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Lightbringer #5
The Burning White
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Fantasy (2019)The Burning White is the epic conclusion to the Lightbringer series by New York Times bestseller Brent Weeks - one of the most popular fantasy series of recent years.
As the White King springs his great trap, and the Chromeria itself is threatened by treason and siege, Kip Guile and his companions will scramble to return for one impossible final stand.
In the darkest hour, will the Lightbringer come?
The Lightbringer series
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror
The Burning White
More novels from Brent Weeks:
Night Angel
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows
Perfect Shadow (novella)
992 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2019
3789 people are currently reading
24795 people want to read
About the author
Brent Weeks
94 books23.1k followersIn a small-town Montana school at age 12, Brent Weeks met the two great loves of his life. Edgar Allan Poe introduced him to the power of literature to transcend time and death and loneliness. Fate introduced him to The Girl, Kristi Barnes. He began his pursuit of each immediately.
The novel was a failure. The Girl shot him down.
Since then–skipping the boring parts–Brent has written eight best-selling novels with the Night Angel Trilogy and the Lightbringer Series, won several industry awards, and sold a few million books.
Brent and his wife Kristi live in Oregon with their two daughters. (Yeah, he married The Girl.)
The novel was a failure. The Girl shot him down.
Since then–skipping the boring parts–Brent has written eight best-selling novels with the Night Angel Trilogy and the Lightbringer Series, won several industry awards, and sold a few million books.
Brent and his wife Kristi live in Oregon with their two daughters. (Yeah, he married The Girl.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,674 reviews
September 19, 2021
Review copy provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars
Epic, engaging, well-written, and surprisingly full of theology.
Here we are, nine years since The Black Prism was first published, The Burning White—the fifth and final installment in the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks—is finally out and with it, the Lightbringer pentalogy is officially over. This is one of my—along with many fantasy readers—most anticipated books of the year, to make sure that I’ll be able to appreciate it fully, I even binged reread the series from the beginning—something I rarely do—in preparation. Now that I’ve read it, I have to say that I’m both satisfied and also disappointed with it. Don’t get me wrong, as far as enjoyment goes I’m still giving this book a 4 stars rating; I was engrossed, wasn’t bored, and I finished this 392,000 words tome within five days. However, although I had a wonderful time with this book and series, I can’t deny that I had issues with the way Weeks resolved the series; allow me to dive into that later, but first, I want to elaborate on the parts that I loved as spoiler-free as possible.
I’ve said this throughout my reviews of the series several times, and I have to say it once again that I think Weeks is one of the smartest writers in the genre when it comes to plot twists and revelations. Seriously, even though some of the resolutions in this book didn’t sit well with me, the number of plot twists he planned and unveiled throughout the series was nothing short of outstanding; I have to applaud him for that. That still stands true here most of the time. The Burning White is by far the largest book in the series; it’s as big as The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson and Weeks has a huge number of storylines to close in this one book. In this tome, Weeks did successfully gave closure to some of the major character's story arc and also leave room for more stories should he ever decide to go back to writing in this world.
Character developments were one of the other aspects that I enjoyed so much from this series; it’s satisfying to read how far the major characters have come since their first appearance. I could ramble on for hundreds of words about each character’s development, but I don’t think I need to do that. I would, however, mention that Teia’s story conclusion was probably the most satisfying out of all the characters in the series. Weeks spent thousands of pages building her character since The Blinding Knife and although each main character in the book received their spotlight equally, I personally found Teia’s story to be the most thoroughly engaging for almost the entirety of the series. The Burning White is a huge book, and the major characters didn’t reunite with each other until the story reached the second half. This situation made the pacing of the first half of the novel a bit too slow at times, but it also amplified the tension of the final war. Honestly, the second half of the book was so good that I found myself annoyed by how many times I had to put down the book due to real-life necessities. Intense, emotional, and well-written; the war in the final two hundred pages was global-in-scale and full of impressive feats and magical battles.
Prose-wise, I also think that The Burning White featured Weeks’s strongest prose so far. For the past four books, there weren’t many passages or sentences I found worth highlighting and in this one, there were so many of them that I wished I could share with you all. The three years of waiting for this book to come out was worth the wait in that regard; the writing was tremendously well-polished and I found myself immersed with the book. Also, there were many noteworthy scenes in this tome, including the final war, but in my opinion, the most extraordinary scene in this book was the final Nine Kings duel; Yugi-Oh would’ve been proud of Weeks’s Nine Kings scenes delivery. Seriously, Andross Guile must also be one of the most memorable morally grey characters in fantasy, whether you love or hate him.
Now, you may be wondering, after all the positive things I’ve said, why didn’t The Burning White received a 5 stars rating from me? The simple answers to this would be the sudden change to theological fantasy and the barrage of Deus ex machina used to resolve the multitude of conflicts in the series. Faith and religion have always been an important and recurring theme of the series, but it was simply too much in this book. It almost felt like Weeks found a new faith in Christianity and poured all his belief in it into this particular book with no brake. The first 400 pages were already full of theology discussions that slowed down the pacing considerably, but I honestly found this section to be acceptable because it still aligned with the direction of the series so far. Plus, religion and faith are relatable major themes implemented in many stories, not just fantasy, that I tend to enjoy reading immensely. However, the biggest issue I had wasn’t due to the fact that religion became the most dominant theme of the book, but it’s how religion and a complete sense of faith in God became the solution to practically every question, revelations, and conflict of this book or series.
Lightbringer is, to me, a series that’s both incredibly refreshing, twisted, and full of revelations/mechanisms with data and background to back them up; plot twists and solutions were constantly shocking and never felt out of place, but The Burning White changed all of this by relying on Deus ex machina bombardments. Without going into spoilery-details, almost every conflict in this book was solved because of the power of God. The final war itself took three tomes to prepare and reached, Weeks spent a LOT of time building towards this war and final confrontation with the final bosses of the series but the final bosses ended up only making an appearance for roughly ten pages long; thousands of pages and years of waiting to reach this confrontation, and it ended in ten minutes of reading. Also, Chromaturgy was a magic system with many hard rules, I even mentioned that it’s on-par with Sanderson’s magic system level of crafting, but Weeks threw the rules away and replaced them with soft magic systems without any intricate explanation other than it’s all possible because of God’s intervention. I’m not kidding; there’s even a healing scene that involved a character on the brink of death drinking a kopi (coffee) brewed by God to instantaneous full recovery. I can’t make this up, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds; it’s what happened in the book. I won’t deny that the theological aspect did spark passages about redemption and forgiveness that I found to be superbly written, but all of the God’s power appearances and inclusion this late in the series just felt odd and—to be brutally honest—cheap to be used as solutions for one of the most twisted and well-plotted fantasy series out there.
Although the book, in my opinion, fell short from reaching the greatness and potential exhibited in the first three books, I still found myself overall happy with what I’ve read here. Let me emphasize this if it isn’t clear enough, I had a great time reading this series and despite the issues I had with this concluding installment, I do think that this series is worth a try if you’re a fan of epic fantasy with heavy focus on plot-twists, politics, and assassinations. Every light casts a shadow. Every shadow hides a secret. Every secret holds a truth. Every truth bears a legend. Every legend shines a light. Who’s the Lightbringer? Read and find out for yourself. The Burning White is a pulsating and theological final installment to the Lightbringer series. Lightbringer is one of the early epic fantasy series—alongside Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie—that started my SFF novels reading journey, and I’m glad to finally be able to put it in my list of “completed series I’ve read.”
Series Review:
The Black Prism: 4.5/5 stars
The Blinding Knife: 5/5 stars
The Broken Eye: 4.5/5 stars
The Blood Mirror: 3/5 stars
The Burning White: 3.5/5 stars
Lightbringer: 20.5/25 stars
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
3.5/5 stars
Epic, engaging, well-written, and surprisingly full of theology.
Here we are, nine years since The Black Prism was first published, The Burning White—the fifth and final installment in the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks—is finally out and with it, the Lightbringer pentalogy is officially over. This is one of my—along with many fantasy readers—most anticipated books of the year, to make sure that I’ll be able to appreciate it fully, I even binged reread the series from the beginning—something I rarely do—in preparation. Now that I’ve read it, I have to say that I’m both satisfied and also disappointed with it. Don’t get me wrong, as far as enjoyment goes I’m still giving this book a 4 stars rating; I was engrossed, wasn’t bored, and I finished this 392,000 words tome within five days. However, although I had a wonderful time with this book and series, I can’t deny that I had issues with the way Weeks resolved the series; allow me to dive into that later, but first, I want to elaborate on the parts that I loved as spoiler-free as possible.
“Of all the things that die, hope is the most easily resurrected.”
I’ve said this throughout my reviews of the series several times, and I have to say it once again that I think Weeks is one of the smartest writers in the genre when it comes to plot twists and revelations. Seriously, even though some of the resolutions in this book didn’t sit well with me, the number of plot twists he planned and unveiled throughout the series was nothing short of outstanding; I have to applaud him for that. That still stands true here most of the time. The Burning White is by far the largest book in the series; it’s as big as The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson and Weeks has a huge number of storylines to close in this one book. In this tome, Weeks did successfully gave closure to some of the major character's story arc and also leave room for more stories should he ever decide to go back to writing in this world.
“What if everyone in the world said, ‘Someone’s gonna do evil—but it won’t be me’?”
Character developments were one of the other aspects that I enjoyed so much from this series; it’s satisfying to read how far the major characters have come since their first appearance. I could ramble on for hundreds of words about each character’s development, but I don’t think I need to do that. I would, however, mention that Teia’s story conclusion was probably the most satisfying out of all the characters in the series. Weeks spent thousands of pages building her character since The Blinding Knife and although each main character in the book received their spotlight equally, I personally found Teia’s story to be the most thoroughly engaging for almost the entirety of the series. The Burning White is a huge book, and the major characters didn’t reunite with each other until the story reached the second half. This situation made the pacing of the first half of the novel a bit too slow at times, but it also amplified the tension of the final war. Honestly, the second half of the book was so good that I found myself annoyed by how many times I had to put down the book due to real-life necessities. Intense, emotional, and well-written; the war in the final two hundred pages was global-in-scale and full of impressive feats and magical battles.
“Strength is a choice. Courage is a habit. Unfortunately, cowardice is, too.”
Prose-wise, I also think that The Burning White featured Weeks’s strongest prose so far. For the past four books, there weren’t many passages or sentences I found worth highlighting and in this one, there were so many of them that I wished I could share with you all. The three years of waiting for this book to come out was worth the wait in that regard; the writing was tremendously well-polished and I found myself immersed with the book. Also, there were many noteworthy scenes in this tome, including the final war, but in my opinion, the most extraordinary scene in this book was the final Nine Kings duel; Yugi-Oh would’ve been proud of Weeks’s Nine Kings scenes delivery. Seriously, Andross Guile must also be one of the most memorable morally grey characters in fantasy, whether you love or hate him.
“People call others ‘gifted’ when they don’t want to believe they’re worse at something because they’re not willing to put in the work of excellence requires.”
Now, you may be wondering, after all the positive things I’ve said, why didn’t The Burning White received a 5 stars rating from me? The simple answers to this would be the sudden change to theological fantasy and the barrage of Deus ex machina used to resolve the multitude of conflicts in the series. Faith and religion have always been an important and recurring theme of the series, but it was simply too much in this book. It almost felt like Weeks found a new faith in Christianity and poured all his belief in it into this particular book with no brake. The first 400 pages were already full of theology discussions that slowed down the pacing considerably, but I honestly found this section to be acceptable because it still aligned with the direction of the series so far. Plus, religion and faith are relatable major themes implemented in many stories, not just fantasy, that I tend to enjoy reading immensely. However, the biggest issue I had wasn’t due to the fact that religion became the most dominant theme of the book, but it’s how religion and a complete sense of faith in God became the solution to practically every question, revelations, and conflict of this book or series.
“If an institution presents itself as uniquely moral but is secretly monstrous, isn’t that proof that its very ideas are corrupt and corrupting, rather than that only some few of its practitioners are corrupt?”
Lightbringer is, to me, a series that’s both incredibly refreshing, twisted, and full of revelations/mechanisms with data and background to back them up; plot twists and solutions were constantly shocking and never felt out of place, but The Burning White changed all of this by relying on Deus ex machina bombardments. Without going into spoilery-details, almost every conflict in this book was solved because of the power of God. The final war itself took three tomes to prepare and reached, Weeks spent a LOT of time building towards this war and final confrontation with the final bosses of the series but the final bosses ended up only making an appearance for roughly ten pages long; thousands of pages and years of waiting to reach this confrontation, and it ended in ten minutes of reading. Also, Chromaturgy was a magic system with many hard rules, I even mentioned that it’s on-par with Sanderson’s magic system level of crafting, but Weeks threw the rules away and replaced them with soft magic systems without any intricate explanation other than it’s all possible because of God’s intervention. I’m not kidding; there’s even a healing scene that involved a character on the brink of death drinking a kopi (coffee) brewed by God to instantaneous full recovery. I can’t make this up, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds; it’s what happened in the book. I won’t deny that the theological aspect did spark passages about redemption and forgiveness that I found to be superbly written, but all of the God’s power appearances and inclusion this late in the series just felt odd and—to be brutally honest—cheap to be used as solutions for one of the most twisted and well-plotted fantasy series out there.
“It’s who you are. And you are at your most powerful when you stand for those who have no one to stand for them.
Although the book, in my opinion, fell short from reaching the greatness and potential exhibited in the first three books, I still found myself overall happy with what I’ve read here. Let me emphasize this if it isn’t clear enough, I had a great time reading this series and despite the issues I had with this concluding installment, I do think that this series is worth a try if you’re a fan of epic fantasy with heavy focus on plot-twists, politics, and assassinations. Every light casts a shadow. Every shadow hides a secret. Every secret holds a truth. Every truth bears a legend. Every legend shines a light. Who’s the Lightbringer? Read and find out for yourself. The Burning White is a pulsating and theological final installment to the Lightbringer series. Lightbringer is one of the early epic fantasy series—alongside Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie—that started my SFF novels reading journey, and I’m glad to finally be able to put it in my list of “completed series I’ve read.”
“One act doesn’t undo all of who you are, but a thousand acts make you who you are. So it’s simple, though not easy: stop creating the wrong you. Stop trying to prove to yourself that you really are the bad man you believe you are despite what others say, and simply start doing good.”
Series Review:
The Black Prism: 4.5/5 stars
The Blinding Knife: 5/5 stars
The Broken Eye: 4.5/5 stars
The Blood Mirror: 3/5 stars
The Burning White: 3.5/5 stars
Lightbringer: 20.5/25 stars
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
January 6, 2020
Meh.
So. I really enjoyed how this series started. It had an interesting and complex magic system, a complex main character with tons of apparent hidden depth (not Kip, Gavin), and it challenged your assumptions in interesting ways. However, as the series wore on, the things that I enjoyed about this series got shoved into the backseat, and we were subjected to less interesting characters, unnecessarily convoluted plot twists, and sections that just draaaaaagged (pretty much all of Gavin's chapters post-Ru.) But still, the series had set up some interesting questions as of the fourth book, and I was hopeful we'd see a satisfying resolution in the final entry. And...we didn't. Not really. It's not nearly as bad as Night Angel's conclusion (but the series is also much better written than Night Angel) but it felt cheap and uninspired in a lot of ways. Most notably:
- Gavin's/Dazen's whole journey felt cheap, and culminated in a LITERAL deus ex machina. Dazen's most interesting characteristic has been how intelligent he is, how he sees the truth behind broken systems and turns it to his advantage, how he's a manipulative bastard...but also an essentially good person, trying to do his best in a crapsack world. The turnaround towards the end of this book, where Dazen recovers his faith by literally meeting god, and then (having accepted god) gains magical powers beyond anything he had previously possessed, feels both jarring and inappropriate to his character. In fact, the literal presence of god in this book is (IMO) a terrible writing decision, which trivializes most of the things that characters do, because you get a strong sense that everyone has been moved into their allotted position by divine intervention in order to enable success.
- Similarly, 'a god did it' is the answer to entirely too many questions. What is the blinding knife and what does it do? Whatever god wants it to, apparently. What is the secret behind the Chromeria's corruption? Oh, they've been killing children to maintain their power for centuries, because god decided to stop creating natural prisms, and left his mortals with the choice to either 1) trust in an apparently capricious god to provide them with a solution or 2) make horrible sacrifices to keep the world from sliding into chaos due to color imbalances (this book REALLY can't decide whether it wants people to be adults who solve their own problems, or children who pray and wait for god to save them). How the heck did kip survive the Glare? a god did it.
- Many characters have abortive and unsatisfactory arcs. Andross is a terrible human, who never shows a shred of remorse or any inclination to change, and his punishment is...to feel like he got handed his ultimate prize, rather than winning it fairly (the book spends entirely too much time trying to humanize him, and largely, IMO, fails). Liv is almost completely pointless as a character (from start to finish in the series, honestly). The Order is never adequately explained, in light of what we learn about lucidonius and orholam.
- clever applications of hard magic are replaced by miracles and soft magic. The attractive aspect of chromaturgy, to me, was that it was a well-defined system of magic with well-defined rules, that was treated more or less like a science by the characters in the setting. That goes out the window in this book, and instead of clever uses of the various colors, we see 'great tides' of white and black luxin being used to smash the enemy with brute force. We see willcasting being used in ways that are inadequately explained (why the heck does the mirror array work like it does?) We see lightwells generating light, in ways that are inadequately explained. We see kip just...figure out, out of nowhere, that the bane are disabled by complementary colored light (why? and how do you disable the yellow bane, when purple is not considered an actual color and has no associated luxin?) Somehow, in the last book of the series, the author has decided to trade the hard magic system he's more or less stuck with for the first four books for soft magic bullshit, and it does. not. work.
- Dazen's story is inadequately resolved, because in the end...we spent 2 freaking books reading chapters from the POV of a character that never even existed. I defended the Blood Mirror's reveal on the basis that Andross was a lying bastard, Dazen was the most unreliable of narrators, and because basic narrative structure demands that you do not waste your readers' time by tricking them with chapters full of material that isn't just misleading, but is actually false. Finding out that Gavin was in fact dead all along, Andross was telling the truth, and those chapters were literally just the author lying to the audience...that was terribly disappointing. In fact, a core issue I have with this book is how straight it plays all of it's major reveals. For a book series built around carefully subverting expectations and making you rethink assumptions, this was a distressingly by-the-numbers note to end on.
- Most of the plot revelations in this book are literally narrated to the audience by god himself (we also get that most lazy of writing devices, where a POV character knows the secret, but declines to share that with the audience so that it can get exposited to us later for maximum shock value.
- The immortals subplot is poorly explained and ends on a super anticlimactic note.
And so on. Really just a disappointing conclusion to the amount of buildup and complexity this series had. It deserved better than to end with a dull and predictable final battle between good and evil.
So. I really enjoyed how this series started. It had an interesting and complex magic system, a complex main character with tons of apparent hidden depth (not Kip, Gavin), and it challenged your assumptions in interesting ways. However, as the series wore on, the things that I enjoyed about this series got shoved into the backseat, and we were subjected to less interesting characters, unnecessarily convoluted plot twists, and sections that just draaaaaagged (pretty much all of Gavin's chapters post-Ru.) But still, the series had set up some interesting questions as of the fourth book, and I was hopeful we'd see a satisfying resolution in the final entry. And...we didn't. Not really. It's not nearly as bad as Night Angel's conclusion (but the series is also much better written than Night Angel) but it felt cheap and uninspired in a lot of ways. Most notably:
- Gavin's/Dazen's whole journey felt cheap, and culminated in a LITERAL deus ex machina. Dazen's most interesting characteristic has been how intelligent he is, how he sees the truth behind broken systems and turns it to his advantage, how he's a manipulative bastard...but also an essentially good person, trying to do his best in a crapsack world. The turnaround towards the end of this book, where Dazen recovers his faith by literally meeting god, and then (having accepted god) gains magical powers beyond anything he had previously possessed, feels both jarring and inappropriate to his character. In fact, the literal presence of god in this book is (IMO) a terrible writing decision, which trivializes most of the things that characters do, because you get a strong sense that everyone has been moved into their allotted position by divine intervention in order to enable success.
- Similarly, 'a god did it' is the answer to entirely too many questions. What is the blinding knife and what does it do? Whatever god wants it to, apparently. What is the secret behind the Chromeria's corruption? Oh, they've been killing children to maintain their power for centuries, because god decided to stop creating natural prisms, and left his mortals with the choice to either 1) trust in an apparently capricious god to provide them with a solution or 2) make horrible sacrifices to keep the world from sliding into chaos due to color imbalances (this book REALLY can't decide whether it wants people to be adults who solve their own problems, or children who pray and wait for god to save them). How the heck did kip survive the Glare? a god did it.
- Many characters have abortive and unsatisfactory arcs. Andross is a terrible human, who never shows a shred of remorse or any inclination to change, and his punishment is...to feel like he got handed his ultimate prize, rather than winning it fairly (the book spends entirely too much time trying to humanize him, and largely, IMO, fails). Liv is almost completely pointless as a character (from start to finish in the series, honestly). The Order is never adequately explained, in light of what we learn about lucidonius and orholam.
- clever applications of hard magic are replaced by miracles and soft magic. The attractive aspect of chromaturgy, to me, was that it was a well-defined system of magic with well-defined rules, that was treated more or less like a science by the characters in the setting. That goes out the window in this book, and instead of clever uses of the various colors, we see 'great tides' of white and black luxin being used to smash the enemy with brute force. We see willcasting being used in ways that are inadequately explained (why the heck does the mirror array work like it does?) We see lightwells generating light, in ways that are inadequately explained. We see kip just...figure out, out of nowhere, that the bane are disabled by complementary colored light (why? and how do you disable the yellow bane, when purple is not considered an actual color and has no associated luxin?) Somehow, in the last book of the series, the author has decided to trade the hard magic system he's more or less stuck with for the first four books for soft magic bullshit, and it does. not. work.
- Dazen's story is inadequately resolved, because in the end...we spent 2 freaking books reading chapters from the POV of a character that never even existed. I defended the Blood Mirror's reveal on the basis that Andross was a lying bastard, Dazen was the most unreliable of narrators, and because basic narrative structure demands that you do not waste your readers' time by tricking them with chapters full of material that isn't just misleading, but is actually false. Finding out that Gavin was in fact dead all along, Andross was telling the truth, and those chapters were literally just the author lying to the audience...that was terribly disappointing. In fact, a core issue I have with this book is how straight it plays all of it's major reveals. For a book series built around carefully subverting expectations and making you rethink assumptions, this was a distressingly by-the-numbers note to end on.
- Most of the plot revelations in this book are literally narrated to the audience by god himself (we also get that most lazy of writing devices, where a POV character knows the secret, but declines to share that with the audience so that it can get exposited to us later for maximum shock value.
- The immortals subplot is poorly explained and ends on a super anticlimactic note.
And so on. Really just a disappointing conclusion to the amount of buildup and complexity this series had. It deserved better than to end with a dull and predictable final battle between good and evil.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2025
(Full Spoilers) I had such high hopes for this series, but alas, at the 11th hour the series pivoted HARD to religious allegory where God solves all the problems, Dues Ex Machina rules the day, and the author is more interested in giving you a sermon than an ending that makes sense.
Spoilers to follow.
This series seems to follow in the footsteps of other popular Fantasy series with more overt religious themes (Mistborn Era 2, Narnia, etc), inserting parables to create a Christian allegory/Fantasy mash-up. In this case, it’s off-putting because it comes out of nowhere, undermines the character arcs that have been building for the entire series, and removes all tension from what had been a slow and masterful build up to an epic final battle.
For the first 4 books of the series the characters were acting through their own agency according to their individual motivations, and religion was a background detail that helped flesh out the world. All that is thrown out in the final 1/3 of the final book as Religion comes roaring to the forefront and hijacks the plot. All characters become pawns in Gods plan, in some cases literally taking his orders, and in all cases succeeding only because of his intervention. Why did we even need these characters story arcs? God did it all himself, with the characters just proxies that were destined to win due to divine assistance. The ending lost all sense of tension when it became clear that God was going to make sure the “good guys” win, and had been manipulating everyone throughout the entire series. We were all expecting brilliant save-the-day twists from the Guile family, who have time and again gotten out of impossible situations relying solely on their wits. None of that happens. No brilliant twists. The twist is God is real and he's going to wave his hand and make sure the Good Guys win.
By the way, the literal definition of Dues Ex Machina comes from ancient Greek plays where a God shows up to fix all the problems that the writer was not able to get the characters out of, and that's exactly what happens in Lightbringer. This series ends with a literal textbook definition of Dues Ex Machina.
Also, funny question; did God really makes sure the Good Guys really did win? The only real difference between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys seems to be which gods they’re worshiping. The Good Guys have a pretty terrible system, and the very worst of them ends up back in charge at the end. So... yay?
Remember the interesting magic system with well defined rules? That takes a holiday and now anything is possible if God is (literally) holding your hand. The author pours a bucket of Dues Ex Machina all over his magic system as Gavin and Kip are suddenly capable of way more than has ever been hinted at, and black and white luxin can do whatever the story requires them to do to save the day.
Everyone gets to be Jesus! Gavin gets his Jesus scenes. Kip gets his even more obvious Jesus scenes. I mean, Kip literally ends up chained to a cross. *rolls eyes*
We also get Judas (Zymon), being irritatingly predictable. We get Angels (the Immortals). We get Fallen Angels that redeem themselves at the last moment (Sea Demons). And of course we get the Biggest Bad of them all, Satan (Abaddon). All under different names of course, but the parallels are very, very obvious, and clearly intended to be so. The author WANTS you to know that this is a Christian allegory, and he springs it like a trap with no warning.
Also, everyone gets a happy ending because God hands out miracles like candy on Halloween. Only, some people get fully healed, some people get partially healed, and some people don't get healed at all. Not very fair, when everyone sacrificed to a similar degree, and it's obviously within his power to heal everyone.
All the religious argle-bargle is fine if that’s your cup of tea (or magic coffee?) but I resent being tricked into reading what I thought was Fantasy when it was really the authors long and very sneaky build up to a religious sermon. Yes, the religious elements were always there, but in the background and there were no hints that they would become all-encompassing and blow up the entire series at the very end.
Honestly, it’s as if a completely different author wrote the last third of the book.
Publishers, please make a sub-category of the Fantasy genre: Religious Fantasy. Books like these need to be marketed and clearly marked as such so that they can be avoided by readers who don’t want to be preached at. Had I known, I would have avoided the series and been the happier for it.
Such a hugely disappointing turn for what could have been (and up to this point was ) one of the best modern Fantasy series.
Spoilers to follow.
This series seems to follow in the footsteps of other popular Fantasy series with more overt religious themes (Mistborn Era 2, Narnia, etc), inserting parables to create a Christian allegory/Fantasy mash-up. In this case, it’s off-putting because it comes out of nowhere, undermines the character arcs that have been building for the entire series, and removes all tension from what had been a slow and masterful build up to an epic final battle.
For the first 4 books of the series the characters were acting through their own agency according to their individual motivations, and religion was a background detail that helped flesh out the world. All that is thrown out in the final 1/3 of the final book as Religion comes roaring to the forefront and hijacks the plot. All characters become pawns in Gods plan, in some cases literally taking his orders, and in all cases succeeding only because of his intervention. Why did we even need these characters story arcs? God did it all himself, with the characters just proxies that were destined to win due to divine assistance. The ending lost all sense of tension when it became clear that God was going to make sure the “good guys” win, and had been manipulating everyone throughout the entire series. We were all expecting brilliant save-the-day twists from the Guile family, who have time and again gotten out of impossible situations relying solely on their wits. None of that happens. No brilliant twists. The twist is God is real and he's going to wave his hand and make sure the Good Guys win.
By the way, the literal definition of Dues Ex Machina comes from ancient Greek plays where a God shows up to fix all the problems that the writer was not able to get the characters out of, and that's exactly what happens in Lightbringer. This series ends with a literal textbook definition of Dues Ex Machina.
Also, funny question; did God really makes sure the Good Guys really did win? The only real difference between the Good Guys and the Bad Guys seems to be which gods they’re worshiping. The Good Guys have a pretty terrible system, and the very worst of them ends up back in charge at the end. So... yay?
Remember the interesting magic system with well defined rules? That takes a holiday and now anything is possible if God is (literally) holding your hand. The author pours a bucket of Dues Ex Machina all over his magic system as Gavin and Kip are suddenly capable of way more than has ever been hinted at, and black and white luxin can do whatever the story requires them to do to save the day.
Everyone gets to be Jesus! Gavin gets his Jesus scenes. Kip gets his even more obvious Jesus scenes. I mean, Kip literally ends up chained to a cross. *rolls eyes*
We also get Judas (Zymon), being irritatingly predictable. We get Angels (the Immortals). We get Fallen Angels that redeem themselves at the last moment (Sea Demons). And of course we get the Biggest Bad of them all, Satan (Abaddon). All under different names of course, but the parallels are very, very obvious, and clearly intended to be so. The author WANTS you to know that this is a Christian allegory, and he springs it like a trap with no warning.
Also, everyone gets a happy ending because God hands out miracles like candy on Halloween. Only, some people get fully healed, some people get partially healed, and some people don't get healed at all. Not very fair, when everyone sacrificed to a similar degree, and it's obviously within his power to heal everyone.
All the religious argle-bargle is fine if that’s your cup of tea (or magic coffee?) but I resent being tricked into reading what I thought was Fantasy when it was really the authors long and very sneaky build up to a religious sermon. Yes, the religious elements were always there, but in the background and there were no hints that they would become all-encompassing and blow up the entire series at the very end.
Honestly, it’s as if a completely different author wrote the last third of the book.
Publishers, please make a sub-category of the Fantasy genre: Religious Fantasy. Books like these need to be marketed and clearly marked as such so that they can be avoided by readers who don’t want to be preached at. Had I known, I would have avoided the series and been the happier for it.
Such a hugely disappointing turn for what could have been (and up to this point was ) one of the best modern Fantasy series.
August 15, 2022
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A book that completely outperformed my expectations, and ended up as a very strong finish to this series.
I try desperately hard to not read any sort of reviews before I read a book in an effort to be as impartial as possible, but for this book it was impossible. It was impossible because I've read in various places that this series, while good, has one of the worst endings of any fantasy series - and I have virtually universally heard that the last book in this series is by far the worst of the bunch. And for me, the book preceding this was a train wreck, so my expectations for this final book were about as low as they could go.
But as I began to read this book and got further into it, I realized that I was having a wonderful time and kept on wondering when the disappointment would set in. And this feeling persisted as I finished up the final page. And while I can certainly see how some people would dislike this book, despite all the flaws that existed in this book I had a very enjoyable experience and I am extremely happy that I find myself in the minority of people who read this book.
I've said it many times in this series that I found some of the twists to be absolutely wonderful, and this book was no exception. Finally finding out the nature of how a Prism is made was genuinely shocking, and felt legitimately well planned out, and finding out the mysteries of Dazen's childhood was equally fantastic. Thankfully, there were no "jumping the shark" moments for me like the previous book, and I was kept on the edge of my seat many times.
I also continue to be impressed by the characters in this book and the development of them from start to finish - especially the main characters. I find Andross Guile to be up there with Sand dan Glokta from The First Law to be one of the greatest fantasy characters ever written, and literally every time he made an appearance in this series it elevated the entire scene.
Finally, I found the ending to be a good tidying up of the story in a way that I did not expect - and while I wasn't over the moon for exactly how all the pieces fell into place, it did a good overall job of wrapping things up.
Unfortunately, as I'm sure many other people have said in reviews, I was not a big fan of the sudden and dramatic shift to a story that evokes far too many similarities to Christian Theology toward the last 1/3 of this book. While I have no problem with Christian Theology, it was an odd tone shift that didn't have much groundwork laid up until the point, and felt too unoriginal for my taste.
I also had some significant problems with the overt aspect of seemingly unsolvable problems being solved by a higher being - as it felt cheap and could have been written significantly better in those sections. I'm almost never a fan of deus ex machina, and this book had it in spades.
I also want to point out something that was a major problem for me, and it didn't have to do anything with the author. But I listened to these books on the "Graphic Audio" format, which is an audiobook where each character has their own voice actor and it's essentially a play in audio format. Normally this is preferable to a traditional audiobook in every way, except for the fact that in this book virtually all of the main characters switched voice actors. It was extremely off-putting and downright confusing, and really ruined a lot of the enjoyment for me.
Despite these flaws though, I had a very enjoyable time reading this book, and would definitely recommend this series to virtually any epic fantasy fan.
A book that completely outperformed my expectations, and ended up as a very strong finish to this series.
I try desperately hard to not read any sort of reviews before I read a book in an effort to be as impartial as possible, but for this book it was impossible. It was impossible because I've read in various places that this series, while good, has one of the worst endings of any fantasy series - and I have virtually universally heard that the last book in this series is by far the worst of the bunch. And for me, the book preceding this was a train wreck, so my expectations for this final book were about as low as they could go.
But as I began to read this book and got further into it, I realized that I was having a wonderful time and kept on wondering when the disappointment would set in. And this feeling persisted as I finished up the final page. And while I can certainly see how some people would dislike this book, despite all the flaws that existed in this book I had a very enjoyable experience and I am extremely happy that I find myself in the minority of people who read this book.
I've said it many times in this series that I found some of the twists to be absolutely wonderful, and this book was no exception. Finally finding out the nature of how a Prism is made was genuinely shocking, and felt legitimately well planned out, and finding out the mysteries of Dazen's childhood was equally fantastic. Thankfully, there were no "jumping the shark" moments for me like the previous book, and I was kept on the edge of my seat many times.
I also continue to be impressed by the characters in this book and the development of them from start to finish - especially the main characters. I find Andross Guile to be up there with Sand dan Glokta from The First Law to be one of the greatest fantasy characters ever written, and literally every time he made an appearance in this series it elevated the entire scene.
Finally, I found the ending to be a good tidying up of the story in a way that I did not expect - and while I wasn't over the moon for exactly how all the pieces fell into place, it did a good overall job of wrapping things up.
Unfortunately, as I'm sure many other people have said in reviews, I was not a big fan of the sudden and dramatic shift to a story that evokes far too many similarities to Christian Theology toward the last 1/3 of this book. While I have no problem with Christian Theology, it was an odd tone shift that didn't have much groundwork laid up until the point, and felt too unoriginal for my taste.
I also had some significant problems with the overt aspect of seemingly unsolvable problems being solved by a higher being - as it felt cheap and could have been written significantly better in those sections. I'm almost never a fan of deus ex machina, and this book had it in spades.
I also want to point out something that was a major problem for me, and it didn't have to do anything with the author. But I listened to these books on the "Graphic Audio" format, which is an audiobook where each character has their own voice actor and it's essentially a play in audio format. Normally this is preferable to a traditional audiobook in every way, except for the fact that in this book virtually all of the main characters switched voice actors. It was extremely off-putting and downright confusing, and really ruined a lot of the enjoyment for me.
Despite these flaws though, I had a very enjoyable time reading this book, and would definitely recommend this series to virtually any epic fantasy fan.
October 29, 2019
This was one of my favorite fantasy series. The Burning White was a terrible ending to that. 3/4s of the way through the book the Judeo Christian god shows up not only to preach, but to hand out Deus Ex Machina like it is candy from a 4th of July parade float.
October 30, 2019
There are few books, let alone series, that I would agree to re-read at the drop of a hat.
This is one of them.
I have so much fun, so much respect for the sheer audacity, the roaring plot-lines, the twists and the reveals, even the funny-ass quips, that I usually ignore or gloss over any ACTUAL problems I might have had with the writing. Or the original choice to make so many of our MCs so freakishly morally ambiguous. So full of glaring faults and so equally full of fantastic heroism.
When we finally get to this last book in the Lightbringer series, I'm hopelessly in love. There is nothing that could stop me from devouring this book and crying and raging and even scratching my head and then railing against it.
Huh? Railing against the book? Well... yeah. If anyone knows the Jonah story, and I assume everyone does, Weeks takes all aspects of it and weaves it heavily into the series. Swallowing characters into deep prisons, railing against fate, finally finding peace, if not forgiveness, for all the things that have been done? It's all here. But first we're made to WORK for it. And when I mean work, I mean we get to enjoy having our favorite morally grey characters get tortured and grow as people by the end.
I admit I am a super sucker for these kinds of storylines. I usually get pissed off at long series with characters who are essentially timeless and never learn s**t. If anything, the Lightbringer is ALL about learning. But most of the time it's "Oh, damn, no, that's horrible... I can't believe it's actually this bad... but no, it's worse... nooooooo.....". To have an end to this series that is actually uplifting and hopeful, if not perfect, is a REAL TREAT.
So what do I think about *spoiler* *spoiler* *spoiler*, or the fact that so much of the plot is resolved by way of *spoiler*?
I say I'm fine with it. It's not like we weren't prepared for it from the very first book. Or that the real burden is on true ethical behavior. You might say that the purpose of this book was to throw out the whole adage of "many shades of grey" and give it the full polychromatic treatment. And I loved it.
And now that I've finished this, I've gotta find the time to do all five again in a row! And start crying again. Yeah, I know... fanboy.
This is one of them.
I have so much fun, so much respect for the sheer audacity, the roaring plot-lines, the twists and the reveals, even the funny-ass quips, that I usually ignore or gloss over any ACTUAL problems I might have had with the writing. Or the original choice to make so many of our MCs so freakishly morally ambiguous. So full of glaring faults and so equally full of fantastic heroism.
When we finally get to this last book in the Lightbringer series, I'm hopelessly in love. There is nothing that could stop me from devouring this book and crying and raging and even scratching my head and then railing against it.
Huh? Railing against the book? Well... yeah. If anyone knows the Jonah story, and I assume everyone does, Weeks takes all aspects of it and weaves it heavily into the series. Swallowing characters into deep prisons, railing against fate, finally finding peace, if not forgiveness, for all the things that have been done? It's all here. But first we're made to WORK for it. And when I mean work, I mean we get to enjoy having our favorite morally grey characters get tortured and grow as people by the end.
I admit I am a super sucker for these kinds of storylines. I usually get pissed off at long series with characters who are essentially timeless and never learn s**t. If anything, the Lightbringer is ALL about learning. But most of the time it's "Oh, damn, no, that's horrible... I can't believe it's actually this bad... but no, it's worse... nooooooo.....". To have an end to this series that is actually uplifting and hopeful, if not perfect, is a REAL TREAT.
So what do I think about *spoiler* *spoiler* *spoiler*, or the fact that so much of the plot is resolved by way of *spoiler*?
I say I'm fine with it. It's not like we weren't prepared for it from the very first book. Or that the real burden is on true ethical behavior. You might say that the purpose of this book was to throw out the whole adage of "many shades of grey" and give it the full polychromatic treatment. And I loved it.
And now that I've finished this, I've gotta find the time to do all five again in a row! And start crying again. Yeah, I know... fanboy.
March 25, 2025
EDIT to add: 6 years later, I still can't think of this series without really deep disappointment. Absolutely the WORST ending to any series I've ever read...that's thousands of books.
disappointed
This series went from what I thought was going to be one of my very favorite series of all times, to something I'll never read again.
What a fucking letdown. The book was really slow going, and there's so much deux ex machina, so many bait and switch moments, so many "boss fights" that were basically nothing and worst of all too much thinly veiled christian bullshit. I'm too annoyed right now to write anything else.
disappointed
This series went from what I thought was going to be one of my very favorite series of all times, to something I'll never read again.
What a fucking letdown. The book was really slow going, and there's so much deux ex machina, so many bait and switch moments, so many "boss fights" that were basically nothing and worst of all too much thinly veiled christian bullshit. I'm too annoyed right now to write anything else.
Want to read
April 14, 2018Expected publication: Fall 2019
November 14, 2019
What a disappointment. I can't believe it. After waiting for so long for this book, I feel cheated. The three first books of this series were amazing. I re-read them and still get goosebumps even though I could quote entire parts by heart. The characters, the realistic magic system, the political machinations, everything combined to make an interesting and compelling story.
I think what I grew to dislike as I read the books was how complicated the plot line became. In the first book, the lines were clear, we knew where we stood. It was full of action and amazing magic, full of charismatic characters with good and bad sides. Everything made sense.
Then came the Nine Kings cards. It added a bit of depth to the story. Then came the immortals. Then the Order of the Broken Eye. New rules were added to the magic system that had apparently been banned. New colours were added. New characters appeared. Everything got convoluted. It was as if Brent Weeks no longer knew where he wanted the story to go. The Wight King, who seemed to be the major antagonist, took the back seat, so much that we lost sight of what exactly he wanted to accomplish. Everything that used to be interesting about him disappeared. He simply became Karis' evil brother.
And don't get me started on that Gavin/Dazen terrible plot twist. We spend four books with Gavin worried about the world learning of his true identity, then he decides he's Dazen again and everybody goes with it? Nobody says anything about? Everybody is fine to have been lied to for years? Gavin being the head of his faith while being an unbeliever made him interesting. It gave him a different view of everything that was happening. Honestly, when he was tasked to kill Orholam, I thought he would actually do it. THAT would have been the next logical step, not him suddenly regaining his faith apparently randomly. (And damn were his chapters loooonnnnggg and winding and boring.)
Liv and Teia are two characters who could have been removed entirely. I liked Liv's scepticism in the first couple of books, how she wanted to think freely by herself without being tainted by what she's been taught. Her first few chapters talking to Kois were interesting if sometimes difficult to follow. Then, she disappears entirely until the end of the book. As for Teia, all she does is get herself into trouble and whine that nobody likes her. She was very smart and interesting in the second book, but now she's only a whining child in over her head.
Kip's and Tisis' romance was stiff and unbelievable.
Karris was once again totally lame as the White. Maybe it was because the previous White was wise and interesting, it makes Karris' sole redeeming quality her choice of clothes and the fact that she dies her hair ridiculous colours.
The first half of the book while Kip was in Blood Forest was a boring. The fact that magic can do so many new things that are unexplained feels weird, like Brent Weeks stopped trying to explain how it works and decided to just add new stuff.
I'm still not certain what exactly Gavin did when he hurled black and white luxin towards the Chromeria...? And now he can use the black without going mad and without losing his memory? Weird.
And what was the point of the immortals, actually? And the Nine King cards? The cards were cool but didn't feel very important in the end.
The banter between the Mighty was cringe worthy.
The fact that everything ends well feels cheap. Kip loses his magic /for the moment/. He'll surely regain it eventually. Also, I can't stand how religion made such a huge comeback. It seems that the previous books tried making a point that being indoctrinated was wrong, and now everybody is back to worshipping their god because... some reason.
I'm super salty about this book. I'll listen to the audio book eventually to get a clearer idea of what I think. I'm so disappointed that this series ended up being everything I used to dislike about fantasy books.
Let's hope what Brent Weeks write next will be better!
I think what I grew to dislike as I read the books was how complicated the plot line became. In the first book, the lines were clear, we knew where we stood. It was full of action and amazing magic, full of charismatic characters with good and bad sides. Everything made sense.
Then came the Nine Kings cards. It added a bit of depth to the story. Then came the immortals. Then the Order of the Broken Eye. New rules were added to the magic system that had apparently been banned. New colours were added. New characters appeared. Everything got convoluted. It was as if Brent Weeks no longer knew where he wanted the story to go. The Wight King, who seemed to be the major antagonist, took the back seat, so much that we lost sight of what exactly he wanted to accomplish. Everything that used to be interesting about him disappeared. He simply became Karis' evil brother.
And don't get me started on that Gavin/Dazen terrible plot twist. We spend four books with Gavin worried about the world learning of his true identity, then he decides he's Dazen again and everybody goes with it? Nobody says anything about? Everybody is fine to have been lied to for years? Gavin being the head of his faith while being an unbeliever made him interesting. It gave him a different view of everything that was happening. Honestly, when he was tasked to kill Orholam, I thought he would actually do it. THAT would have been the next logical step, not him suddenly regaining his faith apparently randomly. (And damn were his chapters loooonnnnggg and winding and boring.)
Liv and Teia are two characters who could have been removed entirely. I liked Liv's scepticism in the first couple of books, how she wanted to think freely by herself without being tainted by what she's been taught. Her first few chapters talking to Kois were interesting if sometimes difficult to follow. Then, she disappears entirely until the end of the book. As for Teia, all she does is get herself into trouble and whine that nobody likes her. She was very smart and interesting in the second book, but now she's only a whining child in over her head.
Kip's and Tisis' romance was stiff and unbelievable.
Karris was once again totally lame as the White. Maybe it was because the previous White was wise and interesting, it makes Karris' sole redeeming quality her choice of clothes and the fact that she dies her hair ridiculous colours.
The first half of the book while Kip was in Blood Forest was a boring. The fact that magic can do so many new things that are unexplained feels weird, like Brent Weeks stopped trying to explain how it works and decided to just add new stuff.
I'm still not certain what exactly Gavin did when he hurled black and white luxin towards the Chromeria...? And now he can use the black without going mad and without losing his memory? Weird.
And what was the point of the immortals, actually? And the Nine King cards? The cards were cool but didn't feel very important in the end.
The banter between the Mighty was cringe worthy.
The fact that everything ends well feels cheap. Kip loses his magic /for the moment/. He'll surely regain it eventually. Also, I can't stand how religion made such a huge comeback. It seems that the previous books tried making a point that being indoctrinated was wrong, and now everybody is back to worshipping their god because... some reason.
I'm super salty about this book. I'll listen to the audio book eventually to get a clearer idea of what I think. I'm so disappointed that this series ended up being everything I used to dislike about fantasy books.
Let's hope what Brent Weeks write next will be better!
August 22, 2020
This book gets weirdly religious all of a sudden. This being a fantasy series, you'd expect at least a creative take on religion, but nope - what you get here is a thinly-veiled sermon on Christian theology, with deus ex machina galore. Quite disappointing.
October 28, 2019
It took me a couple of days (I think it was over 900 pages!) but I am finished and I loved it. That is how you write a finale - all my questions were answered and all my favourite characters had a fair share of the action.
Of course it was Gavin/Dazen who I was really waiting for and his pages were more than I had hoped for. At last we got the real back story of his childhood and it was an eye opener. Andross also got a giant's share of the book which he spent being, well …..being Andross. His part at the end was unexpected, for me anyway.
Weeks chose to write the book by leaving each chapter on a cliff hanger and moving to a different set of characters and their point of view of the current action. This frequently caused much suspense and resultant frantic reading to get back to where things had been left off. It was actually a very hard book to put down and the housework has suffered accordingly.
I am going to miss Gavin Guile and the rest. This was a great series and one I may well go back to one day.
Of course it was Gavin/Dazen who I was really waiting for and his pages were more than I had hoped for. At last we got the real back story of his childhood and it was an eye opener. Andross also got a giant's share of the book which he spent being, well …..being Andross. His part at the end was unexpected, for me anyway.
Weeks chose to write the book by leaving each chapter on a cliff hanger and moving to a different set of characters and their point of view of the current action. This frequently caused much suspense and resultant frantic reading to get back to where things had been left off. It was actually a very hard book to put down and the housework has suffered accordingly.
I am going to miss Gavin Guile and the rest. This was a great series and one I may well go back to one day.
October 27, 2019
Disappointed
I loved this series, until the last too books. Some much of this book is unnecessary, and the protracted ending is pointless. There was no true climax in this battle and the continued attempt at banter among Kip and his friends was painful. The biggest disappointment was the religious aspect; I did not foresee, or I would not have read these 5 books, that the god character in this book would be so important. Nothing annoys me more that the bait and switch. Started off as a series about deceit, political intrigue and magic and ended with all things are possible only through your acceptance of god. Sigh...this book made so many characters pointless in their introducing by the ludicrous nature of and reasons for their death. Do not recommend.
I loved this series, until the last too books. Some much of this book is unnecessary, and the protracted ending is pointless. There was no true climax in this battle and the continued attempt at banter among Kip and his friends was painful. The biggest disappointment was the religious aspect; I did not foresee, or I would not have read these 5 books, that the god character in this book would be so important. Nothing annoys me more that the bait and switch. Started off as a series about deceit, political intrigue and magic and ended with all things are possible only through your acceptance of god. Sigh...this book made so many characters pointless in their introducing by the ludicrous nature of and reasons for their death. Do not recommend.
October 21, 2022
Finally, the end of a massive series that, in my opinion, started out as one of the very, very best ever written and went out with a whimper. I loved The Black Prism, so much so that it is probably one of my favorite books of all time. The sequel, Blinding Knife, continued to impress and still kept me turning the pages. But, around the Broken Eye, I started to lose a tiny bit of interest. Blood Mirror dragged, but I still hoped for an awesome conclusion. The Burning White, though, was not that. FYI, I reread the entire series in anticipation of this ending. Note, the review below includes MILD SPOILERS.
Black Prism: 5 stars
Blinding Knife: 5 stars
Broken Eye: 4 stars
Blood Mirror: 3 stars
Burning White: 2.75 stars
I think it is worth noting that this was originally a trilogy. That might have been ambitious, but I think that the series could have been wrapped up more powerfully in four books, as a great deal of content--mostly starting with the Broken Eye--felt like Robert-Jordanesque filler. There were several characters and plot lines that popped up but ultimately had no real implications for the ending of the book. For instance, I feel like Liv could have been cut from the entire series and it would have been stronger. There was a side story about a guy who murdered a bunch of invaders in the Blood Forest, and then saved a bunch of kids, that solely existed to talk about lore. I don't usually mind some level of this, but too much of the last books were dedicated to this, padding the page count and making me fall asleep and drop my kindle on my face. There was an especially bad Teia section where her thoughts just drifted for twenty pages as she staked out a safehouse.
I completely understand that expanding in this way was stylistic, and had these side stories and conversational padding been present in Books 1-2, it would have been more palatable. That is, you'd know right away what you are getting yourself into. Unfortunately, it felt like such a deviation (along with giving so many people POV chapters. Gill Greyling, Ironfist, some other guy, etc.). The plot and narrative got looser rather than tighter. It didn't help that basically everyone become a philosopher, from Teia to Big Leo and had massive monologues that were far too preachy for my tastes. It also created a situation where the voices of the characters felt less distinct. Kip sounded like Andross sounded like Gavin sounded like... etc.
Now, much of the action--when there was action--really delivered. The war over the final couple hundred pages was well-done and interesting. You could feel the desperation for the main characters (who were, unfortunately, bulletproof, which somewhat lessened the stakes). I still liked Gavin's story, up until a point that I'll discuss below. I really wanted Kip to come back and kick ass, and he did a good deal of that. Andross, too, had some good moments, though I thought he should have remained without his own POV. I don't want it to seem like I hated this book, because I didn't. But it was disappointing overall.
Probably the toughest pill to swallow was the literal Deus Ex Machina at the end. God, who lives on the top of a tower and rarely directly interferes except with every plot line in this book, solves most of the problems. He brings people back to life. He gives people strength to do impossible things. He tells the future and also sea demons have half ships on top of them with giant cannons, etc. Everyone important is healed and gets their powers back (Kip, it was hinted, will do so soon). It took away from our characters suffering and just felt cheap to me.
I know that I am, by far, in the minority here. People loved his books and the ending, which is awesome. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted this to kick ass so badly. I will still be looking forward to Brent's next series.
Black Prism: 5 stars
Blinding Knife: 5 stars
Broken Eye: 4 stars
Blood Mirror: 3 stars
Burning White: 2.75 stars
I think it is worth noting that this was originally a trilogy. That might have been ambitious, but I think that the series could have been wrapped up more powerfully in four books, as a great deal of content--mostly starting with the Broken Eye--felt like Robert-Jordanesque filler. There were several characters and plot lines that popped up but ultimately had no real implications for the ending of the book. For instance, I feel like Liv could have been cut from the entire series and it would have been stronger. There was a side story about a guy who murdered a bunch of invaders in the Blood Forest, and then saved a bunch of kids, that solely existed to talk about lore. I don't usually mind some level of this, but too much of the last books were dedicated to this, padding the page count and making me fall asleep and drop my kindle on my face. There was an especially bad Teia section where her thoughts just drifted for twenty pages as she staked out a safehouse.
I completely understand that expanding in this way was stylistic, and had these side stories and conversational padding been present in Books 1-2, it would have been more palatable. That is, you'd know right away what you are getting yourself into. Unfortunately, it felt like such a deviation (along with giving so many people POV chapters. Gill Greyling, Ironfist, some other guy, etc.). The plot and narrative got looser rather than tighter. It didn't help that basically everyone become a philosopher, from Teia to Big Leo and had massive monologues that were far too preachy for my tastes. It also created a situation where the voices of the characters felt less distinct. Kip sounded like Andross sounded like Gavin sounded like... etc.
Now, much of the action--when there was action--really delivered. The war over the final couple hundred pages was well-done and interesting. You could feel the desperation for the main characters (who were, unfortunately, bulletproof, which somewhat lessened the stakes). I still liked Gavin's story, up until a point that I'll discuss below. I really wanted Kip to come back and kick ass, and he did a good deal of that. Andross, too, had some good moments, though I thought he should have remained without his own POV. I don't want it to seem like I hated this book, because I didn't. But it was disappointing overall.
Probably the toughest pill to swallow was the literal Deus Ex Machina at the end. God, who lives on the top of a tower and rarely directly interferes except with every plot line in this book, solves most of the problems. He brings people back to life. He gives people strength to do impossible things. He tells the future and also sea demons have half ships on top of them with giant cannons, etc. Everyone important is healed and gets their powers back (Kip, it was hinted, will do so soon). It took away from our characters suffering and just felt cheap to me.
I know that I am, by far, in the minority here. People loved his books and the ending, which is awesome. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted this to kick ass so badly. I will still be looking forward to Brent's next series.
March 12, 2020
"We see others not as they are but as we see. We see ourselves not as we are but as we see - and as we are seen, for we each cast our light on each other, too."
Before starting The Burning White I had a feeling this was going to be a phenomenal conclusion or a huge disappointment. Unfortunately, it was the latter. The first half of this book was so drawn out that I considered DNF'ing it a couple of times. But, I stuck it out and managed to complete it in just under 2 weeks. It usually doesn't take me that much time to finish a book. I just had a hard time wanting to pick this up at times.
The second half was a slight improvement. As the end was drawing near, I got geared up for a great wrap up to the war and all of the story lines. Sadly, a lot of it ended up being another let down. It felt a little rushed and inconsistent. I mean 600+ pages of build up and you better have one hell of a finale. It just fell short of the mark for me.
I did enjoy how SOME of the villains met their demise. Others.....not so much. I will just leave it at that. The relationships between these characters over this series has been entertaining. I do feel that Weeks did a good job of ending with some of these on a high note. I don't know that I would say he left us with a cliffhanger at the end. But, it was a bit odd how the final epilogue ended.
All in all, I would describe this series as one that started with tons of promise,a really intriguing story, interesting characters, and a unique magic system. Unfortunately, the conclusion was not what I had hoped for or expected. I sincerely hope all of you readers out there that read this final installment enjoy it more than I did.
"Of all the things that die, hope is the most easily resurrected."
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars ***
November 30, 2019
"Of all the things that die, hope is the most easily resurrected".
Unlike most fans of this series, I didn't wait for years for this book to be published for that I'm glad, I initially started reading this series last year, I savoured and rationed it till a few months ago when I finished the fourth book, even at that it felt like I've been waiting forever. I'm so glad the wait is over and even though I hate to say goodbye I adore the way the author ended this amazing series.
“What you love isn’t lost while you still have a mind to save it,”
This book started a few days after The Blood Mirror I love that there was no initial extensive time jump, events picked up immediately. The only thing that I didn't appreciate in this book is its slowness in the first 20%, even though it was enjoyable to read I wanted things to happen faster, I totally understood the build up after I finished the book but it still didn't make it any easier to read.
“Strength is a choice. Courage is a habit. Unfortunately, cowardice is, too.”
The world building has improved so much, but what wowed me the most is the writing, it really changed from that of the first four books, I love it when authors improve. This book adapted the same writing style as the previous ones, third person multiple POV. Finally the character development, Teia and Tisis' character development is by far my favourite in this book. Kip and Karris are already awesome, but this two changed everything in this book.
A man never gets to put his conscience in someone else’s care. Every one of us has to decide what the greater good is.”
There were a lot of revelations in this book, it centred on the Guile past, Sevastian's death and a whole lot of things about Andross, I don't care what anyone says, that man is pure evil. Gavin is also back, I love the way the author incorporated his story in this book, It wasn't what I expected but it was awesome. Kip and The Mighty did not disappoint, the final battle was awesome.
This book is one of my best ending to a series, even though some wins and loses were somewhat unrealistic there's nothing I would change about this book
Pre review
I'm giddy with excitement to final finish this series and filled with dread that I may be disappointed by the turn out of events. *fingers crossed*
Unlike most fans of this series, I didn't wait for years for this book to be published for that I'm glad, I initially started reading this series last year, I savoured and rationed it till a few months ago when I finished the fourth book, even at that it felt like I've been waiting forever. I'm so glad the wait is over and even though I hate to say goodbye I adore the way the author ended this amazing series.
“What you love isn’t lost while you still have a mind to save it,”
This book started a few days after The Blood Mirror I love that there was no initial extensive time jump, events picked up immediately. The only thing that I didn't appreciate in this book is its slowness in the first 20%, even though it was enjoyable to read I wanted things to happen faster, I totally understood the build up after I finished the book but it still didn't make it any easier to read.
“Strength is a choice. Courage is a habit. Unfortunately, cowardice is, too.”
The world building has improved so much, but what wowed me the most is the writing, it really changed from that of the first four books, I love it when authors improve. This book adapted the same writing style as the previous ones, third person multiple POV. Finally the character development, Teia and Tisis' character development is by far my favourite in this book. Kip and Karris are already awesome, but this two changed everything in this book.
A man never gets to put his conscience in someone else’s care. Every one of us has to decide what the greater good is.”
There were a lot of revelations in this book, it centred on the Guile past, Sevastian's death and a whole lot of things about Andross, I don't care what anyone says, that man is pure evil. Gavin is also back, I love the way the author incorporated his story in this book, It wasn't what I expected but it was awesome. Kip and The Mighty did not disappoint, the final battle was awesome.
This book is one of my best ending to a series, even though some wins and loses were somewhat unrealistic there's nothing I would change about this book
Pre review
I'm giddy with excitement to final finish this series and filled with dread that I may be disappointed by the turn out of events. *fingers crossed*
October 31, 2019
Wow, I completely powered through reading this story, and I know that so much happened in it that I already feel like I need to sit down and give it a re-read. This is a book I have been waiting on for YEARS and so my expectations were high and the story was at its climax even when this one began. I have to give credit to Mr Weeks for keeping me interested and making me read solidly for days, since this came out. I actually finished it a few days ago, but I needed a bit of time to try and process how to review the conclusion to such an epic story, and to be honest I still think I will do a bit of a poor job even now.
I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, I loved it and found it frustrating too. This book ties so, so many of the plot threads which Weeks has been setting up together. It made me laugh, it made me tear up a little, and it made me love these characters even more. The author even broke my heart a little, and yet I can forgive it becuase it was done so well and it just made sense for the characters. Basically, this is a book which will trip you and tumble you over and over like a rollercoaster and then chuck you off at the end and expect you to just keep on going. It's heartfelt and tragic and epic and it's got something for everyone.
However, it also had its issues, and one of those for me was a bit too much focus on the religion and the gods of this world. Now, don't get me wrong I love when gods start to manipulate everything (why not, it's fantasy?!) but in this story it suddenly felt like some of the focus shifted towards higher beings and crazy scenarios becuase, by this point in the series, Weeks has already hit the reader with so much that he can only keep going up. In a way, it certainly reminded me of bits of the Mistborn series by Sanderson and the directions that that takes, but this has it's own dimension to it too.
Now, some of the characters in this book which I could not help but love seeing the progression for were Teia and Andross. Both of these characters are characters who I have loved to read about for the whole series becuase Teia has it hard and she's a scrapper and a fighter and she won't give up, and Andross has it easy as he's at the top now, but it's not always been so and he's done some terrible schemes and acts to get to where he is. Between them they could rule the world, but they're not exaclty friends and seeing each of their storylines develop right from book 1 through to now shows what a writer Weeks is.
Teia comes out of this book as a firm favourite for me. She already was, but honestly she's a bit of an outcast for the whole series and in this book she's put even more to the test and she stands firm. When everyone she loves is away and she's the only one fighting the fight, she is a boss and she owns and she still has time to learn along the way too.
Andross is a king and a god to some already, and yet he's also known as one of the most cunning people the world will ever know. He's always 10 steps ahead of everyone else and he's the kind of character you DO NOT want to get on the wrong side of. He's certainly not someone to cross and yet in this book I think he has the most growth and development of all the books so far as we see a lot of the backstory to his ascension and his life.
Other characters which are well worth mentioning include Kip, Carys, Tisiss (excuse the typos, I audiobooked) and more but I could honestly list almost all of them and say something about each. Kip has come the furthest of all by the end of the series and I love the way he's evolved.
Carys is a lady who is also strong as can be when faced with a tough situation and the situation she finds herself in here is nothing if not tough.
Tisiss is a character that I have learned to love for what she does for those around her. She shows that it's not only being in charge that's important but it's having a strong support system which you can fall back on and someone who loves you.
The only character I continue to hate is Liv. I won't even bother saying more, but suffice to say she is just as insufferable as ever.
Overall, this story had so much and I loved the twists and turns of the final adventure. I really hope Weeks has a few more epic series stored up to start now that this one is over, because I want more, but I have to say this was great. 4.5*s overall and if you have enjoyed any of the previous I am sure you will like this one a lot too!
I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, I loved it and found it frustrating too. This book ties so, so many of the plot threads which Weeks has been setting up together. It made me laugh, it made me tear up a little, and it made me love these characters even more. The author even broke my heart a little, and yet I can forgive it becuase it was done so well and it just made sense for the characters. Basically, this is a book which will trip you and tumble you over and over like a rollercoaster and then chuck you off at the end and expect you to just keep on going. It's heartfelt and tragic and epic and it's got something for everyone.
However, it also had its issues, and one of those for me was a bit too much focus on the religion and the gods of this world. Now, don't get me wrong I love when gods start to manipulate everything (why not, it's fantasy?!) but in this story it suddenly felt like some of the focus shifted towards higher beings and crazy scenarios becuase, by this point in the series, Weeks has already hit the reader with so much that he can only keep going up. In a way, it certainly reminded me of bits of the Mistborn series by Sanderson and the directions that that takes, but this has it's own dimension to it too.
Now, some of the characters in this book which I could not help but love seeing the progression for were Teia and Andross. Both of these characters are characters who I have loved to read about for the whole series becuase Teia has it hard and she's a scrapper and a fighter and she won't give up, and Andross has it easy as he's at the top now, but it's not always been so and he's done some terrible schemes and acts to get to where he is. Between them they could rule the world, but they're not exaclty friends and seeing each of their storylines develop right from book 1 through to now shows what a writer Weeks is.
Teia comes out of this book as a firm favourite for me. She already was, but honestly she's a bit of an outcast for the whole series and in this book she's put even more to the test and she stands firm. When everyone she loves is away and she's the only one fighting the fight, she is a boss and she owns and she still has time to learn along the way too.
Andross is a king and a god to some already, and yet he's also known as one of the most cunning people the world will ever know. He's always 10 steps ahead of everyone else and he's the kind of character you DO NOT want to get on the wrong side of. He's certainly not someone to cross and yet in this book I think he has the most growth and development of all the books so far as we see a lot of the backstory to his ascension and his life.
Other characters which are well worth mentioning include Kip, Carys, Tisiss (excuse the typos, I audiobooked) and more but I could honestly list almost all of them and say something about each. Kip has come the furthest of all by the end of the series and I love the way he's evolved.
Carys is a lady who is also strong as can be when faced with a tough situation and the situation she finds herself in here is nothing if not tough.
Tisiss is a character that I have learned to love for what she does for those around her. She shows that it's not only being in charge that's important but it's having a strong support system which you can fall back on and someone who loves you.
The only character I continue to hate is Liv. I won't even bother saying more, but suffice to say she is just as insufferable as ever.
Overall, this story had so much and I loved the twists and turns of the final adventure. I really hope Weeks has a few more epic series stored up to start now that this one is over, because I want more, but I have to say this was great. 4.5*s overall and if you have enjoyed any of the previous I am sure you will like this one a lot too!
June 9, 2020
The Lightbringer is (or at least I thought it was) a great series.
But it seems like Mr. Weeks was inspired by the producers of the final season of Game of Thrones and decided to completely destroy his own great work.
In the previous books, people interacted and had meaningful conversations about life, the universe, morality, God, and the meaning of good governance.
In "The Burning White"... things happen... I guess.
>>>>>Spoilers ahead<<<<<<<<
It is clear that Brent visualized the ending of Andros being the LB somewhere in the previous books but he didn't foreshadow it properly, and all of the sudden all the characters become absolute idiots
And forgive that character for all the shitty AWFUL things that he's done.
I don't mind a sad ending (Which what the "Real Ending" is) I mind the complete lack of explanation of why seemingly good characters seem so oblivious and happy for it.
In Orwell's 1984, (also spoiler) the good guys lose too, but not before the writer shows their loss and how they lost.
The "Good guys" in LB didn't solve ANYTHING! the guy in power at the start remained so, the corrupt system even more tyrannical now.
Brent kept telling us OVER AND OVER again how smart Andross Guile is, but every decision he makes shows us he's a pitty, an AWFUL judge of character, arrogant, a terrible planner, and a worst military strategist.
Which begs the question, why the hell were they fighting the White King?
What was so evil and desperate about their fight when the guy they're going to put in charge is just as bad if not worse? why could they forgive the LITERAL SACRIFICE OF CHILDREN! but drew the line at.... what worshiping false idols!? The only other thing I can think of that the White King did more often was the use of Black Luxion, but then we found out "Oh... that's not sooo bad as long as you have the right God to guide you when you do that"
The only "good" thing that the Chromeria's side, is... they believe in the right God!!!?
To a non-religious person like myself, to assign moral value simply because someone follows "The right God" is DEEPLY concerning and very disappointing from a series I expected so much from.
I gave the previous books 5/5 stars, but now I am rerating them all.
But it seems like Mr. Weeks was inspired by the producers of the final season of Game of Thrones and decided to completely destroy his own great work.
In the previous books, people interacted and had meaningful conversations about life, the universe, morality, God, and the meaning of good governance.
In "The Burning White"... things happen... I guess.
>>>>>Spoilers ahead<<<<<<<<
It is clear that Brent visualized the ending of Andros being the LB somewhere in the previous books but he didn't foreshadow it properly, and all of the sudden all the characters become absolute idiots
And forgive that character for all the shitty AWFUL things that he's done.
I don't mind a sad ending (Which what the "Real Ending" is) I mind the complete lack of explanation of why seemingly good characters seem so oblivious and happy for it.
In Orwell's 1984, (also spoiler) the good guys lose too, but not before the writer shows their loss and how they lost.
The "Good guys" in LB didn't solve ANYTHING! the guy in power at the start remained so, the corrupt system even more tyrannical now.
Brent kept telling us OVER AND OVER again how smart Andross Guile is, but every decision he makes shows us he's a pitty, an AWFUL judge of character, arrogant, a terrible planner, and a worst military strategist.
Which begs the question, why the hell were they fighting the White King?
What was so evil and desperate about their fight when the guy they're going to put in charge is just as bad if not worse? why could they forgive the LITERAL SACRIFICE OF CHILDREN! but drew the line at.... what worshiping false idols!? The only other thing I can think of that the White King did more often was the use of Black Luxion, but then we found out "Oh... that's not sooo bad as long as you have the right God to guide you when you do that"
The only "good" thing that the Chromeria's side, is... they believe in the right God!!!?
To a non-religious person like myself, to assign moral value simply because someone follows "The right God" is DEEPLY concerning and very disappointing from a series I expected so much from.
I gave the previous books 5/5 stars, but now I am rerating them all.
August 24, 2023
*** 4.75 ***
Was it perfect? No. It had plenty of things that people might call childish and preachy.... But I loved this world from book one on, and I am so attached to the characters, that I cherish every moment I had with them through all five tomes, and have to admit, cried on several occasions. I will miss them very much! And yes, there were some dragging parts, and some cheesy stuff, and some pulpit moments, but they were fine within the big picture. And I can read anything and everything about The Iron White and never get tired of it! So, overall, I loved it!!! Sad to let go...
Was it perfect? No. It had plenty of things that people might call childish and preachy.... But I loved this world from book one on, and I am so attached to the characters, that I cherish every moment I had with them through all five tomes, and have to admit, cried on several occasions. I will miss them very much! And yes, there were some dragging parts, and some cheesy stuff, and some pulpit moments, but they were fine within the big picture. And I can read anything and everything about The Iron White and never get tired of it! So, overall, I loved it!!! Sad to let go...
November 20, 2019
Wow!!! What a surprise!! Thank you. I don't want it to end. Hopping for a 6th and more besides.
2019-11-20
So... no more books now...
I held of reading this as long as í cound, knowing there is no more Gavin after this.
I love every minute i spent in this World.
Im eagerly waiting for your next work, no doubt it will be even more ridiculously fantastic.
2019-11-20
So... no more books now...
I held of reading this as long as í cound, knowing there is no more Gavin after this.
I love every minute i spent in this World.
Im eagerly waiting for your next work, no doubt it will be even more ridiculously fantastic.
January 17, 2020
I kinda feel like this book went back in time and punched teenage me in the face. I was thoroughly obsessed with The Black Prism and The Broken Eye at 15: it was my first taste of "edgy" fantasy, my first peek at how a well-built magic system with clear limits enhances worldbuilding. I loved the flawed characters, found family and politicking. I loved watching the characters grow, and I loved watching Weeks set up plot threads and hints that I was sure would pay off later.
Welp.
I know I'm not saying anything new here, but I'm frustrated and disappointed enough that I'm going to say it anyway. Almost every good thing about earlier books in the series went out the window in this one and ultimately I only finished the book out of remembered loyalty and the sunk-cost fallacy.
The magic system? All those tasty rules, all the clever strategic uses? Softened into oblivion. It seems all those limitations were due to But what Weeks has clearly forgotten is that those limitations were what made his magic system interesting, what made it a plot-driver instead of a plot contrivance. Remember Brightwater Wall, a feat that required engineering skills and planning and nearly killed Gavin? Well,
The found family? Kip has his Mighty, but for the most part the characters whose interactions sparkled in previous books are kept far, far apart from each other. See: Gavin and pretty much everyone (especially Karris and Ironfist) or Teia and Kip. Other characters are entirely squandered or dramatically changed. Ironfist does nothing but Karris lost the spark that made her unique and descended into religious fervor when she was first named White, sure, but it's even worse here. Tisis is just an unconditional-support-and-sex-dispensing machine.
Teia's still great, though.
There's still politicking, but the stakes largely feel much lower. In earlier books, Kip matches wits with Andross, a man with enough power and malice to threaten him and all his friends. By book five Kip is bargaining from a place of power and it's all rendered pointless because the final confrontation doesn't happen in the Blood Forest anyway. The Colors Karris and Gavin once wrestled against and allied with are completely irrelevant.
Some of The Burning White's sins were present in past books as well, but I personally find them less forgivable here. The slow pacing through the first half-ish of this book plagued others, too (esp. book 4, which I also disliked). Secondary characters have weak characterization (Big Leo's only characteristic is that... he's big?). Weeks can't seem to resist an overwrought metaphor. I can ignore problems such as these in a book I generally like, but not in one I simply don't.
I'm saving the worst for last, of course:
I'm sure at least one person is going to read this and think I just don't like Christian stories. This is untrue; I grew up extremely Christian and I still dig the heck out of Tolkien and company. I don't mind a religious allegory or allusion (when it's well-executed, doesn't come out of nowhere and doesn't detract from a series' tone or setting) or I wouldn't love Brandon Sanderson. I don't mind didacticism, or I wouldn't love Terry Pratchett.
But this? This was Bad.
Frankly, growing up Christian made this worse: I could spot every single Biblical quote or nod (and there are so, so many, and they are unsubtle). In a fantasy world, it was immersion-breaking every single time. In earlier books, this happened only occasionally, but it became unbearably common in this one.
Many of the more interesting moral questions set up in previous books were handwaved or forgotten. Are wights actually inherently evil? How can a society built around slavery eliminate it? What about Koios's (valid, if hypocritical) objects to the Chromeria? Those are all forgotten the moment . All we get is a very rote lecture on the Problem of Evil.
It's not even morally consistent.
I've seen other reviewers praise this as a beautiful redemption narrative... but have they forgotten about all the other characters who had no such chance to repent,
Even aside from all that, there's a reason Deus Ex Machinas are nearly universally maligned (no matter who the Deo involved is). For one, it makes all the conflict and death throughout the series pointless: It also cheapens character growth throughout the series; many characters, such as Gavin, struggled to determine and do the right thing in a world where Orholam was clearly absent. It shows a lack of imagination on the author's part: is the only way out of the corner he wrote his characters into literal divine intervention? And so much for all that tension Weeks spent the last books building around the time-walking, nigh-immortal Djinn/Fallen Angels: They're barely in this one til the end, and
I don't know why Brent Weeks felt he had to write four and two-thirds books in a fantasy series just to trick his audience into reading a sermon, but I wish he hadn't wasted his time on it. I wish he hadn't wasted my time either.
Welp.
I know I'm not saying anything new here, but I'm frustrated and disappointed enough that I'm going to say it anyway. Almost every good thing about earlier books in the series went out the window in this one and ultimately I only finished the book out of remembered loyalty and the sunk-cost fallacy.
The magic system? All those tasty rules, all the clever strategic uses? Softened into oblivion. It seems all those limitations were due to But what Weeks has clearly forgotten is that those limitations were what made his magic system interesting, what made it a plot-driver instead of a plot contrivance. Remember Brightwater Wall, a feat that required engineering skills and planning and nearly killed Gavin? Well,
The found family? Kip has his Mighty, but for the most part the characters whose interactions sparkled in previous books are kept far, far apart from each other. See: Gavin and pretty much everyone (especially Karris and Ironfist) or Teia and Kip. Other characters are entirely squandered or dramatically changed. Ironfist does nothing but Karris lost the spark that made her unique and descended into religious fervor when she was first named White, sure, but it's even worse here. Tisis is just an unconditional-support-and-sex-dispensing machine.
Teia's still great, though.
There's still politicking, but the stakes largely feel much lower. In earlier books, Kip matches wits with Andross, a man with enough power and malice to threaten him and all his friends. By book five Kip is bargaining from a place of power and it's all rendered pointless because the final confrontation doesn't happen in the Blood Forest anyway. The Colors Karris and Gavin once wrestled against and allied with are completely irrelevant.
Some of The Burning White's sins were present in past books as well, but I personally find them less forgivable here. The slow pacing through the first half-ish of this book plagued others, too (esp. book 4, which I also disliked). Secondary characters have weak characterization (Big Leo's only characteristic is that... he's big?). Weeks can't seem to resist an overwrought metaphor. I can ignore problems such as these in a book I generally like, but not in one I simply don't.
I'm saving the worst for last, of course:
I'm sure at least one person is going to read this and think I just don't like Christian stories. This is untrue; I grew up extremely Christian and I still dig the heck out of Tolkien and company. I don't mind a religious allegory or allusion (when it's well-executed, doesn't come out of nowhere and doesn't detract from a series' tone or setting) or I wouldn't love Brandon Sanderson. I don't mind didacticism, or I wouldn't love Terry Pratchett.
But this? This was Bad.
Frankly, growing up Christian made this worse: I could spot every single Biblical quote or nod (and there are so, so many, and they are unsubtle). In a fantasy world, it was immersion-breaking every single time. In earlier books, this happened only occasionally, but it became unbearably common in this one.
Many of the more interesting moral questions set up in previous books were handwaved or forgotten. Are wights actually inherently evil? How can a society built around slavery eliminate it? What about Koios's (valid, if hypocritical) objects to the Chromeria? Those are all forgotten the moment . All we get is a very rote lecture on the Problem of Evil.
It's not even morally consistent.
I've seen other reviewers praise this as a beautiful redemption narrative... but have they forgotten about all the other characters who had no such chance to repent,
Even aside from all that, there's a reason Deus Ex Machinas are nearly universally maligned (no matter who the Deo involved is). For one, it makes all the conflict and death throughout the series pointless: It also cheapens character growth throughout the series; many characters, such as Gavin, struggled to determine and do the right thing in a world where Orholam was clearly absent. It shows a lack of imagination on the author's part: is the only way out of the corner he wrote his characters into literal divine intervention? And so much for all that tension Weeks spent the last books building around the time-walking, nigh-immortal Djinn/Fallen Angels: They're barely in this one til the end, and
I don't know why Brent Weeks felt he had to write four and two-thirds books in a fantasy series just to trick his audience into reading a sermon, but I wish he hadn't wasted his time on it. I wish he hadn't wasted my time either.
December 28, 2019
This book was the best finale I coud dream of.
July 29, 2020
Long story. Too bad it's not really for me. 4 of 10 stars
January 17, 2022
Beyond fucking good. I would like all fantasy authors to read this book to learn how a finale is done. It's almost a new fantasy trope for a fantasy author to create an amazing series and then botch the finale. Most get wrapped up in their own nonsense so deeply that their final book ends up being a Jerk off session.
Mr. Weeks on the other hand delivers in spades. After the THE BLOOD MIRROR I've been worried that THE BURNING WHITE would be more of the same and though this book starts off that way it quickly grows into another awesome installment of THE LIGHTBRINGER series.
THE BURNING WHITE is a gift to readers of this series and is easily my favorite read of 2019.
More please!
Mr. Weeks on the other hand delivers in spades. After the THE BLOOD MIRROR I've been worried that THE BURNING WHITE would be more of the same and though this book starts off that way it quickly grows into another awesome installment of THE LIGHTBRINGER series.
THE BURNING WHITE is a gift to readers of this series and is easily my favorite read of 2019.
More please!
April 12, 2021
A fun if not very flawed conclusion to a high fantasy series.
You will not find a masterpiece with the Lightbringer series. It falls short with nearly every book. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun. Weeks does many things well throughout these books and manages to end with something that is enjoyable despite being audaciously flippant with his prose and conclusion.
First with the good: the world building is exquisite. The Seven Satrapies is incredibly well fleshed out. The people, cultures, tribes, and terrain are easily imagined and exciting to discover. There is a very believable political system that is consistent throughout the series. This infrastructure helps guide the entire plot as well as character motivations. The political intrigue might be the single most compelling component of these books. All the figureheads: the Prism, promachos, the White, the Order and the extending power grabs in the land mesh very well together.
Some characters are incredibly compelling. If Andross Guile were not in these books, I don’t know if I would’ve finished the series. Andross is one of my favorite characters in any fantasy book, period. The best part of these books is a game of cards between two characters, I mean that in a good way. Other great characters: Gavin Guile, Corvan, Ironfist, Grinwoody and the White King, are all incredibly interesting and really kept me going. However, most of the books tend to focus on weaker characters: Karris, Teia and, yes, Kip. These three VERY main characters were a single note for the entire series. Given that Kip is the main protagonist, this was a big problem. I was almost always bored by boy-scout Kip (even his name is boring).
Onto the bad: the pacing. Too much time was spent on things that didn’t matter. The Burning White should’ve been 600 pages, not 900. Furthermore, this series did not need to be five books. It could've been three. Not enough plot sustained this many pages.
Small problem: the prose. It’s bad. The narrative voice reads like a high school kid with something to prove. There is a certain glib flippancy worked into the dialogue of every character that only serves to undermine the drama of the work.
Big problem: the magic system. Despite so much detail and description, it never worked. I STILL don’t know what luxin is. In the end luxin is a catch all for the magic. Yes, it’s refracted light, but the mechanics and logic were extremely clunky and not airtight. New components kept getting tacked on with each book. Chi? Paryl? One gives… extra senses, another makes you... invisible? Okay, but why? And how? Black and White luxin simply served as a plot mechanic to fix the final conflicts of the entire series. Things seemed to be made up on the fly as a contrivance of the author.
Big problem: Deus ex machina. Automatic 1 star deduction (there’s no excuse for this). No spoilers, but the ending of Burning White was not earned by any character. The main conflict of the entire series was resolved by almost no virtue of the protagonists. Gavin Guile absolutely did not earn redemption, it was handed to him. Gavin is in fact a morally repugnant character and he’s treated with a little too much grace. I won’t say any more, but a man clearly wrote these novels. There also was not enough lore that had been built ahead of time for the reader to care about all the gods that start showing up. Paradoxically, it was at the climax of the series that I cared the least about reading these books.
In the end, the Lightbringer is fun, but I wouldn’t ask much more than that. There are flaws everywhere and in every book, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be entertained. Overall, I’m happy I read the series and give it an overall rating of ⅘.
You will not find a masterpiece with the Lightbringer series. It falls short with nearly every book. But, that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun. Weeks does many things well throughout these books and manages to end with something that is enjoyable despite being audaciously flippant with his prose and conclusion.
First with the good: the world building is exquisite. The Seven Satrapies is incredibly well fleshed out. The people, cultures, tribes, and terrain are easily imagined and exciting to discover. There is a very believable political system that is consistent throughout the series. This infrastructure helps guide the entire plot as well as character motivations. The political intrigue might be the single most compelling component of these books. All the figureheads: the Prism, promachos, the White, the Order and the extending power grabs in the land mesh very well together.
Some characters are incredibly compelling. If Andross Guile were not in these books, I don’t know if I would’ve finished the series. Andross is one of my favorite characters in any fantasy book, period. The best part of these books is a game of cards between two characters, I mean that in a good way. Other great characters: Gavin Guile, Corvan, Ironfist, Grinwoody and the White King, are all incredibly interesting and really kept me going. However, most of the books tend to focus on weaker characters: Karris, Teia and, yes, Kip. These three VERY main characters were a single note for the entire series. Given that Kip is the main protagonist, this was a big problem. I was almost always bored by boy-scout Kip (even his name is boring).
Onto the bad: the pacing. Too much time was spent on things that didn’t matter. The Burning White should’ve been 600 pages, not 900. Furthermore, this series did not need to be five books. It could've been three. Not enough plot sustained this many pages.
Small problem: the prose. It’s bad. The narrative voice reads like a high school kid with something to prove. There is a certain glib flippancy worked into the dialogue of every character that only serves to undermine the drama of the work.
Big problem: the magic system. Despite so much detail and description, it never worked. I STILL don’t know what luxin is. In the end luxin is a catch all for the magic. Yes, it’s refracted light, but the mechanics and logic were extremely clunky and not airtight. New components kept getting tacked on with each book. Chi? Paryl? One gives… extra senses, another makes you... invisible? Okay, but why? And how? Black and White luxin simply served as a plot mechanic to fix the final conflicts of the entire series. Things seemed to be made up on the fly as a contrivance of the author.
Big problem: Deus ex machina. Automatic 1 star deduction (there’s no excuse for this). No spoilers, but the ending of Burning White was not earned by any character. The main conflict of the entire series was resolved by almost no virtue of the protagonists. Gavin Guile absolutely did not earn redemption, it was handed to him. Gavin is in fact a morally repugnant character and he’s treated with a little too much grace. I won’t say any more, but a man clearly wrote these novels. There also was not enough lore that had been built ahead of time for the reader to care about all the gods that start showing up. Paradoxically, it was at the climax of the series that I cared the least about reading these books.
In the end, the Lightbringer is fun, but I wouldn’t ask much more than that. There are flaws everywhere and in every book, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be entertained. Overall, I’m happy I read the series and give it an overall rating of ⅘.
September 17, 2024
بعد از بالا پایین شدنهای بسیار بلاخره این مجموعه هم تمام شد و اخ از این مجموعه، اخ از این داستان🥹
چی بگم که حق مطلب ادا کنه؟
حقیقت اینکه یه جاهایی نویسنده زیادی داستان کش اورده بود و خسته کننده میشد مخصوصا توی جلد چهارم مجموعه اما توی جلد پنج تمام اون اضافهگوییها جبران کرد. کتاب ۹۶۰ صفحه بود از طرفا صفحه ۴۵۰ به بعد جوری اتفاقات مهم میافتاد و جوری هیجان داشت که نمیشد کتابو کنار بزاری😅
و اخ از گوین ... عاشقشم عاشق، یه شخصیت کاملا خاکستری که از ابتدا تا انتها برای من قهرمان بود و اهمیت نمیدم بقیه چی بگن 😎
و اخ از کیپ... چقدر خوب تو بزرگ شدی پسر، بهت افتخار میکنم 🥹
و اندروس! بمیری ایشالله مرتیکه پیرخرفت! اشغال خودخواه پست فطرت!
پ.ن۱ : زشته اگه لحظه اخری از یه شخصیت خوشمون بیاد؟
پ.ن۲ : فقط عذرخواهی نویسنده بابت چپترای گونر😅 خودش میدونه چه زبون سختی براش درست کرده
چی بگم که حق مطلب ادا کنه؟
حقیقت اینکه یه جاهایی نویسنده زیادی داستان کش اورده بود و خسته کننده میشد مخصوصا توی جلد چهارم مجموعه اما توی جلد پنج تمام اون اضافهگوییها جبران کرد. کتاب ۹۶۰ صفحه بود از طرفا صفحه ۴۵۰ به بعد جوری اتفاقات مهم میافتاد و جوری هیجان داشت که نمیشد کتابو کنار بزاری😅
و اخ از گوین ... عاشقشم عاشق، یه شخصیت کاملا خاکستری که از ابتدا تا انتها برای من قهرمان بود و اهمیت نمیدم بقیه چی بگن 😎
و اخ از کیپ... چقدر خوب تو بزرگ شدی پسر، بهت افتخار میکنم 🥹
و اندروس! بمیری ایشالله مرتیکه پیرخرفت! اشغال خودخواه پست فطرت!
پ.ن۱ : زشته اگه لحظه اخری از یه شخصیت خوشمون بیاد؟
پ.ن۲ : فقط عذرخواهی نویسنده بابت چپترای گونر😅 خودش میدونه چه زبون سختی براش درست کرده
December 7, 2020
2020 Reading-Challenge is completed with THE BURNING WHITE - the finale book in Lightbringer Pentalogy. "We know ourselves by how we see ourselves mirrored in others' eyes. So, when a man lies habitually, he distorts the mirror he holds up to the world (Chapter 120, page 725)."
Author's Writing Style: 5 STARS. Yay - This finale is thick but an entertaining one. There are 11 recap pages of Books 1 to 4, 152 short chapters, 3 epilogues and glossary. Overall, there are more than 960 pages. Flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the book. It focuses on Andross Guile - the father of the lead character, Gavin. These flashbacks are written in first person perspective in present tenses.
Nay - The final epic war exceeds the quality of the battles in the previous books. It is highly prismatic, the details are vivid, but it is heavily written with world-building and magic-system jargons. While reading, I regularly needed to consult the Glossary to understand these terminologies are.
Characters' Development: 5 STARS. Yay - Andross Guile steals the show. Hate him or love him, Andross seems to not care. His abrasive personality makes him appear ruthless, commanding and strategic. Many times, when making decisions for others, he gives more value to necessity than good values. He lives in the gray area no matter how dirty the situation can get.
Nay - The middle chapters are heavily filled with Teia's POV. I have nothing against Teia. Just that, some of her POVs are unnecessary. The way she motivates herself is repetitive. It feels exhausting to read when she keeps repeating to herself that she was a slave who thinks too much.
Plot: 2 STARS. Yay - This finale begins just right. Chromeria is falling apart. The White King wants to control the seven satraphies in his favor. He is unstoppable but Kip and his Blackguards friends are preparing to stop him.
Nay - It surprises me I dislike the ending. I neither hate it nor it meets my bad expectation. It simply feels odd but memorable in an ordinary way.
Author's Writing Style: 5 STARS. Yay - This finale is thick but an entertaining one. There are 11 recap pages of Books 1 to 4, 152 short chapters, 3 epilogues and glossary. Overall, there are more than 960 pages. Flashbacks are sprinkled throughout the book. It focuses on Andross Guile - the father of the lead character, Gavin. These flashbacks are written in first person perspective in present tenses.
Nay - The final epic war exceeds the quality of the battles in the previous books. It is highly prismatic, the details are vivid, but it is heavily written with world-building and magic-system jargons. While reading, I regularly needed to consult the Glossary to understand these terminologies are.
Characters' Development: 5 STARS. Yay - Andross Guile steals the show. Hate him or love him, Andross seems to not care. His abrasive personality makes him appear ruthless, commanding and strategic. Many times, when making decisions for others, he gives more value to necessity than good values. He lives in the gray area no matter how dirty the situation can get.
Nay - The middle chapters are heavily filled with Teia's POV. I have nothing against Teia. Just that, some of her POVs are unnecessary. The way she motivates herself is repetitive. It feels exhausting to read when she keeps repeating to herself that she was a slave who thinks too much.
Plot: 2 STARS. Yay - This finale begins just right. Chromeria is falling apart. The White King wants to control the seven satraphies in his favor. He is unstoppable but Kip and his Blackguards friends are preparing to stop him.
Nay - It surprises me I dislike the ending. I neither hate it nor it meets my bad expectation. It simply feels odd but memorable in an ordinary way.
December 10, 2023
The Burning White was ,by quite some distance, the worst book in the series and was a slog to get through. So much so that I almost DNF'd it ,something I never usually contemplate. Instead, I took a break for a week and read something else.
All the issues I had with the previous books were present and correct, in fact more so. Now, add to that endless dialogue that went nowhere with long descriptive passages that just went on and on, and you end up with a horribly overwritten mess of a book. Even the magic system began to grate. Now, it did have its moments : hence, one star for Andross Guile and one star for The God Orholam .Whenever they appeared, it lifted the book considerably.
So,despite a promising start to the series with the first two books, The Lightbringer was ultimately a big disappointment 😞. I've only myself to blame as two of my Good Reads chums : Michael and Julia did give me fair warning ⚠️ 😀 that The Burning White was pants!
All the issues I had with the previous books were present and correct, in fact more so. Now, add to that endless dialogue that went nowhere with long descriptive passages that just went on and on, and you end up with a horribly overwritten mess of a book. Even the magic system began to grate. Now, it did have its moments : hence, one star for Andross Guile and one star for The God Orholam .Whenever they appeared, it lifted the book considerably.
So,despite a promising start to the series with the first two books, The Lightbringer was ultimately a big disappointment 😞. I've only myself to blame as two of my Good Reads chums : Michael and Julia did give me fair warning ⚠️ 😀 that The Burning White was pants!
January 12, 2020
I was both excited and terrified to read this big beast of a book. Excited because I’ve been invested in this series for so long and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended. Terrified because I’ve become so invested in this series and these characters and I want nothing but good for my precious babies. I’m glad to say that it was everything I could have hoped for and more as an ending to what’s become one of my all time favourite series. It had it all; it made me laugh and sob and want to throw the book across the room and hug it to my chest and just hold it close. In short, it was absolute perfection. It was an absolutely brilliant conclusion to one of the most stunning and intricate series I’ve ever read and I couldn’t have loved it more. It’s been days since I finished it and I still can’t stop thinking about how utterly perfect it was!
November 2, 2022
4.0 Stars
Spoiler-Free Series Review Video: https://youtu.be/OosD4rbJJEs
This was a good conclusion to the Lightbringer series. Filled with plenty of action and exciting reveals, this final volumed delivered a great ending to a very entertaining series. The actual certainly had it's weaknesses but I overall enjoyed so many aspects of this one. If you enjoy morally grey characters and hard magic systems, then you will likely enjoy this humorous, yet dark fantasy series.
Spoiler-Free Series Review Video: https://youtu.be/OosD4rbJJEs
This was a good conclusion to the Lightbringer series. Filled with plenty of action and exciting reveals, this final volumed delivered a great ending to a very entertaining series. The actual certainly had it's weaknesses but I overall enjoyed so many aspects of this one. If you enjoy morally grey characters and hard magic systems, then you will likely enjoy this humorous, yet dark fantasy series.
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