Written by Kyle Ricketts
Book 1: The Way of Shadows
Goodreads
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.
“Relationships are ropes. Love is a noose.”
Tough advice, but then, when you’re training to become a wetboy, a silent sword in the night, tough advice would be the least of your problems.
The Way of Shadows is the first book in the Night Angel Trilogy and it follows a street kid, Azoth, as he tries to survive the harsh streets of Cenaria, and one of the bashers in his guild who brings a whole new meaning to the world evil. It’s no wonder that Azoth wants to apprentice with the best wetboy in the business, Durzo Blint. But tracking him down is one thing, convincing him to apprentice Azoth is another thing entirely. Azoth is faced with changing everything about himself in order to become that which he desperately wants to become. Unafraid.
This story will grip you from the moment you read the first chapter. Reader beware however, Brent Weeks describes life in Cenaria pretty graphically and doesn’t hold back when it comes to the gory details of life in a guild. That in itself drew me in and made me want to see how Azoth dealt with all the challenges that he faced. Growing up with Azoth, rechristened Kylar, was a masterstroke as we see him get more and more confident the more Kylar is trained. We get to witness his first kill and how that changes him.
The main plot to the story focuses on a nation that is unstable, thanks in no small part to Durzo Blint. Sometimes, as someone who doesn’t understand how the monarch world works, the politics that are explained made me a little lost. That being said, being able to keep reading and see the outcome got me back on track again and I was able to understand the effect of what was happening.
The twists and turns in this book keep you reading, way after you know you should probably put it down.
Book 2: Shadow’s Edge
Goodreads
Kylar Stern has rejected the assassin’s life. The Godking’s successful coup has left Kylar’s master, Durzo, and his best friend, Logan, dead. He is starting over: new city, new friends, and new profession. But when he learns that Logan might actually be alive and in hiding, Kylar is faced with an agonizing choice: will he give up the way of shadows forever and live in peace with his new family, or will he risk everything by taking on the ultimate hit?
“You’ve got choices to make, but here’s another hard truth: you can’t be whatever you want to be. The list of things you’ll never be is a long one–even if you do live forever.”
Shadow’s Edge, book two of the Night Angel trilogy, begins when Kylar can only watch his country be invaded by the Godking. A man many fear. For Kylar however, a normal life is within reach. Turning his back on his trade, Kylar embarks on his journey to become a mild-mannered herbalist.
However, the Sakage have other ideas, and offer a contract that lesser wetboys couldn’t fulfil. But it’s the lure that one of his best friends, Logan, is still alive that really gets his attention. With events taking place, forcing Kylar into action, this read is even more eventful than the first. How do you kill a god?
In this book, Kylar struggles with who is and who he wants to be now, whilst trying to save Logan. In doing so, he may just save his country, but that would just be a consolation prize. I loved how Kylar struggled with who is and grappled with the question, can a man change?
Elene also learns a few things, broadening her understanding of some of the things that Kylar believes in. Logan goes through his own crucible, but how this has changed him isn’t entirely clear by the end, which to this reader, is fine. It leaves things to be explained another time and that definitely makes me want to get to the last book.
Book 3: Beyond The Shadows
Goodreads
A new queen has usurped the throne and is leading Cenaria into disaster. The country has become a broken realm with a threadbare army, little food and no hope. So Kylar Stern plans to reinstate his closest friend Logan as King, but can he really get away with murder?
In the north, the Godking’s death has thrown Khalidor into civil war. To gain the upper hand, one faction attempts to raise the goddess Khali herself. But they are playing with volatile powers, and trigger conflict on a vast scale. Seven armies will converge to save – or destroy – an entire continent.
Kylar has finally learnt the bitter cost of immortality, and is faced with a task only he can complete. To save his friends, and perhaps his enemies, he must assassinate a goddess. Failure will doom the south. Success will cost him everything he’s ever loved.
“I am Sa’kage, a lord of shadows. I claim the shadows that the Shadow may not. I am the strong arm of deliverance. I am Shadowstrider. I am the Scales of Justice. I am He-Who-Guards-Unseen. I am Shadowslayer. I am Nameless. The coranti shall not go unpunished. My way is hard, but i serve unbroken. In ignobility, nobility. In shame, honour. In darkness, light. I will do justice and love mercy. Until the king returns, I shall not lay my burden down.”
Beyond The Shadows is the third and final instalment in the Night Angel trilogy and sees the aftermath of the Godking’s Coupe explored throughout this book, directly putting Logan in possibly the same, if not more danger, than he faced in the hole.
A prophecy that is slowly explained throughout the trilogy seems to be on track to be fulfilled, but will it work out in the best interest of the country? While all that is going on, a Vurdmesiter is looking to revive a battlefield not seen for seven hundred years, and in doing so could change the course of history. With so much going on, Kylar is then faced with in an impossible choice. To make sure none of this happens, he has to kill the women he has always loved.
The last book in the Night Angel Trilogy is so action packed and fast paced that it was impossible for this reader to put down. There was a lot going on, and you could just tell that a resolution was coming. A lot of questions were answered and tied up beautifully, so that if you went back and re-read the series, armed with the knowledge of how it all ended, you could literally pin point very important events. Something you can’t do until you’ve read the series.
All in all, if you’re after a fantasy story that ticks all the boxes: Magic, Sex, Love, Assassination and Prophecies, I couldn’t recommend this series enough!
