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01-19-14 UPDATE: Brent Weeks' publishers of The Broken Eye: The Light- bringer Series, Book 3, have announced a publication date of August 26, 2014 for the novel. I can hardly wait! This is such a great series, that waiting half a year seems like such a long time. So, meanwhile, pick a few good books and jump into them to help fill the time. If you check out my other blog posts, it may give you some ideas for your next read.
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09-06-14 UPDATE: Brent Weeks' book, The Broken Eye is now out. I have reviewed the book and it is available to see on my blog. Simply click here to go straight to the review of The Broken Eye.
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Book Review by:
Sharon Powers.
THE BLACK PRISM, Book 1 (a short recap):
At
the end of The Black Prism, The Light-bringer Series, Book 1, the Prism, Gavin Guile, recognized that he had lost the city of Garriston and had gained thousands of refugees for whom he now had to care. Garriston was in the hands of a pagan
army who now commanded the unassailable wall that Gavin Guile and his drafters
had built to defend the city; to add insult to injury, General Corvan's
daughter (Liv) had joined the enemy's side. And to make things even worse, Gavin had
lost three-quarters of his personal Blackguard, and thousands of soldiers from
his army.
THE BOOK:
Kip has his own problems. Kip must learn how to fit in with the other student candidates for the Blackguard--not an easy task when they all resent Kip for being the son of the Prism. He also has to fight off an assassin sent to throw him out the tower window, and then there is the bullet that misses him and kills another student. His biggest enemy seems to be Gavin Guile's father, Andross Guile. Andross, on the edge of becoming a wight, forces Kip to play 9 Kings--every time Kip loses (and that IS everytime), Andross takes something precious away from Kip (Like his privileges in Practicum, "...the one place where Kip could learn to draft in any sort of organized way" (Kindle Location: 2290). Oh yes, one little thing...Andross Guile has been looking for a dagger that looks suspiciously like the one Kip has (the one he's been keeping hidden and secret).
By the the time we get to the climatic scene at around 89% of the book, we know that Gavin Guile is anything but a real hero. We know that he has switched places with his brother and imprisoned him, he has killed people to keep them from revealing his secret, sent his true friends to far corners of the earth, broke his relationship with Karris Whiteoak to keep his secrets, and more. He has even contemplated the possibility of eliminating Kip. Even the list he has created, a list of good acts to complete before his time is up as Lord Prism, goes unfulfilled.
ISBN: 1841499072
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (September 11, 2012)
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Language: English
To all my readers, I hope you enjoyed reviewing Brent Week's book, The Blinding Knife with me this week. I want to give a shout out to Brent Weeks, first, for his wonderful book! Second, Mr. Weeks, we applaud your receiving the David Gemmell Legend Award FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL for 2013. Well done. I, for one, look forward to The Broken Eye (hopefully) this coming summer of 2014.
Until next time...
...many happy pages of reading!
REFERENCES
_____________________________________________
01-19-14 UPDATE: Brent Weeks' publishers of The Broken Eye: The Light- bringer Series, Book 3, have announced a publication date of August 26, 2014 for the novel. I can hardly wait! This is such a great series, that waiting half a year seems like such a long time. So, meanwhile, pick a few good books and jump into them to help fill the time. If you check out my other blog posts, it may give you some ideas for your next read.
________________________________________________________
09-06-14 UPDATE: Brent Weeks' book, The Broken Eye is now out. I have reviewed the book and it is available to see on my blog. Simply click here to go straight to the review of The Broken Eye.
________________________________________________________
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| The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks. This title is available in Hard cover, Paperback, and as an e-book (Kindle Edition, from Amazon); it is also available from Audible.com as an audiobook. |
Sharon Powers.
The Blinding Knife: The Lightbringer Series, Book 2, has just been awarded the David Gemmell Legend Award FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL for 2013. The David Gemmell Legend Award (DGLA) is a fan-voted award. This award has been active for five years: in 2009 it was awarded to Andzej Sapkowski for Blood of Elves; in 2010 it was awarded to Graham McNeill for Empire: The Legend of Sigmar; in 2011 to Brandon Sanderson for The Way of Kings; and in 2012 to Patrick Rothfuss for The Wise Man's Fear. The Blinding Knife is, indeed, in good company.
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| The David Gemmell Legend Award for Fantasy (banner). |
Additional acclaim goes to Brent Weeks for The Blinding Knife, as a winner of the Reddit (fan-based-voting) for Best Novel, 2012. The Blinding Knife, also won The Book Spot Central, Seventh Annual Book Tournament for 2012, was a finalist for the 2013 Endeavor Awards, and was a nominee for the goodreads Choice 2012.
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| Brent Weeks received the Reddit Fantasy Best of 2012 for Best Novel: The Blinding Knife. |
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| The David Gemmell Legend Award given to Brent Weeks, October 2013. It looks as if Brent Weeks will have a whole armory on his walls before he is finished winning awards! |
Kip was coming into his drafting colors: he had drafted green, blue, and red--all at fifteen years old--he was now a polychrome. Kip had also just fulfilled his oath to his mother and had killed King Garadul. Corvan, speaking to Gavin Guile (about Kip), says, "He is your brother's son...lowered his voice...[and said] I knew
you might need me to kill him someday...Gavin [thought he] would have to work
twice as hard to keep the truth from [Kip]" [Kindle Location 11024]. Then,
on the last page of the book, Gavin finds out he can no longer draft the
color blue. That was the signal to him...he knew he was starting to die.
THE BLINDING KNIFE, BOOK 2:
The book opens with the defeated army, along with its 50,000 refugees fleeing Garriston, Tyrea. Kip is sent back to Chromaria to study to become a Blackguard--if he's good enough and passes all the tests. Gavin Guile and Karris Whiteoak head to Seer's Island to prepare a place for the 50,000 refugees who are following after, albeit, at a much slower pace. Gavin tries to hide the fact that he can no longer draft blue--this becomes an even bigger problem, for him and the world.
Blue luxin is now unbalanced in the world, the magic is running wild, and the old gods are being reborn. Due to the unbalancing of luxin in the world, a "blue bane" forms out in the ocean. At the "bane's" center is an "Avatar," an old god, surrounded by an army of color wights. Since it is the job of the Lord Prism to maintain balance, he will have to destroy the "blue bane." The question is, "Can he do it, since he can no longer draft, blue?"
Kip has his own problems. Kip must learn how to fit in with the other student candidates for the Blackguard--not an easy task when they all resent Kip for being the son of the Prism. He also has to fight off an assassin sent to throw him out the tower window, and then there is the bullet that misses him and kills another student. His biggest enemy seems to be Gavin Guile's father, Andross Guile. Andross, on the edge of becoming a wight, forces Kip to play 9 Kings--every time Kip loses (and that IS everytime), Andross takes something precious away from Kip (Like his privileges in Practicum, "...the one place where Kip could learn to draft in any sort of organized way" (Kindle Location: 2290). Oh yes, one little thing...Andross Guile has been looking for a dagger that looks suspiciously like the one Kip has (the one he's been keeping hidden and secret).
 |
| Gavin Guile. |
A hugely important event occurs when Kip recognizes that Andross Guile is a red wight. At this moment in the story, events unfold that propel the story forward in a catastrophic twist for everyone. Everyone will be changed, no one will remain as they are. And, everyone has a choice to make.
Can one choice, one decision, one act, change the power balance?...Can it pull Gavin down from his throne and elevate another?...Could Andross save or damn the empire? Could Kip finally become the man he wants to be, or continue to be the disappointment his mother (and himself) always thought him to be?
Will this one decision redeem a man...or destroy him?
Can one choice, one decision, one act, change the power balance?...Can it pull Gavin down from his throne and elevate another?...Could Andross save or damn the empire? Could Kip finally become the man he wants to be, or continue to be the disappointment his mother (and himself) always thought him to be?
Will this one decision redeem a man...or destroy him?
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE BOOK?
Whew!...So much is going on in this book, I am really stymied how Brent Weeks pulls it all off. By the time we reach the end of the book, Brent Weeks has so much action going, it takes your breath away...and...not just ordinary sword play, but twists and turns, and excitement galore! With the ending of the book, the world literally stopped for me. I found myself wanting, so badly, to continue reading. To continue finding out what happened to each of the characters. All to no avail. It was over.
After having read this book, I can understand why it garnered the Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel for 2013! It is AMAZING! It is AWESOME! Brent Week's book kept me on the edge of my seat. The only other books I could even begin to compare it to in AWESOMENESS are (1) Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson's, A Memory of Light; (2) Brandon Sanderson's, Way of Kings, and (3) Patrick Rothfuss's, The Wise Man's Fear. All of which have received acclaim and have been on best seller lists.
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| The Broken Eye is being written by Brent Weeks, even now. His last post on his website indicated that the name of the book would definitely be: The Broken Eye. Brent Weeks indicated that the release date was still not set, as he is still writing the book, BUT, it looks as if the tentative release date will fall sometime in the summer of 2014. All of us fans of your work, cheer you on Mr. Weeks! |
After having read this book, I can understand why it garnered the Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel for 2013! It is AMAZING! It is AWESOME! Brent Week's book kept me on the edge of my seat. The only other books I could even begin to compare it to in AWESOMENESS are (1) Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson's, A Memory of Light; (2) Brandon Sanderson's, Way of Kings, and (3) Patrick Rothfuss's, The Wise Man's Fear. All of which have received acclaim and have been on best seller lists.
Alright. Down to the bottom line. How do I rate this book? Well, a book this awesome gets nothing less than 5 stars out of 5!
ABOUT THIS BOOK:
Pages: 694ABOUT THIS BOOK:ISBN: 1841499072
Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (September 11, 2012)
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Language: English
To all my readers, I hope you enjoyed reviewing Brent Week's book, The Blinding Knife with me this week. I want to give a shout out to Brent Weeks, first, for his wonderful book! Second, Mr. Weeks, we applaud your receiving the David Gemmell Legend Award FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL for 2013. Well done. I, for one, look forward to The Broken Eye (hopefully) this coming summer of 2014.
Until next time...
 |
| White Rose. |
REFERENCES
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http://www.amazon.com/Blinding-Knife-Lightbringer-Brent-Weeks/dp/031607991X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1385005515 - The Blinding Knife by
Brent Weeks book cover image; http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_at_ano_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=the+blinding+knife&x=-1113&y=-41 -
Audible.com; http://gemmellaward.com/ -
DGLA website (David Gemmell Legend Award); http://www.brentweeks.com/2013/03/the-biggest-awards-in-literature/ -
Reddit Award; https://www.google.com/search?q=Chromaria&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=JZyOUpuXCKjmiwKz3YHABg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=755&bih=706#es_sm=122&espv=210&q=Andross+Guile&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=r4MGLoHmYexIpM%3A%3B-FNqtMGKvbrv1M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Faidanmoher.com%252Fblog%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2012%252F09%252Fblinding-knife-smoke1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Faidanmoher.com%252Fblog%252Freview%252F2012%252F09%252Freview-of-the-blinding-knife-by-brent-weeks%252F%3B648%3B127 -
The Blinding Knife; http://www.brentweeks.com/ -
The David Gemmell Legend Fantasy Award to Brent Weeks for his novel, The Blinding Knife, 2013; https://www.google.com/search?q=Corvan+Danavis&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=E4mOUrqHNuqoigK8roHgBA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1112&bih=706#imgdii=_ -
Gavin Guile; http://www.brentweeks.com/2013/05/lightbringer-3-writing-update-title-etc/ - The Broken Eye by Brent
Weeks (illustration of cover); http://www.amazon.com/Blinding-Knife-Book-Lightbringer-ebook/dp/B0076DDFCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385262728&sr=8-1&keywords=the+blinding+knife
- The Blinding Knife, The Lightbringer
Series, Book 2;
https://www.google.com/search?q=Kip+in+the+blinding+knife&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=NF6RUqaXHoP0oASKsYCYAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1348&bih=802#es_sm=122&espv=210&q=five+stars+out+of+five&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=1535ZVA-HBJj1M%3A%3Bt_5LSvsymQKfhM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmumblecomedy.files.wordpress.com%252F2013%252F08%252Fstars.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmumblecomedy.wordpress.com%252F2013%252F08%252F20%252Fsimon-munnery-flym%252F%3B520%3B231 -
5 stars out of 5; https://www.google.com/search?q=white+rose&espv=210&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=E22RUrUUjvSgBMeIgPAM&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1348&bih=802#es_sm=122&espv=210&q=white+roses&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=n-K6FukUb7-iXM%3A%3BEblbCq5pEQD02M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages5.fanpop.com%252Fimage%252Fphotos%252F25700000%252FWhite-Roses-flowers-25785322-2240-1680.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.fanpop.com%252Fclubs%252Fflowers%252Fimages%252F25785322%252Ftitle%252Fwhite-roses-photo%3B2240%3B1680 -
White rose.
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