From NYT bestselling author Brent Weeks comes the first novel in his breakout fantasy trilogy in which a young boy trains under the city's most legendary and feared assassin, Durzo Blint. 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.
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"The Way of Shadows is the second book that I have read by Weeks, and I enjoyed it as much as The Black Prism. Weeks creates an amazing cast of characters that capture the readers attention from the very beginning and that interests just continues to build as the reader learns more about them. Azoth is a great choice of hero in that he is a guild rat barely making it living on the streets but his heart and true sense of self shows in his compassion for his two friends, Jarl and Doll Girl. It is because of his love for them and his own sense of guilt for not being able to save them as well as his need to survive that he apprentices himself to Durzo Blint. The journey that Azoth takes to become Kylar is really the heart of Week's story. Blint is an interesting hero/anti-hero in that he is Azoth/Kylar's "father"/mentor/friend/enemy/ally and serves as a great secondary lead. The journey he takes in the book is just as powerful as Azoth/Kylar's and is also a focal point of the story. Weeks also adds some great secondary characters in Jarl, Doll Girl, Logan, and Momma K that only add to the overall story. Weeks does an amazing job with his world building something I also really enjoyed with The Black Prism. Weeks shows us several sides to that world with the guild rats, the royalty, and the nobles as well as the threat of the Khalidorans intent on invasion. Overall this was an amazing read, and I am already looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. I would definitely recommend The Way of Shadows if you enjoy action, adventure, drama, romance, and intriguing twists and turns mixed in with your fantasy."
— Susan (5 out of 5 stars)
What a terrific story! I was mesmerized from start to finish. Unforgettable characters, a plot that kept me guessing, non-stop action and the kind of in-depth storytelling that makes me admire a writer's work.
— Terry BrooksKylar is a wonderful character - sympathetic and despicable, cowardly and courageous, honorable and unscrupulous...a breathtaking debut!
— Dave Duncan" Strong, fun fantasy. Pretty conventional hero (orphan who becomes a tool of prophecy), but a witty lead. Female roles are not the best, and are mostly girly-girls. "
— Adam, 2/19/2014" Oh my God, that was epic! A perfect blend of a believable kingdom in squalor and beautifully crafted magic and mystery. Add some humor, sarcasm, passion love and death (going hand in hand), and a little unnecessary profanities (however, they were very well placed and didn't seem so bad in that setting) and you have an altogether good read. I loved it. School and work has been keeping me from reading as much as I would have liked, and I would have liked to stay up for two days straight, wired on caffeine, and read until either A) my eyes dried up and fell out or B) I finished this wonderful read. I have to get to the next few books, and soon. "
— Becca, 2/13/2014" This reminds me of Game of Thrones but on a smaller scale. Plenty of intrigue, suffering, people dying, etc. Has a Greek tragedy feel to it, as no one seems to ever quite get what they're looking for in the end, although there's certainly some happy outcomes in the short term for the characters. Excellent book! "
— Skip, 2/13/2014" Meh. I will not continue this series, even if it did pick up near the end. Durzo was probably one of my favorite characters and he's dead. Azoth/Kylar is supposedly moving to another city with Elene and giving up his wet boy career. Most of the characters are flat, but Elene was the worst. She's boring and "good" having no flaws whatsoever besides her actual scars on her face. I didn't care for the overly done ending with Azoth and Elene but I suppose it just goes with me not really liking most of the book. I'm sad because I expected to like this book and at the end of the book it almost made me continue the series. "
— Vanessa, 2/7/2014" Great story. It even comes close to being unique. The dirty, grungy setting is delicious, the plot is at times unpredictable, and the characters are rich and diverse. However, the editors should have been fired, there are so many typos. The Night Angel trilogy comes out of the hyper-competitive fantasy genre and really just manages to fill out empty shelves in corporate bookstores. Its a pity. Its a fantastic story, and it should have been entrusted to a better writer and a better publisher. I never bothered to pick up the sequels. "
— Evan, 1/18/2014" This is an AMAZING book... "
— Ravioli, 1/13/2014" Awesome series! Excellent character devleopment and a refreshing change from the usual fantasy novels. "
— Kim, 12/30/2013" Azoth is one of he coolest heroes in fiction, would that I could hang with him in life. "
— Valjomi527, 9/15/2013" Brilliant.... Not many books have kept me guessing like this one. Brent Weeks is ruthless and kept me enthralled through out the series. I can't wait for his next adventure "
— Lisa, 9/7/2013" This was a two star book initially but the latter parts were entertaining enough to bump it up. Probably won't read the next two books in the series. "
— Brett.d.hotchkiss, 8/1/2013" One of the best fantasies I've read in a long time. "
— Jason, 1/9/2013Brent Weeks was born and raised in Montana. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the Night Angel trilogy and the Lightbringer series, among others.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.