Tuesday, 30 May 2023 10:26 pm
Book Review: Shadow's Edge
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deckardcanineSo much for my semi-prediction, almost six years ago, that I wouldn't wait long to start reading the sequel to Brent Weeks' The Way of Shadows. Perhaps the darkness made me reluctant after all, tho I waited less than two years for the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes. I bet length had something to do with it: Both TWoS and SE exceed 600 pages. At any rate, I remembered enough not to feel lost for long.
When last we saw beleaguered 20-year-old wetboy (magical hitman) Kylar Stern, a few things were looking up for him. He had gained an extraordinary power source that could make him #1 in the field, yet he felt unlikely to use it much, because he was heading for a quiet life with beloved pacifist Elene and their preteen adopted daughter, Uly. Of course, years' worth of habit are hard to break. More importantly, old acquaintances keep hoping he'll assassinate the tyrant who invaded his homeland of Cenaria with a reign of terror, Garoth Ursuul, a.k.a. the Godking. What really tempts him back is word that his friend Logan Gyre, who would now be the rightful king of Cenaria, did not die as supposed but "escaped" into one of the worst prisons in fiction. Kylar would also like to avenge the ill-fated friend who told him about Logan, but that's a lower priority.
Once again, there are multiple focal characters, but this time, about half are women. A rare female wetboy (nobody says "wetgirl" in seriousness) has perplexing emotions regarding Kylar. A former pirate queen joins a brothel but doesn't lose her fire, while the madam continues to be a tremendous stealth power behind the resistance to Ursuul. A studious wytch seeking to solve a historical puzzle finds potential new inductees for her order. And then there's Elene, who doesn't know Kylar as much as she'd like. It may be just as well that we don't delve into Uly's mind; she's remarkably naïve for her age.
Alas, the complex Durzo Blint couldn't be here. Fans have to content themselves with characters' memories of him, along with the new information Kylar uncovers. Will Kylar ever stop reevaluating his former master?
TWoS saw the rise and fall of a completely irredeemable villain, as befits a fantasy with a nearly condemned antihero. Ursuul could put the first antagonist to shame. He claims to espouse a nuanced view of morality, as when a brutal act might just have saved more lives than it cost, but he clearly loves cruelty to basically everyone else. This may come in part from the entity he worships, who might just be the final boss, if you will, of the Night Angel Trilogy.
Did Weeks keep his promise that the series would get lighter? Barely. There are more victories for the heroes, Kylar is a lot cooler as well as more virtuous, and we get to enjoy more magic. But there's as much slaughter, rape, and torture as before, peppered with plenty of profanity. At least we learn less about these things happening to children.
If anything points to a decline in writing quality, it's a handful of moments that strike me as contrived coincidences. For example, a desired item costs exactly as much money as Kylar has on him, and it's not a round number. I came to suspect that some psychic character was arranging events -- there is a focal seer, after all -- but if so, that revelation is being reserved for the threequel.
And I definitely want to read that threequel, Beyond the Shadows. SE has a stinger reminiscent of that in A Deadly Education, and that's just the cherry on top. I can only begin to guess what comes, but I know it won't be easy even for the notorious Night Angel.
I have now started Blake Crouch's Recursion, both because it's shorter and swifter and because my parents want to read it after me. While it has commonalities with Upgrade, it's shaping up to be weirder.
When last we saw beleaguered 20-year-old wetboy (magical hitman) Kylar Stern, a few things were looking up for him. He had gained an extraordinary power source that could make him #1 in the field, yet he felt unlikely to use it much, because he was heading for a quiet life with beloved pacifist Elene and their preteen adopted daughter, Uly. Of course, years' worth of habit are hard to break. More importantly, old acquaintances keep hoping he'll assassinate the tyrant who invaded his homeland of Cenaria with a reign of terror, Garoth Ursuul, a.k.a. the Godking. What really tempts him back is word that his friend Logan Gyre, who would now be the rightful king of Cenaria, did not die as supposed but "escaped" into one of the worst prisons in fiction. Kylar would also like to avenge the ill-fated friend who told him about Logan, but that's a lower priority.
Once again, there are multiple focal characters, but this time, about half are women. A rare female wetboy (nobody says "wetgirl" in seriousness) has perplexing emotions regarding Kylar. A former pirate queen joins a brothel but doesn't lose her fire, while the madam continues to be a tremendous stealth power behind the resistance to Ursuul. A studious wytch seeking to solve a historical puzzle finds potential new inductees for her order. And then there's Elene, who doesn't know Kylar as much as she'd like. It may be just as well that we don't delve into Uly's mind; she's remarkably naïve for her age.
Alas, the complex Durzo Blint couldn't be here. Fans have to content themselves with characters' memories of him, along with the new information Kylar uncovers. Will Kylar ever stop reevaluating his former master?
TWoS saw the rise and fall of a completely irredeemable villain, as befits a fantasy with a nearly condemned antihero. Ursuul could put the first antagonist to shame. He claims to espouse a nuanced view of morality, as when a brutal act might just have saved more lives than it cost, but he clearly loves cruelty to basically everyone else. This may come in part from the entity he worships, who might just be the final boss, if you will, of the Night Angel Trilogy.
Did Weeks keep his promise that the series would get lighter? Barely. There are more victories for the heroes, Kylar is a lot cooler as well as more virtuous, and we get to enjoy more magic. But there's as much slaughter, rape, and torture as before, peppered with plenty of profanity. At least we learn less about these things happening to children.
If anything points to a decline in writing quality, it's a handful of moments that strike me as contrived coincidences. For example, a desired item costs exactly as much money as Kylar has on him, and it's not a round number. I came to suspect that some psychic character was arranging events -- there is a focal seer, after all -- but if so, that revelation is being reserved for the threequel.
And I definitely want to read that threequel, Beyond the Shadows. SE has a stinger reminiscent of that in A Deadly Education, and that's just the cherry on top. I can only begin to guess what comes, but I know it won't be easy even for the notorious Night Angel.
I have now started Blake Crouch's Recursion, both because it's shorter and swifter and because my parents want to read it after me. While it has commonalities with Upgrade, it's shaping up to be weirder.