic just glows.
Use the map at the beginning of the books (even if your copy is Kindle) - it helps explain the geography.
Wonderful, glorious in places - I did indeed love theses books.

I've never written a review before, but I disliked this series so much I needed to let my haterade out. Based on the absurd number of five-star reviews, I bought the whole trilogy for Kindle. I've read a LOT of fantasy in my time, some good, some bad, some very bad, and a lot mediocre. There are only two books I've been unable to force myself to finish--the first Drizz't novel in the Forgotten Realms series and the first book in The Night Angel trilogy. I'm not one of the prudes bothered by the swearing, murder, and rape. The author can't even use those elements to make the story interesting. I'm not sure how many pages this translates to, but I made it through 21% of the trilogy on my Kindle, and there had been zero character development, zero clarification of the plot, zero indication as to where any of it was taking me or why I should care. There were so many characters with no distinguishing features running around that I didn't know what was going on most of the time. I felt like I needed a chart next to me with the list of characters' names and what their roles were. I was bored out of my mind. To each his or her own, but if you're someone coming off the high of the A Song of Ice and Fire series looking for your next fix, this is not it. This isn't even as entertaining as the worst Dragonlance novel. What I read was such a disjointed mess, I can't even guess where the author was trying to take me. And I don't mean that in a nail-biting-ooooh-this-is-so-exciting-what-will-happen kind of way. I mean it in a who-are-these-people-and-why-don't-I-remember-anything-about-them kind of way. I need a mental mint just to clear the bad taste this book left in my brain.

Sorry for the long silence my fine friends. I've been busy at work, grad school, and other blogging projects. This post is about only two of Brent Week's books in the Night Angel Trilogy: The Way of Shadows, and Shadow's Edge. Nearly finished with the second, I can say that I am definitely intrigued enough to finish the series. Still, I have some hang-ups with the story, the main character, and the style. But the ending of both books is exciting with some novel surprises which make the series a worthwhile read, if not a shelf stuffer. A shelf stuffer, I define, is a book worth keeping to reread.

On to the Five Factors
1) Character. There are some great and memorable characters in both books, however they suffer, in my opinion from some structural flaws. As you may have guessed from the titles of the books, which say very little about the books individually and really only make for good book jackets, this is a series about assassins. Assassins are romantic favorites for many young fantasists. They're dark, ruthless, and mysterious, and these things can make them appear sexy. In popular fiction, assassins are good fodder for paperback drivel, think Jason Bourne and such. Or historical works like the assassins in Munich would also be a good example. Femme Fatales are famously sexy assassins, beautiful, broken, dead dolls who are either totally despicable, or have hearts of gold buried deep in their lithe sexy bodies. Week's works take a more fantasy approach of the genre, with bladework and poisions, traps and such. But our main character, Kylar Stern, is no typical assassin. He's neither ruthless, nor for much of the novels, is he a particularly effective killer, botching many of the jobs he's sent on. In short, he's a highly likeable assassin. However, there's a disconnect, because his repute in the book, is the repute of a cold-hearted killer, feared by many. Though he kills, and is extremely well trained, Brent fails to convince me that this character is actually an assassin. Far more interesting of course, is his mentor, Durzo Blint (Week's names for his two main protagonists are terrible. Durzo Blint, sounds like a Polish pastry.) but more of this troph later. Another failing of Weeks in this novel is that new characters who will actually make a difference in the plot are introduced two or three hundred pages into the novel. While this technique is used in other more successful pieces of fantasy, Weeks introduction of these characters is arbitrary and unnecessary. Characters like Dorian, Solon, and Feir are barely explained, fulfil several nearly inscrutable purposes in the plot and then disappear until they are next needed to grease the wheels of narrative fiction.

2) Cliche. I've already touched on the main cliche, use of an Assassin as a main character. There have been some great fantasy assassins on my shelves. Hugh the Hand is an old favorite, from Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman's Deathgate Cycle, a truly phenomonal series. The assassin cliche is this: Embittered embodiment of death, ninja-like stealth, a vast array of dainty killing instruments, Ruthless Assassin ("RA") whose soul has been so destroyed by his evil work, killing innocents/killing in coldblood, loneliness and disconnection, finally meets the gig he can't deliver on and finds that he is afterall a human being. In The Way of Shadows, the RAs deviate from this model in that they have friends, loves, even children. Moreover, a lot of their jobs are won through blunt force. One man against twenty palace guards, fighting with British long swords in open passageways. Stealth is only occasionally applied, and is even more rarely successful. Steven Erikson does a better job with his assassin, Kalaam in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Kalaam, is a cold hearted killer, who is at the same time imensely intriguing and a hero of the series. There is never a question about his tempermant, where Durzo Blint is prone to massive episodes of excessive drinking and disorderly conduct. Disorderly assassins are dead assassins. But not in the Night Angel Trilogy. Robin Hobb made a similar mistake in the Assassin's Apprentice, in which the main character never really gets mean enough to be believed.

Look, I don't have a problem with deviations from the cliche, but this rational divide is never adequately explained. Coldblooded killers can't have regular lives. If they did, they'd be constantly asking themselves the questions that would surely undermine their work. To be sure, Kylar and Durzo have a host of emotional issues, but neither of them are cold blooded enough to be entirelely believable as assassins. Perhaps this was Week's intention, modern fantasists attempt to break through cliches rather than use them. But in this case, the attempt was not executed well. Only two of the stories assassins, both minor characters, really fit with the cliche, and both are evil, blood thirsty menaces.

Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)The second cliche, which is executed fairly well, is a Coming of Age cliche. Before becoming an assassin, Kylar is a gutter boy named Azoth, who joins the netherworld to protect his two friends, one of whom becomes his girlfriend in later years from a local tyrant. He becomes apprenticed to Durzo Blint, and learns the trade from the older killer. This section of the book is about fifty pages too long, and doesn't really move the plot along all that much. Moreover, it makes Kylar even more likeable. Even so, Kylar's likeability and struggle with his impoverished background makes him a character worthy of following, and provides the story with a basic thematic outline. I think this might be why Weeks and Hobb failed where Erikson and Weiss succeeded, Erikson and Weiss came into the story in the middle of their assassin's lives. You never saw the foibles and trips along the way to deadliness for Hugh the Hand or Kalaam. They started the series unrepentant monsters and were redeemed through valorous, selfless acts. Weeks and Hobb's characters are flawed humans forced to an ugly trade, who are indeed redeemed, but never really damned.

A third cliche, begun in the second book, The Shadow's Edge, is the concept of a sisterhood of magic users, very much like Jordan's Aes Sedai or Goodkind's Sisters of the Dark. There's not much substance to it, so I won't waste your time.

3) Scope: Few novels pack the scope of The Wheel of Time. I should get used to that. In my own half-hearted attempts at fiction I can recognize the same problem in my work, but its difficult to get the mind around. You have to hint at the world beyond, you have to hint at ages of history, but you can't bludgeon your audience with it, and you can't waste time describing it when you should be illustrating it. LOTR and Wheel of Time do this primarily through the use of ancient ruins and old sages. But honestly, its something I struggle with and I can't provide much guidance for authors.

There are at least three, four nations in The Night Angel Trilogy, though the action in the first book takes place almost entirely in one city. They are "modern nations" in that little history of the warring nations is discussed save for the most recent. The encroaching empire of the evil GodKing, is one nation, and is pivotal to the story. To be sure, The Night Angel series has a myth structure, centered around one character who I can't name without spoiling the first book. There's a wide world out there in Week's Night Angel, but its still sketchy. I can only describe it with the use of a poor metaphor. Worlds like these are like reading about other countries in a newspaper, vague and impersonal unless you know a lot about them already. World's like the Wheel of Time, are like holding up a lantern in a darkened room. Everything out there is hinted at by vague shapes in the darkness, and yet, has a reality which is undeniable and fascinating. Hobb's world was similar to the Night Angel's save that her second series The Liveship Traders started out entirely different characters in the same world, granting authority to some of the places on the map in the first series. Judging by Weeks' prolific nature, I assume that many of these lands will be defined in later works. But it's an awful risk to assume that I'm interested enough to keep going.

4) Magic. Week's system of magic is poorly defined. But it doesn't really detract from the action. For most of the characters, magic is used as assassins would use it, for stealth, crawling up walls, disappearing, charming, etc. There are brief descriptions. It's rechargable by sunlight in most cases, and it's also called Vir. And magic users who are "Talented" usually join various schools of magic which irrevocably shape the direction of their skills. The GodKing and his minions have it in spades, and his Vurdmeisters are formidable killers. There seems to be an endless supply of mages in both books for Kylar to kill. And then of course, there are magic swords, and magical stones, which are the source of The Night Angel's power. However, Weeks does an excellent job of creating horrors like the Ferrali in Shadow's Edge. I won't bother to describe, it's pretty gross, and you should read it and find out. Click on the the store associates logos above and I'll get cents for your efforts! These things require magic to function, and even if the technique is never explained, the images Weeks creates are worth discovering on your own.

5) Theme. This is a fantasy for city boys and girls. All of the action takes place in busy cities which are ruled by a criminal underworld which is known to be cruel, and yet is at the same time benevolent (don't get me started on that contradiction). The settings are rooftops and ceilings, corridors and passage ways. If this series has a theme at all, it's a sort of proletariat pick yourself up by the bootstraps and kick ass feel. Even so, it's a fairly cosmopolitan tale involving child abuse, both sexual and physical, holy rollers, insane killers ignorant nobles, and the types of poverty that are more common in early industrial cities, not preindustrial societies like the Night Angel world. Kylar's struggle to be a good human being, to find love and happiness, to grow up and "be a mensch" fit with the above mentioned cliche, and provide a cluttered story a stable protaganist to follow.

On the whole, these books are worth a read. Borrow them if you can, or buy them if they're in paper back. Or go E-book, the cover art is pretty lame so you won't be missing much. None of the weaponry wielded by the photographed model on the cover are used by Kylar or Durzo, who predominantly kill with sword and daggers, so you definitely can't go by my earlier suggestion of buying based on the cover.

Note to Publishers: Avoid trilogies. I never get through them anymore. Go big or go home.

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

This is the best trilogy I have read in years (with the very obvious exception of Lord of the Rings). The storyline jumps around a lot, but it is very action packed and he puts a lot of backstory into characters who you first think of as merely side characters for Kylar and Durzo, who are certainly meant to be the main characters. My favorite character is Dorian, without a doubt. I would shell out double the cost of a brand new hardcover just for a 200 page book dedicated to Dorian's life as...well, if you read the books, you'll know what I mean and probably want the same thing. Dorian gives you an overview of his past, but you never get to see how he ran away, what happened when his gift of prophecy manifested and how that affected his relationship with his (very important) father and his best friends. Contrary to what other readers say, and despite his limited amount of page time, Dorian is the TRUE hero of the series. Were it not for him, the story would have ended very differently and very badly for everyone. Durzo is awesome, and he certainly deserves a book based on his adventures from when he was friends with...well, will avoid more spoilers, but it would be amazing to read.

Anyway. Dorian. Read this book series for Dorian. I have marked every chapter Dorian appears in in each of my books, especially the parts where he decides to take up his father's title and become what he hated so very much. His inner struggle, and eventual failure, makes Dorian the most human character in the entire series. He tries to be good, fails miserably and does many awful, horrible things, but you still end up rooting for him, because he DOES save the world in the end, even if he did fall to evil.

I only gave it 4 stars because I disliked Kylar and Elene and found them extremely annoying. Vi also reeked of Mary Sue and the earring thing almost came completely out of thin air, making her and Kylar fall in love with each other even though he supposedly loved Elene. Vi was just so special and perfect that no one could NOT love her. Even her pimp and Jarl were revealed to have loved her. I loathed Vi and she brought the entire series down from the minute she appeared.

I couldn't finish the first book. The characters were unbelievable. The dialog was painful. This is anything but the effort of a mature writer. I forced myself to write a review to balance the incomprehensible 5 star reviews.

This is my first time reading hard core fantasy. I do not know what is the point of this book. I have no idea where the plot is going. I am not sure even if there is a plot. But each page I turn brings me an incredible new surprise, and this paragraph on page 159 takes the cake (so far). The assassin apprentice, Kylar, just committed his first murder, and Durzo Blint, his teacher, tells him:

"That pain you feel," Master Blint said almost gently, "is the pain of abandoning a delusion. The delusion is meaning, Kylar. There is no higher purpose. There are no gods. No arbiters of right and wrong. I don't ask you to like reality. I only ask you to be strong enough to face it. There is nothing beyond this. There is only the perfection we attain by becoming weapons, as strong and merciless as a sword. There is no essential good in living. Life is nothing in itself. It's a place marker that proves who's winning, and we are the winners. We are always the winners. There is nothing but the winning. Even winning means nothing. We win because it's an insult to lose. The ends don't justify the means. The means don't justify the ends. There is no one to justify to. There is no justification. There is no justice."

He took Kylar's hands. "On your knees," he said. Kylar knelt at the edge of a pool of the blood seeping from the woman's body. "This is your baptism," Master Blint said, putting both of Kylar's hands in the blood. It was warm. "This is your new religion. If you must worship, worship as the other [assassins] do. Worship Nysos, god of blood, semen, and wine. At least those have power. Nysos is a lie like all the gods, but at least he won't make you weak. Today, you've become an assassin. Now get out, and don't wash your hands. And one more thing: when you've got to kill an innocent, don't let them talk.

I still have more than a thousand pages to go, but it looks to me by now that surprises will keep coming with every new page. If so, this books deserves more than five stars.

Such an amazing and wonderful tale of love, mercy, vengeance, justice, romance and deceit all in one adventurous story. The surprise is more than half way through the book of why there is so much death in Kylar life concerning the Night Angel. Kyler finally admit that Elene is his world and does all he can to please her.You will love and lose characters that you don't want to die and it will touch you as if you just lost a friend. It's very sad when Kylar discovers this to late and loses something so very important to he without hope of regaining if back. However, there maybe a future in a later life with Vin who discovers she really does love Kylar. Logan and Jennie will finally get what's deserved. Momma and Druzo finally get what been denied them for over 15 years. I do hope there another series or book to answer all the questions concerning such awesome characters.

Book 1:
I had heard many things about this trilogy and Brent Weeks, all of it good. I didn't Know if it was for me or not. Not always into the assassin thing.I was enthralled by the story and characters. So much so that I bought the trilogy with my X-mas gift card. I can't wait to read the rest of Kylar's story.

Book 2:
I was highly anticipating the continuation of Kylar's story. I was slightly disappointed. This book was still very good but somewhat of a letdown from the first book. Mr. Weeks writing continues to be top notch. I am excited to start the last book, with this books cliffhanger ending it should be a fun ride!

Book 3:
Wow what a great ending to a great series. Mr. Weeks continued to deliver fantastic writing, wonderful characters that you truly care about, and a great world that it is all set in. Not to mention the interesting magic system in these books. Overall I would have to say I am very satisfied with this series. I enjoyed these books so much and I am excited to start Mr. Weeks next series.

When I say I love this series I do and truly mean that I love this series. I got the first book as a gift several years back, but I did not actually read it until nearly a year later. Why? Because the beginning of the book goes at a snails pace. Its well written and engaging yes, but the pace is agonizing to the point that I very nearly left the book and never finished it. I am glad that I did though, because after about chapter 10 things really began to pick up. If you want to know the full premise of the story check out the description and the exert, but just to give you an idea this trilogy details the life of an Assassin (in the book, however, he is called a Wetboy and would be insulted to be called a mere assassin) from his childhood all the way through his adult life. It goes through his hardships living as a child of the slums, his training during his apprenticeship, and of course lots and lots of in depths plots.

This book as a little bit of everything. Action, romance, suspense, plot twists, dangerous evil villains and good men twisted until they no longer know what side they are actually fighting for. They key characters to this book are well developed and portrayed in such a way that when something tragic happens to any one of them you feel the hurt and pain in your own heart, and its easy to connect on an emotional level to the protagonist. You also get a chance to get inside the head of multiple key characters outside of the main character, and really SEE why they do some of the things that you do. In the end you may realize that, had you been in the same situation, you may have done the exact same thing.

It's slow to start, that is a given, but hang in there because after the first few chapters the paces begins to pick up quick. Near the end you wont be able to put the book down! What I like most about this series though is that the main character doesn't start off as a super amazing fighter or extremely powerful. He starts off weak, and ignorant and slowly grows into a force that may very well change the world. That kind of development is probably what attracts me the most to this trilogy, and what makes me come back to read this series every so often. I recommend this book to any hard core fantasy reader, and to anyone looking for a book to start them reading anything at all. Brent Weeks paints a beautiful scene with words, and is well worth the effort to make it through the first tiny portion of the story.

It actually took me a while to decide to read The Night Angel trilogy. I read The Black Prism previously, and where I liked it... I wasn't completely floored by it. When I finally got around to reading this book however, I could hardly even tell that it was the same author! The characters range from earthly and charming to sinister and compelling. Some characters are entirely annoying, but redeem themselves later on in the story. Every single one of the characters has a human quality that sets them apart from simply being plot-movers in a book. The plot itself is stimulating, I often could not put the book down.

You will like this book if you enjoy:
- action and story portrayed in plausible ways.
- plot twists.
- a light of hope in the darkest of tragedies.
- method in madness.
- magic or something like it.
- defying the odds.

You may not like this book if you can't handle:
- tragedy.
- graphic violence.
- extreme sexual deviance. (Of villains in the story).
- children in poverty.
- prostitution.

To sum it up, this book does not portray life as being easier than it is. There are magical components that bring the story to another level from that of the earthly one we reside in, but the hardships and emotional qualities of the characters and story lend a very 'real' feeling to the book. You will laugh. You will cry, and in the end you will probably go searching for fan art of the characters.

First I will say that I am an avid reader but never much cared for the fantasy genre. It was somewhat by accident I bought the complete trilogy because I didn't realize it was fantasy (don't ask). When I got the set, it sat on my nightstand for a few weeks because I knew the books were long and I was actually thinking about getting rid of them. But I started reading the first one figuring I would give them a try. Admittedly, it took me about 300 pages to start getting into the story. Being new to fantasy, it was hard to switch gears because there really isn't much context for the characters, setting, and plot line (for example, if the story was set in modern day New Jersey, in 19th century England, and so on). But after I got into the story, I was hooked. I literally didn't want to go to work because I wanted to keep reading. And just between us, I bowed out of a few family events because I couldn't find enough time otherwise to keep reading:) It was a page turner among page turners, and the three books were among the best I have ever read (I have been reading for decades). The characters were amazing and the plot had everything you could ask for: action, adventure, love, redemption, twists, and turns. Even up to the last sentence of the last page of the last book. I don't know if I am a new fan of fantasy, but I am definitely a new fan of Brent Weeks.

I have always complained about books having a terrible author but a great idea for the story to tell. Susan Collins could have written a series that was 12x better if she put a bit of emotion into her writing, along with keeping her sentences above 5 words each. I finished The Night Angel series last night at 2:00. then I laid in bed for another hour trying to figure out what in the world was happening to me in my mind. the sheer amount of emotions that Weeks was able to portray is something that i have never seen in my entire life. he didn't cut the series short to save time. he didnt bust through the last book to get it out for his editors. Each book was pristine and so thoroughly thought out that it blows my mind. Reading this trilogy is worth it for the character development alone i cant even begin to explain how amazing these books are. i have no complaints. he tied every not before the conclusion, he FINISHED the story, I have no questions that i need answered because he answered them all. Brent Weeks is one of the, if not THE greatest author i have discovered, I was worried that this would be like every other book ive recently read, great story idea with trash writing. i was wrong. this story told by Weeks is so moving and interactive and efficient. If any other author had written this trilogy, i would be giving it 3 stars. Weeks wove a tale perfectly, I will definitely be reading the Prism series next.

Poorly written, lack of consistent writing style, and obviously an amateur book.

It is very obvious this is Weeks' first published story.

The story idea itself- brilliant. The execution, not so much. The writing is so weird. In one paragraph, it seems like he's using a thesaurus to replace every word and in the very next line of dialogue he's using 90's slang for his characters to converse in. It was ridiculous. I hate when authors introduce a random magic system and type of fantasy character and don't explain it quickly enough for the story to make sense from the beginning and Brent Weeks is insanely guilty of this in a hundred ways. Half of this story doesn't make sense until halfway through, which is irritating at best. I kept reading because of the good reviews and just hoped it would get better.

And I was wrong. The plot twists were good, I'll give him that. Although to me Sanderson will always be king of plot twists.

The ending was rough, rushed, and felt incomplete to me. The "epilogue" should've been the last chapter and then a true epilogue written because even the Wolf's version of it prior was watered down. All these unfinished story lines and then the main character doesn't even get an attempt at one.

I hated this book. He needs a new editor.

The plot, characterization, and imagery were good, but I had a problem with the dialogue. I am one of those old school fantasy readers and writers. When you write fantasy from a medieval world or one based from some sort of ancient civilization, the characters' dialogue should reflect that. Allowing the characters to speak as if they are from our world or time breaks the suspension of belief for me. Obviously, there are exceptions to the case like when a character from our world is transported to another world. However, in this series, it didn't apply. It grinded my nerves throughout the entire series.

If you're willing to read a book that includes child rape (and many other abuses of children) as part of the "entertainment," then maybe this is for you. I realize that this kind of crap happens in real life. That doesn't make me want to dwell on it or read a book about it, so I didn't get past the first couple of chapters.

The Night Angel Trilogy is indeed a series that amazed me in so many levels. I didn't put any expectation when I first picked up these books as they are not the kinds that I normally read but I'm pleasantly surprised to see how they are able to blow me away with mind blowing plots, unique characters and impressive world building. The trilogy is definitely a series that has it all: from story about adventure full of action, magic and violence to story about love packed with laughter, affections and heartbreaks. The beginning of the first instalment, The Way of Shadows, maybe a little confusing initially because it starts off from multiple angles and many loose ends are left open. However, as the story goes on, the author - Brent Weeks - expertly weaves each separated stories and slowly reveal the bigger picture, one that I honestly never sees coming. This totally proves that he is one of those extraordinary writers that have an incredible talent in writing and holding the suspense from the beginning to the end.

Another one aspect that I really appreciate in The Night Angel Trilogy is that it never really lost its stride. In every books, there are continuous heart pounding actions interweave with some tender moments that tend to occur during unexpected circumstances. The characters that Weeks created for this series are all complex, multi-layered and fit within the dark, unforgiving world that he created. Each and every one of them is complete with their own strengths, weaknesses and also secrets that are slowly unfold throughout the series. However, like many other epic fantasy books, this trilogy also contains so many characters, plot twists and in depth storylines. These maybe drawbacks for some readers as they may cause major confusion and difficulties in understanding everything that the author tries to convey. Though believe me, the more you read, the more you'll discover and Weeks definitely did an excellent job in unravelling every single knots and confusions that readers have once they start reading his books. Do trust me when I said the wait and anticipation are totally worth it.

Without any doubt, The Night Angel Trilogy is definitely one of the best series that I completed in 2011. The author introduced readers to a world so awful and so devoid of any ethical sense. A world where people are willing to kill one another to gain power, willing to eat one another just to survive. This is the kind of series that will scare you with its gruesome details and also fill you with hopes and despairs. A remarkable read that I recommend to all.

I do not like to read. At all. But lets just say this Trilogy changed my mind forever. My Best Friend handed it to me some years ago and laughed while I gave him a puzzled look in return. He said, "I know you hate to read. Just read the first chapter, and you will never forget this book. Even if you don't finish it right away, you will feel an immense passion for this book until you do. Once finished, then I did my job and changed your life for the better." My response was, "Are you some sort of prophet or something? Ok..." And this book did exactly that. It has everything you could ever want in any mythical tale you could dream of. Painted so aesthetically pleasing to the mind as soon as the words enter through the windows to your soul. I know this is a bit much just for a review, but read this Trilogy and you will feel exactly what I did. Thank you Brent Weeks.

Sorry, but I just didn't like this book. Unfortunately, I bought the entire trilogy, but I don't think I can bring myself to read any more of it. Therefore, I'm just reviewing book one "Way of Shadows". Briefly.

The beginning of the novel was interesting enough and I had hopes that I was going to enjoy it. Yet the further along I got, the more difficult it became to stay interested. To quickly summarize all of my grievances with this book: the characters were underdeveloped, the writing was clumsy and at times truly awful, the abrupt switches between POV's was very confusing, the dialogue was awkward, some of the names (Momma K, Doll Girl, Wetboy for example) were just embarrassing, the obsession with the breast size of the female characters came across as juvenile, and some of the action scenes read more like a bad comic book which, for me, made it nearly impossible to follow what exactly was happening. Also, I don't mind profanity in general, but as another reviewer stated, it seems Weeks used it more for shock-value than anything. Lastly, Weeks' usage of very modern language and current slang made it impossible for me to believe in the medieval world that he was trying to create.

I'm sure Weeks' writing has improved since this first novel came out (I can only hope), and perhaps his books appeal to many people, but not to this reader. I'll just stick with Martin, Hobb, Rothfuss, Lynch and a few others.

I have read a large amount of sci-fi/fantasy novels. After all of those, I have to say that Brent Weeks has blown me away with his creative, fast-paced writing style that brings characters to life like no other. I borrowed the first book of this series from a friend, and though I just started reading as something to entertain me during dinner, I could not stop the rest of the night until the book was finished. The next day, I raced to the bookstore to buy the complete trilogy, and not a single book came remotely close to disappointing. Brent Weeks is an absolutely amazing author, and I will continue to purchase every one of his books in the future. I am currently waiting for his fourth book in the Lightbringer series, which is also an awesome story portrayal. If I had to recommend an author to someone who had never read a book series like this, it would be Brent Weeks, 10/10.

I love the Night Angel Trilogy. It's my favorite series.

After reading so many reviews (the store.com) on this trilogy, I've decided to put some serious thought into my review.
This series is definitely not for everyone. The story is a little gritty. If you can't tolerate dark, violent situation, do not invest your time. The story is not over-the-top visually graphic, but the author creates enough imagery to get the point across. The violence is more empathetic then gory. There are a lot of names in this story. If you get hung-up on the names you will miss the story. If you are looking for a couple of main characters that you can follow for the entire series, I'm sorry, there are more than a couple of significant characters. Understand, the story is mostly expressed through the eyes of the characters, but it doesn't mean YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER ALL THE NAMES.

I don't believe this book is written in typical fantasy fashion, but I am not an avid fantasy book reader, so maybe I'm wrong. Do not compare this book to popular High fantasy stories. It has more of an urban feel, but don't compare it to urban fantasy either, just read it and let the turbulent waves take you on a journey.

The beginning setting actually reminds me of a sinister Oliver Twist story.

The Trilogy has layers to it and many of the characters, if not all, are a part of that layering system. The characters drive the story and the plot is the map you travel on. It's a journey of change and you will see it manifested from scene to scene, chapter to chapter, and book to book. The question is, how does it change and why?

Some reviewers have expressed being confused with the direction of the story, but yet, it's mentioned in the very beginning.
If you are not careful, you will get swallowed up by the same darkness that plagues the story, and if that happens, you will miss the beauty and hope that lies deep within so many characters. It's a diamond in the s*** story. The reader has to go through a lot of s*** before they reach any type of diamond, you know, it's like you're figuring things out like the main characters.

It's a journey best traveled with your mind open and your preconceived notions shut.

Actual rating: 3.5

Book Info: Genre: Dark epic fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult to Adult
Recommended for:
Trigger Warnings: murder, killing, assassination, violence, rape (M/M and M/F), torture, mutilation, stealing, slavery, infidelity, sexual assault, cannibalism, danger to child/kidnapping

My Thoughts: This is a general review of the overall series. To read the reviews of the books in the trilogy, go to the individual reviews on each book's page.

This is a dark, gritty epic fantasy. The first book of the series feels oriented toward young adult readers, having the typical fantasy coming-of-age tropes. However, by book two the writing is more oriented to adults and the sorts of problems inherent in ruling and judging and generally being adult and taking responsibility for your own actions. While many of the themes remain dark, by the end of the third book in the trilogy there is a strong feeling of hope and redemption.

The first book in the trilogy is rife with editing errors, and the third book also has a number of them. Only the second book in the series shows decent editing. I'm not sure why this is. The first book also relied strongly on tropes, but as the trilogy continues you can see the author's vision of the story opening up and also see the author's craft improving. All in all, a satisfying and interesting trilogy, and one I'd recommend to fans of dark epic fantasy.

Series Information: The Night Angel Trilogy
Book 1: The Way of Shadows, review linked here
Book 2: Shadow's Edge, review linked here
Book 3: Beyond the Shadows, review linked here

Disclosure: I purchased the omnibus edition of the trilogy for myself. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: 3 volumes in one giant omnibus edition.
"Way of Shadows", "Shadow's Edge", "Beyond the Shadows": all in one beautiful hardcover edition

I was on the store one day, searching around for some kind of fantasy/action/romance novel that could rock my experiences I had with The Golden Compass Trilogy and other epic fantasy novels I'd read in early high school and a few throughout college (I'm 24 now). I haven't really searched out anything since, and what I have found has been weak at best.

I ordered the first book, read it, and immediately ordered the set of all three (yes I have two copies of the first one), and within a week finished the last two books. I mean, devoured them. I even got scared, 3/4 into the last book, because I didn't want it to end! And I knew if certain things were to happen, I would cry, laugh, or scream, and my life would be affected for days, haha. What an INCREDIBLE journey with characters you are tied and bound too. I felt like I was in a movie and these people were my friends or enemies. I can't even fully express my gratitude for Mr. Weeks for writing this story. Romance, Love, Humor, Sex, Action, Fantasy and on and on... I. Loved. These. Books. I read close to 1,200 pages in two days - that says something!

Read these books, all of them. You will not regret it.

The Good: Amazing lore, wonderful characters, excellent plot

The Bad: It ends

I normally don't read books by someone I have never heard of. When in Borders one day I glanced across a cover that looked something from out of Assassin's Creed and blew it off as a rip off. When shopping on the store I came across the same book as a #1 bestseller. After reading the first few pages online I was instantly hooked by the dark raw tone of the book and excellent premise.

The series is broken down into three long books titled respectively The Way of the Shadows, Shadow's Edge, and Beyond the Shadows. The two main characters in the book you will first encounter are Azoth/Kylar Stern and Durzo Blint. A boy trying to find his way out of a hard life of poverty and guilds tries to apprentice with a famous assassin. The book is just full of everything evil: candid rape and sex, murder, gore, lying, cheating, stealing, war, pestilence and every other abomination you can think of. Weeks doesn't hold anything back and while the first book is mostly plot development you really get a sense of longing for these characters and when the series ends you want more.

During the second and third books something more than the boy turns which is a war against an evil God King and his race of horrid men. Following several characters throughout the series you will be treated to some of the most original lore since Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. There is magic, suspense, action, and creatures that only you could dream of. Magical swords, mystical seers, evil magi and the whole works.

The books flow beautifully and you just never want to put the things down. There are dozens of plot twists and you are constantly in suspense, but beauty of the books is the mystery at the very end that you never see coming. The end is fulfilling, satisfying, and I hope Weeks continues the saga.

I can't recall a book series with such strong characters in recent memory except Lord of the Rings, and this trilogy would be an excellent movie. I can't believe someone can actually create such a wonderful world in their head because you get so sucked into these books you feel like you could be there and you really feel these characters feelings. Every word is touching, sinister, and well placed because you will be at the edge of your seat at every turn of the page. Friends betray friends, enemies become friends, and enemies become more than what the mind could believe.

If you are really looking for a truly amazing book to read and love adventure, fantasy, and lore that's out of this world pick up The Night Angel Trilogy (the box set can be purchased for as little as $25) and indulge in over 2,000 pages of fantastic fantasy.

My husband hates these books because I disappeared for almost three days while reading them. I couldn't put them down, although I almost didn't make it past the first half of the first book, because the extreme violence of children against children was so sickening to me. It becomes part of the theme of redemption, however, so... I find myself wanting to say "it's worth it", but it was too horrifying. The books were grand in scope, with some truly original ideas and interactions among individuals and nations. Character building was deep and detailed, and reminiscent of M. West's "Sun Sword" series. I found myself unable to stop until I had reached the end, which happened sort of abruptly but did adequately tie up the threads that needed tying, while setting up admirably for the next series.

I am mostly writing this review because of the one really major complaint I had in these books. There were some minor things I could mention, like the giant leaps in Elene's character development, but there was only one thing in the story that made me stop reading for a minute to say "WTF?"

****SPOILER ALERT****

In "Beyond the Shadows", in the scene where Elene and Kylar finally manage to consummate their marriage, Vi is in the next room thinking about her own relationship with sexual feeling and behavior. Near the end of her internal monologue, on page 498 of the paperback version, she tosses out the thought that her feelings about sex are so unhealthy, she had once "been infatuated with Jarl, who was homosexual." That phrase made me angry for a few reasons.

[1.] In "Shadow's Edge", just before Vi killed him, we learned that Jarl was, or had been, in love with Vi romantically, or "something like it."
[2.] Vi almost sacrificed her own life in trying not to kill Jarl, defying the Godking's order, because she loved Jarl.
[3.] On page 130 of the paperback version of "Shadow's Edge", when Jarl is addressing Momma K's girls about having a second chance, it is specifically said that *Jarl doesn't know* if he'd have preferred men or women, if he'd had a choice. He became a "rent boy" because Momma K found him, saved his life, and trained him to be one, just like Kylar trained as a wetboy with Durzo Blint, but his choice to go along with her had its roots in Jarl's violent gang rape at the hands of older boys. He didn't have a choice about that.

I didn't like the use of the word "homosexual", which did not feel appropriate to the story milieu, even if it was completely true. I didn't like the denigration of Vi's feelings for Jarl. I didn't like what I felt to be the implied slight to gays in the way her thought was phrased.

This bothered me for the reasons above, and also because it implies that love doesn't matter if it's unrequited (and this wasn't), which is NOT true, no matter what the reason. Vi's feelings for Jarl were pivotal to her character becoming sympathetic instead of just one more conscienceless killer. Jarl, I felt, was the most sympathetic character in the trilogy. He rose above his own pain and become someone who tried to help others instead of hurting them. He wanted to save people from pain or help them to recover from it. That was the basis of his relationship with Vi, the reason she understood at all that love is real and doesn't have to hurt, and saying that that was less important than Vi's feelings for Kylar just felt wrong.

I am not going to claim that these series are masterpiece, but I did enjoy reading the first two books in "Night Angel" series. They do have enough action and plot twists, to keep the reader interested. Personally, I didn't even mind the standard characters: street boy with huge magic power, becoming an assassin (wetboy!), the villain king, the ancient gods and goddess, meddling in people's affairs - you name it. For me, it had the same nice "recognition effect", that makes the popular music so popular. The books are entertaining, without being original. By itself, it is not the worst sin the author could commit.

My most serious complain to these series is their length and a lot of repetitions; I skipped most of the "history of magic" excurses, as well as some overly repetitive dialogues, as they don't add anything to the story, except of the word count. The third book is the worst. It was supposed to provide an ending and the explanations. I didn't feel it happened. It is fuzzy and unclear,instead.

Edited for length and stylistic errors, this could be a very decent book -preferably in one volume. For now, it is OK summer reading, with first two books more entertaining than the third one.

Dark, dangerous, undoubtedly fun, frenetically paced and brought to life with a compelling first person narrative, the Night Angel Trilogy may not be the most original of fantasy stories, but its certainly one of the best of recent years.

The Story of Kylar Stern, a young orphan who ends up training to be an assassin (yes, it does sound a lot like the Farseer Trilogy) the Night Angel Trilogy is an excellent read that revolves around the life, love, laughter, occasional laudable actions and frequent mistakes of young Mr. Stern.

Although not quite as good as the Farseer Trilogy to which it owes so much, this is undoubtedly a very strong series, and one that maybe, just maybe, might one day hold the coveted title of classic.

If there's a downside (and there always is) it's a central character considerably less interesting than his support cast, some overly simplistic plotting and an ending that feels somewhat rushed. Nevertheless, it perhaps not as good as its advocates claim, this extremely approachable series is hard not to recommend.

Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy is, by far, one of the best fantasies on the market right now. The fantasy sub-genre of thieves and assassins becomes something new in Weeks' hands, and the story he tells is impossible to put down.

These books are incredibly entertaining. They are not, however, masterpieces of literary art. Read them for entertainment, not incredible narrative structure. Weeks' writing is passable, but his story-telling is excellent.

A word of warning, however: Parents considering these books for children younger than, say, 16, should probably pass. There is child molestation, rape, and a great deal of murder.

When you find yourself thinking about the book and the next moment in the story when you aren't reading... that is the sign of a great book.

This whole trilogy has an excellent blend of realism and fantasy with a solid back story and enough going on where the reader doesn't get bored. I NEVER got bored. I never saw issues with the characters, no problems with things not connecting right...

Kudos to the author... it's quite an amazing piece of work and would recommend this book even to people who aren't fond of fantasy.

After finishing this entire triolgy I wanted to give this both 5 stars and 1 star because while it had its intense moments constantly and I was surprised it actually madee root for Kylar who was by all rights aboutas evil as the vilians, I just couldn't justify 5 stars with the glaring issues in the plot. Between the many plot holes that go how did blank happen and the terrible resolution that bastardizes what the entire rest of the series stood for. In the end I still wpuld recommend reading it but much like star wars the series is better with certain parts not seen so just skip the last 10 chapters or so.

I liked the first book. It was a little rough, but for a first foray into writing fantasy it was by no means bad. And as it went on, there were still some great hooks continuing through the story. But as the story spun out in the next two books, the author did what many authors do, which is add POV characters, and make it more of an ensemble story (although it's never completely that). In and of itself, there's nothing wrong with it, and I'm sure you can think of a few books where this adds a great deal to the story.

However, where I think this falters in the case of the Night Angel trilogy is the development of these characters. You can go two ways when using other characters - do them as a one shot, someone who can provide an unique perspective, but who we don't need to care about later, and so therefore don't need to see developed. Or, obviously, develop the character. The problem being, outside of Kylar, Durzo, and a couple more, these characters don't get that development. we barely get at their motivations and thinking, we don't truly get to know them.

And then Weeks steps into the other pitfall of expanding your cast - you end up expanding your story. And so there plot elements added that were never truly explored, many seemingly so that these other pov characters would have something to do. With the fast paced storytelling the trilogy tended to exhibit, these additional plotlines felt both tacked on and rushed. I think the trilogy would have been better served either as a pared down duology or something similar just focusing on Kylar, or expanded to four or five books so that actual world building, character development and expanded plotlines could take place. Trying to shoehorn it into a trilogy just didn't work.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the series, I don't regret buying it at all, but it doesn't stack up well against some other first entries into sci-fi and fantasy. If I could, I'd give it 3.5 stars, because it falls right between that ok/i liked it line. The author definitely shows a lot of promise, and I do have his next book to check out if I ever get time

Kylar Stern is a very well built character in my opinion. I bet you can find someone like him among the people you know. Sometimes, I just want to shout, "dude, what's the matter with you?!" I felt so much for him throughout the novel, and I cried, when he broke down and cried. I wanted to help him. And yet at the same time, he is a hero I want to admire. Ever had that feeling that you can help your hero?

Brent Weeks has a style that draws you easily into the story. Some chapters I just had to read over and over again just so I could experience the pain.

You don't really need to like fantasy fiction to like this book.

Brent Weeks delivers in this Trilogy. If you're looking for some awesome fantasy that will drag you into reading well past the time you should have gone to bed, look no further. I picked it up by chance just because the cover looked cool ( I know I know, never pick a book by its cover, but come on. With all the garbage that is out there now you have to have some basis for reading a new book or you would never read anything ) and man did it pay off. The characters are fun and engaging, the action is off the charts fun and enchanting and coming to terms with the way things work in this world makes everything okay....Pick it up, you will not be disappointed.

There isn't much else to be said that hasn't already been written in these reviews. The name "Night Angel" sounds like something off of a cheap SyFy/SciFi channel movie, but to be honest, that presupposition truly falls victim to the old saying, "You can't judge a book by it's cover."

All I can say is that of all the post-Tolkien fantasy books of our era, I think this falls closest to being our equivalent of modern mythology. The writing style that Brent Weeks employs can only be what I call very decisive, as if Brent Weeks poured over every sentence making sure it wasn't 'fluff'. Every passage, it seems, is subtletly cluing you into a secret or expanding on a character. Couple that with the sheer creativity of this world (the ferali, the 13-unit system of the krul, etc.) and you will have any fantasy fan hook, line and sinker.

Truly, this collection of stories deserves the high marks that it receives, and I can only recommend that you read it or buy it.

It isn't poetry and is pretty generic as far as fantasy novels ago, but it does pass as a fairly entertaining read. I found myself skipping parts and rolling my eyes more than a few times but given all the dregs you'll find in this genre I'm being entirely too critical. Still, you're better off reading the Mistborn series unless you really like muddled character motivations and a dark superhero story set in a high fantasy setting. Disclaimar: I have not actually read Mistborn or know anything about it, I just *feel* like it, or anything really, should be better than this.

I'm a fifth through the second book and I'm losing my will to continue reading. Maybe it's not intended for my age group, whatever it is, I can't endorse trekking through this series unless you've got absolutely nothing better to do.

I didn't know what to think when I found an entire trilogy from a new author. Usually you have to wait at least a year between books (Name of the Wind comes to mind) and I purchased this item early so there were few reviews.

I won't review the story, others can do that. I can tell you not only did I go through each book with glee, but it got passed through everyone in my family and it's one of the series I recommend to people who are looking for something new.

If you like Fantasy series, this one will entertain you right to it's exciting conclusion. Another positive point, the story comes to a satisfying conclusion, you don't have to get to the end only to discover there is a book 4 in the works that finishes the story.

I'm looking forward to reading his next novel.

I had picked this series up 3 or 4 times at various stores and continued to put it down, finally I just said heck with and bought it. The first book was pretty cool, lot of build up and development then boom the ending was great!! The poor protagonist gets his day and boy does he shine!
Sadly I think I should have stopped reading after book one. The series drags on, has a lot of "new" magic that at times can make sense.. at other times isn't very good. The plot and story tend to jump around; some of the characters never do seem to have a place in the story.. but don't worry they have about 100 pages or so. The main character becomes very powerful and the author has some great moments where the fight scenes truly own the show (so to speak) but they become far between. Some of the villains you get to like because they are very evil and you find yourself enjoying their plot.. Then suddenly in 3 paragraphs the hero has vanquished them. The final plot and book is so boring and so predictable I really wish that authors are not pressed for time by publishers to finish up a story.
4 ½ stars to book one
2 stars for book two and three and that is being kind to book three to be honest

ok, i've read this book trilogy 4 times all the way through. i decided to read what people had to say that gave it a 1 star and their reasoning is terrible. i've read all the harry potter's, the eragon books, the lord of the ring books, and many more. and this BY FAR is my favorite book series. i made my friend read it and that's all we talk about half the time. if you give it a one star rating because you say it's kinda confusing and it's boring you CLEARLY didn't finish the first book. Yes it's a book with multiple different perspectives so it's going to get a little confusing, especially the first time through. The first time i read it i was 14 and i was super confused but believe me at the end it all ties together and it's TOTALLY FREAKING WORTH IT AND AWESOME!!!! and yes the first half of the book is a little slow but believe me he's setting it up for the biggest amount of f*** s*** i've ever imagined. definitely worth reading. the detail, characters, and plot are by far absolutely amazing. Brent weeks awesome job! goin to read the light bringer series now.

Because of the 5-star review on this book, I thought it had promise but I was sorely disappointed. After reading the sample, I was mildly intrigued and thought that the plot would thicken and the characters flesh out as I got further in. Nope. I'm not even half-way through the book and I'm bored. The characters lost the little bit of depth they had to start with and some of the most interesting ones got killed off pretty early. The plot full of shifting characters is confusing and I have no idea where its going or why the magic balls are so important. In addition, the Kindle version of the book was not well proofed; I've found numerous spelling and grammatical errors.

Brent Weeks works wonders with his words. I cannot get enough of this series. I fell in love with the characters right off the bat. Especially poor little Azo. His transformation into Kylar was beautifully done. I love everything about the Night Angel trilogy.

I have enjoyed reading this series.

My issue is that it isn't very original.

Seems to me he has taken parts from 2 or 3 other very well known fantasies and re-written it with his own words. Unfortunately, anyone who reads fantasy regularly has to see ALL the MANY similarities to the other books he ripped off.

It makes me think Joe Abercrombie rewriting the Mistborn series with a lot of F bombs dropped.

This series is my favorite series EVER. The plot is always moving in crazy directions that blows your mind to bits. The writing is easy and the books are long and action packed. The story itself is great from page one. The characters are easy to connect to likable. Everything is genius. Again, BEST BOOKS EVER.

My boyfriend read the books first and told me I should read them. It took awhile to get into the first book, but once I got through all the background information, things started picking up and I was hooked. The second book was my least favorite - the first half was really slow, but then things picked up again and I was literally gasping at the plot twists towards the end. The third book was amazing! I couldn't put it down. :)

This trilogy is outstanding from start to finish! I found myself staying up late into the night wrapped up in every new twist. The entire set is complete and you'll do yourself by getting them all at the same time. I finished the first one on a Sunday evening after all the bookstores were closed and literally waited outside the closest bookstore the next morning! Brett Weeks is an incredible author and the world he has created for the Night Angel is magnificent. Best wishes and enjoy!!

I bought this as the three-books-in-one oversize paperback and was delighted to have all three to read together. The appendix at the end (SAVE it as it does include spoilers) added some nice humor to the novels as a whole. In some ways, it reminded me of Pat Rothfuss's Name of the Wind: an epic tale and characters with their own agendas who intersect.

I bought the first book 1 of this series and was hooked - great take on the classic story of a street urchin being taken in as the apprentice of someone powerful and mysterious. I like the dark dealings of assassins, especially after reading Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy (which is excellent in the ways that that the Night Angel fails).

However, book 2 was only so-so and book 3 was just lame. Mr. Weeks made the plot too broad and sacrificed story for the sake of grand magical powers. In the end there were too many random characters with illogical motives, and the world just seemed a device to create a huge conflict. I'm most disappointed by the potential that was lost - a great character in an interesting world, but the plot just got dumb by the end and I was reading for the sake of finishing the book.

All in all, it was okay, but I wouldn't recommend the series to anyone looking for more than pulp fantasy.

Unlike many of the negative reviews here, I actually read the whole series. I have read plenty of books with gore, violence and profanity, so that's not what bothers me about the series. It's the writing that's the weak point. The only reason I give it two stars instead of one is that I felt the first novel had potential. It started off a bit slow, but seemed like it might go somewhere interesting. There are certain points in the story where characters are stuck in a moral dilemma and it makes you think about what you would do in such a position. But, in the end the characters are just not developed enough (I'm looking at you Elene), the story becomes INCREDIBLY contrived (it was pretty damn obvious who the High King was among other things). The ending is so bad, it's borderline cheesy. If you've read the first book, I recommend you just stop there.

SPOILERS FOR END:
*
*
*
*
All the main characters just happen to end up at the same place at the same time to sing kumbaya to a magic sword to banish the evil demon-like army rising around them. Even the dark hunter creature just happens to make an appearance to help them save the day. Oh and through the power of LOVE Elene helps hold Khali within her body so Khali can be destroyed. Yeah, I told you it was a bad ending.

Durzo, while a somewhat interesting character should have been left dead. Instead the author brings him back with little explanation other than "for old times sake." Even comic books do a better job raising characters back from the dead (and god knows we all know no one stays dead in comics). It kind of ruins the first book in a way and the first book is the only redeeming part of the series.

By the time I finished the third book in the series, I was pretty well settled with Weeks's prose style. At times fast, invigorating, and blood pumping...and at other, a drudgery to get through. I have to say, of the entire series, the second book is by and far my favorite. And while there is a main character, I found all the supportive characters way more fascinating. Durzo and Momma K, wrapped up in their morality and immorality, are that ultimate proof that so many fantasy writers look for...the good within the dark, and vice versa...the balance in the individual that leads to great or horrific deeds, given the choices the characters ultimately make. Overall, Weeks writes a sound trilogy, and I am looking forward to his next venture,

I was nuts about these books! They were absolutely epic and I've re-read them several times. I could just go on and on for years listing off everything I loved about this series, but one thing I simply must mention is that the imagery and storyline will make you feel like you're actually watching the events in real life or at the very least on a movie screen. It's also nearly impossible to not become attached to the characters, and so you will be forced to keep reading because you can't stand not knowing what will happen to them.

I like book series; I like character development and transformation... I love magic, adventure, drama and good fighting. The Night Angel Trilogy fits in all of those aspects but it is also a genially-crafted, witty, well-written tale of grow that kept me on edge from book one to three, the story never lacking. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Brent Weeks' work.

Brent Weeks' N.A.T. is a fast-paced dive into the life a street urchin who becomes to deadly man...period. With a God-like prowess for battle, our protagonist becomes involved in changes that effect... well, everyone.

To be concise:

Well written.
Violent.
Original in many aspects.
Adventurous.
Sexy.
Ironic.

But enough about me. The book is good too =)

Wait, did I say that I'm "well written"?

p.s. Durzo Blint deserves his own trilogy. *hint hint*

Brent weeks is an incredibly powerful author who builds a beautiful world full of assassins, politics, magic, war, and most importantly, love. The cover of the book doesn't lie; Weeks' writing is so good that it will make you mad. Weeks will make you laugh, cry, cheer, and grieve all in the roller-coaster of a trilogy that I can only describe as thrilling.

I was drawn into this series right off the bat. I just loved the characters and the story development. Once I got to the end of the third book I had to re-read the ending twice to get a full feel of the emotions that Brent was trying to get across. Very powerful! Heres hoping for a fourth book in this in this world.

I read these as individual books. This was Mr. Weeks first novel. So, I understood why it too almost 1/2 book one for the pace to pick up and about a third for book 2. Book 3 was good from start to finish!

From my 2012's reading, this stands out as one of the best.
All three (epic/rogue/magic) are equally presented in the book without one or another shadowing the rest.
The characters are intriguing, the story line is not easily predictable, the pace is neither too slow or too fast.
The "romantics" and gore are not exaggerated.
Doesn't really reads as a young adult fiction as most of the fantasy available today.

Time very good spent. Thank you Brent Weeks, buying more.

The first book in the trilogy started out great. Fast paced, action packed, character driven. It was so character driven, that I forgave the lack of detail given to the character's environment. The author gives you the basics, but beyond that, it's your imagination. The other thing that may annoy some readers is the author's inability to transition between characters and chapters. One minute, you're reading about Kylar, the next, you're reading something about Solon. Not many of the chapters really mesh well and the story becomes disjointed. It's only at the conclusion that you see what the author was leading you to. The second book's pace slows and the same disjointed writing continues, but this time, there's almost no character development. While the story is still good, you start reading less and less of the main character in the first book. The last book is so poorly done that there are gaping holes in the plot and even in the world mechanics. It was established that one of Kylar's major ability allows him to do something. In the 3rd book during the final fights, the author completely ignores the ability and allows an event to happen to Kylar to introduce a new ability. I know that seems ambiguous, but I didn't want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say, the complete disregard for continuity makes the book rather dissatisfying. After reading the first book, I was excited to read the second book and even recommended it to a friend. After finishing the trilogy, I wouldn't recommend it at all. It's a slow decline of a great character driven 1st book, to a poorly written non-linear 3rd book. Also, the style of jumping between characters every chapter happens throughout the entire series and becomes annoying.

book 1- 4 stars
book 2- 3 stars
book 3- 2 stars

Without a doubt one of the best fantasy stories (series of books) I have read in a very long time! Cannot say enough good things about this trilogy. Fantastic story, plot and characters. Memorable characters who you'll find yourself contemplating who would best play them in the movie. Cant' wait to read his next effort. A+++

The Night Angel Trilogy is superb. It's really a spectacular start for Brent Weeks, and his development as a writer shows in his new project, Black Prism, which is even better. This trilogy is dark---most of the negative reviews mention this, but as Weeks said himself, he made it clear by the title and cover art that this is a book about an assassin...that means murder at the very best. So there is murder, there is rape, there is the terror of a city underworld, and there is a lot of swearing. Oh, and there's a healthy share of gore and violence, of course. But the characters are solid, the action is intense, and the story is captivating. If you're a fan of fantasy and if you don't mind a bit (scratch that, a lot) of mature content, then this is a fantastic series. Check out Black Prism for a somewhat cleaner, but even more captivating series.

This book series had so much profanity and vulgarity I could not even finish the first book. The degredation of people in all forms was repulsive. There were really no redeeming qualities, except that he could write well - a waste of talent. I would never recommend it.

Those who said that this was a great story didn't lie. The trilogy is a good one. However, I do not think I will be able to read the books again. The violence got to me. It really isn't my cup of tea.

I have been a science fiction and fantasy addict for over 20 years and The Night Angel Trilogy is one of the best books that I have ever read. I would put this trilogy on par with The Lord of The Rings. While the settings differ the depth of characters, plot, and world are on the same level and scale. Brent Weeks is one of the few authors who has made a promise about his book that he was able to keep: "you give me a couple of pages, and I'll give you a helluva ride."

J.D. Slatta

These novels are graphic in parts. However, though the author is fairly new on the scene he amazed me with the skillful plot twists throughout the story. Having been an avid reader for years I often reach a point in the story where I kind of know where the story is going and how things are probably going to play out. Multiple times during these books there was a twist that threw everything I thought I knew on its head. Yet the twist advanced the story in a key way. It never felt forced or out of place. Things that you knew from before were suddenly seen in a whole new light. At this point I feel like I will buy and read anything this author puts out. Well done.

I received this trilogy from my boyfriend in the process of looking for novels I hadn't read yet. I wanted to like it, and there were some places where I was drawn into the narrative, but overall it was very uneven. The protagonist was an interesting concept but not very compelling as a character; the writing was largely quite disjointed for the first seventy or so pages of the first book and as this was where the author spent most of his time establishing the setting, I was not impressed. The plot twists feel contrived throughout, to the point where the revelations that should have been major events fell flat. The Night Angel trilogy is a decent pulp fantasy series if you're looking for something to fill your spare hours, but if you're looking for an engrossing read, I would look elsewhere.

Picked up the books on a whim when I couldn't find anything interesting to read at the book store. I was shocked. Amazing, believable characters, well thought-out universe, and a plot that always keeps you guessing.

I've been forcing the books upon every single one of my friends and none of them have had a bad thing to say about it.

I only wish I'd been able to get them in hardcover. My poor paperbacks are terribly beaten after so many readings.

This series was one of the first to really enthrall me into the fantasy genre of books. It will forever be one of my top 3 favorites, it is a definite read for anyone who is interested in a more adult fantasy world. I loved these books and will continue to re read them.

I just finished this trilogy and I still can't believe how good it was. So many good twists, some expected, some unexpected but all fitting so well with a well developed story. I found Week's writing style very refreshing, with a great blend of action and drama along with random campy scenes that caught me off guard in some places, but I found myself appreciative of the humor none the less.

This is one of the best series I've read in a long time, and that's saying a lot. I'd rate this series up there with Goodkind, Zelazny, and possibly Salvatore. Though I will not say that any of these authors have equals, because they're just very different, this is a stay-up-late-for-weeks-of-insomnia page turner series :)

Thrilling, intense, popping action, twisting plots, and all around badassery? You just can't go wrong :) Unless, of course, you like dry nonfiction. But hey, who would read this? ;) (Don't get your panties in a ruffle now, I'm just joking! Truth is crazier than fiction... most days.)

This series was so well written and the characters were so fully thought out. I never wanted to put the book down. I bought this book as an impulsive purchase through [...] and I have never been happier with a purchase. Finishing the book was bittersweet because I did not want it to end. Brent Weeks is an excellent author and I CANNOT wait to see what else he can come up with!!!

Despite plenty of missteps this trilogy is quite enjoyable. Some of the prose in the first novel is quite awkward and a few of the chapters seem almost amateurish but the storyline drags you along at break-neck speed. The names run the gamut of embarrassingly bad ('Wetboys') to strangely ethnic (Sa'kage) and I am not sure Weeks ever really feels comfortable with the national backgrounds of the characters he is trying to portray.

By far the best character in the story is Durzo Blint and I think Weeks has a hard time knowing exactly what to do with him after the first story and can't quite just let him 'die' (although this might be the case with many of his characters), in many ways the tragedy of Azoth and Durzo's relationship is completely nullified by this fact.

The real stars of the book are the uber-magical items that seem to make their users very much like super heroes or villains. Although in a way this revalation takes some of the enjoyment out of the first novel, for all the hard training that Azoth has had it seems he is little more than a "ka'kari" wielder who becomes the "Night Angel".

The relationship between Elene and Azoth always seemed quite a bit forced and never really works although this is partly do to with Week's placing obstacles to advance the story. The triangle that becomes forced on the characters with Vi doesn't seem overly realistic and becomes almost unintentionally comical at the end of the trilogy.

Despite these shortfalls the trilogy as a whole is an enjoyable read. Weeks seems to have a solid grasp of action and although his characters don't always seem to have realistic reactions and characterizations the plot as a whole is worth following through to the end. Once the prose matches up to the excellent plot and descriptive action, I expect his next few novels to be even better.

As a whole I would give the Night Angel trilogy 3.5 stars.

I found this trilogy to be very good. I thoroughly sympathized with the characters, they were well built up and you really empathize with them. The story had several twists and turns which kept you guessing. The characters were conflicted and you felt their turmoil as they made decisions. I can't wait to read future books from this author!

Brent Weeks needs to give himself a big pat on the back for a great job. His novel "Night Angel" never fails its reader. The story is well written and he keeps the action rolling throughout this dramatic tale. Of particular note is his choice of names for his characters; it's the "the bomb." Names of heroes such as Acaelus Thorne, Jorsin Alkestes, Gaelan Starfire, and of course the indomitable Durzo Blint capture your interest and make you want to read more and more. The ending is unexpected if not understated. I think it's obvious that Weeks left the door open for more writing in the future. There are some heavy subjects that are dealt with including reincarnation, cannibalism, compulsion, capital punishment and murder. I highly recommend this novel.

I love this trilogy. I just finished it for the fourth time and I still couldn't put it down until I finished it. Brent Weeks is my favorite author. He has a great writing style and does a fantastic job of keeping things interesting. The lightbringer series is just as good. I highly recommend this both to anyone who enjoys this genre of book.

I fully agree with the 1 star ratings on this book. I too wonder how this trilogy received such a high rating. But to the review. The book is disjointed, the plot (if there is one) is completely unclear, the characters are one dimensional and completely forgettable. I feel as though the author was trying to do too many things at once and what might have been a good thing turned in to a complete mess of nothingness. For instance he sets a mood of high fantasy, but on the same page starts talking about people in inns giving their wives excuses about business meetings. The overall effect is to be constantly pulled out of submersion and forced back into modern times. I tried for 160 pages to like this book. All I can tell you is I wasted my money, I don't know what the book is about, I am not sure who all the characters are, there are too many ridiculous made-up names and places to follow a simple sentence, and everything is mind-numbingly boring. If your looking for a good fantasy story this is not the ticket!

Poorly written, lack of consistent writing style, and obviously an amateur book.

It is very obvious this is Weeks' first published story.

The story idea itself- brilliant. The execution, not so much. The writing is so weird. In one paragraph, it seems like he's using a thesaurus to replace every word and in the very next line of dialogue he's using 90's slang for his characters to converse in. It was ridiculous. I hate when authors introduce a random magic system and type of fantasy character and don't explain it quickly enough for the story to make sense from the beginning and Brent Weeks is insanely guilty of this in a hundred ways. Half of this story doesn't make sense until halfway through, which is irritating at best. I kept reading because of the good reviews and just hoped it would get better.

And I was wrong. The plot twists were good, I'll give him that. Although to me Sanderson will always be king of plot twists.

The ending was rough, rushed, and felt incomplete to me. The "epilogue" should've been the last chapter and then a true epilogue written because even the Wolf's version of it prior was watered down. All these unfinished story lines and then the main character doesn't even get an attempt at one.

I hated this book. He needs a new editor.

One of those series that really pulls you in & keeps you up all night! The story moves quickly, the world & the conflicts Weeks created are unique (which is rare for a fantasy series), & the characters are superb. As soon as I finished the series I started loaning out the books to friends!

The Night Angel trilogy was, by far, the best fantasy series I've ever read. It was filled with action and awesomeness. The only problem is that it wasn't long enough. I read the whole series in a few weeks and needed more. Overall, this is a must buy series for anyone who wants a good fantasy series. I will, however, advise that it is a bit mature for younger readers. I say this even though I am probably younger than most of the readers of this book. But I stick with my point that these books are awesome!

The first book must have been written by a completely different author. It is compelling and extremely well written. The second and third books appear to have been written by an angst-ridden teen on a deadline for some ridiculous creative writing class. Not at all what one would have expected from the author of the first book. Poor.

If you like this genre, you will enjoy this book, at least to the point were you felt you got your money's worth. The plot enthralled me completely, and I was obsessed with reading this book for a week. Even after reading A song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, etc, this book is still in my top 5. I also love that "new book" smell, and for some reason, the smell lasted really long on this particular book.

This series was one of the best that I have read in years. The characters draw you in and the books are hard to put down. I finished the series in no time at all and have started on his other books. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes action, mystery, suspense or romance. This book covers all grounds and Brent Weeks has proven to be a great story teller and writer.

This series was recommended to me by a coworker. I have to say being a reader of dragon lance and forgotten realms i was skeptical of how i would like this series. Brent weeks did an amazing job coming up with a great story full of twists and turns. If your looking for a series to enjoy and reread i would recommend this series. I gotta say i hope he writes a follow-up series.

If you like this genre, you will enjoy this book, at least to the point were you felt you got your money's worth. The plot enthralled me completely, and I was obsessed with reading this book for a week. Even after reading A song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, etc, this book is still in my top 5. I also love that "new book" smell, and for some reason, the smell lasted really long on this particular book.

Im a huge fan of fantasy and while A song of fire and ice is my current favorite series the nightangel trilogy is a close second. While this book took me a little bit to get into once I was about 100 pages in i was hooked and couldn't stop till the end of the third book.
The main reason i liked this book so much is because Brent Weeks does not shy away from action sequences which i love, if your an action person check this series out, if you want a unique and complex plot that you have never seen before check out game of thrones, because while mr. Weeks does create a very unique universe, with the trilogy, much of the first book will seem familiar if you read alot of fantasy.

This series was one of the best that I have read in years. The characters draw you in and the books are hard to put down. I finished the series in no time at all and have started on his other books. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes action, mystery, suspense or romance. This book covers all grounds and Brent Weeks has proven to be a great story teller and writer.

And he finished a series quickly! Miracles do happen. Series is fast past and the characters are definitely interesting. Story is not the most orginal but that is often the case in fantasy so to me it's more about how it's told, the characters and the world/magic building. Weeks does a wonderful job at all three and looking forward to reading his next series....once it's all out!

I picked this book up in an airport and didnt even begin to read it until 6 1/2 days later. a day after that, once I had finished the first boo, I seriously contemplated driving 8 hours to get the second and the third. If you can write a book that makes someone hand their car keys to a friend and say dont let me make an 8 hour trip to buy a BOOK then its amazing. buy it. you wont regret it.

There are a few discrepancies within this short when compared to the rest of the series. That said, I enjoyed it thoroughly and finished in maybe twenty minutes. It brings a fresh face to Acaelus, as Starfire, that none of us had seen before and really explains why he chose to become Durzo.

When reading this I had the glimpse of something great and beautiful but it was buried at the bottom of a garbage can. Sometimes an author simply has too many ideas and trying to compress them all into a book weighs the entire story down. Worldbuilding elements are introduced without any connection to the plot and then simply abandoned. Other elements or terminology (because we need a conlang in a fantasy story, no way around THAT) are mentioned and then only elaborated on way later in the story. Continuity between set-pieces appears disjunct at best. Some characters spend an entire viewpoint section reaching a decision and then do something completely different for no rhyme or reason in their next viewpoint. Characters are introduced just to be unceremoniously killed off a few chapters later never to be mentioned again - either as deliberate shock-deaths or to run out the clock. Either way I feel insulted and my time deliberately wasted.

And for a series about an assassin - excuse me, wetboy, wouldn't want to take them serious or anything - you don't see many assassinations. Faceless people die by the train load but in the exact same way they die in other fantasy novels trying to be all gritty, "realistic", dark and misogynistic drivel.

Just a word on cost! This Science Fiction Book Club Creation is available for $14.99 or less. Mine cost only $9.99 when they had a "buy two get one free" promotion. If you join the club, it can be pick as one of your introductory selections. Buy it thru them, they need the business! I would just hate to see the demise of this particular club. The prices from other vendors, are way too high! For a current title. It will be around for a number of years at the mentioned price! since it happens to be quite popular with club members.

I'm quite impressed with Brent Week's debut, Night Angel. He paints a very vivid world in which many people from many different backgrounds come together to survive, to help, to fight and to love. That in itself is not so new, but Weeks' characters are so incredibly detailed and believable! Ordinarily, I will skim over fight scenes a bit, mainly I guess because action scenes can be hard to describe and still hold the reader's attention. But, Weeks presents his action scenes so well, you can't help but be totally engrossed! All that and a bag of tricks! I haven't been this enthusiastic over any series in quite a long time, and then to realise this is his first attempt to break into the genre... Wow. I can't wait to find out what he will decide to tackle next.

i had rarely gotten into fantasy novels outside anything dealing with the occlt. one day while im in a barnes & noble, another patron suggested this book series, so i picked it up and it was amazing! i highly recommend it!

this book series is really good i just found these about two weeks ago and and just finishing the last book now. the book is good throughout keeping your attention and not getting dull or predictable. im constantly on the search for new scifi and fantasy and this is definitely one that will be read through again. brent weeks hit a hole run with this new series.

this series is the best series i have read yet. brent weeks is an accomplished artist when it comes to writting, and i enjoy getting lost in his world of complex magic, and political conspiracies. i have read many books and series, and this one, by far is the best i have read yet. keep up the good work mr weeks!

As far as I know, the Night Angel Trilogy was Weeks' first published novel. Truth be told, you can tell sometimes in his characterizations; some characters come off cliche or flat. But his 'newcomer' status makes the books all the more exciting to read.

An excellent book by a wonderful writer, Mr. Weeks does not disappoint. I look forward to his next book.

This represents a budding author's first attempts at a great fantasy series. The creativity of the story is sound, but sometimes the descriptions of the magic used and the sheer amount of characters we view the story through can be a bit frustrating

This trilogy is a very good read. It's got a lot of action and quite a few unexpected twists and turns. The first book starts a little slowly due to the setup and world building but it definitely pays off. The second and third books are good all the way through. Great series - I'd recommend it for anyone who likes sci-fi.

Simply put, this series is fantastic. One of the best out there, with a deep and complex plot that pulls you in without you even noticing. Unless you are extremely squimish, and I mean really really squimish, then you can go wrong with this series. In fact, it's only flaw is that it isn't longer. One can only hope we will see more of the world Weeks created in later novels.

One of the best series I have ever read. I went into it knowing nothing of Brent Weeks and now have read all of his books to date (Lightbringer is just as good if not better). I love his twist and action packed pace that makes it almost impossible to put down.

The first few chapters really dragged.. and I was thinking this series was a dud. I did stick it out however and found it got much better! There are several times when I thought Kylar reverted to a less than stellar fighter, but he would always come back. I look forward to Brent's next series.

when i first picked up The Way of the shadows i figured it was gonna be just another every day run of the mill assassin book which Ive read i dozen times i was pleasantly surprised at the depth these books went into and the spin they took on the assassin front i would recommend this trilogy a million times over ive recently started the Light-bringer series and i cant wait for the next one to come out.

I choose to read this series after reading "The Black Prism", which left on me an excellent impression.

Overall the series is a good read, however, it has several disadvantages.
Here are some
1. A lot of important characters are flat. For example, Ellin, the heroes' "love for life" appears just as bitch, hindering story's progress. Every time she does that, a question arises "why the hell does he like/love/tolerate that bitch"?
2. The story line feels bumpy. In every book the author jumps to another coordinate system, and there is no buildup to explain it.

This series is a great read, I couldnt put the book down. Once I finished I looked online for his new series and got the first book in that. I found myself really attached to all the characters. After I finished this I gave this to a family member to borrow and made some new Brent Weeks fans :)

I did not really enjoy the style of writing here but it could be because:

1. I just came off the George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones, Storm of Swords, and Clash of Kings triumvirate; and this just didn't measure up.

2. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was a little grating to me.

That said I'm not a fan of mixing modern english in with fantasy books. Much of the cursing seemed out of place for this setting as well.

So take this review with a grain of salt, but I'm moving on to other authors.

I started this trilogy thinking Brent Weeks had the potential to be an incredible author. Having finished the first book, I won't continue reading the Night Angel trilogy and will trade the book I purchased at B&N for other books at a used bookstore. That should say all which needs to be said about what I think regarding the Night Angel trilogy, but I will say a couple of other things. In the genre of Fantasy, the Suspension of Disbelief can be stretched very far. Weeks, however, stretches the Suspension of Disbelief in the Way of Shadows until the reader's belief shreds. Characters are two-dimensional and almost all paper-thin; every woman either Madonna (not the singer) or a whore, the men either heroes or villains, both of which are fairly pathetic and inconsistent (character issues galore). Death, by the way, is simply an inconvenience for way too many. Overall, this story was wholly unbelievable, and I can't state how so utterly disappointed I am since when I began reading this I thought I had discovered a new Fantasy writer whose writing I could truly appreciate (what a fool I feel for ever once thinking that). Guess I will keep looking.

Bought the trilogy but doubt I will read more than the first book. Characters are shallow and undeveloped, and the attempt at a fast paced plot does not sufficiently compensate for the poor characters. Anytime a Character is in trouble (oh no!), he finds the magic/superhuman power to do something incredible to get out of trouble. Would not be so bad if it did not happen every other chapter. If you are looking for books like R.Feist, R.A.Salvatore or G.R. Martin puts out, don't look here. I guess I can't fault the author too much, my expectations were quite high since it was advertised as a "NY Times Bestseller". Phewy.

The characterization was beyond weak; we are consistently *told* that characters are heartless badasses, but this is directly contradicted by their actions. The prose is occasionally hilarious ("he burst into the room in a tidal wave of masculinity..." Wow. I mean...Wow.), and consistently purple.

Fight scenes are good. Hints of more interesting characters on the horizon. But I didn't enjoy it.

I am an avid fantasy fan, I spend alot of time sifting through piles of the same-old-crap and only rarely come across books as good as these. I was so grateful that I got all 3 books at once, it would have been devastating if I would have had to wait to read the next after devouring each so quickly.
The story begins with a boy being apprenticed to the best wetboy there has ever been. A wetboy being a sort of assassin with magical abilities, but after reading these books you will understand why I say 'assassin' with a bit of reluctance and disdain. "Assassins have targets, wetboys have deaders."
These coming-of-age stories have always been my favorite kind and this series truly delivers in every way. Mainly, you can't wait for when Kylar comes into his own and boy, does he! I love the characters, I love how so many of them grow and change. I ache for each of them that has to learn something the hard way. There are swords and magic, tragedy and triumph, what more can you ask for?

This is an entertaining (if derivative) trilogy, but it was truly difficult to wade through Weeks' hatred of women. All of the heroic and good characters were men or boys, while women were either madonnas or (literally) whores. Weeks clearly has some sort of complex, or is perhaps unaware that women have their own inner lives and motivations separate from the unrelenting male gaze. It was too bad, because a lot of the story reminded me of the excellent Brandon Sanderson, except Sanderson is a much better writer who writes women characters extremely well.

This trilogy started off well, but the last book was a total train wreck. I debated for many nights whether to induct this into The Hall of Suck. At first, I resisted… the first book had some merit and the second, while it was a bit convoluted, wasn’t worth of The Hall of Suck. However, book three is just so damn bad that I have to induct it. It really came down to a simple question – if this isn’t Hall of Suck material, then what is?

I can’t list all of the problems and inconsistencies. Some obvious that come to mind are:

The Ka’Kari can talk now?

Durzo can turn into a bird and fly?

Retribution got stolen how?

Durzo got Curoch our out of the woods how?

Elene got kidnapped how?

Dorian can/could see the future, but now he has no idea what’s going on?

The big battle got started how? What’s going on? Who is where? What are they doing?

Oh, and what happened to Kyler? He was actually the main character at some point, right?

Solon’s ruby just happened to fit in the fake Curoch?

Dorian can magically transfer a fetus (or two) from one woman to another?

Khali is actually Durzo’s PO’d ex-girlfried?

What’s up with all the “love” at the end? Am I reading Frozen?

There are so many plot holes in this book that I should have kept notes. Seriously, you can’t read a chapter without scratching your head. I really regret not taking notes. There is a good story in there somewhere, but it really gets screwed up by all the nonsense. The author finally lost me when Durzo flew like a bird. That just took stupid to a whole new level. I was thinking I’d give the series 3 stars at one point. Then it dropped to two stars. However, when Durzo sprouted wings I’d had enough. That’s a big ‘ol one star of stupid.

Brent Weeks – I have a question. Why the heck was the bird thing necessary? What did it add? Couldn’t Durzo just have run over and saved Kyler? Couldn’t he have used some of his Napoleon Dynamite skills or something? Was the best way to do it really to have Durzo swoop out of the air as a bird? Well… at least a dude with wings? Wasn’t there a point… any point… when you stopped typing, backed up, and said, “Nah… that’s just too dumb… I can’t write that?” Didn’t that happen? Really, that’s what did it for me. The Durzo bird is what put this thing over the top into The Hall of Suck. I read that and thought yep… the author just cashed in his chips. We are in the land of Oz now.

Look – I’m not kidding when I say that if I was taking notes, I bet I’d have over one hundred examples of “wait… what?” moments. One minute Kyler is trying to sneak into a big party at the palace, the next he decides he needs to start a fight to get attention. One minute Ariel is trying to figure out the source of Kyler’s power, the next minute she blurts out something about the Ka’Kari. One minute nothing can escape the woods, the next minute Durzo apparently can, even though he doesn’t have the Ka’Kari anymore. It’s totally ridiculous.

Someone please explain how Kyler lost his sword, Retribution? He covered it with the Ka’Kari and place it in a drawer, right. Then he comes back a few weeks later, pulls it out, and the Ka’Kari slips off and tells him that he is a fool and the sword was stolen. Wait…what? If it was stolen, how did that happen? Was it stolen before the Ka’kari covered it and it was put in the drawer? Because if that happened I’d guess the Ka’Kari knew it right away. Was it stolen after? If that’s the case, then how did the Ka’Kari get off the original and onto the fake? Was the fake a copy of Retribution or just some other sword? Uhhhhhh… there is no way this makes any sense at all. It’s like the author had to move the plot, so he just pulled out some random nonsense to make it happen. Either the sword was a fake to begin with (in which case the Ka’Kari would have detected it right away), or the sword was stolen after it was put in the drawer (in which case the Ka’Kari would have had to be stolen too).

And so, it is with great fanfare that I induct The Night Angel Trilogy into the fabled Hall of Suck!

Let the ceremony begin!!!
(trumpets)
Hear ye, hear ye! (I’m pounding on my stapler)…
(cue The Alan Parsons Project – Sirius)
Whereas I read The Night Angel Trilogy, but Beyond the Shadows in particular, and
Whereas it sucked, and
Whereas the Hall of Suck is reserved for books that really suck,
I now, hereby, therefore, induct The Night Angel Trilogy into the hallowed Hall of Suck. So let it be written… so let it be done.
(cue Tootsee Roll)

I have a difficult time understanding how this item has such a high rating. I found the trilogy profoundly unimaginative and hackneyed and only finished reading it out of my own pathological need for closure. All hopes I had for a more creative On a positive note, time will pass while you read the book. Pure pulp.

Here's the thing -- I couldn't put these books down. I grabbed The Way of Shadows at the airport, thinking it would be another throw-away, and ended up spending half my trip reading it. I bought the final 2 and read them both in about 3 days.

So why only 3 stars? I just couldn't get over the feeling that SOMETHING was missing from these books.

The first thing that bothers me about these books is that Brent Weeks is incredibly arrogant and insulting as an author. Each of these books has stolen a little something from everybody -- high fantasy, assassins, samurai, kung fu, romance, magic, warfare, ancient Egyptian and feudal Chinese culture, rape, torture, Yakuza, mafia and crime family, X-men, matriarchal society, etc. -- and mashed it all together to try to create a well-crafted world. But Weeks' attempts in the Night Angel books were sorely lacking. Where other authors have been successful in taking elements from myriad cultures and civilizations to craft a new world that gives homage to societies and situations and plot-lines that many of us are already familiar with, Weeks writes as though he created these concepts, as though he were the only one smart enough to get his poorly-disguised references -- the Sa'kage (Yakuza), sa'ceura (samurai), the "Ceurans" with their "yellow skin and almond shaped eyes" , the Lodricari and their "flaming red hair and pale skin"(Irish), Khalidor (Egypt), etc.

And, fine, you don't want to pay homage to these cultures enough to flesh them out or add your own details (beyond the Khalidorans having blue eyes and black hair) to make them unique to the world you're creating and, instead, describe the people and culture EXACTLY (but in a kind of ignorant, racist, xenophobic way) as they are on modern day earth? Then at least respect me enough as a reader to make an assumption that I have, in fact, read books in more than ONE genre and am smart enough to figure out when your story lapses into romance, then action, then "high fantasy", then adventure, then mystery, then steampunk. And instead of writing a romance (or whatever) story WITHIN the fantasy book, Weeks just starts writing in a totally different different genre each time, with every overly-done stereotype and archetype character or situation he can think of.

Let's examine the story, shall we?

The books are about a boy named Azoth who grew up in the gutter, apprenticed himself to an assassin to escape his life of no choices, and eventually saves a kingdom.

Okay, awesome. Although I've dumbed it down some, that's pretty much the central plot, and it was exactly what I was looking for when I bought book 1. However, like so many books with simplistic plots (and SIMPLISTIC PLOT is what I'm looking for as I wait for favorite authors to write and publish new books) that I have picked up in the recent past, I found the underdeveloped characters, the world-building, the attempt at "dark" fantasy and humor, sophomoric and transparent "political intrigue" and treatment of women to be so ignorant and frustrating to read that I've thrown them out or immediately returned them.

So, if you are a fan of books by "fantasy" authors like Karen Miller, Gail Martin, Robert Jordan, Elizabeth Haydon, Sherwood Smith, Terry Goodkind, Raymond Feist, RA Salvatore, Sara Douglass, etc. etc., then you will probably LOVE these books and will hate this review.

My main pet peeve is Weeks' characterization of women, which is revolting and is either toeing the line of misogyny, or he's just never seen or talked to a woman EVER in his life. Take, for example:

1. Azoth falls in love with a girl based on her looks.
2. In fact, EVERY man in each book falls in love with a woman based on her appearance.
3. The lady Yakuza (oops, the Sa'kage) leader is called "Momma K" -- seriously?
4. 2 different GROWN men fall in love with a 16 year old girl. They have sex with her. This is not pornography? I mean, I'm not trying to sound crazy or be prudish, but it would be one thing if the girl was 16 and the boys were in THEIR teens -- then I could forgive sexual descriptions of her body, from a TEEN's POV. It is quite another thing when the girl is 16 and the men are in their 20s and 30s. And they fall in love with her because of her blond hair? Really?
5. RAPE RAPE RAPE throughout the entire book, but done in such a sexualized, "romantic" way that it is clear that the author has no understanding of what rape truly is and/or how it affects the victims and their families. It's just another plot line for him when he runs out of things for the women in the books to cry about. In fact, Weeks describes how one of the "heroes" of the story rapes a 13 year old girl and then he attempts to rationalize it to the reader. That's insane.
6. EVERY woman is either stunningly beautiful or hideously ugly. I get it -- it's fantasy, after all -- but after 12 times, it gets old. And boring. And annoying.
7. BREASTS BREASTS BREASTS BREASTS on every page. Has Weeks never seen a breast? Even once? The childish descriptions of breasts were so... childish.
8. As soon as women tapped into their emotions (love, sadness, happiness, etc.) they started to cry. WTF?? Vi spent the ENTIRE 2nd and most of the 3rd book crying. A hard-core killer like Vi... crying because someone touched her hair? <eyeroll>
9. My final pet peeve was the fact that Azoth and his love interest kept calling eachother "honey" as their first names while they were playing house with eachother. It's so out of place in a book filled with gore, blood and violence, and not even written realistically.

I get that part of the point he was trying to make (or maybe I'm giving him too much credit) is that the sex trade was what fueled the country's economy, which is why "Momma K", at the head of the sex "guild", was so powerful. It would also stand to reason that perhaps this is why rape was glossed over -- as just another obstacle of everyday living (again, too much credit to Weeks, I'm sure). But why was AZOTH, who grew up in and around brothels, always staring at breasts and blushing at the idea of naked skin? Why were the other men in the book, some of whom were from cultures where "a single bared breast" (which is one of the most ANNOYING stereotypes of "barbarian" cultures that way too many fantasy authors include in their books -- even you, GRR Martin) is common, constantly staring at breasts and blushing and stammering and grabbing their crotches? All men are not ruled by their genitals; the site of breasts doesn't turn all men into morons, and breasts are not a weapon that all women use to gain power. But in these books, that's all breasts were. YUCK.

There was just so much wrong with these books! Maybe I am giving him a hard time because I'm suffering from Steven Erickson withdrawal syndrome. But the multiple genres, all written poorly. The poor plot-lines and halfassed plots-within-plots, secrets that were obvious, the horribly described fight scenes and descriptions of a full-scale war involving almost 200,000 soldiers and "krul" that started after breakfast and finished before lunch. Darn it! I was sucked in by the story -- it had so much potential. Other books have taken every fantasy stereotype and squished it into one book or series, and done it relatively well. Not Brent Weeks.

Weeks managed to cram assassins, even a GIRL assassin, the underworld of gangs, drugs, brothels and theives, samurai swords, romance, 700 year-old history, prophesy, quests, apprenticing, kung fu, poison, mages, wytches, kings, queens and high fantasy characters, zombies, monsters, harems, a magical forest, a magic school for women fighting against a magic school for men, barbarians, magic so powerful it creates a streak of white hair on people's heads (seriously, he stole from X-MEN??????), wedding rings, an Arthurian sword tale, war, massacres, rape, breasts, "butts", torture, sex costumes, a goddess, immortality, giants, a pit worm and its "homunculus", a High King prophecy, a glowing tattoo, cannibalism, all into one book. And, after ALL OF THAT, a handful of people put their hand on a magical sword and begin to sing to intensify its magic. Seriously, song magic? WTF?????????????????

The entire time I was reading, I felt like something of significance was going to happen, and it never did. The story didn't really climax at all, and I always had the feeling that the author was looking down his nose at me, telling me that he was smarter than I was because he thought I was too stupid to understand his poorly-veiled references. I felt angry at the lack of even a wink and a nudge. I was disgusted by the characterization of women, at their tears and constant apologies for things that were beyond their control. I became annoyed at rape being the only plot-line that connected any of the women in the stories. Most of all, I felt like I was reading a sexually-inexperienced 15-year old boy's inappropriate short story school assignment.

But I couldn't put it down. I love books about assassins and the 'underworld' and especially anything referencing kung fu. I think that's what sucked me in and I was waiting for more of it. It was a pretty quick read, despite the number of pages, exactly BECAUSE it was so juvenile. I did, in fact, enjoy the books immensely -- the way an adult in their 30s or 40s enjoys reading books from her/his childhood. I'll probably continue to buy Weeks' books for this reason. But I honestly have no respect for him as a writer, and don't take him seriously enough to consider him a real fantasy author.

It's hard to root for a protagonist who kills innocent people. By the end of the series, when he's killing people by the hundreds with his magic sword that tells him who deserves death, someone asks him by what standard he judges who is "evil"; this was an obvious question from the very beginning, but was never answered. Probably he killed many people who committed no less evil than he himself. Who judges the judge?

The climax of the trilogy is pretty contrived, with the successful outcome depending on the coincidental arrival of all of the main characters of the story at one particular location at one particular time; all of them were essential to the outcome and the odds of any of them arriving there were pretty low.

I'm not sure what it is, but why do authors nowadays feel that a book has to be a trilogy? This book, like so many others I've read lately, would have been wonderful if they stopped after the first book. The rest of this series simply feels rushed and childish. There was nothing that held me and everything felt fake and unbelievable. The cursing, gore, and eroticism was too much. The violence and bit too imaginative and cruel. Plot? Extremely week and silly and pulls from just about any other decent book out there. Too much is going on at once and none of it strong enough to make sense. Do yourself a favor and take this book for simply what it is: a third rate fantasy series from a third rate fantasy author...

This is like Twilight for guys...which probably explains why there are so many 5-star reviews. It appeals to the semi-literate, but is an overall abomination of fantasy/fiction writing.

1. Writing style of a high school student.
2. Sloppy and incoherent character development.
3. Extremely shallow plot.

I forced myself to read all three in hopes that it would improve. I understand that not every author's first book is well-written. To have this abortion make it to the NYT Best Seller List is a crime against all literate peoples of the world.

And OH GOD the NAMES. Weeks chose character names like he was writing an emo anime fanfiction. HORRIBLE names, to the point of making me completely disconnect from the story. Durzo Blint? Kylar Stern? Are you serious? Even Stephanie Meyers managed to pick better names. I think I could have overlooked the rest of the bad things about these books and filed them into the "Readable but not very good" category of my shelves if it wasn't for the names.

Everything about these books screams repressed teen angst. I gave these books away.

I really don't understand why this book has inspired such positive reviews. It was recommended to me by a friend who also enjoys fantasy, but I couldn't even bring myself to finish the trilogy and just skipped to the end (and I almost never give up on a story once I'm committed). The writing is absolutely terrible. The magic used in the books is ridiculous. The only character that is even mildly compelling as opposed to a shallow stereotype is Azoth, and I couldn't even bring myself to care all that much about him after the first book. There's a dumb, whiny king who only knows one swear word and uses it repeatedly matched up against a pillar of virtue and honor and manliness whose only real flaw is that his wife is a nag. The female love interest is constantly dressed in white to remind you that she's an innocent virgin, and her only personality trait as far as I can tell is that she's pretty and innocent. And the worst sin of all, in my opinion, is the attempts at humor are painfully bad. The story also left me with the distinct impression that the author has never actually interacted with a woman before.

i had rarely gotten into fantasy novels outside anything dealing with the occlt. one day while im in a barnes & noble, another patron suggested this book series, so i picked it up and it was amazing! i highly recommend it!