The Way of Shadows (Night Angel, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Nov 09, 2008 Chompa rated it really liked it

I don't read a lot of fantasy any longer and actually picked this one up on a whim at the library. The main reason I chose it is probably the cover. I've not picked up a book because of the cover in ages.

When I first started it, I was afraid it was your typical "young kid moves on to become a bad ass & a pawn of prophecy." Well... that's exactly what it turned out to be, but dang - It was really good.

The characters are enjoyable, even if they aren't necessarily likable. There are adult situati ...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Kati rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009, fantasy, in-english

I really liked this "ninja" story. Yes, what else are the "wetboys" if not ninjas, right? I liked the characters a lot and the story itself was interesting - every tiny detail had a significance of some sort. Though I do think that if there had been fewer characters, the story wouldn't have felt so... scattered, I guess. For example, Logan and Kyllar should have been best friends but they had what, four? five? scenes together? So, because of the abundance of story threads, there was little space ...more

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Dec 25, 2010 Thenia rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013, reviewed, r-ab, series, fantasy, magic

Dark and gritty, this is the first part of Kylar's story.

He is a street urchin that decides that the only way he can ever be free of the weakness and helplessness of his young life is to become the apprentice of the most renowned "wet boy", the most accomplished kind of assassin, of his time. Dark, deeply flawed characters facing impossible choices and living hard lives in an unforgiving world.

A lot of threads are still loose, since the story spans three books, but in this first one we learn a ...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Jesslyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cat-epic-fantasy, z2010-kindle-reads, reviewed, cat-series-completed, fantasy-challenge

This is my 2nd time thru this series. SUCH a good read...

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Apr 22, 2009 Samantha rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009, ebook-own

I must say that I was surprised at how much I really liked this story! Azoth is an orphaned child living in the slums barely managing to eke out a living by scrounging and helping his guild with petty crimes. When one of the members of the guild targets him and his friends he has to decide whether or not to allow himself to be destroyed or find a way out. His way out ends up being wetboy (akin to assassins, but yet entirely different) Durzo Blint (it took me awhile not to laugh at that name). Az I must say that I was surprised at how much I really liked this story! Azoth is an orphaned child living in the slums barely managing to eke out a living by scrounging and helping his guild with petty crimes. When one of the members of the guild targets him and his friends he has to decide whether or not to allow himself to be destroyed or find a way out. His way out ends up being wetboy (akin to assassins, but yet entirely different) Durzo Blint (it took me awhile not to laugh at that name). Azoth must make a difficult decision to protect not only himself, but those he cares about. It isn't enough to make it out of the slums, he has to find a way to never be that vulnerable again, even if it means turning away from his own conscience and those he cares about.

Even though Weeks' world-building is interesting, it's his characters that really hooked me into the story. Although most are the stereotypical characters that are commonplace in the fantasy genre, he made them interesting to me. The dialogue between the characters is great and there were many times I paused to enjoy the way Weeks was able to convey so much emotion and meaning with just a few sentences. I hope this comment doesn't come off wrong, but there were a lot of the time it seemed like this book was similar to a soap opera (in the best possible way), mostly in that it is so character driven in its themes.

However even with all the positive things I have to say about this story, the one thing that truly irritated me over and over again was Doll Girl/Elene. She became this paradigm for "all that is good" which just got too sanctimonious for my tastes (it's far too common for women in this genre and I'm starting to get sick of it!!). It wasn't realistic to this reader and I wish she could have been dealt with differently. I don't think pure as the driven snow and dumb to boot worked very well.

Even though violent acts permeate this story, it's by no means senseless (well, the actual act is, but not the meaning/issue behind it). These are characters that live in a cut-throat land that has reflected itself in its populace. There are good people that do "bad" things in order to survive. Even at its most gory scenes, I felt like they were handled/described with aplomb. The conflict was riveting and I really liked how well Weeks seemed to be able to narrate across the different character's POV. Some people thought this aspect of character jumping was jarring, but I thought it spiced up the story a bit and kept me turning the pages as fast as I could (even though the last part of the story drags a bit it still packs the punches, literally and figuratively).

I cannot wait to read the next in the series! I'm crossing my fingers that it's just as good. ...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Katherine Tomlinson rated it it was amazing

Fans of George R. R. Martin will love this book. The title makes it sound like one of those cookie cutter urban fantasies with a tramp-stamped protagonist. Instead this is a rich and incredibly layered epic fantasy.

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Sep 14, 2010 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2010, audio-book

It isn't often that an audio book keeps me awake the way this one did. It also isn't often that I start the next book in a series right away, the way I am doing with this series.

Excellent read, ala George R R Martin, with sweeping plots and intrigues within intrigues. ...more

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