The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1)

by Brent Weeks

[moraa]

Light cannot be chained.

Where to begin? I’ve spent the entirety of the second half of the book tearing my hair out and grinding my teeth in equal parts apprehension and anticipation. In short, I have done everything in my power to escape real life responsibilities just to finish this.

No, of course I’m not ashamed of myself.

Alright, you know how we do this!

STRENGTHS:

1. Magic system
-Holy damned gods fucking dammit! This is the shit folks! THIS IS IT!
-I want to manipulate light, okay? I want to have the halo thing around my irises and slowly grow drunk on power before finally surrendering myself to it (see #2 below)
-Chromaturgy is a very complex magic system that I felt like I actually had to learn with the characters and I realised the hard way that I couldn’t afford to space out and “catch up” in future chapters
-(I was upset on more than one occasion when characters didn’t ask the right questions and for once I understood what it must be like to be thrust into some new world with little time to acclimatise)
-also, it’s really cool (and I mean really cool)



2. Characters
-there’s something about a slow descent into vice or - but not always - evil that I can never turn away from, such characters will always be compelling to me when done right
-the story is told from multiple POVs and not a single one of them is boring to follow at all
-bonus points for:
*racial diversity (glad to see dark-skinned characters with actual kinky hair, thank the gods)
*having all-powerful characters realise they have a shelf life too (cue my evil laugh)
-However, I did have one problem with a certain character’s arc (see #7 below)

3. Dialogue
-dialogue is actually harder to write than it seems and something in me leapt for joy when it all felt so natural to read
-Brent Weeks does it like he’s been doing it since he was born (has he? I wouldn’t know)
-the dialogue in this book is representative of skill that has me gnashing my teeth in envy
-the writing in general is great too

4. World building
-again, it’s marvellous
-there’s a lot of depth here as well and not just to the physical world (landmarks and other features, etc) but to the cultures as well (ties in with #2: Diversity above) and there was also something about old gods so it's safe to include religion
-I will say though, it does take some attention to detail on the reader’s part to fully get into it (same as the magic system)

5. Plot



-I’m a lover of intrigue (political/court/military) – anything with vicious schemers and characters who aren’t afraid to risk it all is right up my alley
-so when you give me a well-crafted fantasy world supported by an in-depth magic system and spear-headed by compelling characters and still see fit to gift me with such a twisting, roundabout, slippery creature of a plot, you best prepare for me to stick around for the rest of the series

6. The final battle
-pages and pages of pure pay off
-I forgot how to breathe
-it was great, my how it was great
-bonus points for:
*not romanticising war/battles – there is nothing elegant about being on a battlefield, I like it when authors show the gore and the describe the horrible smells and the pleas for mercy etc. That’s what real war looks like and if it’s going to be in the story then authors need to follow through

WEAKNESSES:

7. Karris’ character arc
-she is depicted as a strong woman and one of strong character too
-she’s very interesting to follow around and watch however,
let’s be real for a minute. She is in her late thirties at the very least, and has suffered various traumatic events caused by the Guile brothers, whether directly or indirectly. I can understand forgiveness and I can understand moving past old hurts, I’m not about to say she can’t do either of those things, BUT how in the world is she still in love with these men after 16 years? Sixteen years. Her backstory may be revealed only through flashbacks and she was a teenager then but it feels like she’s still leaning towards them even after all this time. None of the issues between them have really been addressed and I think that’s my main problem. If she’s going to forgive either of them, then I need to see why she would do it otherwise her character won’t seem realistic at all.
-of course I’m still excited to see what Weeks does with this subplot and I’ll be glad if it was all just a hoax and I end up wishing I called it from the start.

All power is a test