The Way of Shadows

Dark, gritty read about the life of Azoth, an orphan and a guild rat living amongst the poorest, most hopeless and twisted thieves, vagabonds, murderers and whores. As the setting suggests, the book starts off as dark and violent, sometimes to the point of being needlessly explicit. But it does its job in provokng emotions in you and raising enough morbid interest mixed with hope for the characters that you'll come to know.

It is these (well written) characters that are the reason there is not a single weak chapter in the book. Even as the focus changes from one personal storyline to another, the reading experience stays just as captivating. Add to that the fact that much like George R. R. Martin, Brent Weeks likes to periodically remind you that there are no untouchable personas in his story, and you become honestly worried about every nerve-wrecking situation the characters appear in, since it could very well be their last.

As Azoth's story progresses, you will delve deep into the dark lives of assassins, the ever-present political intrigue and manipulation, and encounter some very neatly written and not overused magic. Throughout this journey, Brent Weeks does a wonderful job of slowly building and introducing a world that is rich in distinct cultures, societies and mythologies.

Unfortunately, there are some weak sides to the book. Some characters try to surprise you by twists in their personal stories so often that, in the end, they manage to lose a big portion of their integrity.
The setting of the book paints a sexist and homophobic world, where the only strong characters are men. Big, experienced, bloodied by many battles. Women lack even one strong character and are instead reduced to whores, servants or weaklings who need to be protected or abused. This sadly detracts much from the diverse richness the book could have offered.