Book two tells the tale of our Kyler, the Night Angel, a wetboy, and killer extraordinaire, as he attempts to give up his bloody trade in favor of a life with Durzo's daughter and the ever lovely Elene as an herbalist and a part of a real family. However with Logan captive, Mamma K orchestrating a war that will decide whether Logan or The Godking will be king, Kyler has little choice but to return to his wetboy grays to do his duty as the bringer of retribution.
I can't begin to express how much I adore Brent Weeks and what he has done with this series. Every moment the reader thinks the story is going in one direction, it ends up gallivanting down the opposite ally only to have the book fall out of your hands when you realize nothing you thought was going to happen for the entire book happened at all. The writing has some truly lovely moments, and it's generally extremely good, but unlike some fantasy, the writing does focus on fast-paced accuracy and realism with little time for sweeping descriptions or poetic revelations. Told from the point of view of most of the character depending on the chapter, the writing can seem crass and the word choice occasionally crude, but only in keeping with the voices of his rather crass and crude cast.
Despite being one of the darker, more unashamedly gruesome series I've read, I've found the story to be remarkably beautiful at its core. It speaks of finding beauty within the ugly, redemption, goodness, forgiveness, nobility, and searching for a god where one has always been denied through the lives of the wretched, unfortunate, and maimed. The story is thought-provoking, honest, brutal, and above all else hopeful, for all who face their own demons.
"Count Drake had once told Kyler, 'There's a divinity that shapes beauty from our rough-hewn lives'" (Weeks pg. 634).
Total Pages: 636
Number of Flying Platypus Tea Cups: 8/10
I attempted to read the first book but never really go into it. This review has made me want to pick it up again and finish the rest of the books.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear that, :) yeah, it's not the single most brilliant thing I've read, and it's occasionally overly crass for my sensibilities, but it's very enjoyable. ^-^
DeleteI think I read a few pages of it when I was at your house once, and I know I've heard you fangirl over it many times before, but now I think I would really enjoy it. You know how I love crass and crude literature, after all. (Question: what is a wetboy...?)
ReplyDeleteHehe, yeah, that probably makes anything but sense outside the context of the book, a wetboy is the word used for assassin, but really a wetboy is far more than an assassin because of how powerful they are. :)
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