Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Orbit (2010), Hardcover, 400 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:In a world where magic is tightly controlled, the most powerful man in history must choose between his kingdom and his son in the first book in the epic NYT bestselling Lightbringer series. Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart. If you loved the action and adventure of the Night Angel trilogy, you will devour this incredible epic fantasy series by Brent Weeks..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member stefferoo
My first Brent Weeks novel and I have to say it wasn't really what I expected. The Black Prism wasn't a bad book by any means, but there were still several things about it that kept me from getting into it completely.
First of all, the magic system. Based on chromaturgy, it's one of the more
As unique as this system is, it was also very difficult for me to visualize. I can't help but picture these luxin constructions as pieces of plastic, transparent and looking quite tacky in this world. When I read about the tall buildings made of luxin in the Chromeria city and the characters walking around in it, all I could think about was those colorful plastic hamster cages you can buy at petstores with all those tubes you can add to it to make it a funhouse. It's not the book, it's me. But that kinda ruined the effect it was going for, to say the least.
I also didn't really like the way Weeks jumped from point-of-view to point-of-view at the beginning of the novel. I'm normally okay with authors switching between characters, but he did it in a distracting way, sometimes cutting off chapters right in the middle of a scene in a way that doesn't really make sense to me. To illustrate how I felt, it was like watching someone start to take a jump, then having the scene change mid-jump to follow the actions of another character, only to return after a while to the original character to watch them land. It didn't happen to me so much near the end, but usually pacing at the beginning of a novel is critical for me, and so that took a bit away from my initial enjoyment.
What ultimately kept me from being being truly absorbed into the story, however, was the difficult time I had trying to connect to the characters. For one, I just don't understand Kip at all. I know he's supposed to be an awkward boy, given his life and what happens to him in the novel, but I felt uncomfortable about him on a whole other level. His awkwardness felt forced and superficial; one moment he's scared and meek, and another he's full of sass and sarcasm. I get how that whole saying-the-wrong-thing-at-the-wrong-time is supposed to work for him, but unfortunately that always seems to come at the most inopportune times in the novel in a way I don't think was intended. Several times I felt myself getting really into the action and events of the book, only to have that atmosphere completely shattered by something totally inappropriate Kip says to try to be funny...and fails.
The other characters are a little bit better, even though I noticed Weeks has a habit of making everyone "grin" a lot -- a habit I've notice from several other authors, which can get really maddening. I like Gavin and am intrigued by what his big secret will mean for his character and his future. Liv was another character that I wish had had more depth, but by the end of the novel she had chosen a path I didn't expect so I'm looking forward to see how things turn out for her. Kariss has some secrets herself, and I'm interested in where those will lead.
First of all, the magic system. Based on chromaturgy, it's one of the more
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interesting and unique magic systems I've ever encountered in fantasy novels. The people who can harness light, called drafters, can create a substance from it called luxin which can take on different colors of their spectrum. Each color has unique properties, like blue is hard and strong, green is flexible and springy, orange is slick and slippery etc, so drafters can create many different things out of luxin.As unique as this system is, it was also very difficult for me to visualize. I can't help but picture these luxin constructions as pieces of plastic, transparent and looking quite tacky in this world. When I read about the tall buildings made of luxin in the Chromeria city and the characters walking around in it, all I could think about was those colorful plastic hamster cages you can buy at petstores with all those tubes you can add to it to make it a funhouse. It's not the book, it's me. But that kinda ruined the effect it was going for, to say the least.
I also didn't really like the way Weeks jumped from point-of-view to point-of-view at the beginning of the novel. I'm normally okay with authors switching between characters, but he did it in a distracting way, sometimes cutting off chapters right in the middle of a scene in a way that doesn't really make sense to me. To illustrate how I felt, it was like watching someone start to take a jump, then having the scene change mid-jump to follow the actions of another character, only to return after a while to the original character to watch them land. It didn't happen to me so much near the end, but usually pacing at the beginning of a novel is critical for me, and so that took a bit away from my initial enjoyment.
What ultimately kept me from being being truly absorbed into the story, however, was the difficult time I had trying to connect to the characters. For one, I just don't understand Kip at all. I know he's supposed to be an awkward boy, given his life and what happens to him in the novel, but I felt uncomfortable about him on a whole other level. His awkwardness felt forced and superficial; one moment he's scared and meek, and another he's full of sass and sarcasm. I get how that whole saying-the-wrong-thing-at-the-wrong-time is supposed to work for him, but unfortunately that always seems to come at the most inopportune times in the novel in a way I don't think was intended. Several times I felt myself getting really into the action and events of the book, only to have that atmosphere completely shattered by something totally inappropriate Kip says to try to be funny...and fails.
The other characters are a little bit better, even though I noticed Weeks has a habit of making everyone "grin" a lot -- a habit I've notice from several other authors, which can get really maddening. I like Gavin and am intrigued by what his big secret will mean for his character and his future. Liv was another character that I wish had had more depth, but by the end of the novel she had chosen a path I didn't expect so I'm looking forward to see how things turn out for her. Kariss has some secrets herself, and I'm interested in where those will lead.
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LibraryThing member Jael112
I have a rule. I only give 5 stars to books that either delivers a message so strong that it changes the way I see things or a story so good that I will laugh and cry for the characters. I didn't cry for the characters in this book, but it really does shake the foundations of everything you thought
If dark humour and complex fighting is for you, definitely read this book.
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you knew about the world and the characters are just so relatable.If dark humour and complex fighting is for you, definitely read this book.
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LibraryThing member majkia
Kip is running for his life. His entire village is being razed to the ground and his friends are dying around him. He's backed into a corner when he suddenly discovers he can draft green. He wins free and runs for it.
Meanwhile we meet the Prism. The most powerful drafter of color magic (all the
The Black Prism is a beautifully crafted novel. The characters are all complex and deeply drawn, each with flaws and failures, each conflicted and insecure deep down. Even the bad guys are complex and interesting.
The magic is imaginative and creative, wtih magical workers 'drafting' colors of magic each with its own properties and limitations.
I cared deeply about the characters, laughed and worried and cheered. Highly recommended! Can't wait for the next book!
Meanwhile we meet the Prism. The most powerful drafter of color magic (all the
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colors) in the world, and leader of the Chromeria, the college for drafters. He's got his problems too. The fellow razing Kip's town has declared himself King and is beginning a rebellion, not only of the people, but of the magic drafters from that land as well.The Black Prism is a beautifully crafted novel. The characters are all complex and deeply drawn, each with flaws and failures, each conflicted and insecure deep down. Even the bad guys are complex and interesting.
The magic is imaginative and creative, wtih magical workers 'drafting' colors of magic each with its own properties and limitations.
I cared deeply about the characters, laughed and worried and cheered. Highly recommended! Can't wait for the next book!
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LibraryThing member RobinLythgoe
I find myself waffling over whether I really like this book or not… The familial political intrigue was wonderfully dark and twisted. The magic system was interesting and vivid – until it started to feel cartoony (though my opinion may have been influenced by illness). It became unnecessarily
The writing style tended toward the awkward and repetitious. The story itself is engaging, but not enough to make me want to pick up the second in the series.
And… if there was any reference to a "Black Prism" anywhere, I missed it. I'm still wondering what the title has to do with the book.
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complicated and was all-too-often bogged down in long-winded lectures and technical details about how it functions. I kept visualizing everything in brightly colored plastic. The emphasis seemed to be on the magic rather than the characters, and the three viewpoint characters (Kip, Gavin/Dazen Guile, and Karris) share an unfortunate tendency toward the same flavor of sarcasm in their 'self talk', which I found made them less and less individual and/or believable — or even likable. 15 y.o. Kip is raised in a backwater village but says and does things more suitable to someone better educated and older (unless he's whining about things, which also happens a lot). Gavin seems to try (very hard) to be likable and good, but he is also extremely arrogant. I like the idea of him, but he doesn't seem to fulfill the potential. Karris's character suffers for the slow uncovering of her relationship with the Guile brothers, leaving her feeling, at best, unfinished.The writing style tended toward the awkward and repetitious. The story itself is engaging, but not enough to make me want to pick up the second in the series.
And… if there was any reference to a "Black Prism" anywhere, I missed it. I'm still wondering what the title has to do with the book.
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LibraryThing member Jefficus
At first, I thought this was going to be pretty good. Author Brent Weeks has developed a magic and religious system based on light and the different colors of the spectrum that I found engaging, and set it all in a rich and detailed world.
So what went wrong for me?
Two things: the characters had no
The more I've studied fantasy fiction, the more demanding I've become for strong characters. I don't mean characters who are strong, decisive or opinionated. Black Prism has those in spades. What I mean is stories that are strong in the character dimension. And for me, that includes likeability. I want at least one character to root for - somebody I give a damn about. But by the 30% point in this story, I was already struggling to stay engaged. Sure, there are several candidates, characters that I suspect Weeks wanted me to like, but none of them ever really clicked for me. Some are too whiny, some are too arrogant, and some are too... well, too something.
At three different points, I was so disinterested in the cast and their various plights that I considered abandoning the book, but I hung on. Mostly, I hung on as a professional exercise. I wanted to see if I could figure out what it was that wasn't working for me, to improve my own writing, and I suppose that was a good thing, because in the end, I got engaged enough with the unfolding events that I finished it to see how the story ended. But now that it's done, I don't find that I care enough about any of the events or people to bother with the next book. None of the characters had enough of that indefinable, magical quality about them to earn my affection.
And then there's the actual magic. Using light and the color spectrum is a great idea for the basis of a magic system. But Weeks took it too far for my tastes, falling victim to what I think of as the power paradox. The more powerful a magic is, the more cataclysmic the stakes have to be in order to present a challenge to the magic users, but the more dire the stakes become, the less relatable the characters tend to be, since we readers cannot really empathize with people who can do enormous things with a thought and a hand-gesture.
For my tastes, Weeks missed the balance on this in two ways. First, his magic system stretched credibility. (Your characters can create literally TONS of physical material out of nothing but sunlight and concentration? Really? In a few seconds? Come on!) And second, the stakes just don't seem high enough to justify giving his characters that much power. The major magic users are too overwhelmingly powerful, leaving the suspense dangling, limp and un-suspensey. And as these guys dashed around, gesturing right and left, spewing TONS of magical matter-crap at their enemies, I couldn't help but see them in my inner eye as being a bit like firefighters, waving their watery, magic hoses at people. Sorry, just not the mental imagery I want from credible hero-magicians, thank you very much.
The story's not bad though, all things considered, and there were some nice turns of fortune and all of that, so if you can get past the bits that bothered me, you might find this right up your alley.
So what went wrong for me?
Two things: the characters had no
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magic and the magic had no character.The more I've studied fantasy fiction, the more demanding I've become for strong characters. I don't mean characters who are strong, decisive or opinionated. Black Prism has those in spades. What I mean is stories that are strong in the character dimension. And for me, that includes likeability. I want at least one character to root for - somebody I give a damn about. But by the 30% point in this story, I was already struggling to stay engaged. Sure, there are several candidates, characters that I suspect Weeks wanted me to like, but none of them ever really clicked for me. Some are too whiny, some are too arrogant, and some are too... well, too something.
At three different points, I was so disinterested in the cast and their various plights that I considered abandoning the book, but I hung on. Mostly, I hung on as a professional exercise. I wanted to see if I could figure out what it was that wasn't working for me, to improve my own writing, and I suppose that was a good thing, because in the end, I got engaged enough with the unfolding events that I finished it to see how the story ended. But now that it's done, I don't find that I care enough about any of the events or people to bother with the next book. None of the characters had enough of that indefinable, magical quality about them to earn my affection.
And then there's the actual magic. Using light and the color spectrum is a great idea for the basis of a magic system. But Weeks took it too far for my tastes, falling victim to what I think of as the power paradox. The more powerful a magic is, the more cataclysmic the stakes have to be in order to present a challenge to the magic users, but the more dire the stakes become, the less relatable the characters tend to be, since we readers cannot really empathize with people who can do enormous things with a thought and a hand-gesture.
For my tastes, Weeks missed the balance on this in two ways. First, his magic system stretched credibility. (Your characters can create literally TONS of physical material out of nothing but sunlight and concentration? Really? In a few seconds? Come on!) And second, the stakes just don't seem high enough to justify giving his characters that much power. The major magic users are too overwhelmingly powerful, leaving the suspense dangling, limp and un-suspensey. And as these guys dashed around, gesturing right and left, spewing TONS of magical matter-crap at their enemies, I couldn't help but see them in my inner eye as being a bit like firefighters, waving their watery, magic hoses at people. Sorry, just not the mental imagery I want from credible hero-magicians, thank you very much.
The story's not bad though, all things considered, and there were some nice turns of fortune and all of that, so if you can get past the bits that bothered me, you might find this right up your alley.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
Excellent epic fantasy. The magic system isn't overly complicated, it does have some limitations so it isn't over powered either. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, which is sufficiently convoluted for a book of this length. Gavin Guile is The Prism, the greatest magic wielder in the land and
Fast paced, interesting and enjoyable.
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Emperor, though his power is very limited. He has a mysterious list of items he needs to get done before his reign ends, as powerful magic wielders don't live long. With his bodyguard/ex-girlfriend Kariss and other allies and friends, he has to try to keep the peace, right wrongs and handle the 'twist' that's central to the plot.Fast paced, interesting and enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member alcarinqa
Sometimes, but rarely, novels come along with amazing new ideas that sweep readers away. The Black Prism is one such book. It features a great plot, intricate with great detail but still easy to follow; masterful world building (with one of the coolest magic systems I’ve ever read about) and
The characters are amazing in this book. One of the best things about Brent Weeks’ writing is that his female characters are always as relevant, as strong and as vital as his male characters. I developed a soft spot for the Prism and his son Kip, and cheered for Kariss and Liv. The depths of the relationships between the characters amazes me, the secrets that they keep from one another and their motivations for doing so are so real that I completely sympathise with them.
The story is told from many perspectives and this lends depth to the narrative and balances it out. Sometimes this can be confusing for readers, but in this book it is perfect. Every time I thought I had figured out what was happening in the story, Brent Weeks pulled out a twist that left me reeling. This isn’t a predictable book - it’s epic in its scope and wonderfully crafted.
It was great for me to finally read The Black Prism after buying it the day it came out and then putting it off because I KNEW I would want the other books in the trilogy right after I finished this one. Then I caved in! I was right though - I finished this book and I really wanted The Blinding Knife in my hands, at that moment! If you love fantasy and you haven’t read any of Brent’s books, then you are seriously missing out on something awesome.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
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believable, deep characters that I loved. Brent Weeks has created a vivid world with a colour/light spectrum based magic system which rocks my socks! He explains his elaborate magic system well and I never felt confused about it despite all the details. The characters are amazing in this book. One of the best things about Brent Weeks’ writing is that his female characters are always as relevant, as strong and as vital as his male characters. I developed a soft spot for the Prism and his son Kip, and cheered for Kariss and Liv. The depths of the relationships between the characters amazes me, the secrets that they keep from one another and their motivations for doing so are so real that I completely sympathise with them.
The story is told from many perspectives and this lends depth to the narrative and balances it out. Sometimes this can be confusing for readers, but in this book it is perfect. Every time I thought I had figured out what was happening in the story, Brent Weeks pulled out a twist that left me reeling. This isn’t a predictable book - it’s epic in its scope and wonderfully crafted.
It was great for me to finally read The Black Prism after buying it the day it came out and then putting it off because I KNEW I would want the other books in the trilogy right after I finished this one. Then I caved in! I was right though - I finished this book and I really wanted The Blinding Knife in my hands, at that moment! If you love fantasy and you haven’t read any of Brent’s books, then you are seriously missing out on something awesome.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
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LibraryThing member KristiEnigl
All my "reviews" contain spoilers; how else could I do a review? I use the term review loosely, as I am not really qualified and follow no formula etc. Just my feelings.
Brent Weeks: another author discovered here on the LibaryThing! WOW am I glad I found this website....the recommendations are spot
_The Black Prism_ is quite a trip. The Magic is based on LIGHT and Color and Drafting and WILL. I loved this twist on magic and power, using color to draft "things" out of air, it was fascinating. I had to go look things up on Wiki and Google, as I never really studied chromaturgy.I wonder if it could translate to a movie, perhaps?
This is a long story (600+ pages), with a journey including deep secrets, lost love, more deep secrets, war, family betrayal, death, religion, corrupt politicians; and a really strange bad guy (named Lord Omnichrome - how cool is that name?) World-building that is rich and vivid, I could "feel" the colors? And characters that are real. I totally loved The Prism is Gavin Guile, Karris his love lost, Corvan, and Kip. His characters do some horrible things, some of them sanctioned, some not. But they feel it, question it...feel bad about things, feel trapped (one character is TRAPPED).
But, I felt the strength of this story is Kip - the 15 year Prism's overweight and clumsy bastard who kinda comes of age, discovers his magic, loses his village, mother, friends, and finds his "father" (not in that order), tries to save the girl, and saves his father, uses his magic like a weapon, but never loses his "sarcastic" sense of humor, which sustains him. His thoughts and feelings are so touching....for anyone that remembers being that awkward age, it was hard enough, but to go through what this young man gets thrown into.....
And Mr. Weeks, your ending killed me!! DAMN YOU...you better stop all that blogging and tweeting and panel talks....all right? You have a book to finish, yes??? The wait (major cliff hanger) is going drive me nuts...but it was so good.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters, the natural style of writing and dialog, and the magic.
I highly recommend _The Black Prism_ if you looking for something a bit different (no dragons or elves so far).
Brent Weeks: another author discovered here on the LibaryThing! WOW am I glad I found this website....the recommendations are spot
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on._The Black Prism_ is quite a trip. The Magic is based on LIGHT and Color and Drafting and WILL. I loved this twist on magic and power, using color to draft "things" out of air, it was fascinating. I had to go look things up on Wiki and Google, as I never really studied chromaturgy.I wonder if it could translate to a movie, perhaps?
This is a long story (600+ pages), with a journey including deep secrets, lost love, more deep secrets, war, family betrayal, death, religion, corrupt politicians; and a really strange bad guy (named Lord Omnichrome - how cool is that name?) World-building that is rich and vivid, I could "feel" the colors? And characters that are real. I totally loved The Prism is Gavin Guile, Karris his love lost, Corvan, and Kip. His characters do some horrible things, some of them sanctioned, some not. But they feel it, question it...feel bad about things, feel trapped (one character is TRAPPED).
But, I felt the strength of this story is Kip - the 15 year Prism's overweight and clumsy bastard who kinda comes of age, discovers his magic, loses his village, mother, friends, and finds his "father" (not in that order), tries to save the girl, and saves his father, uses his magic like a weapon, but never loses his "sarcastic" sense of humor, which sustains him. His thoughts and feelings are so touching....for anyone that remembers being that awkward age, it was hard enough, but to go through what this young man gets thrown into.....
And Mr. Weeks, your ending killed me!! DAMN YOU...you better stop all that blogging and tweeting and panel talks....all right? You have a book to finish, yes??? The wait (major cliff hanger) is going drive me nuts...but it was so good.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters, the natural style of writing and dialog, and the magic.
I highly recommend _The Black Prism_ if you looking for something a bit different (no dragons or elves so far).
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LibraryThing member kylenapoli
Took me a few chapters to get oriented to the world Weeks has created here, but once I did -- damn, this guy is good.
LibraryThing member Lavinient
I liked this one. Some of the dialogue was awkward or too silly, and the magic system was a little hard for me to imagine at times. But I liked the world building and the characters. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Kip. He is a clumsy, always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, overweight
The plot surprised me in a few places, and I love being surprised, so another positive for me. As I said the magic system was a little hard to imagine at times, but I still thought it very creative and refreshing. So I am giving it a solid 4 stars and look forward to the next book in this series.
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teenager, but I found him endearing and hope his character gets a chance to grow in this series. I also enjoyed Gavin's scheming and plotting character, and I wonder how he will handle the circumstances the author left him at the end of this book.The plot surprised me in a few places, and I love being surprised, so another positive for me. As I said the magic system was a little hard to imagine at times, but I still thought it very creative and refreshing. So I am giving it a solid 4 stars and look forward to the next book in this series.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
In a world where colour is the root of magic, there was a war. The winners and losers aren't obvious and some of the things that are done aren't exactly obviously good things. In this world Gavin Guile is one of the most powerful people. He's fickle and entertaining and he's trying hard to do his
It did feel like I was reading book 2 of a series and I sometimes wanted to know more about the world sooner, but it's an interesting concept and I do like Gavin.
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best. When you work with magic you have a limited life, eventually the magic will burn you out and Gavin will hunt you down. Into his life comes a boy who is supposed to be his son. Some of his plots start to unravel.It did feel like I was reading book 2 of a series and I sometimes wanted to know more about the world sooner, but it's an interesting concept and I do like Gavin.
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LibraryThing member elf2060
Imaginative tale that combines manipulation of colors with a kingdom in turmoil. Each color has its own characteristics and gives a particular wielder specific abilities. The melding of colors give individuality to powers but the Prism is able to utilize all of the colors of the spectrum. There are
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a remarkable number of twists and one is kept guessing about hidden motives and unusual allies and it is difficult to determine who to truly root for as more and more is revealed. A highly entertaining introduction to a very creative series. Show Less
LibraryThing member dolphari
In this world, 16 years after a civil war between two brothers, one brother, Gavin Guile, has become the Prism, the high priest of a monotheistic theocracy based on "drafting" the power of light (as different colors) to work magic in the form of luxin. This trait is genetic, and once every
Kip is awkward, chubby, and 15 when his entire village is massacred by the self-declared King Garadul, and as his addict mother dies, she tells him his father was Gavin Guile. She gives him a knife, which is soon taken by Garadul as Gavin rescues Kip. Gavin is surprised to learn he has a son (really his brother's, he realizes), and takes Kip to the Chromeria, where he is reunited with Aliviana Danavis, another child of the village who is a couple years older. Liv's father was a general who was Dazen's (now Gavin's) best friend, and went into exile so as not to risk blowing Gavin's disguise. Kip is tested and found to be amazingly talented in many different "colors" of magical power.
Karris fell in love with young Dazen, but then he supposedly killed all her brothers and many innocent servants. She was then betrothed to the older Gavin, but instead of waiting to be married, her father permitted Gavin to consummate the marriage early. Gavin was somewhat cruel about it, and Karris became pregnant but had the baby secretly and gave him away. When "Gavin" (the disguised Dazen) returned, he broke the betrothal with no explanation. He thinks she fell in love with his older brother after him, and is afraid to trust her with the truth. She is now a Blackguard, one of an elite warrior group whose job is to guard the Prism. They are friendly but never speak of the past.
The country that Kip grew up in had been occupied since the war by the other countries, because it had fought for Dazen. Garadul claims to be fighting for its freedom, backed by a powerful drafter, Lord Omnichrome, who turns out to be Karris's brother, whom she thought was dead. They also have many color wights, what a drafter becomes after he/she has drafted too much, usually involving madness and great magical power. Their goal is to overthrow the Chromeria and its monotheistic religion. As part of their reasoning, they decry the Pact that drafters make that when they have almost "broken the halo" (drafted to much, evident by the color in their eyes): the drafters vow to be Freed, which entails being killed by the Prism in a religious ceremony. This is one thing that has made Gavin so cynical and faithless; he realizes it protects the rest of society from mad, magical color wights, but he does not feel it is a sacred ceremony, just killing.
When Gavin realizes what Garadul intends, he takes Kip and Liv to Garriston to defend it against Garadul. Karris is captured by Garadul, and Kip and Liv sneak off to rescue her and be spies. Liv has been blackmailed to spy on Gavin, but he has been very generous to her (because he knew her father). When her father turns up in Garriston, Gavin instates him as general because he is the best there is. Liv, of course, thinks that her father is consorting with his enemy, and concludes that Gavin is using her as a hostage. In Garadul's camp, Lord Omnichrome wins her over by pointing out that in the world ruled by the Chromeria, her father as a drafter will have to volunteer to be killed young; he claims that only the drafters who can't handle the power of a color wight go mad. Kip and Karris escape during the battle to take Garriston, and Kip kills Garadul, exacting revenge. This is what Omnichrome had wanted, so he can claim the Chromeria assassinated a rightful king.
Gavin's mother knew immediately which son had returned, but she doesn't know her elder son is still alive but imprisoned. Now, along with a "class" of renowned drafters, she arrives in Garriston for the Freeing ceremony. Gavin finally tells her that he did not kill Karris's family intentionally; her brothers trapped him to try to kill him for dishonoring their sister, and he drafted fire, then escaped, not realizing that her brothers had chained all the gates so that no one could escape. This is why Dazen was thought to be a cruel, violent monster in the war. His mother encourages him to believe in Orholam as she does, and to trust Karris with the truth. She makes her last confession, and heartbroken, Gavin does his religious duty and stabs her in the heart.
Gavin's father does not know which son returned. He will be furious that his wife snuck away to be Freed. He is a bitter old man who still tries to control Gavin. When Gavin tells him about Kip and the dagger that Kip's mother gave him (which was taken by Garadul), his father asks if he has the white luxin dagger. His brother had mentioned it too, so Gavin has to pretend to know about it, but does not really.
Omnichrome's army wins the battle, and the drafters who had planned to be Freed (killed anyway), sacrifice themselves to help the city flee on ships. Karris, upon reaching the ships, suddenly sees the way Gavin and General Danavis are interacting, and realizes these are not enemies tolerating each other; these are close friends. She realizes that Gavin is really Dazen, whom she loved, and who has not told her who he really is for 16 years.
Kip, exhausted by so much drafting, arrives just in time to see an enemy drafter stab Gavin in the back with the knife that Kip's mother gave him and then was stolen. Kip attacks the enemy drafter just in time (they think) and recovers the knife; in the confusion no one realizes it. He doesn't mention it to Gavin as they flee on the ships. Gavin appears to be unwounded, but did feel a pain as if he had been stabbed. The book ends with him losing the ability to see blue--the beginning of the end of his powers, he believes, as he has calculated he has 5 years left to live.
A complicated, sometimes brutal, captivating story. Must remember the details for when the next book is finally written!
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generation a Prism is "chosen" by the god Orholam. The trouble was, both brothers showed promise of being Prisms. The story reveals that the Prism is really Dazen, the younger brother, who defeated his brother Gavin in single combat and then took on his persona, because Gavin had been winning and had been recognized as the Prism. He couldn't stand to kill Gavin, though, and instead imprisoned him below the Chromeria, the magical city where drafters are trained. He has become a desperate animal, trying to escape the prison.Kip is awkward, chubby, and 15 when his entire village is massacred by the self-declared King Garadul, and as his addict mother dies, she tells him his father was Gavin Guile. She gives him a knife, which is soon taken by Garadul as Gavin rescues Kip. Gavin is surprised to learn he has a son (really his brother's, he realizes), and takes Kip to the Chromeria, where he is reunited with Aliviana Danavis, another child of the village who is a couple years older. Liv's father was a general who was Dazen's (now Gavin's) best friend, and went into exile so as not to risk blowing Gavin's disguise. Kip is tested and found to be amazingly talented in many different "colors" of magical power.
Karris fell in love with young Dazen, but then he supposedly killed all her brothers and many innocent servants. She was then betrothed to the older Gavin, but instead of waiting to be married, her father permitted Gavin to consummate the marriage early. Gavin was somewhat cruel about it, and Karris became pregnant but had the baby secretly and gave him away. When "Gavin" (the disguised Dazen) returned, he broke the betrothal with no explanation. He thinks she fell in love with his older brother after him, and is afraid to trust her with the truth. She is now a Blackguard, one of an elite warrior group whose job is to guard the Prism. They are friendly but never speak of the past.
The country that Kip grew up in had been occupied since the war by the other countries, because it had fought for Dazen. Garadul claims to be fighting for its freedom, backed by a powerful drafter, Lord Omnichrome, who turns out to be Karris's brother, whom she thought was dead. They also have many color wights, what a drafter becomes after he/she has drafted too much, usually involving madness and great magical power. Their goal is to overthrow the Chromeria and its monotheistic religion. As part of their reasoning, they decry the Pact that drafters make that when they have almost "broken the halo" (drafted to much, evident by the color in their eyes): the drafters vow to be Freed, which entails being killed by the Prism in a religious ceremony. This is one thing that has made Gavin so cynical and faithless; he realizes it protects the rest of society from mad, magical color wights, but he does not feel it is a sacred ceremony, just killing.
When Gavin realizes what Garadul intends, he takes Kip and Liv to Garriston to defend it against Garadul. Karris is captured by Garadul, and Kip and Liv sneak off to rescue her and be spies. Liv has been blackmailed to spy on Gavin, but he has been very generous to her (because he knew her father). When her father turns up in Garriston, Gavin instates him as general because he is the best there is. Liv, of course, thinks that her father is consorting with his enemy, and concludes that Gavin is using her as a hostage. In Garadul's camp, Lord Omnichrome wins her over by pointing out that in the world ruled by the Chromeria, her father as a drafter will have to volunteer to be killed young; he claims that only the drafters who can't handle the power of a color wight go mad. Kip and Karris escape during the battle to take Garriston, and Kip kills Garadul, exacting revenge. This is what Omnichrome had wanted, so he can claim the Chromeria assassinated a rightful king.
Gavin's mother knew immediately which son had returned, but she doesn't know her elder son is still alive but imprisoned. Now, along with a "class" of renowned drafters, she arrives in Garriston for the Freeing ceremony. Gavin finally tells her that he did not kill Karris's family intentionally; her brothers trapped him to try to kill him for dishonoring their sister, and he drafted fire, then escaped, not realizing that her brothers had chained all the gates so that no one could escape. This is why Dazen was thought to be a cruel, violent monster in the war. His mother encourages him to believe in Orholam as she does, and to trust Karris with the truth. She makes her last confession, and heartbroken, Gavin does his religious duty and stabs her in the heart.
Gavin's father does not know which son returned. He will be furious that his wife snuck away to be Freed. He is a bitter old man who still tries to control Gavin. When Gavin tells him about Kip and the dagger that Kip's mother gave him (which was taken by Garadul), his father asks if he has the white luxin dagger. His brother had mentioned it too, so Gavin has to pretend to know about it, but does not really.
Omnichrome's army wins the battle, and the drafters who had planned to be Freed (killed anyway), sacrifice themselves to help the city flee on ships. Karris, upon reaching the ships, suddenly sees the way Gavin and General Danavis are interacting, and realizes these are not enemies tolerating each other; these are close friends. She realizes that Gavin is really Dazen, whom she loved, and who has not told her who he really is for 16 years.
Kip, exhausted by so much drafting, arrives just in time to see an enemy drafter stab Gavin in the back with the knife that Kip's mother gave him and then was stolen. Kip attacks the enemy drafter just in time (they think) and recovers the knife; in the confusion no one realizes it. He doesn't mention it to Gavin as they flee on the ships. Gavin appears to be unwounded, but did feel a pain as if he had been stabbed. The book ends with him losing the ability to see blue--the beginning of the end of his powers, he believes, as he has calculated he has 5 years left to live.
A complicated, sometimes brutal, captivating story. Must remember the details for when the next book is finally written!
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LibraryThing member BryanThomasS
Ever find a book you wished would never end? Well, this is one of those. Wow. What a great tale. Fuller review coming but highly recommended.
LibraryThing member yahalomi65
The word Excellent is not enough to describe the book. Beside the pleasure to read it, Brent Weeks, contributed a very unique idea which going to mesmerized you till you finish the book and after that you'll hardly will wait to the 2nd one.
VERY VERY RECOMMENDED!
VERY VERY RECOMMENDED!
LibraryThing member ZetaSyanthis
4/5
This book is head and shoulders above Weeks' previous trilogy (The Night Angel), which despite also being good, felt lacking in a few respects (backstory, unexpected new characters, etc.). This one gets it right, and we're quickly thrust into a situation that's at once easy to understand and
A quick note on one flaw the book does have. The intro feels like it could've done with a bit more smoothing out. I know the whole 'losing your home' trope is common in fantasy, and can be done very well, but this one sort of bludgeoned us with 'THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD CARE'.
This book is head and shoulders above Weeks' previous trilogy (The Night Angel), which despite also being good, felt lacking in a few respects (backstory, unexpected new characters, etc.). This one gets it right, and we're quickly thrust into a situation that's at once easy to understand and
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full of hidden dangers; one that the characters themselves understand even less than we do. A quick note on one flaw the book does have. The intro feels like it could've done with a bit more smoothing out. I know the whole 'losing your home' trope is common in fantasy, and can be done very well, but this one sort of bludgeoned us with 'THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD CARE'.
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LibraryThing member Isamoor
Feb13:
Characters: They were unique, but I had a hard time loving any of them. Some spark missing.
Plot: This was done very well.
Style: Awesome as shit. It's all bling.
Characters: They were unique, but I had a hard time loving any of them. Some spark missing.
Plot: This was done very well.
Style: Awesome as shit. It's all bling.
LibraryThing member MlleEhreen
About a quarter of the way through The Black Prism I found myself thinking, "Oh no, not good, this awesome book is the first in a series and it only just came out...I will finish it wanting more, and instead I will have to wait and wait and wait." All the waiting is going to suck. But The Black
So let's see. What are some of the things I liked about The Black Prism. A good cast of characters. It was nice flipping between chubby, frequently pathetic Kip and gorgeous, endlessly charismatic Gavin. And all the characters in between. Each character faces severe challenges, and their individual storylines weave around one another in interesting ways. There are lots of twists and turns, many of them unexpected, and the pace is furious.
Weeks seems to be really big on choices - there are lots of hard choices, and even the best choices often have terrible consequences. He's not afraid to make his characters suffer, or push them to do things that made me angry. That's all good. Given his focus on choices, it's no surprise that he often walks the reader through a choice as the character makes it. When it makes sense, this is great. But there were a handful of key moments where Weeks led us through a choice it rang utterly false to me. I didn't believe that the character would really think or feel that way.
One early example of this is when Kip's mother dies. She's been a pretty awful, worthless mother - constantly strung out on drugs, unloving and abusive. As she dies, she makes Kip swear to exact vengeance on someone who's wronged her. She doesn't name the person, but Kip fills in the blank. That's already annoying enough; as a reader, I knew that I was being tricked. But then Kip agrees to dedicate himself to fulfilling his mother's wish for revenge, and he seems to really mean it. And, reading, I was thinking: really? Where'd that come from? They don't have enough of a bond to inspire that kind of passion for revenge. On top of which, Kip is way, way too smart to fill in a blank and then act like he's been given really specific marching orders.
Naturally, Kip's promise to his dying mother turns out to be important...sometimes. Most of the time, he's aware that his mother was worthless and doesn't seem to mourn her particularly. But every once and a while, when it's convenient to the plot, he gets all passionate about avenging her. Something like that - important events that ring false; motivations that are here one minute, gone the next - can be pretty problematic if it's repeated too many times. And there are a good handful of them here. That being said, for the most part the characters - and their choices - ring true.
Quibbles aside, I definitely recommend this book. If you can stand all the waiting.
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Prism? The book? It did not suck. It was awesome. So let's see. What are some of the things I liked about The Black Prism. A good cast of characters. It was nice flipping between chubby, frequently pathetic Kip and gorgeous, endlessly charismatic Gavin. And all the characters in between. Each character faces severe challenges, and their individual storylines weave around one another in interesting ways. There are lots of twists and turns, many of them unexpected, and the pace is furious.
Weeks seems to be really big on choices - there are lots of hard choices, and even the best choices often have terrible consequences. He's not afraid to make his characters suffer, or push them to do things that made me angry. That's all good. Given his focus on choices, it's no surprise that he often walks the reader through a choice as the character makes it. When it makes sense, this is great. But there were a handful of key moments where Weeks led us through a choice it rang utterly false to me. I didn't believe that the character would really think or feel that way.
One early example of this is when Kip's mother dies. She's been a pretty awful, worthless mother - constantly strung out on drugs, unloving and abusive. As she dies, she makes Kip swear to exact vengeance on someone who's wronged her. She doesn't name the person, but Kip fills in the blank. That's already annoying enough; as a reader, I knew that I was being tricked. But then Kip agrees to dedicate himself to fulfilling his mother's wish for revenge, and he seems to really mean it. And, reading, I was thinking: really? Where'd that come from? They don't have enough of a bond to inspire that kind of passion for revenge. On top of which, Kip is way, way too smart to fill in a blank and then act like he's been given really specific marching orders.
Naturally, Kip's promise to his dying mother turns out to be important...sometimes. Most of the time, he's aware that his mother was worthless and doesn't seem to mourn her particularly. But every once and a while, when it's convenient to the plot, he gets all passionate about avenging her. Something like that - important events that ring false; motivations that are here one minute, gone the next - can be pretty problematic if it's repeated too many times. And there are a good handful of them here. That being said, for the most part the characters - and their choices - ring true.
Quibbles aside, I definitely recommend this book. If you can stand all the waiting.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Brent Weeks has a talent for writing characters who are REALLY not very nice (murderers, liars) but somehow you end up not hating them. Although it is a bit unsettling, it is interesting to not be sure whom you should be rooting for.
Recommended.
Recommended.
LibraryThing member BMorrisAllen
Brent Weeks showed the SF/F world what he could do with his first books, the Night Angel trilogy. In The Black Prism, he keeps up that high standard. Prism is a different world than Night Angel, with a different magic system, and a whole different cast of characters and personalities.
Prism gives us
The writing this time is not as smooth as it was with Night Angel, suggesting a greater rush to get the books out, and less consistent editing. There are places where the prose could have been tweaked for greater effect. More important, there are several gaps or not-credible coincidences in the story that have been thinly papered over, or not at all. Not enough to seriously set the reader back, but where you wish there had been even a paragraph or two of hand waving.
All in all, a very fun read, and well worth picking up - either for Weeks fans, or for newcomers who enjoy epic fantasy.
Prism gives us
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the Chromeria - a conservative, possibly corrupt guild governing 'drafters' - people who draw on light and color to produce magic. The Chromeria is led by Gavin Guile, the mysterious Prism, who can handle all seven colors at once. We follow both Guile and Kip, the young, obese boy from a devastated town who is, of course, destined for greater things.The writing this time is not as smooth as it was with Night Angel, suggesting a greater rush to get the books out, and less consistent editing. There are places where the prose could have been tweaked for greater effect. More important, there are several gaps or not-credible coincidences in the story that have been thinly papered over, or not at all. Not enough to seriously set the reader back, but where you wish there had been even a paragraph or two of hand waving.
All in all, a very fun read, and well worth picking up - either for Weeks fans, or for newcomers who enjoy epic fantasy.
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LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
An intriguing opening to a new series. Brent Weeks has created a fantasy world with magic based on color and the most important man is the Prism, who can use any color to create magic. Gavin Guile, the current Prism, had to struggle in a deadly war against his brother to claim his title, and the
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lands still reel from this war when Gavin discovers the existence of a son born to him during the war. This discovery sets in motion a string of events that brings long buried secrets to the fore and brings Gavin into another war. A great beginning to this series. I can't wait to dig into the next one! Show Less
LibraryThing member nursewidener
“Good Story Dragging Performance"
What did you love best about The Black Prism? The coming to age aspect of Kip in relation to learning and discovering a new world beyond his imagination. Founding out you are able to use magic by "drafting" light when you are stressed, running for your life from
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cristofer Jean? I think Lou Diamond Phillips would have been a better narrator than Cristofer Jean. I had a hard time to keeping focus on the story instead of focusing of Jean's faults as a narrator. So it made following the story hard and thus less enjoyable than previously listened to books.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting? No, as mentioned due to narrator it made this book one that I needed to pause after awhile and ponder what had happened in the storyline.
What did you love best about The Black Prism? The coming to age aspect of Kip in relation to learning and discovering a new world beyond his imagination. Founding out you are able to use magic by "drafting" light when you are stressed, running for your life from
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an invading army after watching two of your friends getting killed. Witnessing your mom die from wounds given to her by the invading, even if your mom is crazy and a drug addict messes with your mind. Then to top of the first part of the book finding out your a bastard to one of the most powerful men in the world. Talk about having to grown up quick.Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cristofer Jean? I think Lou Diamond Phillips would have been a better narrator than Cristofer Jean. I had a hard time to keeping focus on the story instead of focusing of Jean's faults as a narrator. So it made following the story hard and thus less enjoyable than previously listened to books.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting? No, as mentioned due to narrator it made this book one that I needed to pause after awhile and ponder what had happened in the storyline.
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LibraryThing member Jenn.S
I bought this book because I loved the Night Angel series and knew I could trust the author to deliver. Weeks is one of those authors you can count on to bring a well written novel full of everything there is to love about fantasy. I wasn't thrilled at first with the idea of just what a Prism was
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but it grew on me as I continued to read the book. I ended up loving the story and the characters as they developed and things progressed. I'm now eagerly awaiting the next Lightbringer book. Show Less
LibraryThing member JohnnyPanic13
The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1)
by Brent Weeks
There will be spoilers eventually, I'm not sure you can really talk about a book without them. But I'll warn you before I start with the spoilers.
This was a suprrisingly good book. I will definitely be reading the next one in this series (The Blinding
That's no small acheivement for this book. It had a lot to overcome on the path towards winning me over. By the time I'd studied the map (I've got a map obsession, if a book opens with a map I'll read it like a prologue) I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like this book. By the time i was two chapters in I was positive i was going to hate it. I was pretty sure it would be added to my very short list of "books I couldn't finish they were so bad".
But I gave it a few more chapters, and the strangest thing happened. Instead of it being a before bedtime chore to plow through a more chapters, I was looking foward to reading it. And then I was bringing it with me places, and then I found myself sneaking in a few more pages and reading through the last half of the book in one big push.
What happened? What turned me? Well that's going to involve spoilers. minor and significant both. So before I dig in I'll just say that this is a good fantasy book. It's high fantasy, magic is neighter scarce, nor subtle. It is filled with the worst fantasy cliche's possible. Like it's a plot sewn together from randomly picked books on the sci-fi/fantasy shelf in a used book store. But.... But it holds together. I wouldn't go so far as to say it shatters those cliches, but rather it twists them. The author plays with them, you can almost see the smirk on his face saying "so you think you know the bastard son of the kingdoms ruler trope, well what how about this..." By the end I might not have loved these cahracters, but I wanted to know what happened next. To the characters, and to the world they live in.
Okay... spoilers. Not "ending of the book" sized spoilers. But spolers none-the-less.
First you've got places on the map like the "Blood Forest", "Green Haven", The Cerulean Sea", and "Green Haven", the map itself is a list of fantasy geography cliches. And then you're introduced to the unlikely hero, Kip.
The good hearted by socially awkward lad named Kip who lives in a small viallge. A small village that is quickly under attack by an evil king. And surprise surprise, our hero Kip has magic powers. Oh.. and the magic in this world? all based on colour. Maybe it was the Mario paint flashbacks, but i just couldn't get past that. A whole lot of rainbow talk going on in this book. Oh, and it's just starting. There's a guy called the "Prism" who is lk,e the super-merlin of the rainbow. And within the first couple of chapters, *boom* the Prism is Kips father. The Prism saves Kips from the evil king, and takes him away to join the Chromeria, that's the school of rainbow magic.
Does it sound like I hate this book? At that point, I did. But then it starts getting better. The Prism isn't the Prism, well he is, but he's one of two. And Kip isn't really his son, it's his brothers bastard son. His brother who was the supposed to be the Prism, but now he's locked up in a magical (ya, colour magic) dungeon. The evil brother won. Only he's trying to be good. And the good brother? He's going a little mad in his magical blue dungeon and might not be so good after all. And this is where my disgust with Brent Weeks started to turn into admiration. Again, he doesn't exactly shatter those cliches, but he spins them. And he does it well.
I never could get over the colour-magic thing. I think it's the first book i've read that does this, so points for originality, but there might be a reason there's never been a successful fantasy series with magic based on colours. But the strength of the writing wins out in the end. And I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
I've had too many books recently that seemed like great ideas, only to be ruined by poor writing and no character development. It's a pleasant surprise to have a book that has a... well to put it kindly... flawed concept and beginning be more than redeemed by writing and character development.
by Brent Weeks
There will be spoilers eventually, I'm not sure you can really talk about a book without them. But I'll warn you before I start with the spoilers.
This was a suprrisingly good book. I will definitely be reading the next one in this series (The Blinding
Show More
Knife). In fact, by the time I'm writing this, i've picked it up already. That's no small acheivement for this book. It had a lot to overcome on the path towards winning me over. By the time I'd studied the map (I've got a map obsession, if a book opens with a map I'll read it like a prologue) I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like this book. By the time i was two chapters in I was positive i was going to hate it. I was pretty sure it would be added to my very short list of "books I couldn't finish they were so bad".
But I gave it a few more chapters, and the strangest thing happened. Instead of it being a before bedtime chore to plow through a more chapters, I was looking foward to reading it. And then I was bringing it with me places, and then I found myself sneaking in a few more pages and reading through the last half of the book in one big push.
What happened? What turned me? Well that's going to involve spoilers. minor and significant both. So before I dig in I'll just say that this is a good fantasy book. It's high fantasy, magic is neighter scarce, nor subtle. It is filled with the worst fantasy cliche's possible. Like it's a plot sewn together from randomly picked books on the sci-fi/fantasy shelf in a used book store. But.... But it holds together. I wouldn't go so far as to say it shatters those cliches, but rather it twists them. The author plays with them, you can almost see the smirk on his face saying "so you think you know the bastard son of the kingdoms ruler trope, well what how about this..." By the end I might not have loved these cahracters, but I wanted to know what happened next. To the characters, and to the world they live in.
Okay... spoilers. Not "ending of the book" sized spoilers. But spolers none-the-less.
First you've got places on the map like the "Blood Forest", "Green Haven", The Cerulean Sea", and "Green Haven", the map itself is a list of fantasy geography cliches. And then you're introduced to the unlikely hero, Kip.
The good hearted by socially awkward lad named Kip who lives in a small viallge. A small village that is quickly under attack by an evil king. And surprise surprise, our hero Kip has magic powers. Oh.. and the magic in this world? all based on colour. Maybe it was the Mario paint flashbacks, but i just couldn't get past that. A whole lot of rainbow talk going on in this book. Oh, and it's just starting. There's a guy called the "Prism" who is lk,e the super-merlin of the rainbow. And within the first couple of chapters, *boom* the Prism is Kips father. The Prism saves Kips from the evil king, and takes him away to join the Chromeria, that's the school of rainbow magic.
Does it sound like I hate this book? At that point, I did. But then it starts getting better. The Prism isn't the Prism, well he is, but he's one of two. And Kip isn't really his son, it's his brothers bastard son. His brother who was the supposed to be the Prism, but now he's locked up in a magical (ya, colour magic) dungeon. The evil brother won. Only he's trying to be good. And the good brother? He's going a little mad in his magical blue dungeon and might not be so good after all. And this is where my disgust with Brent Weeks started to turn into admiration. Again, he doesn't exactly shatter those cliches, but he spins them. And he does it well.
I never could get over the colour-magic thing. I think it's the first book i've read that does this, so points for originality, but there might be a reason there's never been a successful fantasy series with magic based on colours. But the strength of the writing wins out in the end. And I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
I've had too many books recently that seemed like great ideas, only to be ruined by poor writing and no character development. It's a pleasant surprise to have a book that has a... well to put it kindly... flawed concept and beginning be more than redeemed by writing and character development.
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LibraryThing member Molecular
Really enjoyed this book. Great characterization, very imaginative magical system based on colors of light, and the religion and government were unusual too. Brent did a fine job of worldbuilding - it was quite impressive how he created a world where I accepted the details without question. I am
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looking forward to the next book. BRAVO Mr. Weeks! Show Less
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Fantasy — 2017)
David Gemmell Legend Award (Shortlist — 2011)
Endeavour Award (Finalist — 2011)
Language
Original publication date
2010-08
Physical description
640 p.; 9.29 inches
ISBN
184149903X / 9781841499031
Local notes
Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals. But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.