The Mind of ~Ifer

There are some trilogies, or series of books that are written as individual stories, sequences in the life of the main character or characters, but not necessarily tied together into one big story.  Then there are trilogies that are a single story, split into several books.  The Night Angel Trilogy, by Brent Weeks, was one of the single story series, so I decided to wait until the end of the trilogy, the end of the story, to do my review.

I am glad, in retrospect, that I chose to write one review on this trilogy, because my overall opinion on the story, the writing, and the characters changed as the trilogy went on, and I feel better equipped to give a more comprehensive review now, knowing all the story.

The general plot of this trilogy is a story of Kylar, a street thief determined to apprentice himself to Durzo Blint, the greatest assassin of their time.  In the first book of the trilogy, the story comprises mostly of the tale of Kylar’s training, the struggles he faced in the streets, and the eventual coming-into-his-own that he experiences.  I was very drawn into this book, not only because of the tie that I could feel with the characters, but because of one other simple fact: there was little magic in the first book.  I am an avid fantasy reader, and I appreciated this story, in a fantasy setting, not relying on wizardry and spells to weave a good story.  It was simply the story of a boy that wanted to be the best killer, not because he enjoyed killing, but because he wanted to be strong enough that others would leave him alone.

By the second book, however, the tone had changed, and the remainder of the trilogy was fairly heavy into magic and supernatural forces of the ancient gods fighting, etc.  While I was a little let down initially, it didn’t ruin the story for me.  Brent Weeks does a masterful job of creating characters that I actually came to care about, and weaving a story that kept me entertained, even after it became reliant on magic.  The second book also uncovers the truth about Kylar, that he is more than just a street thief and assassin, that he is the one they call the Night Angel, the one called by the gods to distribute retribution or mercy on the people of the world.  He is given a mission to restore order in the world, and the remaining books in the trilogy are a story of this mission, and the world conflicts that are going on around him.

As with any book, or series of books, there are pluses and minuses.  The things I like about this book were the character development, the plot of the story, and the constant “I understand now” feeling that I had.  The author did a good job of keeping the storyline interesting enough, and giving hints about what was to come, without making it too apparent.  By the end of the third book, I felt connected to the characters, I cared about what happened to them, and part of me was sad to see the series end.

What I didn’t like about the trilogy was strong enough that I probably won’t read any more of Brent Weeks’ books.  First, the language that he uses is inconsistent with the setting that he chose.  He chose a fantasy world, which in effect gives you a set of guidelines that most authors follow.  Yet, the author chose to use a lot of very modern terms, swear words, and phrases.  The use of modern language in a setting that felt like it was supposed to be another time, another place, was distracting.

Another minor complaint was one I stated before, the over reliance on magic and wizardry to explain parts of the story.  I think this is an easy trap that fantasy authors fall into.  If there is a part of the story that just doesn’t match up exactly, the seam is covered with “well I will just cast a spell or do something magical”.  I was excited at first to see a story that didn’t rely so heavily on it, but the tone changed as the trilogy went on.

My chief complaint about the trilogy though was the tone of the books.  The story was, overall, very dark and depressing.  There was SO. MUCH. rape, violence, incest, murder, betrayal, dishonesty, cheating, cannibalism, child abuse, etc, that the overall story drew me down.  Even the hero of the book was both the victim and the offender in a couple cases.  At the end of the story, I was left with a feeling that nothing really ever ended up good, that no story really has a happy ending, that everything was tainted by the touch of evil.  While this may be a more realistic view of the real world, it isn’t what I look for in a book.  When I read a book, especially a fantasy series, I want to have a hero.  I want there to be that one person who is saving the world, and struggles with humanity, but good wins the day!

Sorry this has been such a long review, but there was much to cover, since it was three books.  In summary, I would say that Brent Weeks is a great author, and I thought he did a wonderful job telling the story that he told.  I just don’t necessarily care for the story, no matter how well written it was, if that makes any sense whatsoever.

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