Hey bookworms! I get accused of only talking about things I love on this channel, so I hope you enjoy the venting of some frustrations here. As always, I welcome your differences of opinions. These are just mine.
Sometimes something just doesn’t click, I know how you feel, much respect for going against popular opinion to show your side of the pi. Honesty is always best, an I don’t think you were over the top, nice video! 👌🏼
16:28 NO! Night Angel was not amazing. I speak to you as someone who's survived the Trainwreck that is book 3 and come back to give report. Also there's absolutely nothing wrong with only talking about stuff you like. Life's too short to read shitty books. Like Night Angel.
I found your opinion for the lightbringer closest to my own..Even the way series was recommended to us is the same So everything is same as what you said till book 4 but unlike you I actually went ahead and read book 5, because the same friend who recommended it, said to me that book 5 gets better - It may not be the perfect ending but you get to see everything answered blah, blah ... Guess what....I found it to be as bad a books 3 and 4..Weeks after shitting all over his own story in book 3 and 4 couldn't redeem himself in book5 I was just so damn positive about this series.. even before going in I was ready to love it because of what i knew about magic and love it I did for about 2 and half books.. Fucking Teia man..Paryl could have been game changing..but fucking Teia just made me wonna strangle her with her master cloak..
@@archlectoryarvi2873 I don't know why people poop on night angel... It wasn't the best trilogy, but I've read worse, I enjoyed it quite a bit and the themes and ending stuck with me far longer than many other books I have read since.
I read The Black Prism and decided not to continue with Lightbringer. I think I might have enjoyed the series if I had been about 13 years old, but the prose, characters, and plot lacked the complexity I usually prefer. Without some of the most severe moments of violence, I thought it would be more of a YA book, but a fun one with a cool magical system.
the plot has quite a lot of complexity actually, but maybe it doesnt come up too much in the first one i guess, but yeah, especially gavin's story has a lot of complex points
@@luketufts6827 Perhaps that happens in the later books? I don’t mean this disparagingly because I truly believe that YA books have an important place, but the characters felt cartoonish to me. I will say they were fun and even somewhat interesting at times - particularly “Gavin” and his brother - so I can see where someone would find the series entertaining.
Reading Lightbringer felt to me like reading a Discovery writer as he keeps changing his mind and coming up with new interesting characters and ideas while abandoning his previous ones. (for both good and bad)
A year ago I know. But could you explain a little bit about "changing his mind"? I've been writing some of my own and feel it is inspired a bit by Brent Weeks. I haven't noticed major shifts when re-reading but I'd love to know what came across as heavy changes to you. If you don't mind. No worries though, again, you posted this a year ago :)
@@drummerguy438 Keep in mind, it's a long while since I read those books... But the thing that I can remember as notable, is Liv and Teia (?) I think they were called. While I don't mind where they end up (I particularly liked Teia's story), I remember thinking their introductions were very similar. As if Liv was created, and then her story suddenly went of in an unexpected direction, and so he came up with Teia instead to take her 'original' place. It's as if he started their story in one direction, and then got bored with where it was going, and came up with a completely new idea and direction, and went of with that for a while, and then decided on a third one. While I don't think everything needs to be foreshadowed or follow neatly (unexpected this are realistic), it did feel like a whole lot of words were spent building up a situation and carefully crafting a status quo for a character, that was then discarded and thrown to the side quickly, never to be relevant again (mainly thinking of Liv). Again, it is a long while since I read those books, so I could be misremembering, or I might have different thoughts on it today, but that's what I thought at the time.
As someone who hasn't yet dived into Brent Weeks, I sincerely appreciate honest views like these Mike. I won't completely disregard Brent, but at least I know it's a series I should be more cautious of reading/spending a lot of my time on. Love your channel.
I found the ending awesome and didn’t notice what he said in this so it might be like that for you. Personally I had more problems with the wheel of time.
@@mr_carlyon I found the first 4 Light bringer books in a charity shop the other day, couldn't really turn them down got them all for the price of 1 new book. I will try them eventually, not sure when
It's disappointing when a fanbase for an author will upvote a series to the point where even the worst installments have higher ratings and accolades they don't deserve. The same thing happened with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Veronica Roth's Divergent series. Fans of those authors wanted the works to be highly rated because they were fans and refused to acknowledge the flaws in the works.
I love Weeks work. The way he does combat is so good. I really enjoy that. I know it could have editing in the last two books but I really enjoyed the way it ended.
9:45 there's actually some truth to that! Blood Mirror was supposed to be the final book in the series, but Weeks decided while he was writing it that he'd split it up into two, hence we got Blood Mirror and Burning White. This was a really interesting watch! I personally love Weeks' books, but I can def understand why you dislike the later ones. The twist in Blood Mirror was... far fetched to be sure, but I honestly kinda liked it. Also you mentioned it's a coming-of-age story, which is exactly why I think the older cast (Gavin and Karris) get sidelined a bit more in favour for the younger characters like Kip and Teia; passing of the torch and such. Gavin is my favourite character of the series, so I can agree this was a bit frustrating, but Teia is my second favourite character so I didn't mind it too much xD Also Liv got pushed to the background cuz a lot of people didn't really like her in Black Prism and Blinding Knife, so Weeks reduced her screentime significantly, which I also think is a pity. I have not read Burning White yet, so I don't know if he will stick the landing, but I have faith! (also I'm a new viewer and I'm so freaking jealous of that monster bookcase behind you xD)
I really, REALLY liked The Night Angel trilogy, even when that third book went kinda sideways with the expectations it was building up and how everything got resolved (I actually think Night Angel could've benefited from being five books to flesh out its world and characters, because there were a lot of amazing ideas there that felt rushed out the door), but what I liked the most about it is that Amazon recommended the Mistborn trilogy box set when I bought this box set, and that's how I got into Brandon Sanderson. With Lightbringer, I was taken by the first book, but the second kinda started to let me down halfway through, and by the third I decided to go with the GraphicAudio version and stuck with it for the next three books, which made it bearable but, well, barely. Sometimes things falling apart for the protagonists is a good twist, it's even part of Campbell's Hero's Journey, but there's a point when things not working for them become as predictable as a happy ending (in an eucatastrophy sense) is to classic fantasy, and the actual twist is things going well for them. Sadly, Brent Weeks just decided to kinda vent the worst of grimdark and make it rain upon his story while also having a severe identity crisis on whether he wanted his characters to be liked or hated. And it all ended up being stretched thin and even then not everything could be resolved in a satisfactory manner. He and Martin and Abraham and Rothfuss did help me with a presentation I've been given on a regular basis since 2019 on new fantasy's obsession with what in Spanish I call the Three T's: "Tripas, tetas y traiciones." (Guts, tits and treason) while using fantasy merely as an excuse, a device and not a genre. It's all about the graphic disembowelment (and equally graphic description of bodily excretions and their odor upon death), graphic sex that would make Ron Jeremy blush, and politics. SO MUCH POLITICS. Like you say, there's a market for this (well, except Abraham; Dagger & Coin went overboard with this, set up "12 races of humanity" yet they were completely interchangeable and nothing felt fantastic in the least, just banking and politics in a Renaissance setting), but I'm not it. There's grimdark, say Joe Abercrombie, that goes to real dark places but without forgetting to put its fantasy setting first and foremost, and there's contemporary fantasy that wants to be dark and shocking and violent and "adult" to the point where it's just gratuitous, unearned and downright "edgy" for the sake of edge alone.
@@lukebatchelor717 Nah, they deprive a rant from its condition as such, and instead it becomes just another plain argument. Though I must say I certainly agreed with you back when I translated a book of short stories by Barry Callaghan; the man simply just won't pause for a second, barely a comma, much less a paragraph break. Stylistic decision, infuriating though it may be 😅
I have never read anything by Weeks, but I have to compliment the way you presented your ideas. You made it clear it was not for you specifically, but I am not discouraged from giving Weeks a try by the end of the video, which is what I was expecting given the topic. Great work!
How do you reconcile King's abilities (or perhaps lack there of) to end a book? He builds great worlds, beginnings of stories, characters, but many of his books don't stick the ending...
I know you're looking for an answer from Mike, but it comes down to the drawback being on the gardner/discovery/pantser side of the writing process scale. King leans heavily on this side. Usually this leads to a lot of the strengths of King that you listed. One drawback is they just go where the story leads them, which doesn't always produce a great ending. Do note I'm not shitting on this process since I lean on this side of things too when I write. Gotta know your weaknesses as much as your strengths.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. His books are on my TBR, and I hope to read them at some point, but will definitely manage my expectations. Thanks again!
I couldn't make it through Way of Shadows and so ended my Brent Weeks journey. But as you say, he was trying to appeal to two different markets. And this is something Ursula LeGuin argued against authors doing. She advocated creating art rather than writing to market (and publishers' interests).
I read the whole series and really loved the first three books, the fourth one felt like set up for the fifth book and was okay for me, I wasn’t the biggest fan of that one twist you spoke of either, the clues are there for it and it felt planned, but it was weird especially considering the POV chapters. The last book was a step up from the fourth one and was a fine ending. I’m guessing you would only enjoy it slightly more than blood mirror so I wouldn’t be eager to read it if I were you.
I was literally reading through Lightbringer and watching your videos after every book, then I got finished with Blood Mirror and was like.... where the hell is his Blood Mirror video at? lmao But honestly, I'm close to half way through Burning White and I think it makes up for a sub par Blood Mirror. I didnt like Blood Mirror that much but I also didnt hate it either. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that i'm listening to the Graphic Audio version and I really love their voice acting and the music really brings out the tense scenes. But I always respect another mans opinions and give you props for being able to come out and say you hate something when It could possibly turn away some of your viewers. Especially now adays when everyone gets so butt hurt about every little thing. Hopefully you finish the series one day tho, I would be looking forward to seeing your opinion on the series as a whole. Thanks for the videos man
Ok so I am a huge lover of the Night Angel Trilogy. I am constantly talking about it. I could not get into the LightBringer series.. it lost me very quickly. Hearing what you say about the books, I can see your points. He builds this amazing dark world in the Night Angel trilogy of the underworld, but after the first book, it kind of steps away from that set up and I feel a lot of potential is lost. Durzo is by far the best character and a lot of stupid things happen when he's not around. Kylar seems to drop all his teachings after the first book. I still love the series, but I do agree with you completely
I've not read brent, but I still plan to one day. However, I'll break out the sage advice: life is too short and there's too many books out there. If it feels like work, dump it and move on to the next... so, I support the choice to move on and continue with books that gets you right
I've had a love-hate relationship with lightbringer from the beginning. The first book wowed me, but the prose is constantly hyperactive and at times sounds like an 8th grader trying to articulate something as deep and complex as a song of ice and fire. That being said, I'm glad I finished it. He does fumble the ending, but I was expecting it, and overall I'd say I enjoyed the ride. To be fair, I do stagger my reading, switching between different genres. I've never binged a series and I promise you if I binged lightbringer like you did I would have never finished it. I hope you pick up the burning white someday so you can be marginally disappointed yet awkwardly satisfied like the rest of us.
The ideas of a good story were there, but there was something wrong with PoV tone. The males had the introspection of 8th graders. The girl was what an 8th grade boy thinks of a girl.
Ah, this is really sad to me because personally I love the Night Angel series because it was my introduction into reading fantasy books. & it was your reviews and Daniel Greene's of the first 2 books that got me into Lightbringer So far I have read the first 2 books and really loved them and I own the 3rd but haven't read it yet because I started reading other fantasy series you have reccomended. But I personally LOVE the first 2 books so far and the first half of the 3rd book that I have read.
I had read the Night Angel trilogy a few years ago, and while I mostly liked it...I didn't feel terribly inspired to read more by him. But then when I was reading a blog of a new favorite author (Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician series.) And I came across a book trailer for Black Prism and gotten intrigued. While I'm a character driven story fan for the most part, I love extensive and well thought out world building and magical systems.
I just stumbled across your channel here and, having DNF'd Night Angel, Demon Cycle and Lightbringer at near the same spots, I feel seen and understood.
The way I see it: I honestly don't remember the ending of Lightbringer. Just entirely deleted from memory. I can believe people that it was bad, but I just don't care, so long as the journey to get there was fun. I think the overarching story was never the thing that had me hooked on the series; it was the friendship and banter that was constantly happening between Kip's friend group (which only really got going in the later half, if I remember correctly?), as well as the nuance/moral grayness of Gavin, Andross, etc... and then I also liked Zymun - not so much anymore in the end; This was just one example of inconsistent characterization in the series, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough to ruin my enjoyment. When I open the book and reread an individual scene, I can still get that same hype/giddy feeling, and that's what matters most to me.
I didn't read Night Angel but I was going to leave this long comment about falling out of love with Lightbringer. I don't have to though, because you summed up my exact feelings and thoughts on this series. The only difference is I couldn't finish Blood Mirror and this video has finally helped me move if from the Paused shelf to the DNF shelf. I have no problem ditching a standalone book but it took me so long to finally DNF Lightbringer because I loved the first two books so much and I needed closure. Unfortunately I really don't care anymore, maybe I will just google the ending. The funny thing is, I recommended this series to a lot of friends when I started it and they have all given up on it as well after loving the first two books.
I have read the first book and I'm about 1/4 of the way into the Blinding Knife. I don't think I'll finish this book. I'm surprised you enjoyed the blinding Knife so much, must have been the Harry potter / name of the wind and so on magic school coming of age stuff you liked. I'm reading it noticing things like the lack of continuity when one pov ends with a cliffhanger and when we return to that pov it's gone. Or the repetitive sections where he has forgotten to hit delete so we need to read the same paragraph twice and so on. Was hoping it would get better and went looking for some reviews of later books and now I see that there's almost no chance I'll finish this series. Cheers.
Also your comment about how he watched assassin's creed and shoved it into his story is similar to how I feel about lightbringer..I think he wrote it then after decided to make it so the brothers had swapped places. The problem being so many bits of the story make no sense because of it. Things like the emotions people feel etc making absolutely no sense unless he had switched it after and then not done a great job adjusting all the story around it.
When he started it, Lightbringer was supposed to be a trilogy. He should have kept it that length and then MAYBE it would have been better. I finished it mostly as a tribute to how good the first two books were.
I got off that ride with book one. Good world building however very soap opera-ish and very Deux Ex Machina in that it was obvious the characters was doing things because the plot said so. I enjoyed the first 2.5 books of the Knight Angel series. The first half of the last book was decent but then it was like he was under a dead line or something and just rushed it. The series could have been a four book series instead of three. It screamed it needed it.
@@williamjones3534 Oh my god, finally someone who thinks like my among the chorus of people praising pretty mediocre series. It was clear from the first books ending that the author was interested in twists and revelations and didn't care for characters or plausibility, it's just all so over the top. It's not just last two books that are bad, whole series is that well written. I had a suspicion that Weeks wouldn't be able to land a Lightbringer ending because he couldn't end any satisfying conclusion and suspense at the beginning - just a bunch of sudden twists that promise new adventures, while also breaking at least one character for some reason.
@@nathanliteroy9835 Agreed! you have a better thought out reasoning than mine. The sad part is I thought he had potential with the first two books of the "Night Angel" series
With book 5 I forced myself to get to half way and nearly DNF’d. I pushed through to 75% and again nearly DNF’d. I had lost all interest and didn’t care what happened. I ended up picking up another book and just getting through 10-15 pages of the burning white a day. It took me ages to finish but I just couldn’t stomach it anymore.
Hi there Mike. I have tried to listen to the Audio book versions of the first book in both of his series, and to this day, I can't remember anything that I listened to. I always wind up wandering to other books. Anyway, I wanted to let you know, that I am now 43% into the Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan. I just need about 10 more days, and I will be ready to start the Lord of Chaos. I am also currently reading the 37th volume of the Fairy Tail manga, which has been fun.
The character arc for Andross is so great. The plot reveals in book 5 explain so much in the gaps because the characters POVs did not know. The ending that many don't like is earned and foreshadowed. He has said the next book is going back to the Night Angel world. The combat in that series reminds me of the movie The One. Spoiler: I liked how the "bad guys are the good" in Night Angel.
Yea, the twist with Gavin, that basically undid the twist in book 1? I set it down shortly after that. I get it, there's the concept of the unreliable narrator, but I REALLY didn't feel like that was foreshadowed at all, beyond a few bits in book 3. I don't know if I just missed something, but it killed it for me.
I adored lightbringer. Top 5 completed series for me easily. I would breakdown the books like this: 1 and 2 are five star books. Some of my favorites of all time. Book 3 is a 3.5. Book 4 is a 2.5. and IMO book 5 ties it all together with a solid 4.5. Much of books 3 and 4 could have been combined for a tighter, less meandering, and more impactful story. Not to spoil much but I don't think your qualms with the POV chapter not existing will be as strong after the completion of the series. I think Weeks knew this would upset people but I think he did a great job answering that question although many people complain that it falls too heavily in the deus ex machina camp. I'm bummed you didn't enjoy it but you're right, in the end there's so much to read and I would never tell someone to read something they weren't enjoying.
What would you say is your top 5 series? This is my 2nd fantasy series, I started with throne of glass and I'm liking it so far halfway through the first book.
I had a soft spot for the Night Angel series, but I like ninjas and assassins and the like. I totally ripped off the main character to play in a D&D game. No regrets
Yeah, I also enjoyed the series. I started with the prequel novella, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea. The reason being it assumes you already know some of the magic system... Well after i finished the trilogy i reread the prequel and enjoyed it much more, getting to know Durzo better is a win for me. I've heard people complain that NA doesn't know if it's YA or grimdark, and here Mike raised the same point... I don't get it... It is a coming of age story... I wouldn't put it in YA. I agree with some criticisms and yes the first book was a bit rough around the edges, but i really enjoyed how mr Weeks "Stuck the landing." I'll definitely reread the series when I get a chance.
I am genuinely saddened that you didn't finish the night angel trilogy at least. It's got a really good and satisfying ending. I assume you stopped reading while Kylar was in Carnarvon, cause the story does slow down a lot there, but it speeds up really quickly. I completely understand about Lightbringer though. While I still love that series for it's amazing magic system, intricate story telling and a main character that I can really identify with. He really did jump the shark. Brent intended it to be a trilogy, and he says the story just got away from him (whether that is true or not... idk. Maybe he was just trying to eek out some more money by extending by two books). I really think it is worth reading for the ending though, while it was cheesy, I think it was the ending the story both needed and deserved.
Finally someone says it! That plot twist was so horrible, and clearly not planned from the start. Just halfway through the book the author says "lol let's throw away all the buildup I did for a dumb shocking twist"
elisha graus I think the twist was definitely planned, but I didn’t like it either, there is evidence for it way back in book 2 and maybe earlier. Spoilers for one example In book 1 the real Gavin made it to the green cell. When fake Gavin checks the alarms to see if he escaped he notes that they didn’t go off for some reason since there was no one actually there. I think the POV chapters that were supposedly dreams of fake Gavin kind of ruined the twist although those were some of my favorite chapters.
I couldn't get into the Night Angel series and hear so many mixed things about Light Bringer that I generally have no interest in Weeks. It's good to hear a bit from someone who has read more of his stuff
Some books are better than others, but overall, it's well worth it, I think. Years after, I still remember lots of characters, plots, specific things that happened. Book two has one of my favorite arcs (Chain of Dogs). Just be ready for lots of new characters, and not seeing the characters you know for a few books.
Depends on what you thought about the book. If you found it somewhat interesting but felt there was room for improvement then you might check out at least one more book. If you hated everything about it then the next books won't magically change your mind.
You couldn't be more on the mark with the whole Lightbringer series! I was thrilled after reading book 1 thinking I had found a new favorite series and author, and it was just a steady and steep decline all the way through to the end. In the name of all that's holy never read book 5, which I hate-read-sped-through and which just seemed like an author flailing and having no clue how to bring everything to an end. His decision to blow up the planned last book of the trilogy into 3 books was self-indulgent and brutal in retrospect, since there just wasn't enough there. In the last two books he lost everything that made book 1 so kinetic and fun (including sidelining his incredible magic system for some reason).
I feel the same. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I completely disagree with this review of both series but I’m okay with that. I still love it and will revisit both series.
Burning White continued the plot twist problems of Blood Mirror. I felt like the last two books of Lightbringer belonged in a different series than the first two. Not necessarily a bad series, but a very different one with different characters, magic system, conflicts and world. I did like Night Angel a lot, but I was a teenager who was craving grimdark when I read it, so I fit the demographic perfectly.
Man, I was about to start this series. I looked up the spoiler in it, and yeah, that would have really upset me four books in! I’ll still give the books a shot, but yeah, I’m glad I know about the “twist” in question.
I am plan to read the first three books. I have read black prism, it was a slow start for me. I had to keep rereading; the book wasn't holding my attention. But I found the book intriguing. The book was OK. Now I must decide if I want to continue reading the rest of the series. I find the politics or religion intriguing (the prism, drafters, wights, white)... The characters not so much. Don't really care what happens to any of them. So I will try the next two in the series
I wonder if he has any idea that some of the inconsistencies or wild twists that seem overkill are actually little pieces that link the two series together and technically in theory i think real life. It hasnt been explicitly stated except a reference i think in either night angel nemesis or burning whites author notes at the end. And some obvious things like them quoting pulp fiction and plato
I have listened to both series twice. There’s some fluff in the lightbringer series that wasn’t needed. It could’ve been cut to 3 books. Some pacing issues. I do like his stories.
Insane that you brought up Song of Susannah. I actually stopped reading the Dark Tower series years ago on that book. I just wasn't enjoying it. Now it's been so long that I would have to start the series over. As an avid King fan, I feel like I owe it to myself to someday finish it
Night Angel is the reason I stopped buying books I haven't read. I really spent $30 bucks on the 10th anniversary omnibus to hate the first book so much I couldn't even finish it. What's worse is that edition is now going for ~$80 and I sold it to my used bookstore for $5 😒
I loved this series, but even I didn't like the ending. If not for how badly it finished, I'd have this series comfortably in the top 3 fantasy series. I know these issues must have been there in book 4, but I don't remember them bothering me
Blood mirror needed to be chopped down for sure. Cause he doesn't have enough time for burning white. The ending felt so rushed cause he didn't want a 6 book. But I enjoyed the series for the most part
I read Night Angel and thought it was good, but not very original. I wasn't in love with the Lightbringer series, but I was enjoying it through book 3. It seemed to be going somewhere fun. Book 4 was bad. I only read book 5 because I'd gone that far already and it totally fell flat with me too. I think your "Can't stick the landing" observation nails it.
I gotta say, you dipped out at the right time. I totally understand you calling book 4 a "hate read"... I struggled very hard. The Burning White was so much worse. It was so hard to read. I was furious the whole time. It's so disappointing because the first two really were just excellent! I fully think Weeks could maybe write one of my favorite series, Lightbringer just was not it. Tis a shame! But if you ever want to be angry at a book, pick up Burning White.
I didn't see any issues with the first 4. Maybe on a reread and ill pick up some issues. But book 5 was so frustrating. All the stakes were completely ruined. So frustrating.
I could not make it through Way of Shadows. Like you said, I just didn't care about any of the characters. I did try, I even got the audiobook to try to soldier through it. I got to about 50% and gave up. I just didn't care.
Would love a more detailed explanation (Not caring to avoid spoilers) for those of us that finished and loved all five books (some more than others obviously). Just would love to hear what didn't work for you in 3 and 4 and why it irritated you so much.
I had to come back and leave a comment on this video. I think you were very honest and good natured in here. The series didn’t work for you and that’s ok but I loved the fact that you didn’t rant or were not disparaging. I am a Week’s fan and loved Lightbringer but I respected your take. I can’t believe you got crap for the video.
Something similar happened to me when I tried to read the Mistborn Trilogy. I have all the copies and standalone paperbacks. I got bored midway towards the second book and struggled to finish it (Reading the final 100+ pages of the second book kind of reignited my interest). I read halfway through the third novel and just gave up... I love Brandon Sanderson's Elantris & Warbreaker, but I can't seem to want to finish Mistborn... I think because I felt too many POV's were introduced (in the last book), or I didn't quite like to read through the minds of Sazed, Tensoon, & Spook. It took some time before I returned to reading his work. Had to read the last three Wheel of Time books and after a lot of pondering; will start Way of Kings this year (first time).
I read through book three and havent come back. Agreed. I tore through the first two. After three i tried the 4th but the magic was gone. Thats my habit though is i will let things drop if im not loving rhem
I DNF'd on the first book. I just couldn't get into the magic system. I respect that many like it, but it wasn't for me. As for Song of Susannah, there is alot of good stuff in that book. I always look forward to this book on a reread. But I do understand why it doesn't work from some, and . . . to each his own. I'm good with it.
I actually really loved the Nightangel series. The system, the characters, their motivations, all the big and small things about it. It is the series that made me not give up on fantasy after everything else just started to taste the same. I still return to it occasionally. The black Prism....I have it on my shelf, had it for years and did not get past the first couple of pages. Something was different about it. Maybe it was because the translator to my language for the Weeks books changed, I don't know. With Sanderson I was held at gunpoint and for me personally it made me love the Nightangel Trilogy even more, because it did so many things right that the Stormlight Archive just plainly butchered. Sanderson worldbuilding is phenomenal, but there are issues with his overall characters and the plot that are nonexistent in the Weeks books. People do not have to agree with me and probably never will, but I love the way Weeks hinted at things and managed to play with what to say and what not to say to still make his story work. Anyway, cheers, everyone read what makes you happy!
Read the Night's Angel series and liked it. Have the entire Lightbringer series on my TBR, I am kind of bummed out here. Not sure whether I should make the investment in time, and try it anyway, with so many other books to read, on my TBR mainly the Malazan.
Brent Weeks has a lot of ideas in his books that are not getting fleshed out the way they should on the pages. The whole Liv arc and creatures from other dimensions is just not fleshed out, and I think Liv is almost dropped/does not matter by the end. The same, only worse in terms of execution, was happening in Night Angel. But Night Angel is amazing in terms of plot, but so many things there just feel like a rushed outline of a million ideas. In some way, Lightbringer was the same, only done better. And yeah, some of those twists in later books felt like they just there to have a twist. That particular twist you were talking about, I think it would have been much better if that was left how it was in book 1 and explored further. It had so much implications, unfortunately, opportunity missed for me too.
I'm so upset about Liv. He's explained a couple of times that he moved her to a background role because she wasn't recieved well and a lot of people seemed to dislike her chapters. Massive misstake imo. Left us with a half-told arc for a very important and nuanced character.
@@DiddntFindANameLol really? That was a stupid move. Despite people liking or disliking her, it was a huge part of the plot. And her latter interactions with the gods were pretty cool and could have been full of lore. Instead, we got a blip and the blip has died. Authors should not listen to fans outcries, I guess is the lesson
@@Rendref Especially with book 5 being a thing! Her chapters were my favourites, simply for the fact that it gave us a way to understand wights and gods a lot better..
I audio'd The Black Prism recently and have to say I don't really feel compelled to jump back into the series. I probably will, but I have read / listened to any number of books since then whose sequels are already calling me more than the second Lightbringer. I wouldn't go as far as saying I am done, only based on one book, but I am holding at 'muh' station right now for sure.
i just finished reading the blood mirror and while i wasnt realy mad about it its also just like such a transition novel, the final book is gonna have to do a lot of work to get things together.
I never really got over the part in Night Angel trilogy where one of his characters, used magic to r***e an underage girl in front of her father. And like, no one has brought this up? I couldn't even start Lightbringer after this.
I am curious though. I will probably start reading some of his stuff soon though. I really am enjoying Patrick Rothfuss lately. I know it’s not complete but I am halfway through book 2 and having a blast with it.
I myself am diving into The Name of the Wind. I am scared the series will never be complete but I’ve heard amazing things from people I trust the most so I’m giving it a go.
@@JZETH_ It depends on the reader. I see that a lot, and I mean A LOT, of readers are super plot hungry. What I mean by that is you have so many people who hard focus on the plot 90% and then like to have splinkles of themes and characters on top. This is why I think Game of Thornes was super popular as a show, as it is possibly the most plot heavy driven fantasy out there. The name of the wind is pretty fluent in plot. It flows, it is fun and "things" happen consistently. The book two however focuses much more on exploration of several themes, the world and other fantastical ideas the author had. The plot is there, of course, but the appeal of the book is that it is almost like a slice of life in this vibrant fantasy world of a cocky traumatised teenager trying to understand what the heck is going on in this world. This results in a lot of people complaining that "nothing happened" in book 2, but that is very unfair to say, as it wasn't the aim. I myself am one of those people who don't really care about the plot that much. It is nice and it can be enjoyable, but to me the thing that matters the most is the character work, the exploration of themes and the world building. Think about it, who the f**k cares about the plot of LotR? Yes it is there and it is fun, but it is literally the LAST thing anyone cares about. And this is why Kingkiller is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time still, after all these years, because of the unparalleled world building. The world does not feel huge mind you, but Pat just writes in such a detailed poetic way that his magical world comes to life like almost no other! He has wild fantastical ideas and together with his almost unparalleled prose writing skills, he is able to really tell stories within stories within stories, express character emotion through absolutely beautiful scenes and foreshadows everything so well! Anyhow, it is not for everyone at all, but if you are one of those people who can forget about the plot for a second and just enjoy the world, then you will be happy you read the two books.
I had a huge, huge problem with Night Angel. I read it when I was in the hospital, and there was nothing else to read. Kylar was a complete blank canvas, the male equivalent of Bella from Twilight. A lot of his women sounded like r/menwritingwomen. I hated the Madonna/whore trope between Elene and Vi. I really liked the characters of Dorian, Solan and Durzo though, so I kept reading. Then the third book happened, and oh my god. That ending. Brent shit the bed on the ending, threw the bed in the dumpster, lit it on fire and crashed it into the sea. The ending was so rushed and thrown together. Then there were the fakeout deaths, and breaking of how resurrection worked because reasons? Then the whole plot between Dorian and Jeanine (Logan's betrothed) that just left me feeling gross. By the time I got to the magic fetus womb swapping, the shark had bern so far jumped, I was just reading to finish it. Just really, bad awful writing.
I'm a gonna just say my first dive into Fantasy was Night angel and i was at a stage in my life where i didnt want to be in my own head so i dived into these books, and moved onto Lightbringer took a fair bit of time to get into Black prism, i understand alot of people didnt like the broken eye and yes i feel like it ended quick but after a re-read i got a soft spot for it, then i moved onto Brandon sanderson
i think you made the right choice iv read all 5 books and it just feel like the author changes his mind over and over and the main villain seemed like a place holder i kept waiting for the real villain. the last book felt like the author was just writhing not telling a story
I agree almost totally with you on Lightbringer (haven't read Night Angel). I finished Lightbringer, and book 5 was better than book 4, but I have similar issues with that one as well.
Well... that is kinda disapointing to hear. Still I am willing to try out the series at some point. Hopefully it will work for me. But I will put it aside to focus on Malazan for now. Which has been amazing so far (last book atm) and made me want to continue with the other works aside the big 10.
Oh. For me, the Lightbringer was one of the best trilogies written by Brent. Up there with the Stormlight (I've read almost all of his books). I've absolutely loved the "physics" of the world and the characters and the unique plotlines.
I'm not with you on the Broken Eye, I thought it was better than The Black Prism. I, on the other hand, like Kip much more than Gavin and felt like it was a treat to get more Kip Chapters. Tia was also a really good foil to Kip, especially in POV chapters of hers where we got to see Kip outside of his own head. Haven't started the Blood Mirror yet but it doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as you're describing. We'll see later this week whether I like it or not but I am fully expecting to enjoy it.
I’m on the third lightbringer series. For me, it’s good entertainment. Some of the side plots suddenly change throughout the series but it didn’t bother me much. It does feel like Weeks will just write in changes to the books without attempting to foreshadow while writing. He seems like a pantzer rider to me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this at first, but I realized that the story entertains me so I was just being picky. The book makes me laugh, makes me want to pump my fist, and can even bring a tear to my eye. Overall, they’re great. I’ve heard the last two aren’t as good but my expectation isn’t very high. I’m just reading for cheap entertainment, I wouldnt call his writings masterpieces, but they are enjoyable. I’m easy going though so as long as there is magic I’ll likely enjoy it. I don’t expect character masterpieces or incredibly intricate world building, but I am pleased when I run into it. To anyone reading, I think lightbringer is a great choice if you just want a fun story and you don’t plan on taking it seriously.
I’m gonna comment before I listen because I don’t know what to expect and light bringer is my favorite book series. I didn’t like night angel as much but it’s gonna be hard to stomach listening to someone say bad things about my favorite thing, but I am kind of curious because I love it so much I can’t even fathom what you are about to say. I’m usually pretty imaginative and I’m stumped for the for the negative things. I’ll get to watching now.
Okay, I feel like we disagree. You at least hype out the first three, I feel that way about all of them. This is going to sound mean but I think it may have went over your head or you missed some things. I mean that in a not mean way. I don’t feel like blood mirror was a hiccup but to each their own.
I liked the first two entries in The Night Angel Trilogy, but the last entry was a slog to get through considering the fact that there were many characters that I did not care for at all and the battles taking place were honestly very boring. Seriously, I was bored out of my mind and I don't think that there were sufficient payoffs for the characters that I was invested in, aside from Logan, maybe. However, I don't regret reading that Trilogy and I may give Brent Weeks another shot.
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER I'm almost at the end of the Burning White, and my thoughts overall are very similar to yours. Making Dazen a figment of Gavin's imagination absolutely killed the series for me. I'm going to be honest, the conflict between the brothers was the point that made me so interested. Killing Dazen already abruptly killed my love for the series, but then making him imaginary made me angry. I ranted to my partner tonight about how mad I was that I invested so much time in this character and was the main point of my interest be ruined so much. I told her I'm struggling to finish The Burning White because I just don't care about the characters and conflicts, especially with the direction Brent took the series. I've never had a series get me so hooked at the beginning, only to kill the momentum multiple times and have me struggling to finish the series, and it is really astounding, because I usually tend to enjoy series more as I continue the books. So it made me happy to see someone have very similar thoughts about the direction and choices of the series.
While I'm at it, I'll add my thoughts about Lightbringer, which I read because everyone on r/fantasy said it was miles better than Night Angel. And it was, up until a point. Lightbringer was planned as a trilogy and it should have stayed that way. Everything was so much better, up until Brent changed his mind about Gavin being in the prison. It was as obvious as when Robert Jordan meant for Taim to be Demandred and changed his mind. I think I understand what Brent was trying to do with Tisis' vaginismus, but the graphic descriptions were so cringy, and I'm a woman. Then The Burning White happened. The first 2/3 were a slog, worse than Blood Mirror, and the last 1/3 felt rushed, hasty, thrown together and sloppy. The literal deus ex machina was lazy and unsatisfying. The whole plot with Ironfist as an antagonist felt disingenuous, and reminded me of the Dorian plot in Night Angel. Nobody died and stayed dead, except Cruxer, whose death was meaningless and senseless. It was another dumpster fire of an ending, and the one and only reason I finished that book is because I had to know how it ended. It was such a bipolar series, I feel like Brent wanted to do grimdark, but have a happy feel good ending too, and it just did not work. A lot of the foreshadowing led nowhere, and it felt a lot like Game of Thrones "Ha, expectations SUBVERTED!" type of storytelling, and freshly off of that show it left a super bad taste in my mouth. I tried, I read both of his series, and have learned my lesson, no matter how promising of a beginning, his books are just not my cup of tea. I also found his attempt to set up an interconnected set of worlds or shared universe to be sloppy and graceless.
I very much agree, especially with the vaginismus thing. I didn't really like the third book and I loathed the fourth book, so I haven't read the fifth.
I don’t have one in my story either. I have magical areas natural to the world, and magical items. I don’t like magic systems, especially those that are more like science, like Sanderson’s stuff. It detracts from the wonder, the mystery, and the magical.
Yup, this series started off amazing. I felt the same way about the magic system. But treating book 3 & 4 like they were A Song of Ice and Fire? Nope. Oh and book 5 was... Sad . Edit: Oh and the cards... Great concept that literally faded to nothing in book 5
@@JusTb0329 no, I think they were forgotten about. I wanted some visions during major battle scenes. I wanted more conflict from Kip about what he was seeing. They weren't mentioned.
I am a relatively knew reader and before i start a series i really try to see if i ll like it by checking on reviewer's such a yourself. I cant imagine starting a book series and not ending it yet.
just found you channel - like it so far :) ! I loved Lightbringer but I hated the end. it did not do the story justice at all. but I respect your opinion. Night Angel was tough - I only made it through book one.
Hey bookworms! I get accused of only talking about things I love on this channel, so I hope you enjoy the venting of some frustrations here. As always, I welcome your differences of opinions. These are just mine.
Chill bro your content is great they are just a small minority complaining. How far are u in rhytm of war im 500 pages in
Sometimes something just doesn’t click, I know how you feel, much respect for going against popular opinion to show your side of the pi. Honesty is always best, an I don’t think you were over the top, nice video! 👌🏼
16:28
NO!
Night Angel was not amazing. I speak to you as someone who's survived the Trainwreck that is book 3 and come back to give report. Also there's absolutely nothing wrong with only talking about stuff you like. Life's too short to read shitty books.
Like Night Angel.
I found your opinion for the lightbringer closest to my own..Even the way series was recommended to us is the same
So everything is same as what you said till book 4 but unlike you I actually went ahead and read book 5, because the same friend who recommended it, said to me that book 5 gets better - It may not be the perfect ending but you get to see everything answered blah, blah ... Guess what....I found it to be as bad a books 3 and 4..Weeks after shitting all over his own story in book 3 and 4 couldn't redeem himself in book5
I was just so damn positive about this series.. even before going in I was ready to love it because of what i knew about magic and love it I did for about 2 and half books..
Fucking Teia man..Paryl could have been game changing..but fucking Teia just made me wonna strangle her with her master cloak..
@@archlectoryarvi2873 I don't know why people poop on night angel... It wasn't the best trilogy, but I've read worse, I enjoyed it quite a bit and the themes and ending stuck with me far longer than many other books I have read since.
Me, who's read the first three Lightbringer books and loved them: 👀
Really loved the first 3 but they fizzled out.
Ha ha, I encourage you to read and make up your own mind. Folks just wanted to know why I quit.
Mike's Book Reviews Yeah I know what you're talking about with the certain non-existent POV character and I'm...let's say hesitant to read about it.
I loved them too. Thought it was brilliant.
I’ve read the first three aswell.
Haven’t gotten around to the rest but I enjoy it.
Really like the The Night Angel trilogy.
I read The Black Prism and decided not to continue with Lightbringer. I think I might have enjoyed the series if I had been about 13 years old, but the prose, characters, and plot lacked the complexity I usually prefer. Without some of the most severe moments of violence, I thought it would be more of a YA book, but a fun one with a cool magical system.
the plot has quite a lot of complexity actually, but maybe it doesnt come up too much in the first one i guess, but yeah, especially gavin's story has a lot of complex points
Ha ha, damn.
@@SeptimusTSS Fair enough - I’m sure the plot deepens further in, and I actually enjoyed aspects of “Gavin” and his brother.
That’s actually very funny to me, the series isn’t my favorite but the plot and characters get very complex
@@luketufts6827 Perhaps that happens in the later books? I don’t mean this disparagingly because I truly believe that YA books have an important place, but the characters felt cartoonish to me. I will say they were fun and even somewhat interesting at times - particularly “Gavin” and his brother - so I can see where someone would find the series entertaining.
Reading Lightbringer felt to me like reading a Discovery writer as he keeps changing his mind and coming up with new interesting characters and ideas while abandoning his previous ones. (for both good and bad)
A year ago I know. But could you explain a little bit about "changing his mind"? I've been writing some of my own and feel it is inspired a bit by Brent Weeks.
I haven't noticed major shifts when re-reading but I'd love to know what came across as heavy changes to you. If you don't mind. No worries though, again, you posted this a year ago :)
@@drummerguy438 Keep in mind, it's a long while since I read those books... But the thing that I can remember as notable, is Liv and Teia (?) I think they were called. While I don't mind where they end up (I particularly liked Teia's story), I remember thinking their introductions were very similar. As if Liv was created, and then her story suddenly went of in an unexpected direction, and so he came up with Teia instead to take her 'original' place.
It's as if he started their story in one direction, and then got bored with where it was going, and came up with a completely new idea and direction, and went of with that for a while, and then decided on a third one. While I don't think everything needs to be foreshadowed or follow neatly (unexpected this are realistic), it did feel like a whole lot of words were spent building up a situation and carefully crafting a status quo for a character, that was then discarded and thrown to the side quickly, never to be relevant again (mainly thinking of Liv).
Again, it is a long while since I read those books, so I could be misremembering, or I might have different thoughts on it today, but that's what I thought at the time.
@@avy_kay Thank you very much for taking the time to write that out. I really appreciate the effort you put in. Your insight is genuinely appreciated.
@@drummerguy438 No problem. Hope it was helpful :)
Ya I feel you! Like abandoning friends.
As someone who hasn't yet dived into Brent Weeks, I sincerely appreciate honest views like these Mike. I won't completely disregard Brent, but at least I know it's a series I should be more cautious of reading/spending a lot of my time on. Love your channel.
I found the ending awesome and didn’t notice what he said in this so it might be like that for you. Personally I had more problems with the wheel of time.
Its worth a read just for the experience of the first books
@@mr_carlyon I found the first 4 Light bringer books in a charity shop the other day, couldn't really turn them down got them all for the price of 1 new book. I will try them eventually, not sure when
The M. night Shyamalan line cracked me up
It's disappointing when a fanbase for an author will upvote a series to the point where even the worst installments have higher ratings and accolades they don't deserve. The same thing happened with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Veronica Roth's Divergent series. Fans of those authors wanted the works to be highly rated because they were fans and refused to acknowledge the flaws in the works.
It happens. That's the only way I can explain Blood Mirror being that high.
There are so many uncritical/unconscious readers out there. I'm pretty sure they outnumber us.
Rage of Dragons *cough*
@@TomorrowWeLive the book boy that black guy ? they seemed decent but never got
I love Weeks work. The way he does combat is so good. I really enjoy that. I know it could have editing in the last two books but I really enjoyed the way it ended.
Couldn't agree more! He is a very talented writer. His plot decisions are just suspect for me now.
9:45 there's actually some truth to that! Blood Mirror was supposed to be the final book in the series, but Weeks decided while he was writing it that he'd split it up into two, hence we got Blood Mirror and Burning White.
This was a really interesting watch! I personally love Weeks' books, but I can def understand why you dislike the later ones. The twist in Blood Mirror was... far fetched to be sure, but I honestly kinda liked it. Also you mentioned it's a coming-of-age story, which is exactly why I think the older cast (Gavin and Karris) get sidelined a bit more in favour for the younger characters like Kip and Teia; passing of the torch and such. Gavin is my favourite character of the series, so I can agree this was a bit frustrating, but Teia is my second favourite character so I didn't mind it too much xD Also Liv got pushed to the background cuz a lot of people didn't really like her in Black Prism and Blinding Knife, so Weeks reduced her screentime significantly, which I also think is a pity. I have not read Burning White yet, so I don't know if he will stick the landing, but I have faith!
(also I'm a new viewer and I'm so freaking jealous of that monster bookcase behind you xD)
I really, REALLY liked The Night Angel trilogy, even when that third book went kinda sideways with the expectations it was building up and how everything got resolved (I actually think Night Angel could've benefited from being five books to flesh out its world and characters, because there were a lot of amazing ideas there that felt rushed out the door), but what I liked the most about it is that Amazon recommended the Mistborn trilogy box set when I bought this box set, and that's how I got into Brandon Sanderson. With Lightbringer, I was taken by the first book, but the second kinda started to let me down halfway through, and by the third I decided to go with the GraphicAudio version and stuck with it for the next three books, which made it bearable but, well, barely. Sometimes things falling apart for the protagonists is a good twist, it's even part of Campbell's Hero's Journey, but there's a point when things not working for them become as predictable as a happy ending (in an eucatastrophy sense) is to classic fantasy, and the actual twist is things going well for them. Sadly, Brent Weeks just decided to kinda vent the worst of grimdark and make it rain upon his story while also having a severe identity crisis on whether he wanted his characters to be liked or hated. And it all ended up being stretched thin and even then not everything could be resolved in a satisfactory manner. He and Martin and Abraham and Rothfuss did help me with a presentation I've been given on a regular basis since 2019 on new fantasy's obsession with what in Spanish I call the Three T's: "Tripas, tetas y traiciones." (Guts, tits and treason) while using fantasy merely as an excuse, a device and not a genre. It's all about the graphic disembowelment (and equally graphic description of bodily excretions and their odor upon death), graphic sex that would make Ron Jeremy blush, and politics. SO MUCH POLITICS. Like you say, there's a market for this (well, except Abraham; Dagger & Coin went overboard with this, set up "12 races of humanity" yet they were completely interchangeable and nothing felt fantastic in the least, just banking and politics in a Renaissance setting), but I'm not it. There's grimdark, say Joe Abercrombie, that goes to real dark places but without forgetting to put its fantasy setting first and foremost, and there's contemporary fantasy that wants to be dark and shocking and violent and "adult" to the point where it's just gratuitous, unearned and downright "edgy" for the sake of edge alone.
PARAGRAPH BREAKS!
@@lukebatchelor717 Nah, they deprive a rant from its condition as such, and instead it becomes just another plain argument. Though I must say I certainly agreed with you back when I translated a book of short stories by Barry Callaghan; the man simply just won't pause for a second, barely a comma, much less a paragraph break. Stylistic decision, infuriating though it may be 😅
I have never read anything by Weeks, but I have to compliment the way you presented your ideas. You made it clear it was not for you specifically, but I am not discouraged from giving Weeks a try by the end of the video, which is what I was expecting given the topic. Great work!
I'd recommend The graphic audio adaptation of the Night Angel Trilogy.
@@NerdyDude186 Seconded!
How do you reconcile King's abilities (or perhaps lack there of) to end a book? He builds great worlds, beginnings of stories, characters, but many of his books don't stick the ending...
I know you're looking for an answer from Mike, but it comes down to the drawback being on the gardner/discovery/pantser side of the writing process scale. King leans heavily on this side. Usually this leads to a lot of the strengths of King that you listed. One drawback is they just go where the story leads them, which doesn't always produce a great ending.
Do note I'm not shitting on this process since I lean on this side of things too when I write. Gotta know your weaknesses as much as your strengths.
Don't poke the Mike, let him have his contradictions, it makes for a more complex and interesting Mike xD.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. His books are on my TBR, and I hope to read them at some point, but will definitely manage my expectations. Thanks again!
I couldn't make it through Way of Shadows and so ended my Brent Weeks journey. But as you say, he was trying to appeal to two different markets. And this is something Ursula LeGuin argued against authors doing. She advocated creating art rather than writing to market (and publishers' interests).
I read the whole series and really loved the first three books, the fourth one felt like set up for the fifth book and was okay for me, I wasn’t the biggest fan of that one twist you spoke of either, the clues are there for it and it felt planned, but it was weird especially considering the POV chapters. The last book was a step up from the fourth one and was a fine ending. I’m guessing you would only enjoy it slightly more than blood mirror so I wouldn’t be eager to read it if I were you.
I was literally reading through Lightbringer and watching your videos after every book, then I got finished with Blood Mirror and was like.... where the hell is his Blood Mirror video at? lmao
But honestly, I'm close to half way through Burning White and I think it makes up for a sub par Blood Mirror. I didnt like Blood Mirror that much but I also didnt hate it either. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that i'm listening to the Graphic Audio version and I really love their voice acting and the music really brings out the tense scenes. But I always respect another mans opinions and give you props for being able to come out and say you hate something when It could possibly turn away some of your viewers. Especially now adays when everyone gets so butt hurt about every little thing. Hopefully you finish the series one day tho, I would be looking forward to seeing your opinion on the series as a whole. Thanks for the videos man
Ok so I am a huge lover of the Night Angel Trilogy. I am constantly talking about it. I could not get into the LightBringer series.. it lost me very quickly. Hearing what you say about the books, I can see your points. He builds this amazing dark world in the Night Angel trilogy of the underworld, but after the first book, it kind of steps away from that set up and I feel a lot of potential is lost. Durzo is by far the best character and a lot of stupid things happen when he's not around. Kylar seems to drop all his teachings after the first book. I still love the series, but I do agree with you completely
Lmao I’m just a guy with WiFi 😂
That made me laugh too! Mike comes out with some real gems sometimes 😂
I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught that! I might have to steal that line...
Everything came together so well in the end. I'm so sad it's all over.
I've not read brent, but I still plan to one day. However, I'll break out the sage advice: life is too short and there's too many books out there. If it feels like work, dump it and move on to the next... so, I support the choice to move on and continue with books that gets you right
I've had a love-hate relationship with lightbringer from the beginning. The first book wowed me, but the prose is constantly hyperactive and at times sounds like an 8th grader trying to articulate something as deep and complex as a song of ice and fire. That being said, I'm glad I finished it. He does fumble the ending, but I was expecting it, and overall I'd say I enjoyed the ride. To be fair, I do stagger my reading, switching between different genres. I've never binged a series and I promise you if I binged lightbringer like you did I would have never finished it. I hope you pick up the burning white someday so you can be marginally disappointed yet awkwardly satisfied like the rest of us.
i also have a love hate relationship good ideas but bad execution
The ideas of a good story were there, but there was something wrong with PoV tone. The males had the introspection of 8th graders. The girl was what an 8th grade boy thinks of a girl.
Ah, this is really sad to me because personally I love the Night Angel series because it was my introduction into reading fantasy books.
& it was your reviews and Daniel Greene's of the first 2 books that got me into Lightbringer
So far I have read the first 2 books and really loved them and I own the 3rd but haven't read it yet because I started reading other fantasy series you have reccomended. But I personally LOVE the first 2 books so far and the first half of the 3rd book that I have read.
I had read the Night Angel trilogy a few years ago, and while I mostly liked it...I didn't feel terribly inspired to read more by him. But then when I was reading a blog of a new favorite author (Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician series.) And I came across a book trailer for Black Prism and gotten intrigued. While I'm a character driven story fan for the most part, I love extensive and well thought out world building and magical systems.
I just stumbled across your channel here and, having DNF'd Night Angel, Demon Cycle and Lightbringer at near the same spots, I feel seen and understood.
The way I see it: I honestly don't remember the ending of Lightbringer. Just entirely deleted from memory. I can believe people that it was bad, but I just don't care, so long as the journey to get there was fun. I think the overarching story was never the thing that had me hooked on the series; it was the friendship and banter that was constantly happening between Kip's friend group (which only really got going in the later half, if I remember correctly?), as well as the nuance/moral grayness of Gavin, Andross, etc... and then I also liked Zymun - not so much anymore in the end; This was just one example of inconsistent characterization in the series, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough to ruin my enjoyment. When I open the book and reread an individual scene, I can still get that same hype/giddy feeling, and that's what matters most to me.
I didn't read Night Angel but I was going to leave this long comment about falling out of love with Lightbringer. I don't have to though, because you summed up my exact feelings and thoughts on this series. The only difference is I couldn't finish Blood Mirror and this video has finally helped me move if from the Paused shelf to the DNF shelf. I have no problem ditching a standalone book but it took me so long to finally DNF Lightbringer because I loved the first two books so much and I needed closure. Unfortunately I really don't care anymore, maybe I will just google the ending. The funny thing is, I recommended this series to a lot of friends when I started it and they have all given up on it as well after loving the first two books.
I have read the first book and I'm about 1/4 of the way into the Blinding Knife. I don't think I'll finish this book. I'm surprised you enjoyed the blinding Knife so much, must have been the Harry potter / name of the wind and so on magic school coming of age stuff you liked.
I'm reading it noticing things like the lack of continuity when one pov ends with a cliffhanger and when we return to that pov it's gone. Or the repetitive sections where he has forgotten to hit delete so we need to read the same paragraph twice and so on.
Was hoping it would get better and went looking for some reviews of later books and now I see that there's almost no chance I'll finish this series. Cheers.
Also your comment about how he watched assassin's creed and shoved it into his story is similar to how I feel about lightbringer..I think he wrote it then after decided to make it so the brothers had swapped places. The problem being so many bits of the story make no sense because of it. Things like the emotions people feel etc making absolutely no sense unless he had switched it after and then not done a great job adjusting all the story around it.
When he started it, Lightbringer was supposed to be a trilogy. He should have kept it that length and then MAYBE it would have been better. I finished it mostly as a tribute to how good the first two books were.
I got off that ride with book one. Good world building however very soap opera-ish and very Deux Ex Machina in that it was obvious the characters was doing things because the plot said so. I enjoyed the first 2.5 books of the Knight Angel series. The first half of the last book was decent but then it was like he was under a dead line or something and just rushed it. The series could have been a four book series instead of three. It screamed it needed it.
@@williamjones3534 Oh my god, finally someone who thinks like my among the chorus of people praising pretty mediocre series. It was clear from the first books ending that the author was interested in twists and revelations and didn't care for characters or plausibility, it's just all so over the top.
It's not just last two books that are bad, whole series is that well written. I had a suspicion that Weeks wouldn't be able to land a Lightbringer ending because he couldn't end any satisfying conclusion and suspense at the beginning - just a bunch of sudden twists that promise new adventures, while also breaking at least one character for some reason.
@@nathanliteroy9835 Agreed! you have a better thought out reasoning than mine. The sad part is I thought he had potential with the first two books of the "Night Angel" series
I was the opposite. I loved The Night Angel trilogy. Read book one of Lightbringer and said “Well. . . That’s too bad.” And dropped it forever.
Same. Just reread NAT and NAN and started black prism and immediately dropped it. Just doesnt hit
With book 5 I forced myself to get to half way and nearly DNF’d. I pushed through to 75% and again nearly DNF’d. I had lost all interest and didn’t care what happened. I ended up picking up another book and just getting through 10-15 pages of the burning white a day. It took me ages to finish but I just couldn’t stomach it anymore.
"I am just a dude with wifi" - Mike's Book Reviews. Classic
Is no one going to acknowledge that rad shirt??
Stairway to Heaven still is a top 5 rock song
His shirts are always fire
Hi there Mike. I have tried to listen to the Audio book versions of the first book in both of his series, and to this day, I can't remember anything that I listened to. I always wind up wandering to other books. Anyway, I wanted to let you know, that I am now 43% into the Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan. I just need about 10 more days, and I will be ready to start the Lord of Chaos. I am also currently reading the 37th volume of the Fairy Tail manga, which has been fun.
The character arc for Andross is so great. The plot reveals in book 5 explain so much in the gaps because the characters POVs did not know. The ending that many don't like is earned and foreshadowed.
He has said the next book is going back to the Night Angel world. The combat in that series reminds me of the movie The One.
Spoiler:
I liked how the "bad guys are the good" in Night Angel.
Eh, WRT Andross’s ending, I mostly agree with Gavin’s initial take on that particular situation.
Yea, the twist with Gavin, that basically undid the twist in book 1? I set it down shortly after that. I get it, there's the concept of the unreliable narrator, but I REALLY didn't feel like that was foreshadowed at all, beyond a few bits in book 3. I don't know if I just missed something, but it killed it for me.
Just terrible.
I adored lightbringer. Top 5 completed series for me easily. I would breakdown the books like this: 1 and 2 are five star books. Some of my favorites of all time.
Book 3 is a 3.5. Book 4 is a 2.5. and IMO book 5 ties it all together with a solid 4.5. Much of books 3 and 4 could have been combined for a tighter, less meandering, and more impactful story.
Not to spoil much but I don't think your qualms with the POV chapter not existing will be as strong after the completion of the series. I think Weeks knew this would upset people but I think he did a great job answering that question although many people complain that it falls too heavily in the deus ex machina camp.
I'm bummed you didn't enjoy it but you're right, in the end there's so much to read and I would never tell someone to read something they weren't enjoying.
What would you say is your top 5 series? This is my 2nd fantasy series, I started with throne of glass and I'm liking it so far halfway through the first book.
I had a soft spot for the Night Angel series, but I like ninjas and assassins and the like. I totally ripped off the main character to play in a D&D game. No regrets
Yeah, I also enjoyed the series.
I started with the prequel novella, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea. The reason being it assumes you already know some of the magic system...
Well after i finished the trilogy i reread the prequel and enjoyed it much more, getting to know Durzo better is a win for me.
I've heard people complain that NA doesn't know if it's YA or grimdark, and here Mike raised the same point...
I don't get it...
It is a coming of age story... I wouldn't put it in YA.
I agree with some criticisms and yes the first book was a bit rough around the edges, but i really enjoyed how mr Weeks "Stuck the landing."
I'll definitely reread the series when I get a chance.
I am genuinely saddened that you didn't finish the night angel trilogy at least. It's got a really good and satisfying ending. I assume you stopped reading while Kylar was in Carnarvon, cause the story does slow down a lot there, but it speeds up really quickly.
I completely understand about Lightbringer though. While I still love that series for it's amazing magic system, intricate story telling and a main character that I can really identify with. He really did jump the shark. Brent intended it to be a trilogy, and he says the story just got away from him (whether that is true or not... idk. Maybe he was just trying to eek out some more money by extending by two books). I really think it is worth reading for the ending though, while it was cheesy, I think it was the ending the story both needed and deserved.
I'm in the love them category... but I do appreciate you giving me things to think about as I restart the night angel trilogy.
Finally someone says it!
That plot twist was so horrible, and clearly not planned from the start. Just halfway through the book the author says "lol let's throw away all the buildup I did for a dumb shocking twist"
elisha graus I think the twist was definitely planned, but I didn’t like it either, there is evidence for it way back in book 2 and maybe earlier.
Spoilers for one example
In book 1 the real Gavin made it to the green cell. When fake Gavin checks the alarms to see if he escaped he notes that they didn’t go off for some reason since there was no one actually there. I think the POV chapters that were supposedly dreams of fake Gavin kind of ruined the twist although those were some of my favorite chapters.
I absolutely loved them. The ending could have been better, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable.
I couldn't get into the Night Angel series and hear so many mixed things about Light Bringer that I generally have no interest in Weeks. It's good to hear a bit from someone who has read more of his stuff
I'm almost done with book 1 of Malazan. Is it worth continuing on or is it a waste of time to try and get through all 10?
Some books are better than others, but overall, it's well worth it, I think. Years after, I still remember lots of characters, plots, specific things that happened. Book two has one of my favorite arcs (Chain of Dogs). Just be ready for lots of new characters, and not seeing the characters you know for a few books.
@@ivanjelenic5627 yeah, im worried im not going to remember who all the characters are and its going to become confusing
Depends on what you thought about the book. If you found it somewhat interesting but felt there was room for improvement then you might check out at least one more book. If you hated everything about it then the next books won't magically change your mind.
You couldn't be more on the mark with the whole Lightbringer series! I was thrilled after reading book 1 thinking I had found a new favorite series and author, and it was just a steady and steep decline all the way through to the end.
In the name of all that's holy never read book 5, which I hate-read-sped-through and which just seemed like an author flailing and having no clue how to bring everything to an end. His decision to blow up the planned last book of the trilogy into 3 books was self-indulgent and brutal in retrospect, since there just wasn't enough there. In the last two books he lost everything that made book 1 so kinetic and fun (including sidelining his incredible magic system for some reason).
I'm sorry this happened. I hate when I have to give up on an author. It's always frustrating. Luckily there is an endless sea of authors.
Everything you say in this video is exactly how I felt about Robert Jordan after LORD OF CHAOS.
Hmmm. I can see the complaints.
That's ok that you didn't like a book series I enjoyed.
No it's not.
I feel the same. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I completely disagree with this review of both series but I’m okay with that. I still love it and will revisit both series.
Burning White continued the plot twist problems of Blood Mirror. I felt like the last two books of Lightbringer belonged in a different series than the first two. Not necessarily a bad series, but a very different one with different characters, magic system, conflicts and world. I did like Night Angel a lot, but I was a teenager who was craving grimdark when I read it, so I fit the demographic perfectly.
Man, I was about to start this series. I looked up the spoiler in it, and yeah, that would have really upset me four books in! I’ll still give the books a shot, but yeah, I’m glad I know about the “twist” in question.
I am plan to read the first three books. I have read black prism, it was a slow start for me. I had to keep rereading; the book wasn't holding my attention. But I found the book intriguing. The book was OK. Now I must decide if I want to continue reading the rest of the series. I find the politics or religion intriguing (the prism, drafters, wights, white)... The characters not so much. Don't really care what happens to any of them. So I will try the next two in the series
I agree with you. I read the first Lightbringer book and bounced off.
I wonder if he has any idea that some of the inconsistencies or wild twists that seem overkill are actually little pieces that link the two series together and technically in theory i think real life. It hasnt been explicitly stated except a reference i think in either night angel nemesis or burning whites author notes at the end. And some obvious things like them quoting pulp fiction and plato
I have listened to both series twice. There’s some fluff in the lightbringer series that wasn’t needed. It could’ve been cut to 3 books. Some pacing issues. I do like his stories.
Insane that you brought up Song of Susannah. I actually stopped reading the Dark Tower series years ago on that book. I just wasn't enjoying it. Now it's been so long that I would have to start the series over. As an avid King fan, I feel like I owe it to myself to someday finish it
Oh Stephen king is awful.
@@RockyOutcrop Early Stephen King was incredible.
Sooooo did The WItcher also get the Lightbringer dnf treatment? I know Time of Contempt is rough, but Baptism of fire is one the best in the serious.
Nah, I’ll get back to Witcher eventually.
Night Angel is the reason I stopped buying books I haven't read. I really spent $30 bucks on the 10th anniversary omnibus to hate the first book so much I couldn't even finish it. What's worse is that edition is now going for ~$80 and I sold it to my used bookstore for $5 😒
I loved this series, but even I didn't like the ending. If not for how badly it finished, I'd have this series comfortably in the top 3 fantasy series.
I know these issues must have been there in book 4, but I don't remember them bothering me
Blood mirror needed to be chopped down for sure. Cause he doesn't have enough time for burning white. The ending felt so rushed cause he didn't want a 6 book. But I enjoyed the series for the most part
I read Night Angel and thought it was good, but not very original. I wasn't in love with the Lightbringer series, but I was enjoying it through book 3. It seemed to be going somewhere fun. Book 4 was bad. I only read book 5 because I'd gone that far already and it totally fell flat with me too. I think your "Can't stick the landing" observation nails it.
I gotta say, you dipped out at the right time. I totally understand you calling book 4 a "hate read"... I struggled very hard. The Burning White was so much worse. It was so hard to read. I was furious the whole time. It's so disappointing because the first two really were just excellent! I fully think Weeks could maybe write one of my favorite series, Lightbringer just was not it. Tis a shame! But if you ever want to be angry at a book, pick up Burning White.
I didn't see any issues with the first 4. Maybe on a reread and ill pick up some issues. But book 5 was so frustrating. All the stakes were completely ruined. So frustrating.
I could not make it through Way of Shadows. Like you said, I just didn't care about any of the characters. I did try, I even got the audiobook to try to soldier through it. I got to about 50% and gave up. I just didn't care.
Would love a more detailed explanation (Not caring to avoid spoilers) for those of us that finished and loved all five books (some more than others obviously). Just would love to hear what didn't work for you in 3 and 4 and why it irritated you so much.
I had to come back and leave a comment on this video. I think you were very honest and good natured in here. The series didn’t work for you and that’s ok but I loved the fact that you didn’t rant or were not disparaging. I am a Week’s fan and loved Lightbringer but I respected your take. I can’t believe you got crap for the video.
Something similar happened to me when I tried to read the Mistborn Trilogy. I have all the copies and standalone paperbacks. I got bored midway towards the second book and struggled to finish it (Reading the final 100+ pages of the second book kind of reignited my interest). I read halfway through the third novel and just gave up... I love Brandon Sanderson's Elantris & Warbreaker, but I can't seem to want to finish Mistborn... I think because I felt too many POV's were introduced (in the last book), or I didn't quite like to read through the minds of Sazed, Tensoon, & Spook. It took some time before I returned to reading his work. Had to read the last three Wheel of Time books and after a lot of pondering; will start Way of Kings this year (first time).
I read through book three and havent come back. Agreed. I tore through the first two. After three i tried the 4th but the magic was gone. Thats my habit though is i will let things drop if im not loving rhem
I DNF'd on the first book. I just couldn't get into the magic system. I respect that many like it, but it wasn't for me. As for Song of Susannah, there is alot of good stuff in that book. I always look forward to this book on a reread. But I do understand why it doesn't work from some, and . . . to each his own. I'm good with it.
I'm slowly doing my Dark Tower re-read when it comes up on my ITM schedule and I'm curious if I'll feel differently about SoS at this age.
I actually really loved the Nightangel series. The system, the characters, their motivations, all the big and small things about it. It is the series that made me not give up on fantasy after everything else just started to taste the same. I still return to it occasionally. The black Prism....I have it on my shelf, had it for years and did not get past the first couple of pages. Something was different about it. Maybe it was because the translator to my language for the Weeks books changed, I don't know. With Sanderson I was held at gunpoint and for me personally it made me love the Nightangel Trilogy even more, because it did so many things right that the Stormlight Archive just plainly butchered. Sanderson worldbuilding is phenomenal, but there are issues with his overall characters and the plot that are nonexistent in the Weeks books. People do not have to agree with me and probably never will, but I love the way Weeks hinted at things and managed to play with what to say and what not to say to still make his story work. Anyway, cheers, everyone read what makes you happy!
Read the Night's Angel series and liked it. Have the entire Lightbringer series on my TBR, I am kind of bummed out here. Not sure whether I should make the investment in time, and try it anyway, with so many other books to read, on my TBR mainly the Malazan.
i quit on the third book{Lightbringer}. Still cant put my finger on why? Have no interest in picking it back up.
Brent Weeks has a lot of ideas in his books that are not getting fleshed out the way they should on the pages. The whole Liv arc and creatures from other dimensions is just not fleshed out, and I think Liv is almost dropped/does not matter by the end. The same, only worse in terms of execution, was happening in Night Angel. But Night Angel is amazing in terms of plot, but so many things there just feel like a rushed outline of a million ideas. In some way, Lightbringer was the same, only done better.
And yeah, some of those twists in later books felt like they just there to have a twist. That particular twist you were talking about, I think it would have been much better if that was left how it was in book 1 and explored further. It had so much implications, unfortunately, opportunity missed for me too.
I'm so upset about Liv.
He's explained a couple of times that he moved her to a background role because she wasn't recieved well and a lot of people seemed to dislike her chapters. Massive misstake imo. Left us with a half-told arc for a very important and nuanced character.
@@DiddntFindANameLol really? That was a stupid move. Despite people liking or disliking her, it was a huge part of the plot. And her latter interactions with the gods were pretty cool and could have been full of lore. Instead, we got a blip and the blip has died. Authors should not listen to fans outcries, I guess is the lesson
@@Rendref Especially with book 5 being a thing! Her chapters were my favourites, simply for the fact that it gave us a way to understand wights and gods a lot better..
I audio'd The Black Prism recently and have to say I don't really feel compelled to jump back into the series. I probably will, but I have read / listened to any number of books since then whose sequels are already calling me more than the second Lightbringer. I wouldn't go as far as saying I am done, only based on one book, but I am holding at 'muh' station right now for sure.
i just finished reading the blood mirror and while i wasnt realy mad about it its also just like such a transition novel, the final book is gonna have to do a lot of work to get things together.
Yes, Thato it ties a lot of the plot threads together. Andross Guile is the best character.
All due respect to Mr. Weeks, I am not a fan of his work. When I read his assassin series I put him on the "Do not read" list. "Wet boys..."
I never really got over the part in Night Angel trilogy where one of his characters, used magic to r***e an underage girl in front of her father. And like, no one has brought this up? I couldn't even start Lightbringer after this.
I am curious though. I will probably start reading some of his stuff soon though. I really am enjoying Patrick Rothfuss lately. I know it’s not complete but I am halfway through book 2 and having a blast with it.
I myself am diving into The Name of the Wind. I am scared the series will never be complete but I’ve heard amazing things from people I trust the most so I’m giving it a go.
@@JZETH_ yea even if book 3 never comes out, I have really enjoyed what I have read so far.
@@JZETH_ It depends on the reader. I see that a lot, and I mean A LOT, of readers are super plot hungry. What I mean by that is you have so many people who hard focus on the plot 90% and then like to have splinkles of themes and characters on top. This is why I think Game of Thornes was super popular as a show, as it is possibly the most plot heavy driven fantasy out there.
The name of the wind is pretty fluent in plot. It flows, it is fun and "things" happen consistently. The book two however focuses much more on exploration of several themes, the world and other fantastical ideas the author had. The plot is there, of course, but the appeal of the book is that it is almost like a slice of life in this vibrant fantasy world of a cocky traumatised teenager trying to understand what the heck is going on in this world. This results in a lot of people complaining that "nothing happened" in book 2, but that is very unfair to say, as it wasn't the aim.
I myself am one of those people who don't really care about the plot that much. It is nice and it can be enjoyable, but to me the thing that matters the most is the character work, the exploration of themes and the world building. Think about it, who the f**k cares about the plot of LotR? Yes it is there and it is fun, but it is literally the LAST thing anyone cares about. And this is why Kingkiller is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time still, after all these years, because of the unparalleled world building. The world does not feel huge mind you, but Pat just writes in such a detailed poetic way that his magical world comes to life like almost no other! He has wild fantastical ideas and together with his almost unparalleled prose writing skills, he is able to really tell stories within stories within stories, express character emotion through absolutely beautiful scenes and foreshadows everything so well!
Anyhow, it is not for everyone at all, but if you are one of those people who can forget about the plot for a second and just enjoy the world, then you will be happy you read the two books.
I had a huge, huge problem with Night Angel. I read it when I was in the hospital, and there was nothing else to read. Kylar was a complete blank canvas, the male equivalent of Bella from Twilight. A lot of his women sounded like r/menwritingwomen. I hated the Madonna/whore trope between Elene and Vi. I really liked the characters of Dorian, Solan and Durzo though, so I kept reading. Then the third book happened, and oh my god. That ending. Brent shit the bed on the ending, threw the bed in the dumpster, lit it on fire and crashed it into the sea. The ending was so rushed and thrown together. Then there were the fakeout deaths, and breaking of how resurrection worked because reasons? Then the whole plot between Dorian and Jeanine (Logan's betrothed) that just left me feeling gross. By the time I got to the magic fetus womb swapping, the shark had bern so far jumped, I was just reading to finish it. Just really, bad awful writing.
I would like an in-depth rant.
This is about as far as I'll go. I don't read a lot of books that get true vitriol from me. Too many good books to read.
Me too i want a rant but this will do.
Join the Discord, fellers. We trash it plenty.
I'm a gonna just say my first dive into Fantasy was Night angel and i was at a stage in my life where i didnt want to be in my own head so i dived into these books, and moved onto Lightbringer took a fair bit of time to get into Black prism, i understand alot of people didnt like the broken eye and yes i feel like it ended quick but after a re-read i got a soft spot for it, then i moved onto Brandon sanderson
i think you made the right choice iv read all 5 books and it just feel like the author changes his mind over and over and the main villain seemed like a place holder i kept waiting for the real villain.
the last book felt like the author was just writhing not telling a story
I agree almost totally with you on Lightbringer (haven't read Night Angel). I finished Lightbringer, and book 5 was better than book 4, but I have similar issues with that one as well.
LOOOOOOOOOOOL “jump the shark so high it’s still floating around Mars”
I’m gonna steal that
Well... that is kinda disapointing to hear. Still I am willing to try out the series at some point. Hopefully it will work for me. But I will put it aside to focus on Malazan for now. Which has been amazing so far (last book atm) and made me want to continue with the other works aside the big 10.
I always encourage folks to make up their own mind. There are still plenty who say they enjoyed it.
Oh. For me, the Lightbringer was one of the best trilogies written by Brent. Up there with the Stormlight (I've read almost all of his books).
I've absolutely loved the "physics" of the world and the characters and the unique plotlines.
If it had stayed a trilogy, I might have agreed.
I'm not with you on the Broken Eye, I thought it was better than The Black Prism. I, on the other hand, like Kip much more than Gavin and felt like it was a treat to get more Kip Chapters. Tia was also a really good foil to Kip, especially in POV chapters of hers where we got to see Kip outside of his own head. Haven't started the Blood Mirror yet but it doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as you're describing. We'll see later this week whether I like it or not but I am fully expecting to enjoy it.
I liked the Night Angel trilogy but couldn't really get into the lightbringer series. I read some of the first book but it wasn't for me.
I don't blame you for not finishing the series.
I rode through it all, and while i largely enjoyed it, I don't see myself going back to it
I’m on the third lightbringer series. For me, it’s good entertainment. Some of the side plots suddenly change throughout the series but it didn’t bother me much. It does feel like Weeks will just write in changes to the books without attempting to foreshadow while writing. He seems like a pantzer rider to me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this at first, but I realized that the story entertains me so I was just being picky. The book makes me laugh, makes me want to pump my fist, and can even bring a tear to my eye. Overall, they’re great. I’ve heard the last two aren’t as good but my expectation isn’t very high. I’m just reading for cheap entertainment, I wouldnt call his writings masterpieces, but they are enjoyable. I’m easy going though so as long as there is magic I’ll likely enjoy it. I don’t expect character masterpieces or incredibly intricate world building, but I am pleased when I run into it. To anyone reading, I think lightbringer is a great choice if you just want a fun story and you don’t plan on taking it seriously.
Typed on phone. Sorry for the poor writing.
I’m gonna comment before I listen because I don’t know what to expect and light bringer is my favorite book series. I didn’t like night angel as much but it’s gonna be hard to stomach listening to someone say bad things about my favorite thing, but I am kind of curious because I love it so much I can’t even fathom what you are about to say. I’m usually pretty imaginative and I’m stumped for the for the negative things. I’ll get to watching now.
Okay, I feel like we disagree. You at least hype out the first three, I feel that way about all of them. This is going to sound mean but I think it may have went over your head or you missed some things. I mean that in a not mean way. I don’t feel like blood mirror was a hiccup but to each their own.
I felt the same after reading the 3rd entry to the Enders Game series
The books from Bean's perspective were good iirc. At least the first one, Ender's Shadow.
I liked the first two entries in The Night Angel Trilogy, but the last entry was a slog to get through considering the fact that there were many characters that I did not care for at all and the battles taking place were honestly very boring. Seriously, I was bored out of my mind and I don't think that there were sufficient payoffs for the characters that I was invested in, aside from Logan, maybe. However, I don't regret reading that Trilogy and I may give Brent Weeks another shot.
Bought book1+2+4 of Lightbringer on 50% sale yesterday, good timing with the video, but still looking forward to give this a good old college try.
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I'm almost at the end of the Burning White, and my thoughts overall are very similar to yours. Making Dazen a figment of Gavin's imagination absolutely killed the series for me. I'm going to be honest, the conflict between the brothers was the point that made me so interested. Killing Dazen already abruptly killed my love for the series, but then making him imaginary made me angry. I ranted to my partner tonight about how mad I was that I invested so much time in this character and was the main point of my interest be ruined so much. I told her I'm struggling to finish The Burning White because I just don't care about the characters and conflicts, especially with the direction Brent took the series. I've never had a series get me so hooked at the beginning, only to kill the momentum multiple times and have me struggling to finish the series, and it is really astounding, because I usually tend to enjoy series more as I continue the books. So it made me happy to see someone have very similar thoughts about the direction and choices of the series.
Lol you mean gavin was a figment of dazens imagination..... since you know.... gavin has been dead since the start.
@@gradoisx2348 Yes, but the story continues to refer to them with their swapped names, until the end of the series
While I'm at it, I'll add my thoughts about Lightbringer, which I read because everyone on r/fantasy said it was miles better than Night Angel. And it was, up until a point.
Lightbringer was planned as a trilogy and it should have stayed that way. Everything was so much better, up until Brent changed his mind about Gavin being in the prison. It was as obvious as when Robert Jordan meant for Taim to be Demandred and changed his mind. I think I understand what Brent was trying to do with Tisis' vaginismus, but the graphic descriptions were so cringy, and I'm a woman. Then The Burning White happened. The first 2/3 were a slog, worse than Blood Mirror, and the last 1/3 felt rushed, hasty, thrown together and sloppy. The literal deus ex machina was lazy and unsatisfying. The whole plot with Ironfist as an antagonist felt disingenuous, and reminded me of the Dorian plot in Night Angel. Nobody died and stayed dead, except Cruxer, whose death was meaningless and senseless. It was another dumpster fire of an ending, and the one and only reason I finished that book is because I had to know how it ended. It was such a bipolar series, I feel like Brent wanted to do grimdark, but have a happy feel good ending too, and it just did not work. A lot of the foreshadowing led nowhere, and it felt a lot like Game of Thrones "Ha, expectations SUBVERTED!" type of storytelling, and freshly off of that show it left a super bad taste in my mouth. I tried, I read both of his series, and have learned my lesson, no matter how promising of a beginning, his books are just not my cup of tea. I also found his attempt to set up an interconnected set of worlds or shared universe to be sloppy and graceless.
I very much agree, especially with the vaginismus thing. I didn't really like the third book and I loathed the fourth book, so I haven't read the fifth.
How is the deus ex machina bad? The entire story is literally about faith and Gavin struggling being a priest of something he doesn't believe in
There are no magic systems in my novels...unless you count the satanic blood sacrifice. Only slightly kidding 😳
I don’t have one in my story either. I have magical areas natural to the world, and magical items. I don’t like magic systems, especially those that are more like science, like Sanderson’s stuff. It detracts from the wonder, the mystery, and the magical.
Yup, this series started off amazing. I felt the same way about the magic system. But treating book 3 & 4 like they were A Song of Ice and Fire? Nope. Oh and book 5 was... Sad
.
Edit: Oh and the cards... Great concept that literally faded to nothing in book 5
The cards absolutely did not fade to nothing in book five they became a major point in the story line once absorbed
@@JusTb0329 no, I think they were forgotten about. I wanted some visions during major battle scenes. I wanted more conflict from Kip about what he was seeing.
They weren't mentioned.
I am a relatively knew reader and before i start a series i really try to see if i ll like it by checking on reviewer's such a yourself. I cant imagine starting a book series and not ending it yet.
just found you channel - like it so far :) ! I loved Lightbringer but I hated the end. it did not do the story justice at all. but I respect your opinion. Night Angel was tough - I only made it through book one.
I love nightangle trilogy and it was my first real entry to fantasy.....light bringer I've been stuck on third book for two years l
You're lucky. Book 4 will make you kick puppies.