Shadow’s Edge

Having just completed Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks, I feel as though I have been sprinting through a maze, and each time I thought I had it figured out it became another series of twists, turns, or dead ends. I’m still breathless.

For those of you unfamiliar with Brent Weeks’ series, you may want to check out the excellent recap at Fantasy Book Critic, or read an excerpt from Orbit.

We revisit our Night Angel as he is torn between a new life with Elene, or becoming living legend if he accepts the Godking as a hit. It begins rather slowly as Kylar attempts to pick up the pieces from the Way of the Shadows and tries to form a new nuclear family with Elene and Uly. Unfortunately, old habits die hard–Can Kylar become a mild mannered herbalist or will he give in to the Shadow That Walks and serve justice?

He left it all behind after Durzo and Logan’s deaths, but when Jarl tracks him down to tell him that Logan may actually be alive, he makes the agonizing choice to save his friend and king. When the book begins, we watch Kylar struggle with who he is versus who he wants to be–as Dorian puts it, “A wolf might become a wolfhound, son, but it will never be a lapdog.” Kylar revels in the mastery of the sword and the retribution he serves but is also disgusted by it. With a kingdom in need, he must put aside his own scruples for a much greater good.

This gritty, fast paced book is full of honest and often raw emotion. I was most impressed with Week’s portrayal of women. In this world, women are often used and discarded. Viridiana struggles with herself and her “non-childhood” with Hu Gibbet while other women, even as captives of the Godking, make last stands against their oppressors. They are constantly belittled, abused, and raped, and yet when it comes time to reclaim what is theirs, they are able to do so with heads held high.

The depth of characters is also worth noting–these are not just your average class of nobles, assassins, and prostitutes-they are all so human it is heartbreaking. Each makes decisions that are not always the right one, because they are vengeful, selfish, ambitious, or any other number of reasons. Logan Gyre’s bloodlines do not necessarily make him a better person. Momma K’s life choices may weigh against her, but her love and yearning for Uly are redeeming qualities, even though they are at a distance.

I cannot stress enough the amount of plot twists and surprises in Shadow’s Edge. They will keep you up at night wondering why you didn’t see it coming earlier–though occasionally Weeks tied things up a little too prettily (I know many of you are looking forward to this book, so I don’t want to give too much away), I was willing to overlook them as the overall book was great.

New characters are introduced and old friends are killed–the perfect set up for the final book in the Night Angel trilogy.

Check back in 2 weeks for a review of Beyond the Shadows.