Beyond The Shadows (The Night Angel Trilogy book 3) by Brent Weeks (book review).
‘Beyond The Shadows’ is the epic final book in the definitely epic ‘Night Angel’ trilogy.
Kylar Stern has learned the terrible truth behind his magical immortality. Unfortunately for him, events are building up to his probably calling upon it again. Fate has plans for those nearest and dearest to him. These plans put them all at risk and often in conflict with each other.
The much beleaguered country of Cenaria and Logan Gyre, its king, will face one more battle this time against an ancient goddess, Khali. Former friends have risen to various key positions of power. There is a desperate power struggle to fill the Khalidorian leadership vacuum left by the death of the Godking Garoth Ursuul. Dorian is one of the Godking’s most powerful sons but there is fierce competition. Another son uses magic to raise a powerful evil creature in an attempt to become Godking himself but the creature’s evil magic threatens the whole world. Logan must make complex decisions and uneasy alliances to battle the massed forces of evil.
The Gordian knot that Brent Weeks has been tying reaches its climax in this magnificent book. I have painted myself into a corner with this book. The first two books’ reviews were so full of praise that I have nowhere higher to go here. Weeks continues his masterful story and draws the disparate elements introduced in the previous books to a fantastic conclusion.
If I have a small criticism it is one which the conclusion of epic book series have, there is so much going on at the end one’s eyes and brain have trouble keeping up. Your natural inclination to blast along means an occasional pause and flicking back through a couple of pages. This is possibly a combination of the story’s building pace and the reader’s natural excitement. This is a small criticism indeed.
The plot takes many unexpected turns. Plot twists often blindside the reader. This is a masterclass in how fiction should be. The story pops and crackles like a handful of fireworks thrown onto a bonfire.
A reader coming to this book before the first two will have a difficult job comprehending it. The journey each character takes along their individual arcs will be best appreciated as a whole. This is another characteristic of multi-book series.
My first love is and always will be Science Fiction. Over the years, I have had flirtations with a few different fiction genres. These have never been serious. This series of books has definitely slipped into serious affair level.
Anyone with a serious love of reading a good story will enjoy this masterclass in the literary arts.
Andy Bollan
April 2014
(pub: Orbit. 636 page paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-84149-742-6)
check out websites: http://www.orbitbooks.net/ and www.brentweeks.com