[Andorion]

I have read the first book of Brent Weeks Night ANgel trilogy and am halfway into the second. I am not sure whether I will finish this though. I have a bit of a rant
SPOILERS

I picked up this series only recently so I spotted that there was also a prequel Novella/short story called Perfect Shadow, so I started with that before I went into the Way of Shadows.. Here is my unequivocal recommendation to anybody who wants to enjoy Night Angel: DO NOT read Perfect Shadow. It spoils the entire series for you.
In the first book of Night Angel we basically see the rise of Kylar Stern from gutter-kid to assassin. We also see the decline and death of his master Durzo Blint who until then had basically been the ultimate assassin. BUT, and this is very important, in Perfect Shadow we get to see Blint in action, quite a few years before. AND he is beyond cool. Beyond badass. He is essentially a 750 year old hero, secret bearer of a secret magical artifact, and he combines in himself the personalities, special powers and skills of diverse people he has been and killed(? Not sure about this part) So he is assassin, warrior, thief, archer, commander all in one, along with near godlike magical powers. He is essentially a QUICK BEN analogue. Plus he is a master assassin. So Mr Weeks had a Kalam+Quick Ben Combo and in the first book of his series, instead of performing tale upon tale of extreme badassery and cool, this character essentially goes through a midlife crisis and dies. And we are saddled with Kylar Stern: Mr. Dark YA Fantasy Stock Character about whom I really cannot bring myself to care.

What the hell????

[Aptorian]

The characters and their motivation certainly weren't this series strong suits. I recall disliking the relationship between apprentice and master.

But the night angel suit was cool and I liked the action sequences and the world building. You should definitely give the second book a try, each book raises the stakes. The final revelations of the third book made me very interested in reading more.

I have to say though, reading a prequel before begining a new series is a bit silly. Imagine reading NoK before GotM. That would ruin a lot of the books mystery as well. Prequels are generally meant to expand upon an already established story.

This post has been edited by Apt Hoc: 20 April 2014 - 11:13 AM

[Andorion]

Apt Hoc, on 20 April 2014 - 10:58 AM, said:

The characters and their motivation certainly weren't this series strong suits. I recall disliking the relationship between apprentice and master.

But the night angel suit was cool and I liked the action sequences and the world building. You should definitely give the second book a try, each book raises the stakes. The final revelations of the third book made me very interested in reading more.

I have to say though, reading a prequel before begining a new series is a bit silly. Imagine reading NoK before GotM. That would ruin a lot of the books mystery as well. Prequels are generally meant to expand upon an already established story.

Completely agree with you on the prequel thing. Stupid stupid decision on my part. But you say you like the action and the night angel suit. These are highlighted in the prequel. The thing is the prequel makes Blint look so cool, it is very difficult to accept him as he is in the first book. I am probably going to finish the series but its very difficult when you don't really care for any character that much you know? I mean as a a comparison, I am also parallel reading Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos book, they are mostly pretty old, tend to be quite short and even a bit simple but I really like Taltos. Those books compare favourably to these even though Taltos has no special powers

[Abyss]

Back up a minute... I agree that reading the prequel before the series was a bad call, but the problem you're having is that Blint is über cool in the prequel, and less than that in book 1...
Aren't you the least bit curious how he got that way?

[Aptorian]

I am guessing from Andorians rant that the actually reveal everything about just that.

Still, book 3.

[nacht]

Andorion, on 20 April 2014 - 02:57 AM, said:

I have read the first book of Brent Weeks Night ANgel trilogy and am halfway into the second. I am not sure whether I will finish this though. I have a bit of a rant
SPOILERS

I picked up this series only recently so I spotted that there was also a prequel Novella/short story called Perfect Shadow, so I started with that before I went into the Way of Shadows.. Here is my unequivocal recommendation to anybody who wants to enjoy Night Angel: DO NOT read Perfect Shadow. It spoils the entire series for you.
In the first book of Night Angel we basically see the rise of Kylar Stern from gutter-kid to assassin. We also see the decline and death of his master Durzo Blint who until then had basically been the ultimate assassin. BUT, and this is very important, in Perfect Shadow we get to see Blint in action, quite a few years before. AND he is beyond cool. Beyond badass. He is essentially a 750 year old hero, secret bearer of a secret magical artifact, and he combines in himself the personalities, special powers and skills of diverse people he has been and killed(? Not sure about this part) So he is assassin, warrior, thief, archer, commander all in one, along with near godlike magical powers. He is essentially a QUICK BEN analogue. Plus he is a master assassin. So Mr Weeks had a Kalam+Quick Ben Combo and in the first book of his series, instead of performing tale upon tale of extreme badassery and cool, this character essentially goes through a midlife crisis and dies. And we are saddled with Kylar Stern: Mr. Dark YA Fantasy Stock Character about whom I really cannot bring myself to care.

What the hell????

Clearly Mr.Weeks got a lot better :-) As you put it nicely, he graduated from YA to Adult fantasy.

This post has been edited by nacht: 20 April 2014 - 05:02 PM

[Andorion]

Abyss, on 20 April 2014 - 02:22 PM, said:

Back up a minute... I agree that reading the prequel before the series was a bad call, but the problem you're having is that Blint is über cool in the prequel, and less than that in book 1...
Aren't you the least bit curious how he got that way?

Actually if that had been credibly explained in the first book, it would have been great. But from what I understand, he had an unrequited love with Momma K and basically got depressed and then the Kakari went to Kylar. Thing is, he is a 750 year old hero. He had had multiple love problems. Most of these ended way more tragically than the one with Momma K. There really did not seem to be any specific issue, or event that got him down, rather a need on the part of the author to push Kylar as the main protagonist.

[Vengeance]

Andorion, on 20 April 2014 - 05:27 PM, said:

Abyss, on 20 April 2014 - 02:22 PM, said:

Back up a minute... I agree that reading the prequel before the series was a bad call, but the problem you're having is that Blint is über cool in the prequel, and less than that in book 1...
Aren't you the least bit curious how he got that way?

Actually if that had been credibly explained in the first book, it would have been great. But from what I understand, he had an unrequited love with Momma K and basically got depressed and then the Kakari went to Kylar. Thing is, he is a 750 year old hero. He had had multiple love problems. Most of these ended way more tragically than the one with Momma K. There really did not seem to be any specific issue, or event that got him down, rather a need on the part of the author to push Kylar as the main protagonist.

I think what abyss is trying to say is that perhaps you should have a little faith that a super assassin who has lived for 750 years might have a plan or two. I encourage you to read on. The books only get better and three is fantastic.

[Mr-Pyre]

What many of the others said: I'm a huge fan of Weeks, and bought The Warded Man by Brett because Weeks gave his opinion that it was good.

Night Angel was seriously THAT good that I bought an unknown hardcover based off of him pimping it. Books two and three grow the characters and the cost Durzo and Kyler PAY for their badassery.

Which, when you see it, you'll see why he's bitter and wants out.

[Saitama]

So, Andorion, did you ever finish the series?

I've read the books quite a while ago, wth the Perfect Shadow last, but I have the same opinion as you. I love Durzo, he is what I consider to be a perfect dark fantasy character: smart, skilled and always prepared. But his most attractive trait is his refusal to rely on his superpowered gear. For me, it shows a deeper understanding of the dangerous world he lives in. He stays sharp, because taking the easy road would mean revealing all of your tricks, and that is what eventually gets you killed. On the other hand, Kylar is more than happy going all night angel on everybody. Don't get me wrong, it is sometimes pleasurable to read, but so YA. And it always leads to trouble - enemies finding countermeasures or stealing the equipment. Which is dramatic, but lame because in the end the hero will be saved by a lucky shot/a friend/an inhuman effort of willpower and all will be well. Durzo Blint does not rely on luck. Luck relies on Durzo Blint looking the other way.

Another thing about the trilogy is that I enjoyed reading it on emotional level, but intellectually I care only for the first book. When I started reading it, I was all like 'holy shit, that is one fucked up world, I would not want to live there'. Which is great, because it means that the book is something more than a mere escapism for the reader. But the rest of the series takes a 180 degree turn and everybody turns out to be special in one way or another, thus making the dark setting something of a joke.

Brent Weeks' other series, Lightbringer, didn't start as good. But in terms of intellectual enjoyment, it is leagues above the Night Angel Trilogy.

[Andorion]

Second Sword, on 18 August 2014 - 06:19 PM, said:

So, Andorion, did you ever finish the series?

I've read the books quite a while ago, wth the Perfect Shadow last, but I have the same opinion as you. I love Durzo, he is what I consider to be a perfect dark fantasy character: smart, skilled and always prepared. But his most attractive trait is his refusal to rely on his superpowered gear. For me, it shows a deeper understanding of the dangerous world he lives in. He stays sharp, because taking the easy road would mean revealing all of your tricks, and that is what eventually gets you killed. On the other hand, Kylar is more than happy going all night angel on everybody. Don't get me wrong, it is sometimes pleasurable to read, but so YA. And it always leads to trouble - enemies finding countermeasures or stealing the equipment. Which is dramatic, but lame because in the end the hero will be saved by a lucky shot/a friend/an inhuman effort of willpower and all will be well. Durzo Blint does not rely on luck. Luck relies on Durzo Blint looking the other way.

Another thing about the trilogy is that I enjoyed reading it on emotional level, but intellectually I care only for the first book. When I started reading it, I was all like 'holy shit, that is one fucked up world, I would not want to live there'. Which is great, because it means that the book is something more than a mere escapism for the reader. But the rest of the series takes a 180 degree turn and everybody turns out to be special in one way or another, thus making the dark setting something of a joke.

Brent Weeks' other series, Lightbringer, didn't start as good. But in terms of intellectual enjoyment, it is leagues above the Night Angel Trilogy.

Nope I never did. I was into the second book, but then something happened, I had to break off, and when i got time to resume, I started on a differnt book and so I never gdid get back to the series. Judging by my TRP getting back ever is unlikely

[Cause]

Truly I don't get the love for this series. I like Brent weeks prism series but the night angel was poorly written and littered with uber characters.

[Saitama]

Honestly, I think it's because the first book is written well enough, and the world is dark enough that it is easy to convince yourself that it is something more than a guilty pleasure about a young and overpowered avenger. Then all that 'dark and gritty' thing goes down the drain but the momentum carries you over.

Also, Durzo Blint and Viridiana Sovari are awesome.

[Aptorian]

Cause, on 19 August 2014 - 06:21 PM, said:

and littered with uber characters.

This was the main selling point for me.

I want my fantasy to be fantastic. I find the gritty, modern fantasy with it's minimalist world building, non-existant magical systems and obsession with Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones boring.

Night Angel offered superheroes and preposterous magical weapons and a diverse magical system. I like that. The third book is straight up bonkers in what it turns into.

[Morgoth]

You can do larger than life characters without making the entire thing another power fantasy. GGK being an excellent example of how to do it well.

[Aptorian]

Morgoth, on 19 August 2014 - 08:19 PM, said:

You can do larger than life characters without making the entire thing another power fantasy. GGK being an excellent example of how to do it well.

You could do that yes. Or you could make it a power fantasy because fuck the establishment.

[Andorion]

Hey power fantasy is good... one of the best examples of power fantasy is Ice Age Continental Drift, when the crazy squirrel stabs the world with the Acorn of Doom and breaks up Pangea