This week for Book Series Wednesday I’m talking about a series written by a guy who lives within 30 minutes of where I live! It’s the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks.
Plot Synopsis: The story takes place in Cenaria City, the capital of Cenaria, which is located in the fictional land of Midcyru. Cenaria City is split into two halves, the Warrens and the East Side. The Warrens are full of cheap prostitutes, brothels, orphans, beggars, muggers, and slums. The East Side, though still infested with crime, is where the richer middle and upper class live. Cenaria is ruled in a Monarchy, with a single king ruling the land and power passing on to the next heir. However, the Sa’Kage hold all the real power in the land. The Sa’Kage (Lords of the Shadows), is a mob-like organization that participates in extortion, prostitution, and assassination.
Azoth is an orphan who lives in the Warrens of Cenaria City. He and his two friends, Jarl and Doll Girl, are members of the Black Dragon guild. They make their living stealing money to buy food and pay their guild dues to Rat, the Guild Fist, an enforcer who beats anyone who doesn’t pay. One night, Azoth overhears a confrontation between Durzo Blint, the best wetboy in the city, and several unknown assailants. After Durzo slaughters the assassins, he catches the escaping Azoth and tells him to not lose a word about that to anyone.
Plot: Brent Weeks’ works are cruder than other fantasy novelists, and while some may find it refreshing, it is more than a little off-putting to others. I enjoyed this series, but I do admit that I was probably in the midst of a depression spell and so I didn’t mind as much the massive amounts of violence that goes on in this series. If you can get past that you’ll enjoy this well crafted debut trilogy by a very good author. It has much more magic than Game of Thrones.
Characters: Most of the characters in this book are pretty despicable people, in fact there are only a handful of characters with a shred of decency in the entire series. One of them Logan Gyre is a central figure to the plot, and while not as important as Azoth is he is still a major character. I probably connect the most with Azoth, as a kid he’s beaten and bullied by those bigger and stronger than him, but he still tries to live on with what he has, which isn’t much. That said I find that there are times when I hate some of the characters in this series. Elene gets annoying as hell in one point, and I struggle to remember that I liked her.
Overall: If you don’t mind lots of violence, and crude language, you’ll find this series lots of fun.
For those who like: Violence, Fantasy, Magical Assassins, Lots and lots of crude language.
Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.