The Black Prism

What begins as an easy fantasy banality (young man in a small agrarian village has his life change before his eyes when soldiers kill everyone, his mother included) twists itself into a tale of choices, the gray area between good and evil, and the awkwardness of being a teen. The overpowering strengths of The Black Prism by Brent Weeks lies in the character development. There are only a handful of characters within this book that could be thought of as straightforward; and those that are are secondary, driving the plot onward and not giving us enough time to examine them properly. It is each character's struggles that are brilliantly portrayed. Kip, the orphaned boy from the agrarian village, thinks himself worthless, but turns out to be on the rise to become one of the most powerful magicians of the world and the religious figurehead's son to boot. Gavin, the religious figurehead himself, struggles with his past deeds and a secret that could have him killed—not to mention the fact that he will die within seven years. Liv struggles to find a cause to join, following her father's words, “Fealty to one.” Karris struggles to find the truth behind Gavin and his dead brother Daven, whom she loved. The characters are so enthusiastically thrown together and shaken that the reader finds themselves on a roller coaster of emotion, action, and confusion (a good sort of confusion) trying to figure out who is going to do what next.

Weeks's world-building was well done also. His world centers on seven satrapies, each with their own race that, at times, got me thinking that things were a bit too heavily racial in this world. But then I remembered that is how things are here in our world; so I decided to over look the hundred or so references to “kinky hair” and color of skin. The magic system, of course, is what the book centers around and I did like the way it was based off light and scientific principle. Also, the political and economic effects the magic had on the world as a whole was well thought out. However, there was just something about the magic system that did not connect with me personally. I can't put my finger on it, however, so that did not effect my rating.

Had I been basing my rating solely on characterization, plot, and world-building I might have awarded The Black Prism a full five stars. Perhaps. Unfortunately, there was a certain rushed feel to the book. Not in pacing, but in the publication itself. I began reading and spotted a few typos. It happens sometimes, of course, I thought to myself. But after spotting one practically every other chapter (there are 93 chapters!) I began to think that perhaps Weeks's previous trilogy was too successful for The Black Prism's good. Clearly this book was rushed into publication to make money fast, which it may have done, but it certainly has hurt my opinion of Weeks, the editors involved, and Orbit Books. This easily lost it a full star in my eyes.

The other star lost might have been two had I not been so intrigued and consumed by the characters. Melodrama at times got so over the top that it was ridiculous. At points it got the point where it felt like a character couldn't comb their hair for fear that they might decapitate themselves with the comb. Things are not terribly subtle in this book. And speaking of decapitations.... I understand that war is bloody, tragic thing. I get that people die in battle and, yes, maybe a few of them might lose a limb or possibly their head. But in the final battle there were so many decapitations it made me want to skip to the last page and see how it ended. I considered going back and counting how many died such explicitly gruesome deaths, but, alas, then I would have to read it again. I mean, you don't have to know much physics to understand that a musket ball is not going to decapitate a horse! At what point did our society become so enthralled by gore and violence that it was entertaining for so many people (and horses) to have their heads loped, shot, exploded, and crushed off?

So I have to say, bravo Weeks for your development of this story. I'll have to overlook a few things to read the next book in the trilogy...