The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art. And he is the city's most accomplished artist, his talents required from alleyway to courtly boudoir.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned the hard way to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

3 1/2 stars

My review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-of-way-of-shadows.html

Was a little medium on the author's depictions of women, but I was invested in the story and the characters, and will probably finish the series.

It was clear from the start this wasn't going to be a good book, but I wanted to see how far I could read it. The writing is weak, the plot is standard, the characters are clichés.

PLOT

Azoth is a kid who lives in the streets. He is part of a gang lead by Rat, a cruel leader who is constantly abusing his followers. Everyday he must reach a quota or face the consequences. One day he decides to challenge the abuse, defying the leader in front of everybody. To teach him a lesson, nothing happened to Azoth, but his best friend Jarl took the punishment.

Helpless and scared for his life and Doll Girl's, his other friend, Azoth tries to enlist as an apprentice to the best assassin in town, Durzo Blint. Durzo denies him at first, but after much insistence, he gives the boy a task: if he kills his gang leader, he would train him. Somehow Azoth manages to succeed, but not before Doll Girl is tortured and left to die.

What follows is Azoth's training and the development of his new identity, as a young noble from a distant land. He must learn about poisons, fighting, killing and spying. But above all, never to create any emotional bonds with anyone, as that is a weakness his enemies would use against him.

ANALYSIS

So far as I read everything was very blend, nothing interesting happening. Although I liked the very brief apprenticeship under Durzo, instead of a whole book about this, the plot felt very rushed at after this point.

Some of the things I didn't like:
- over reliance of tropes, making things too predictable: the tough looking badass assassin, who is feared by everyone, who has no emotions, but is in fact a deeply caring man
- bullied street kid wants to become stronger to defend himself and others, decides to become an assassin, bu hate killing
- empty promises: ‘You can never talk to her again or else I'll kill you, OK?', ‘OK.'. Proceeds to talking to girl again, with no consequences

This book was so easy to read. I liked the gritty story of redemption, magic, love, and hate. There were some tragedies I wish had not occurred, but the fact I cared so much is an indication of how well they were written.