The Black Prism by Brent Weeks : Review
Colour. Emotions. Light. Magic.
In a world where colour is the foundation of all magic, The Prism – Gavin Guile rules over all seven satraps as a religious and political figure and as the only one who can split light and draft the entire spectrum of colours. Gavin – knowing he has five years left to live and five great purposes set for himself – hopes to use his power to do something for the greater good.
When Gavin discovers he has an illegitimate son, Kip, in a northern satrapy called Tyrea. However, the Tyreans have their own agendas; agendas which include wiping out every living person in the village of Rekton – Kip’s village. Gavin Guile must save Kip from the grips of a rebellious Governor – a man who seeks to overthrow the government of the Chromeria and the Prism.
Kip: a fat boy living in a small village; the bastard child of a drunk, finds himself thrown into a world of magic and warfare. A dangerous yet wonderful world – one which may very well mean his death, and the death of those he loves and respects.
The Black Prism is a wonderful read, it stands alone wonderfully; but also serves to set the stage for the rest of the series. It’s one of those books that’ll grab you and refuse to let go; drawing readers in from the first page of the first chapter to the last page of 95th chapter (yes, there’s a lot.) Brent did a wonderful job with the world building; great, colourful cities with intricate designs and culture. Magic which can be envisioned easily, and with the dire consequences to those that use it too much, it keeps it from being too extravagant.
Fans of Weeks’ Night Angel Trilogy won’t be disappointed by this new series. With compelling characters, loads of plot twists, battles, secrets and lies, The Black Prism is an excellent read and there’s never a dull moment. Brent Weeks‘ The Black Prism is the first book in the Lightbringer trilogy – book two is set to be released Fall 2012 (which is going to be a painful wait.)
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Brent’s website: http://www.brentweeks.com/
Follow Brent on Twitter: @brentweeks
Rebecca Lovatt
Rebecca created The Arched Doorway back in 2011 as an outlet for her thoughts on the books she reads. She spends her time as a freelance editor and reviewer. Her first anthology, Neverland's Library, came out in 2014 from Ragnarok Publications. Rebecca primarily reads historical and epic fantasy novels, such as those by Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Christian Cameron and Terry Brooks. She lives in Toronto, ON with her two snakes and hundreds of books.
5 Comments
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Rickard Wozniak
Hi! Good, simple review! Overview of the story and characters is given. You give your opinion on the book and backing it with info relevant to those who read this series while at the same time giving incentives to new readers to try it by describing what the worldbuilding is like, in what way the world looks like and how the author gives it life. On a personal note, I have not read this series but you gave me info that I like. 95 chapters give me the impression the chapters are fairly short and I like short chapters and that is an incentive for me to read books. From the review I get the author spends time to realise and enliven his world, which is an important thing to me. Also like you gave info on when the next book is out.