The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks

The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks is an exceptional debut novel. Normally, I would expect a debut to be slightly lacking in a few areas and while excelling in others. Then, as an author hones his/her talent, the books become tighter and more rounded. Some new writers nail characterization but need to work on pace or their worldbuilding is awesome but the plot has a few holes. After reading the Way of Shadows however, I am impressed. If Brent Weeks gets any better he will become a major voice in the fantasy genre.

The Characters. Azoth is a street kid just trying to survive. Sounds cliche at first but Azoth, even though he does not yet realize it, is more then he first appears. Durzo Blint is the best of the best when it comes to assassination. Dark, mysterious, deadly, Blint's motto is that life is empty, life is meaningless and to take a life is not taking anything of value. Logan Gyre, aristocrat, consummate fighter, loyal friend, he will get caught up in deadly politics and stands to lose everything he loves. King Aleine IX, cruel, inept, not quite sane, he is the worse possible type of king, a complete raving lunatic.

The Story. Azoth wants nothing more then to never be afraid again. The best way to do this, as he sees it, is to apprentice himself to the most fearless man he knows, Durzo Blint. Leaving behind his life in the Warrens, with its cruel gang lords and rampant child abuse, Azoth becomes Kyler Stern, assassin's apprentice and sometimes noble but poor Baronet. This book follows Azoth's transformation from street urchin into a "wetboy" or trained assassin. It is a coming of age story, often skipping years at a time as Kyler develops his skills and hopes for a way to awaken his "Talent", without which he can never fully become a wetboy.

My Impressions. This is not a book for the faint of heart. Tia's first impression when she showcased this is correct, it is very dark. Child rape, child abuse, copious amounts of profanity, death and mayhem fill these pages. Brent Weeks does not hold back when it comes to making this a very dark, but fascinating world. He is also not afraid to kill off important characters, which is great, nothing in this story is sacred so you are always kept guessing. The pace is fast, the secondary characters, of which there are many, are as well written as the mains, the plot twists are delightful, the magic system is a bit vague, but hopefully we will learn more about it later. An impressive first effort and one that has left me looking forward to more.

Link Fest!
The Way of Shadows (Amazon: US - Canada - UK)
Brent Weeks: (Website - Interview)
Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
Orbit (October 1, 2008)
Unbound's Interview with Brent Weeks
Excerpt

Your Newest Fantasy Debuter

Is "debuter" a word? No matter, it fits. In the spirit of Shakespeare, I shall invent words where necessary.

I have decided to find a partner here at Fantasy Debut, because honestly, I'm hopelessly behind. Well, maybe not so hopelessly now, since I have a new person on the Fantasy Debut team. You've met her before, via a Blogger Showcase and numerous comments. She is the proprietress of Dragons, Heroes and Wizards and The Old Bat's Belfry. Yes, my blogging partner is . . .

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~*~ Mulluane! ~*~
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Is that enough sparkles for you? Mulluane has agreed to be the Debut Showcase Goddess, which means she is in charge of rounding up most of the information in the Debut Showcaes. Because of the generous offer of her time, our Debut Showcases should hopefully get more comprehensive and timely. She will also write the occasional review.

Why a partner? Well, I didn't want to give up Fantasy Debut, but I also could not give it the time it demands. I did give it that time during the first six months I ran this blog, but I quickly discovered this algorithm, which I will call Tia's Time Algorithm.

At = 24 - Ot - ((Wt + Ct) - Ft - Nt - (Bt + Rt))

At is Available Time. Notice the 24 is not a variable. That is because it is the number of hours in the day. First, I must first subtract Other Time, which includes things that one must do to survive and function in society without being a pariah. From the time that is left, I am compelled to first subtract Wt, which is Work Time, to which I must add Commute Time. I would have arranged Wt and CT further down in the list, but alas, I must work.

Next, I subtract Family Time, then Novel Time. (Yes, it is a fact that I write. Does that surprise anyone? I think not.) There is a bit of squishiness here that I am not able to render in the language of Math. And that is that the Reading Time is allowed to encroach on Family Time. That's because I have an "Interrupt Me Anytime" policy around my house. I have a remarkable ability to engage and disengage from a book at will. Last comes Blogging Time and Reading Time, combined.

And yes, Nt must come before Bt and Rt. Why? If you care, read on.

Back in the Days of Yore, when I first started this blog, the algorithm looked more like this:

At = 24 - Ot - ((Wt + Ct) - (Bt + Rt) - Ft - Nt)

Naturally, this situation could not last. Ft quickly got bumped back into its proper place, but Nt was getting the scraps of my time, and guess what? The novel wasn't getting written. So I bumped around my priorities again, the novel got done, and the family was happy.

But then, the blog suffered.

Debut Showcases began to showcase novels that had been out for weeks and sometimes, months. Reviews got fewer and futher between. Posts became something less than daily. Readership dipped slightly and leveled off, and occasionally skyrocketed when I wrote about vampires.

I read more science fiction hoping to learn how to manipulate time, but alas.

And so I decided to find a partner. Mulluane had offered to help out a while back, so I wrote her an email asking her if the offer was still open. Happily, she said yes. I am also thinking about adding a third person to our team, someone who reads the dark fantasy and urban fantasy. I have someone in mind; I'll put up another post if she accepts.

So please welcome Mulluane to the Fantasy Debut team!