Review: The Black Prism

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Brent Weeks is an author whose books have been sitting on my to-read list for quite some time. It was the comments of a friend that finally had me picking up the first book in the Lightbringer series, as he was happy to tell me all about this series being one of his favourites in the genre. I hate to do this, but I’m questioning his taste.

For the first half of this book, I was mostly indifferent to the story. It was an interesting world, but I did not care about the characters. Plenty of things were introduced, but none surprised me. It felt like a standard fantasy read, one I wasn’t overly crazy about. I kept reading, however, and was rewarded by the second half of the book. It was more interesting, but I still wasn’t wowed by it. Nonetheless, I did find myself caring more about what happened in the second half of the story.

Despite the fact I became somewhat invested in this one, I was never sucked into the story in the way I had hoped to be. There were some interesting points, but the storytelling felt too juvenile for me. It felt like the kind of storytelling you’d find in a children’s book, despite the fact this is aimed at adults. The commentary and behaviours just felt too childish for my liking, and it prevented me from being sucked completely into the story.

Thus, I’m unsure whether I’m going to continue with the Lightbringer series. A part of me wants to know what comes next, but the length of the books requires a rather large commitment when I’m not in love with the series. I may continue, but it’s not at the top of my to-read list. Moreover, the Night Angel series has also dropped down my to-read list.

Overall, this was an okay read, but it wasn’t at all what I had hoped for. It grew on me, but not enough for me to understand the hype.

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