Book of Redemption ;)

Okay, so sent me Gardens of the Moon quite a while back, and I didn't really get into it. Perhaps that series was written with too long a view for me, but I found myself not really caring about any of the characters and it felt scattered as I recall. So when he recently recommended The Way of Shadows, I did have some reservation but was willing to try it.

I'm glad I did. I found it an enjoyable read and look forward to the rest of the Night Angel trilogy. I'd call it good. It's not perfect. There's one detail I'm still trying to apply some sort of reason to, but can't yet justify beyond "it suits the story." And it deals with the grim and gritty underworld of a fantasy city, so there are aspect that would probably put some people off even early on. But I like most of the characters, things come together well, and I'm left wanting to see more. That's definitely a thumbs up from me even if it isn't for everyone.


I go back and forth between liking and disliking Azoth/Kylar and Durzo, but I actually feel that's sort of the "right" answer because sometimes we're really brats/jerks. ;) I didn't expect Roth's connection. Jarl's fate seems... overly convenient, but okay.

I love Dorian's bits of prophecy. I especially like where he says something to the effect of "a square vase shall give you hope." Later, Kylar is despairing that he will not find what he's looking for, he sees a vase and remembers the prophecy and is hopeful! Two points here make this an awesome use of prophecy in my book. One, it's self-fulfilling in a sense. If Dorian hadn't said anything, Kylar wouldn't have thought anything of the vase. Two, even though it's true, it doesn't have the meaning that is anticipated. Kylar is hopeful, but it turns out to be false hope as what he's looking for isn't there anyway. Beautiful.

What I can't figure out is why Durzo would go through the trouble of setting Azoth up as Kylar Stern, minor noble. A change of identity is one thing, but why nobility? Durzo's own existence as a wetboy is common knowledge, and he doesn't have any cover identities that we ever see. Setting his apprentice up as a noble doesn't actually seem to offer any sort of access that's needed as they sneak into the castle itself using stealth more than guile. It can't be setting him up to get close to the silver ka'kari, because Durzo didn't have any idea where it was at that time. In fact, the noble fascade proves a detriment when it opens Kylar up to an assassination attempt later on.
Basically, I can't find any in-character reason for this. In the context of the overall story, it feels like this is done so Kylar can befriend Logan - something which seems like it may be important later in the series. But... I don't know what to think otherwise.

Durzo, as things play out toward the end, reminds me of a saying that went something like "When you live as long as I have, you sort of get used to it." I can't find the exact quote, but I want to attribute that to Babylon 5's Kosh. For someone who claims life has no value, he sure does cling to it. But as he says, "everyone worth a damn is a hypocrite." Heh. Good character, though.
Edit: "When you've lived as long as I have, you -- you get kinda used to it." - Kosh, appearing as Sheridan's father in Interludes and Examinations.

There are lots of little things that aren't explained yet. Retribution. The Wolf. The other ka'kari. But those seem to be threads for the trilogy, the book itself stands well on its own.