The Way of Shadows
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- Create Date：2021-07-02 09:53:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Brent Weeks
- ISBN：0316033677
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Summary
From New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks。。。
For Durzo Blint， assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist。
For Azoth， survival is precarious。 Something you never take for granted。 As a guild rat， he's grown up in the slums， and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks。 Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint。
But to be accepted， Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name。 As Kylar Stern， he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death。
For Durzo Blint， assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist。
For Azoth， survival is precarious。 Something you never take for granted。 As a guild rat， he's grown up in the slums， and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks。 Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint。
But to be accepted， Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name。 As Kylar Stern， he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death。
Reviews
David Braly
，
"From New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks。。。For Durzo Blint， assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist。For Azoth， survival is precarious。 Something you never take for granted。 As a guild rat， he's grown up in the slums， and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks。 Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint。But to be accepted， Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name。 As Kylar Stern， he must learn to navigat "From New York Times Bestselling author Brent Weeks。。。For Durzo Blint， assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist。For Azoth， survival is precarious。 Something you never take for granted。 As a guild rat， he's grown up in the slums， and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks。 Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint。But to be accepted， Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name。 As Kylar Stern， he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death。" 。。。more
Stephanie
，
This book was just so much fun， and I’ll definitely be picking up the next one 🙊
Dustin Horning
，
Amazing series！ Start here before diving into Brent's other series。 Amazing series！ Start here before diving into Brent's other series。 。。。more
Grace Hromidko
，
Amazing！ This story is filled with an action packed story from start to finish， and contains complex and engaging characters that I loved to root for！
Idiot Sandwich
，
My feelings about this book are mixed， at some point I was thinking I might even be generous and give this book 4。5 stars （which rounds up to 5 in my rating system）， however some things about this novel made me go between 3 stars and 3。5， but I stopped at the former estimation。Let me start first by saying I really enjoyed this novel。 It was a bit hard to get into in the first 100 pages or so， but once I got into it， I was engrossed by the dark world and the main character Azoth （who changes his My feelings about this book are mixed， at some point I was thinking I might even be generous and give this book 4。5 stars （which rounds up to 5 in my rating system）， however some things about this novel made me go between 3 stars and 3。5， but I stopped at the former estimation。Let me start first by saying I really enjoyed this novel。 It was a bit hard to get into in the first 100 pages or so， but once I got into it， I was engrossed by the dark world and the main character Azoth （who changes his name to Kylar later in the series）。 This novel is dark， but it's not grimdark， it just felt very atmospheric of this dark-ness？I rather liked a few characters， including the main hero Azoth/Kylar。 I found it interesting how the author has written him as "I don't want to be afraid anymore so I'm studying to be a killerwetboy" yet as he grows up， he understands that he doesn't want to follow his master's "Life is meaningless， when we take life， we take nothing of value" motto， as he cares about some people who are present in his life and he feels like he wants to do better to deserve a girl he knows is too good for him I don't know why but that gave me Midnight Sun vibes xD I also liked the foreshadowing/plot stracture， many times the book left me with my mouth open thinking "Wait， THAT was connected？"I don't think I can say more about what I liked （except that I liked reading the novel immensely）， nor do I have a big list of things I found wrong， but here it is:- POVs in this book were all over the place， I like my books more stractured - a selected list of POVs， and constantly repeated， I'm ok with a new POV being introduced halfway through the story， but I like it when all POVs from the beginning are consistently used; and new POVs that are introduced are also consistently used - none of it was the case here。That made the book confusing， as it was hard to keep track of all the names and places， and often I had no idea who was who。 On the other hand， I actually think I'd really like to reread this novel in a few years -as I said， I really enjoyed it， and with all the foreshadowing， that bounds to make an interesting experience， I'm curious to see how much more I'll pick up the next time。- This adds to my last point: no glossary/Personae Dramatis。 I think it should be illegal to release a High Fantasy book with no Glossary/PD。- I thought that the characters thoughts and motivations could've been flashed out a bit more。 It's all action - the book isn't necessarily action-packed， but the book structure itself suggests that it's more important to know what the characters are doing， rather than what they're thinkingSometimes it was done on purpose to create a BARA BOOM plot-twist， but I don't like when plot-twists are done in that fashion- This is purely a preference thing， but the last 150 pages or so were very full of action。 Although the locations kept changing， and the reader was revealed quite a few things throughout the end， it was still hard for me to focus and care about big things that were going on- Another thing is that the main POV and one of the secondary POVs are 20 year old virgin boys， and that makes it that they notice female body at certain parts of the novel。。。 I mean， it's self-explanatory， I'm a straight woman and I found it very disturbing to read these scenes。 Believable？ Yes。 But I think the author could've still gotten the point across using more vague language 。。。more
Patti Middleton
，
I was looking forward to this series but was completely disappointed。I did finish the trilogy but will never read it again！
Jenni
，
Basically this was a DNF for me at 60%。 I do not have the patience， and the mountain of tropes in this book made me eye roll incessantly。 Nothing about this book held depth aside from the fight scenes。 There were far too many wasteful conversations between characters that held no weight in the story line。 The MC played to the whole pendulum of morality。 （Good vs。 bad） Is it too much to ask that they just don't care because life is more about grey areas than black and white？ I do not understand t Basically this was a DNF for me at 60%。 I do not have the patience， and the mountain of tropes in this book made me eye roll incessantly。 Nothing about this book held depth aside from the fight scenes。 There were far too many wasteful conversations between characters that held no weight in the story line。 The MC played to the whole pendulum of morality。 （Good vs。 bad） Is it too much to ask that they just don't care because life is more about grey areas than black and white？ I do not understand the point the author tried to make。 Over all I was disappointed because this book had been highly recommended。 I am starting to believe that "highly recommended" means that I will not like it。 。。。more
Adam
，
This is one of those books/authors where the villain is proven to be a villain in the most evil types of ways， where the hero is just largely told to be good， if that makes sense。 All the effort is put on how bad the 'shadows' can be， assuming good is understood by everyone。 So it just feels draining。An epic that I respect for the ability to craft a world and do character development that wants you to keep going。 But， it was just too dark and violent and pessimistic about life that I got really This is one of those books/authors where the villain is proven to be a villain in the most evil types of ways， where the hero is just largely told to be good， if that makes sense。 All the effort is put on how bad the 'shadows' can be， assuming good is understood by everyone。 So it just feels draining。An epic that I respect for the ability to craft a world and do character development that wants you to keep going。 But， it was just too dark and violent and pessimistic about life that I got really tired of it。 Also， the world building really took a backseat to the character development needed for the whole trilogy and I just want more of the greater arc than the darkness of the characters and the villains。 。。。more
TC
，
First of all， excuse me if I spell any of the names of any of the characters incorrectly。 I listened to the audiobook。 First， let me comment on the audiobook reading。 The voice actor， Paul Boehmer， had a very monotonous way of saying each sentence。 The cadence of his voice was the same no matter what he was describing。 There was an unnaturalness to it， and his accent was hard to place。 It sounded like an American trying to sound British。 I was able to get used to it， and the voices that he used First of all， excuse me if I spell any of the names of any of the characters incorrectly。 I listened to the audiobook。 First， let me comment on the audiobook reading。 The voice actor， Paul Boehmer， had a very monotonous way of saying each sentence。 The cadence of his voice was the same no matter what he was describing。 There was an unnaturalness to it， and his accent was hard to place。 It sounded like an American trying to sound British。 I was able to get used to it， and the voices that he used for each character were very distinct without being silly or over the top。 Overall his voice really matched the tone of the book。 I didn't mind the worldbuilding， and I thought that the emotional tension between the characters was fantastic。 You'd expect to see a fantasy book like this written from the POV of someone like Logan， so it was interesting to see it from the POV of someone who straddles the line between light and darkness like Azoth/Kylar。 No punches are pulled with the "grittiness" of the story。 Mentions of child-molestation， severe beatings， rape， child-prostitution。 They discuss some really heavy stuff。 They didn't quite handle it with the weight and gravity that I'd expect on topics like this， but we're here for an action-fantasy， not a psychology textbook， so it's okay。 That said， the pacing was very slow for me。 There were points when I was listening， I zoned out， listened to something else for a while， and usually if I do that， I have to rewind a bit， but in this book， I'd come back， and they'd still be on the same topics。 Especially the LENGTHY descriptions of women。 God。 Talk about "She breasted boobily towards the stairs， and titted downwards。" Like， if I hear the word "supple" one more time， I'm going to scream。 The female characters were each complex in their own right， but for the most part， definitely relied a lot on male-gaze type tropes to describe each of them。 Especially Elene。 Like， I understand the need to describe that every time Kylar sees her， and she takes his breath away， and I understand the importance of underscoring the fact that her scars didn't take away from her beauty， but the descriptions of her seemed to go on at length EVERY time she appeared。 There's literally a scene where she's beaten unconscious， and it's described how her body is all voluptuous， and it was awkward。 That said， it was an enjoyable read， overall。 A good， simple action-fantasy story with easily-digestible tropes。 I will not be reading it again， and it'll be a while until I get to the rest of the series。 。。。more
Melissa
，
Hard pass。 I don’t want to read this author’s revenge porn against women。 The only female characters thus far are : a “mistress of pleasures”; a poor helpless mute girl who， when beaten， is pitiful because of her “ugly” wounds not her suffering; a mother who is preventing her son from ruling fully/being a man by codling him and is “sent her to room” when confronted。 If your fantasy world values women “for what they are worth whoring on the street” then that fantasy world is not one for me。 I’m s Hard pass。 I don’t want to read this author’s revenge porn against women。 The only female characters thus far are : a “mistress of pleasures”; a poor helpless mute girl who， when beaten， is pitiful because of her “ugly” wounds not her suffering; a mother who is preventing her son from ruling fully/being a man by codling him and is “sent her to room” when confronted。 If your fantasy world values women “for what they are worth whoring on the street” then that fantasy world is not one for me。 I’m sure there’s something here to enjoy， I just won’t be able to get past the author’s， intentionally poorly written or not， depictions of women to get there。 。。。more
James Maxon
，
This story and style reminds me slightly of Assassin's Apprentice （The Farseer Trilogy） by Robin Hobb， and perhaps a bit like The Name of the Wind （Kingkiller Chronicle） by Patrick Rothfuss。 If you liked either of those， check out The Way of Shadows。 This is a fairly long story， but worth making to the end。 The plot is a little difficult to follow at times， as are the politics， but the parts centered around the main protagonist make for a good overall tale。 While it’s a coming-of-age story， ther This story and style reminds me slightly of Assassin's Apprentice （The Farseer Trilogy） by Robin Hobb， and perhaps a bit like The Name of the Wind （Kingkiller Chronicle） by Patrick Rothfuss。 If you liked either of those， check out The Way of Shadows。 This is a fairly long story， but worth making to the end。 The plot is a little difficult to follow at times， as are the politics， but the parts centered around the main protagonist make for a good overall tale。 While it’s a coming-of-age story， there are many adult aspects not suitable for younger readers。 There is a good amount of tragedy woven among the pages but also has redemptive qualities。 Don’t look to this for light reading， but for a richer experience。 I could see how some may be disappointed with the book while others would call it brilliant。 Really depends on your personal taste。 I for one give it 4-stars and plan to check out the second book at some point。 。。。more
Chad
，
My first sample of Brent Weeks' work was his novella prequel from the Night Angel Trilogy。 I enjoyed that read enough to go ahead and pick up the entire trilogy。 I just recently finished the first installment The Way of Shadows。 I was intrigued from the novella's story and hooked right from the beginning of this one。 I still find myself struggling with the beginning of so many stories and series because they begin with child POV's。 I understand this is part of establishing the characters backgro My first sample of Brent Weeks' work was his novella prequel from the Night Angel Trilogy。 I enjoyed that read enough to go ahead and pick up the entire trilogy。 I just recently finished the first installment The Way of Shadows。 I was intrigued from the novella's story and hooked right from the beginning of this one。 I still find myself struggling with the beginning of so many stories and series because they begin with child POV's。 I understand this is part of establishing the characters background， I just feel more of a disconnect with these times the older I get myself。 Regardless the adventure and intrigue kicks off right away。 I enjoyed the twists and turns of this one from the beginning to the end。 I will say there are many dark parts of this book but the second half gets extremely brutal。 So if that isn't your cup of tea， you might want to prepare yourself or look for adventure between pages elsewhere。For myself I enjoyed this story enough that I dove right into book 2 Shadow's Edge the same day of finishing The Way of Shadows。 I don't do this often so that should tell you something。 。。。more
Atushi Racia
，
This book held my attention for a long time。 So that sums up how I feel about it。
Belinda Davies
，
Second attempt， second DNF。
John
，
This series is one of those where I'm fine while reading it but when I'm not reading it I'm going "what the fuck？"。 Let's start with Jarl。 Starts off as the main character's friend， he helps Azoth take care of Doll Girl （ack I hate that name）。 Seems cool！ So the author has him RAPED into gay submission by the main character's antagonist。 And not just "doesn't help the main character"-submission， but "turning him gay"-submission which is。。。 calling it "problematic" is an understatement。 I think I This series is one of those where I'm fine while reading it but when I'm not reading it I'm going "what the fuck？"。 Let's start with Jarl。 Starts off as the main character's friend， he helps Azoth take care of Doll Girl （ack I hate that name）。 Seems cool！ So the author has him RAPED into gay submission by the main character's antagonist。 And not just "doesn't help the main character"-submission， but "turning him gay"-submission which is。。。 calling it "problematic" is an understatement。 I think I would be slightly less viscerally disturbed by it if Jarl isn't like eleven years old at the time。 And everyone treats it kind of like "ah， well， that's life in the Warrens！" And sure， Azoth （also eleven） gets his revenge on the rapist by "seducing" him and drowning him， but that doesn't make it better。 You can show us life in the Warrens is awful without child rape and the weird "forced gay" shit。 Have them starving， or beaten cruelly， or betrayed by their crew。 Or age up everyone about three or four years （there's no reason Azoth/Kylar needs to be a particular age for the story） or even just have the whole thing happen offscreen*。 I really don't need to hear about how Azoth heard Jarl start off the assaults fighting back but over weeks just gave in。I just。。。 Ugh。 I'm disturbed all over again thinking about it。And really that brings me to the whole thing I hate about the series --- author seems to be trying to shock us， to make the reader be like "oh wow， so edgy， wow"。 And it works while reading it to be honest。 The sex crimes are shocking， the murders are， everything。 But it's too much。 I think better storytelling could've told the same plot in a less disturbing and more engaging way。 The Godking is clearly a monster; I don't need to know how hard he is when one of his sex slaves seduces him and tries to kill him。 The deaths， during battle and during fighting， are too gory， to the point of being disturbing for the sake of being disturbing。 I'm not making my point super well。 But the sum of things is this: + Interesting concept for the universe and magic system （didn't seem super thought out， but interesting enough）+ I'm a sucker for renaissance intrigue， and a good amount of the book involves at least some amount of renaissance-style intrigue， with Kylar as an outsider learning to fit in along with the readers。 I like this part of the book！~ Not having the universe be all heterosexuals is always cool， but it would've been nice if we'd had non-straight characters other than "Jarl's lover who betrays him" （and Jarl who's maybe bi， maybe just being gay for pay？）- Way too gory， violent， and graphic （with a side of raping kids）， seemingly for the sake of being edgy。 As an author， you have tools beyond sex crimes against kids for showing us a dude is bad （or just age up the kids to an age where it's not so ridiculous**）_____* Warchild by Karin Lowachee is a book where the main character is sexually assaulted at much too young an age。 Unlike this book， in Warchild it's 1） not an onscreen thing （it's rather implied）， 2） shows the resulting trauma， and 3） is actually a main part of the plot， as opposed to something meant to disturb the readers to impress upon us how edgy the author is。 ** I'm reminded unfavorably of Ender's Game。 There's some plausible reason to have the kids in Ender's Game be so implausibly young for the roles they're playing --- they need to be at least somewhat naive， and there needs to be a reason for them to be in the school system that trains them （as opposed to being adults who could do adult things and have adult rights and the ability to leave）。 Orson Scott Card could have aged Ender up a few years and had things be more plausible， but it's fine as it is。 In this book， it's not fine as it is （at the least， aging it up a few years would make it less "hi I'm Brent Weeks look how edgy I am！"） and there is no plausible reason to have things happen at that age。 Age them up a few years。 They can easily be partying nobles at aged twenty or twenty-two， no reason for them to be seventeen。 。。。more
Storm
，
Brent Week's the Lightbringer Series has popped up in so many best of fantasy lists， I researched his works and decided to start chronologically with the Night Angel Series。 This is Brent Weeks' initial foray into the fantasy world。 Azoth， a street rat， has 2 friends he will do anything to protect。 Through trying to do the "right" thing， he ends up in a situation where it seems like his only way out is to apprentice himself to Durzo Blint， the city's most accomplished "Wetboy" （Assassin）。 All he Brent Week's the Lightbringer Series has popped up in so many best of fantasy lists， I researched his works and decided to start chronologically with the Night Angel Series。 This is Brent Weeks' initial foray into the fantasy world。 Azoth， a street rat， has 2 friends he will do anything to protect。 Through trying to do the "right" thing， he ends up in a situation where it seems like his only way out is to apprentice himself to Durzo Blint， the city's most accomplished "Wetboy" （Assassin）。 All he has to do is take on a new identity as Kylar Stern， learn the art of assassination and cut ties to everyone he used to know and love。We all know young people make stupid decisions， but this one isn't that bad？？From there on the world building is rich， the politics is simple with a few hidden twists as things get revealed， and the magic system is very， very interesting and perhaps the best part of this book。 It shows real promise， a well developed world and magic system， but does come with flaws， the most notable being the terrible character development and writing of romance and female characters。 For example， I know boys love boobs but 。。。 this passage "I spoke with the count this morn-" Logan said when he was suddenly silenced as breasts went past。 No， not just breasts。 The breasts。 They were perfect。 Not precipitously exposed， but perfectly shaped， these floated past him， held in a gossamer embrace of fabric rejoicing to cling to such nubile curves。 Logan didn't even see the woman's face。Reading that as a woman was just pure cringe。 There's plenty of plot driven action， but the characters are still quite one dimensional which I hope will get better fleshed out in the next books as Brent grows into his talent as an author。 This is intriguing enough that I will continue to read the rest of the series。 Is it just me or did anyone else for some reason after finishing this book have an overwhelming urge to watch and/or play？？ 。。。more
Yasser Maniram
，
A gripping adventure full of raw human emotions and actions。 Not for kids， perhaps for teens and adults。 Characters face adversity and inhumane circumstances as they try to put a brave face and soldier on。
Stacey
，
My Cawpile Score = 7。36/10 - a very solid 4 star read for me！ :DThis has a 10/10 plot and I'm so excited to see where the rest of the series goes and to check out Lightbringer as well now because I feel like Weeks has the potential to become a favourite author for me based on how much I adored the plot！ The foreshadowing was on point but so many reveals still surprised me！！I had a bit of a harder time with the action scenes specifically here though as so many of them felt bogged down by descript My Cawpile Score = 7。36/10 - a very solid 4 star read for me！ :DThis has a 10/10 plot and I'm so excited to see where the rest of the series goes and to check out Lightbringer as well now because I feel like Weeks has the potential to become a favourite author for me based on how much I adored the plot！ The foreshadowing was on point but so many reveals still surprised me！！I had a bit of a harder time with the action scenes specifically here though as so many of them felt bogged down by descriptions of the surroundings instead of letting us in on the characters heat of the moment emotions/thoughts and the actual action！ I also wish that the magic had been a bit more fleshed out！ I was surprised at how little we learned about the magic here given that everyone raves about Weeks' magic system in Lightbringer！ 。。。more
Kye Hardingham
，
A fun and easy fantasy read。
Kirsten Simkiss
，
I made it 91 pages and then I quit reading。 I found this incredibly difficult to get into for a number of reasons。For one， the world building is incredibly hard to understand and picture。 They throw out a bunch of terms about the type of buildings， but those terms mean little when you have no meaningful visual references to them。 Mostly they seemed to borrow from more "exotic" real world cultures， becoming caricatures of those cultures， and yet all of the heroes seemed to be white males - save m I made it 91 pages and then I quit reading。 I found this incredibly difficult to get into for a number of reasons。For one， the world building is incredibly hard to understand and picture。 They throw out a bunch of terms about the type of buildings， but those terms mean little when you have no meaningful visual references to them。 Mostly they seemed to borrow from more "exotic" real world cultures， becoming caricatures of those cultures， and yet all of the heroes seemed to be white males - save maybe one， who they indicated might be a person of color。 The descriptors for the people and the countries were increasingly vague。 Maybe I would have understood more once Azoth got out into the world more， but I'm not sure that I cared enough about any of the characters to worry about it。There were five main character from whom you get to see the world in this book， at least as far as I read。 All of them were men。 They were all fairly similar in personality， save the little lord who seemed to be kind of sweet。 I didn't particularly latch onto any of them because， again， they seemed like caricatures。 It was kind of like reading a D&D campaign where you can tell they have an idea of what their character is like but it isn't fully fleshed out when they started writing。And let's talk about the fact that Rat， the villain in the first 90 pages， is the only person with interest in more than one gender。 And the way that the author chooses to express this interest？ Sexual assault。 I'm sorry， but when all the other characters are conceivably straight and you make only your villain bisexual， it reads like you think non-straight people are pedophiles and rapists。 That may not have been the author's intention， but that's how it came across to me。The writing style is also not particularly interesting。 It's not bad， but it isn't good either。 There's no descriptive flair， nothing happens that isn't entirely predictable。 It's just。。。 blah。Obviously， I didn't finish this book。 It was 650 pages and at 91 pages， I found I just wasn't interested in forcing myself through the remaining pages。 This book came recommended to me by a college friend （I'm sorry Mike！）， but I can't pass that recommendation down I'm sorry to say。 If you're reading this review and considering reading this book， just keep walking。 There are better books。 。。。more
Aidan
，
I read this book seven years ago， and since then I’ve re-read the series enough to need to replace it with a new edition because of the wear and tear。 This book made Weeks my favourite author ever and I doubt he will ever be unseated， as the writing and story telling are flawless from my point of view。 Azoth is one of the best characters I have ever had the privilege of reading。
Andrew Tran
，
The way a book would cross the Assassin's Creed games with a fantasy world filled with magic。 The way a book would cross the Assassin's Creed games with a fantasy world filled with magic。 。。。more
Estevam （Impish Reviews）
，
Well， what to say about this one， i really like it。 The characters have to be the strongest point of this book especially the secondary ones Azoth/Kylar is serviciable as a main character he has a satisfying transformation throughout the book from the naive street rat to maybe hopeful/naive assassin， the emotional struggles of his are very endearing as he tries to balance the darkness is his life being his job and the light side of his life with the Drakes and Eleane。The plot is very engaging th Well， what to say about this one， i really like it。 The characters have to be the strongest point of this book especially the secondary ones Azoth/Kylar is serviciable as a main character he has a satisfying transformation throughout the book from the naive street rat to maybe hopeful/naive assassin， the emotional struggles of his are very endearing as he tries to balance the darkness is his life being his job and the light side of his life with the Drakes and Eleane。The plot is very engaging though is begins way to slow at the beginning of the book i though about dropping it because it really doesnt have much of anything happening but then the time skips thankfully happen and the second part of the book is action packed and moves very fast， sometimes too fast， and we are introduced to so many characters that you really lose track of everything， there are some interesting twists and some more annoying and that have the slimy feel of deus ex machina but it doesnt detract that much from the book。Now， for the thing that really peeved me and that to me should have been removed from this book， the romance should not exist in this book， it accomplishes anything it just serves as a way to torture the character and slow down the narrative， when you have to try to keep up with a thousand plot threads that are happening all at once at breakneck speed and suddenly it halts to a startling stop so Azoth can gush about Elaine is jarring and it only servers to annoy the reader more than anything because Elaine is not that interesting at least the view of Azoth/Kylar is so clouded in rainbow dust that its just。。。 frustating。I saw other reviewers saying there was an over reliance on fantasy tropes and i have to agree but i dont think it takes away from the originality that exist in the nuances of the world building though it sometimes might feel overbearing but i wouldn't， personally， put as a negative but i can see their point。In summary， i think this book is a solid and enjoyable read though the romance and the jump back forth through what i would say is too many characters sometimes makes the reader completely confused about whats happening， but the stellar characters and interesting plot carry this novel enough that it makes it a worthy recommendation a solid 3-stars。 。。。more
BookGargoyle
，
。。。 either you love to hate it or hate to love it or it just leaves you in a state of “huh。。。”
Kris
，
Enjoyed them as a YA
Katy Rose
，
I got the trilogy in one big book and I would absolutely recommend， I would not have survived if I could not have immediately started the next book in the sequence。 This was the kind of book that I relished living in for 700+ pages; the world-building was excellent， the characters dynamic and multifaceted， and the plot had me gasping， on the edge of my seat， until 4am。 It was the kind of book I was loathe to take a break from but also dreading getting closer to the end--I just didn't want to lea I got the trilogy in one big book and I would absolutely recommend， I would not have survived if I could not have immediately started the next book in the sequence。 This was the kind of book that I relished living in for 700+ pages; the world-building was excellent， the characters dynamic and multifaceted， and the plot had me gasping， on the edge of my seat， until 4am。 It was the kind of book I was loathe to take a break from but also dreading getting closer to the end--I just didn't want to leave these characters I had grown to love， to move out of this high fantasy world of magic and intrigue。 The ending broke my heart in the way only a phenomenal story can。 If you like grand adventures， complex characters， and impossible situations， this is *IT*。 Read it。 Just read it。 。。。more
Rebecca Marushack
，
Great story。 Good character development， relatively brutal， but overall great story。
Ken
，
Might have gotten another star， but can’t get past the beginning where I felt like I was reading a cliff notes of a book。 Too many coincidences of character interaction。 It did wrap up well to maybe set up next book， but it didn’t make me feel think I need to immediately find out what happened。
Abdulla
，
I had mixed feeling at the beginning of the book， I felt lost at times and didn't know what was going on， but what kept me hooked was the mysterious Wetboys and their line of work and the weird governing system of Cenaria。 The story was interesting but I felt like it was all over the place at times and a bit slow。 However， by finishing half of the book I realized that it started to get better and that what kept me going。 I wasn't expecting that ending but I do want to know now what happens to th I had mixed feeling at the beginning of the book， I felt lost at times and didn't know what was going on， but what kept me hooked was the mysterious Wetboys and their line of work and the weird governing system of Cenaria。 The story was interesting but I felt like it was all over the place at times and a bit slow。 However， by finishing half of the book I realized that it started to get better and that what kept me going。 I wasn't expecting that ending but I do want to know now what happens to the characters that survived in the next two volumes。 。。。more
Lisa
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4 stars but in actuality would be closer to 3。5， or a 7/10。 Overall a good book， good start to the series， I will be reading the next instalments- but nothing life changing for me （unlike the Lightbringer series by the same author， which WAS life-changing/riveting to read） However， it IS quite good for a debut novel！This is a story that has a bit of darkness， a lot of fighting， magic， and an intricate plot。 We follow the journey of a young street urchin peasant named Azoth， and his 'escape' from 4 stars but in actuality would be closer to 3。5， or a 7/10。 Overall a good book， good start to the series， I will be reading the next instalments- but nothing life changing for me （unlike the Lightbringer series by the same author， which WAS life-changing/riveting to read） However， it IS quite good for a debut novel！This is a story that has a bit of darkness， a lot of fighting， magic， and an intricate plot。 We follow the journey of a young street urchin peasant named Azoth， and his 'escape' from the cutthroat slums in the form of his apprenticeship to the city's （worlds？） best assassin， Durzo。 Except， assassin is the wrong term， the term is wetboy because assassins cannot use magic， whereas wetboys can。 Durzo is a ruthless teacher， and Azoth （renamed Kylar） learns the tricks of the trade well， but can't seem to do the magic part of it。 All the while， Azoth secretly supports and cares for （from afar） a fellow girl from the slums， Doll Girl - who's rescue out of the slums and transition to a servant girl he arranged- now renamed Elene， whom he has been in love with since they were children。 Things continue to get complicated as the book goes on。 （view spoiler）[ This country comes under attack by another country lead by this ominous 'Godking' person。 The plan is for the Godking's son， the long time tormentor/slum rapist Rat now turned Lord Roth， will overthrow the current （useless） King and take over the country for his father。 It turns out Azoth/Kylar needs a special magical token called a ka'kari to use his magic， and when he gets it （from Durzo who had it all along on his sword？） he is most powerful。 Azoth/Kylar fights to stop this overthrow of their kingdom and ends up having to kill Durzo along the way 。。。 Durzo is fighting with the enemy， Roth， because it turns out he has a daughter that they are basically using as blackmail against him。 There is also a character Logan， Kylar's noble and well-liked friend， who at the last moment is married to the young nice princess to try and salvage the failing leadership of the king - but it doesn't matter， Roth/Rat ends up attacking the monarchy anyway/sacking the city。 There were a lot of things I didn't understand。 I don't fully understand the Ka'Kari business， or who Durzo is （some 。。 immortal type guy from times long past？）。 Everyone has a lot of hatred to each other and vows to kill everyone who wrongs everyone。 In the end the capital is trashed， Kylar kills Roth and almost dies。 He breaks Elene （and Durzo's daughter Uly） out of a dungeon and they are escaping from the city。 Logan is trapped in a pit in the dungeon with monster cannibal criminals 。 His brand new wife Princess Jeni is secretly not dead， saved by some enemy sorcerer type guy。 And the Godking arrives and is pissed that everything with the takeover went so poorly。 （hide spoiler）]。 So overall there was a lot going on （action/battles/fighting， mages etc。） Sometimes the descriptions of acrobatics done to break into locations/sneak around patrols were hard to follow。 Sometimes the details about the magic and who ancient immortal characters were was also hard to follow。 But overall it kept going， kept me reading， enough for me to want to know what happens next。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Way of Shadows
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Way of Shadows&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Way of Shadows&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0