Brent Weeks - anyone?

I am just over 200 pages into the first book and am thinking to myself (and feeling) that this is the most morbid book I have read to date. I am getting that feeling from the main characters. I am not really connecting with any of them and thats a problem for me. I will most probably stop reading this book and not continue with the series. I thought I could like it but man oh man it's depressing me a lot. It doesn't make sense to me that 13 year old boys should be made into assassins and love killing lifeless targets. It's a bit disturbing to me and I wonder if Brent himself might have some issues to sort out himself.
 
I'd stick with it Biodroid, i think Brent Weeks wanted to convey the lack of real choice that befalls many that are at the absolute bottom of any society, and from my experience of the trilogy they get better with each book. I hope you end up getting in to it a bit more but either way let me know how you get on !
 
peterwilliam said:
I have read all three, and while the first does not inspire a lot of confidence, the author's overall skill obviously improves through books 2 and 3. I would say better than Feist, but not quite Erikson. I look forward to his future works if the improvement Weeks displayed through three books is any indicator.
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I don't really know how you can compare Erikson and Feist apart from they write fantasy!! Erikson is just on another level and is a clever writer who isn't given enough credit for the subtlety in his books. Feist was a great writer, yet feel his more recent work is weak and a little rehashed (probs to meet demands of publishers!)

Anyway this was a Brent Weeks thread. I keep looking for new books/authors as I seem to have exhausted the main and better writers out there (ANY SUGGESTIONS?) I had reservations due to the similar artwork to the Karen Millen novels, which I couldn't be bothered reading after the first couple of chapters of the 2nd book, (I had just found some wet paint drying and found it far more interesting.) Reading the blurb's though and Borders having a 3 for 2 offer on the Assasins Trilogy and the fact it was about "Assasins" kinda swung it. So I picked the lot up and devoured them. A Fantastic, exciting, read a few new concepts and some interesting characters and so much scope for further work. He does pinch certain idea's from other series but it melds well and I'm always a sucker for rags to power type books.

I do feel a few elements could have had more explaining though. Like I say though I'm a big fan for heroic fantasy with multi facated characters so BIG THUMBS UP from me. :p

Bonus point for anyone spotting the classic Empire Strikes Back line during the series. It actually made me chuckle and had to re-read. (It was slightly redic to be honest, bit pointless but still amusing!)
 
Also very Gemmelesque (Is that a word?) at times. Whom I love and adore so happy days.
 
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HareBrain said:
You know you're getting on a bit when even published writers start to sound twelve years old ...
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:D . . . LOL . . . My thinking exactly when I read that blog snippet.

I found it filtered through to his writing to though with things like "I'll kick his ass" and similar, it seemed so out of place in a fantasy world that it, for me, interupted the narrative at times and was a bit irritating. :confused:

Still an overall great read.
 
Memnoch said:
I don't really know how you can compare Erikson and Feist apart from they write fantasy!! Erikson is just on another level and is a clever writer who isn't given enough credit for the subtlety in his books. Feist was a great writer, yet feel his more recent work is weak and a little rehashed (probs to meet demands of publishers!)
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Yes, this was why I said Weeks is better than Feist, but not quite Erikson (i.e. Erikson>Weeks>Feist). The only reason I used Feist and Erikson was due to an individual who posted requesting the comparison.
 
Memnoch said:
Also very Gemmelesque (Is that a word?) at times. Whom I love and adore so happy days.
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As you can see my nick im interested in hearing someone called Gemmellesque ;)

What kind of heroic fantasy writer is he ? What is he good at ?

I need more good heroic fantasy writers.
 
Sort of Gemmellesque but no one can compare to the Legend himself. Brent writes action scenes well and his characters are a bit too flawed for my taste. I connect more with Gemmells characters and feel more for them where Weeks writes characters well he also over writes them a bit in my opinions. Not to say he is a bad writer I think he writes great but he still needs to establish himself first before comments can be made like that IMHO.
 
biodroid said:
Sort of Gemmellesque but no one can compare to the Legend himself. Brent writes action scenes well and his characters are a bit too flawed for my taste. I connect more with Gemmells characters and feel more for them where Weeks writes characters well he also over writes them a bit in my opinions. Not to say he is a bad writer I think he writes great but he still needs to establish himself first before comments can be made like that IMHO.
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No modern fantasy writer compares to Gemmell to me. I just want more authors in the same heroic vien. Not the same quality.
He is a new writer Weeks i doubt he is fully matured as a writer yet.
 
not bad going for a first outing. and he's certainly attracting the interest now - i was surprised this humble little thread of mine had lasted this long!
 
Ok, this guy is now getting good. I have 100 pages left and I am awe struck. Although the plot has been done before I have to admit it has not been done like this before. He is very gritty and dark and remorseless with his characters. Think of what happens just after Logan is wed. This is a good book and I am glad I stuck it out. i will read the next one only after I read a few other authors before, coz I don't want to be bogged down by one writer. I have one complaint and that is I would like his stories to have a bit more world building and be a bit more epic.
 
Glad you've stuck with it Biodroid and glad you believe it was worth it. I would say books two & three will have more world building and are imo definately edging closer to epic. I look forward to you posting back and saying you've read all three ! Unless you have some other good books waiting i would say try and read them consecutively but that's just the way i like to do it, i don't usually like moving around authors if i have the chance to just absorb a whole series :D
 
I read the trilogy in a oner and while I can say I did enjoy it, I found the author plagiarizing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time constantly. The White Tower, Children of the Light, bonding between Warders and Sedai, Compulsion, Fortelling, the list carries on.

In fact, I saw him ripping off Jordan's books on such a regular basis, I doubt I'll bother handing any more of my hard-earned cash over for future publications from this author. I'd rather spend my money on ideas that at least seem fresh. Still, robbing other writer blind aside, the guy's got natural talent in building his storylines.

So, IMO, if you either havn't read the Wheel of Time series or don't mind reading something that's so obviously stolen. Week's is a good read. Captivating, deep and with a good tempo. They were hard to put down.

If you have read J.R.'s WoT series and prefer originality, do yourself a favour and pass this guy's stuff. You'll spend more time wondering why the hell he can't think up his own ideas as anything else.
 
jizzah said:
I read the trilogy in a oner and while I can say I did enjoy it, I found the author plagiarizing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time constantly. The White Tower, Children of the Light, bonding between Warders and Sedai, Compulsion, Fortelling, the list carries on.

In fact, I saw him ripping off Jordan's books on such a regular basis, I doubt I'll bother handing any more of my hard-earned cash over for future publications from this author. I'd rather spend my money on ideas that at least seem fresh. Still, robbing other writer blind aside, the guy's got natural talent in building his storylines.

So, IMO, if you either havn't read the Wheel of Time series or don't mind reading something that's so obviously stolen. Week's is a good read. Captivating, deep and with a good tempo. They were hard to put down.

If you have read J.R.'s WoT series and prefer originality, do yourself a favour and pass this guy's stuff. You'll spend more time wondering why the hell he can't think up his own ideas as anything else.
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I too have read WoT several times and see absolutely no relationship between the two series. I wonder if you have really read Brent Weeks.
 
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