The Way of Shadows – Brent Weeks
The Way of Shadows is the first book in the Night Angel Trilogy written by an American author Brent Weeks.
Azoth is an orphan boy living in the slums of Cenaria City. He mostly hangs around his two closest friends – a girl nicknamed “Girl Doll” because of her pretty face and a boy named Jarl. They are somehow making ends meet by stealing money to pay guild dues. One day Azoth encounters Durzo Blint. He notices the man killing multiple assassins to find out he is a wetboy. A wetboy to an assassin is what a tiger is to a kitten. It is a chance for Azoth. A chance to finally escape the slums and become someone. Durzo agrees to teach the boy the ways of the wetboy. But he has to kill the abusive enforcer of his guild…
While this book is the first ones written by Brent Weeks, it is already of supreme quality. The world presented feels alive, every character has their motives, and even when doing evil things they somehow feel relatable. The reasons for everyone’s actions are well defined and therefore the reader can see themselves in the boots of almost any of the main characters. But that’s not all when it comes to this supremely presented world. The political struggles, the gradient of morality – it all feels lifelike. While reading, one can really see how much thought the author has put into this work.
But presenting the world is not all. You also have to present the plot in the right way. I have to say that the plot here feels a bit over the place from time to time. There are a lot of random breaks between the important plot events. While they build suspense, they also feel a bit too long. When a chapter ends with a cliffhanger, you would rather learn what is going to happen as soon as possible. But you’re often met with walls of text about events in another part of the kingdom. So while you may read with a lot of attention at first, you often end up just eyeing through the last few pages just to see what is going to happen in the main plot line.
Even though these fragments can disrupt the pace of the action, this book is still more than worth reading. Especially since it’s the first one in the incredible trilogy. This world hides many secrets. The action turns are unpredictable, and with every book it only gets better.
Paweł Stańczyk
„The Way of Shadows” – Brent Weeks. Little, Brown Book Group, 2011
Autorami rekomendacji są studenci Akademii Nauk Stosowanych w Tarnowie odbywający praktyki zawodowe w Bibliotece.
Recenzje zamieszczane są w ramach cyklu: “Przeczytałam / przeczytałem, polecam
