Beyond the Shadows - Brent Weeks

BEYOND THE SHADOWS

Book 3 of 'Night Angel' Trilogy

Read about the previous books HERE

ISBN - 978-0-316-03366-4
FIRST PUBLISHED - 2008
PAGES - 708
GENRE - Fantasy
BINDING - Paperback

AUTHOR - Brent Weeks

BEST-SELLERS - The Way of Shadows, The Black Prism

SYNOPSIS - Logan Gyre is the king of Cenaria, a county under siege, with a threadbare army and little hope. He has one chance - a desperate gamble, and one that could destroy his kingdom.

In the north, the new Godking has a plan. If it comes to fruition, no one will have the power to stop him.

Kylar Stern has no choice. To save his friends - and perhaps his enemies - he must accomplish the impossible: assassinate a goddess.

EXCERPT - Kylar had never started a war.

Approaching the Lae'knaught camp required none of the stealth he'd used to approach the Ceurans. Invisible, he simply walked past the sentries in their black tabbards emblazoned with a golden sun: the pure light of reason beating back the darkness of superstition. Kylar grinned. The Lae'Knaught were going to love the Night Angel.

Without provoking anyone, Cenaria had been invaded from the east by the Lae'knaught, from the north by Khalidor, and now from the south bu Ceura. It was about time some of those hungry swords met each other.

FL Speak - [contains spoilers]

Beyond the Shadows brings about the concluding tale of the Night Angel trilogy and the life of one, Kylar Stern. And as the previous two books hinted at, the finale was exhillarating. This by far, is the best book of the series.

Kylar and Logan resume their friendship. However Kylar is not merely a wetboy anymore. He's the Night Angel and that means needing to do things that even Logan will not approve of. So when Logan orders Kylar not to murder the Queen, Kylar nevertheless goes ahead with his plan so that Logan takes the crown and save Cenaria from disaster. Love for his friend on one hand and a sense of duty and justice on the other, Logan orders the death of his best friend Kylar for the murder of a sovereign knowing fully well that Kylar would've wanted that as well.

But killing the Night Angel is not so easy as Kylar has this knack of coming back to life again and again. However what he didn't know was that every time he is killed, a loved one dies. Meanwhile Elene finally meets Vi and they somehow forge an odd friendship even after knowing that Vi has bonded with the man Elene loves. Dorian, the prophet, takes over the crown of Khalidor even as the Ceurans and Cenarians and the Aliteran's forge and unlikely alliance in the face of a devastating evil.

There is more of Vi in this book and we get to see her good side this time around. Kylar realizes that Durzo Flint is alive and more history behind his master is slowly revealed. Again we get to see less of Elene, her character was never fully developed to play an important role, unlike Vi, who came later into the series and made a name for herself. The gaps in the greater story line are finally plugged and Weeks does an exceptional job of delivering it to the ruler.

A final battle, a champion gone astray, and an ultimate sacrifice for love in the end draws the trilogy to a close.

The trilogy is overall a very good read. Similarities can be seen with Sanderson's Mistborn, however on a larger scope, both are different. Kylar is impressive as hell, specially after he becomes the Night Angel. Do give this trilogy a read.

My Rating - 4.5 stars

PRICE - INR 274/- [Homeshop18 Price]