You Should Read The Lightbringer Series
Brent Weeks takes us on a journey of magic
I’ve been reading through The Black Prism all the way through The Burning White during this quarantine, and I have to say overall I enjoyed most of what I’ve read.
So would I recommend this series? Absolutely. There are three main reasons why I would. The first being the magic system. A very fleshed out set of rules permeate what each character can do. You know what each character is capable of, and that leads to higher tension.
The second being that Brent Weeks is very adept at writing combat, especially through magical use. It would be boring to spam the same moves repeatedly in order to make the smartest decision in battle. Weeks circumvents this problem by making it smart to do the opposite. Characters are forced to use their abilities in creative ways across the five books. Battles always felt fresh, and new facets of the magic system are being introduced in every subsequent book, diversifying what we read even more.
It also logically fits into the world and does not feel like an afterthought. We read fantasy for the cool factor, I know that well, but it’s also important to flesh out the world. The world-building incorporates the magic into a believable theocracy; one that challenges the characters and even the reader as moral questions are consistently asked about the events that happen in Lightbringer.
The believable world and functional magic system are supplemented by great character work. Weeks was able to craft a cast of characters that felt incredibly human: flawed but earnest. They have their views challenged over the course of the series. I should mention though that theology plays a heavy hand in the plot, right up until the end. If you’re not a fan of heavy religious symbolism then this series is probably not for you. I know I don’t really care for it, but I stayed for everything else.
Lastly, if you’re a fan of well-built romances in fantasy, then I’d recommend this series. It doesn’t take root until after The Black Prism, but I can assure you that by the end you will be rooting for the Kip (one of the protagonists) and his love interest.
However, I do have some criticisms for the series as a whole. For one, I am not a fan of the ending. For some, bad endings ruin an entire series, but not for me. With all that I love about Lightbringer, the journey carries a lot of weight too. It’s also not the most consistent. You might find yourself scratching your head at a few points because they don’t seem to line up. As you’ve might have noticed, I have not mentioned the plot itself yet because that is my least favorite part of this series. It was shaping up to be good, but an incoherent journey and bad ending did it no favors.
But again, I would still recommend this series.
