The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks (4.4 Stars)

Gavin Guile is dying.

He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies.

Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago.

Premise: How compelling or unique is the overview of the story?
----- 8/10: The premise is solid, but not too unique. It's your standard epic fantasy story with magic, intrigue, politics and war. I like these stories, so no complaints, but a fresh take on a fantasy premise is always more interesting.

Plot: How well does the action of the story fulfill or even expand the potential of the premise?
----- 9/10: The story shines with the execution of the premise. The characters drive the plot and the story unfolds naturally, with no lack of excitement. I did think one plotline was somewhat pointless (Seer's Island), but hopefully it comes to fruition in future books.

Characters: Overall feelings towards the characters. Are they memorable? Exciting? Human? Do we even like them?
----- 10/10: The characters are awesome. Real people that make mistakes and feel real emotions. Kip, who I didn't like in book 1, improves massively here and has a rewarding coming of age arc. I'm legitimately attached to the fate of the characters, which will always keep me reading.

Pacing: How strong is the momentum of the story? Is it hard to put the book down?
----- 8/10: There were some slow spots, but overall the pacing was strong, especially during action scenes (which are very well written). The complexity of the magic is such that it could be very hard to follow the action scenes, but Weeks does an excellent job.

Prose: Does the author have strong writing skills? Is the text easy and enjoyable to read and not jarring or distracting?
----- 8/10: Weeks has a unique writing style, which toes the line to being obnoxious at times. He goes unnecessarily deep into his lexicon in my opinion, but is also able to pull off incredible show don't tell writing.

Depth: Do elements of the story combine to form an immersive setting? Is it easy to visualize and well thought out?
----- 9/10: In the second book of this unique world, Weeks is really able to start developing something immersive. I still don't understand the nuances of all the different nationalities right away like you would with Sanderson or Jordan, but I suspect I'll be a well versed resident of the world as the series continues.

Epic-ness: Are cool things happening? Are story elements used to creating plot action that is exciting and satisfying?
----- 9/10: Weeks has created a system that has the potential for very exciting and epic scenes, and he delivers over and over. He also seems to be creating a layered plotline with undercurrents of betrayal and motivations that are still unknown. I'd like to see more resolution of the hints he's dropping. Right now I feel like I've been off balance for too long and the entire plot could turn on its head at any moment. Let's get more epic reveals in the future please!

Total: 61/70: The Blinding Knife expands on a solid first book in the series and sets the stage for more entries. The characters are real, the action is exciting, and the plot is nuanced. Hopefully not too nuanced, because I'd like to see more secrets explained in future books.


Content warning: Book 2 of the series has added more harsh language and medium sexual content