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A review by runcibleshaw
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
3.0
This series was on a list of fantasy/sci-fi series that was recommended to me. I didn't know anything about the series or the author going into it. I would like to think that I gave it a fair chance.
First, the good:
The magic system is fun. I love bright saturated colors and I could really picture the Drafters (magic users in this world) glowing different colors of the rainbow. I liked the religious empire vs "pagan" old gods worldbuilding. The action moved along at a nice clip and I never felt bored.
The Bad:
The world felt very thin. More like an outline of a world based on seven colors, rather than a full fleshed out setting. Perhaps, the other books in the series go into more depth, but I will not be reading those. The characters were all just completely unlikeable. By the end I didn't care who accomplished what, because they had all slaughtered innocent people, tortured people, or just acted like assholes. Gavin Guile had charming scenes, but then you find out that he's been keeping his brother in a prison for 15 years, basically torturing him that whole time. Even the doe-eyed young Kip, who acts as the POV character through much of the books, eventually turns into a raging monster. Finally, the book ends without really resolving any of the major plot points. It felt too much like a setup for a sequel, rather than a self-contained work.
The Ugly:
Where to begin... At first I thought that Weeks was writing from the perspective of a callow, horny, and self-loathing teenage boy, Kip. And, he was. However, when the perspective of the narrative moves away from Kip to the other supposedly older, more mature characters, the prose still feels like it's being written by a 15 year old boy. Weeks seems unable to refrain from talking about women's breasts as a major character trait. Kip's self-deprecating comments about his own weight also rubbed me the wrong way.
Summary:
A mildly interesting magic system and world absolutely ruined by an author who writes like a teenage boy.
First, the good:
The magic system is fun. I love bright saturated colors and I could really picture the Drafters (magic users in this world) glowing different colors of the rainbow. I liked the religious empire vs "pagan" old gods worldbuilding. The action moved along at a nice clip and I never felt bored.
The Bad:
The world felt very thin. More like an outline of a world based on seven colors, rather than a full fleshed out setting. Perhaps, the other books in the series go into more depth, but I will not be reading those. The characters were all just completely unlikeable. By the end I didn't care who accomplished what, because they had all slaughtered innocent people, tortured people, or just acted like assholes. Gavin Guile had charming scenes, but then you find out that he's been keeping his brother in a prison for 15 years, basically torturing him that whole time. Even the doe-eyed young Kip, who acts as the POV character through much of the books, eventually turns into a raging monster. Finally, the book ends without really resolving any of the major plot points. It felt too much like a setup for a sequel, rather than a self-contained work.
The Ugly:
Where to begin... At first I thought that Weeks was writing from the perspective of a callow, horny, and self-loathing teenage boy, Kip. And, he was. However, when the perspective of the narrative moves away from Kip to the other supposedly older, more mature characters, the prose still feels like it's being written by a 15 year old boy. Weeks seems unable to refrain from talking about women's breasts as a major character trait. Kip's self-deprecating comments about his own weight also rubbed me the wrong way.
Summary:
A mildly interesting magic system and world absolutely ruined by an author who writes like a teenage boy.