The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks – Review

Published: August 26, 2014

Publisher: Orbit

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 757 (Paperback)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

 

Synopsis:

As the old gods awaken, the Chromeria is in a race to find its lost Prism, the only man who may be able to stop catastrophe, Gavin Guile. But Gavin’s enslaved on a galley, and when he finally escapes, he finds himself in less than friendly hands. Without the ability to draft which has defined him . . .

Meanwhile, the Color Prince’s army continues its inexorable advance, having swallowed two of the seven satrapies, they now invade the Blood Forest. Andross Guile, thinking his son Gavin lost, tasks his two grandsons with stopping the advance. Kip and his psychopathic half-brother Zymun will compete for the ultimate prize: who will become the next Prism.

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I was advised by a fellow blogger that upon finishing The Broken Eye I would basically lose it. Though I didn’t flip any tables, throw dishes, or generally rage, I did sit there with my mouth agape for a few moments before thinking that I had it coming. Weeks had set me up yet again and I was so unprepared. The ending wasn’t even the biggest surprise in the book- there were countless other twists and turns, which is one of the biggest reasons I’ve been devouring the Lightbringer series.

Brent Weeks writes his characters vibrantly. As a reader I can connect with their emotions and situations, and I love many of them. Kip, Teia and the rest of their Blackguard squad keep me endlessly entertained and any situation involving them is essential. I could go on for pages about them, but to keep it short and sweet, their success and Kip’s continuing epicness will please me to no end. Gavin and Karris are also have a special spot in my heart as the star-crossed lovers. Other characters are so easy to loathe, but also deserve a certain degree of respect for their… guile. Yes, I did that. Andross Guile is a devious spider, at the center of a complex and powerful web. That clever old geezer is playing a long game, to be sure and I cannot even guess at his true endgame. Zymon (though he appears only briefly) is a chocolate covered turd. He appears winsome and sincere, but he’s rotten inside and without a scrap of humanity.

This particular segment of the Lightbringer tale had me cringing several times- such a visceral reaction can be difficult to pull from me, but not in this case! I get nervous every time Kip starts babbling, so I was internally screaming “NO KIP SHUT UP!” pretty frequently. And poor Gavin, wow. He’s really had a streak of awful luck. There’s so much on the line for so many of the characters that it’s literally one crazy thing after another! The storyline in The Broken Eye may be the best one yet, though I hope that The Blood Mirror will exceed my expectations as well.

The Broken Eye was yet another strong installment in a top notch fantasy series. I loved that Kip has really toughened up and gained a few skills for all his hard work, though he does tend to let his mouth engage before his brain does. Gavin had some terrible set-backs, though it provided valuable insight into his earlier years as Prism and showed that he’s not quite as amazing at everything as he was initially. Character growth was impressive in this one all around. There are deeper mysteries than I would have expected, and Weeks only has two more books in which to wrap up those new threads- CAN HE DO IT? Yes, of course he can… but can he do it well? I’ve already begun The Blood Mirror, so that review won’t be much further behind.