As I’m sure you’ve deduced from the sheer number of reviews I’ve done of Brent Week’s books in the last few months, he’s one of my new favorite authors. His Lightbringer series has really captivated my attention and even after finishing The Blood Mirror it hasn’t waned. The Blood Mirror is the fourth and most recent installment in said series and let me tell you, it’s somewhat of a pace change from the previous books.
Whereas in the previous installments Gavin Guile was the major presence, Kip Guile (aka Breaker) is now the real tour de force here. Kip has come a long way from his overweight, bullied self and is become a true Guile- cunning and charismatic, with a thin veneer of goodness. He is now leading The Mighty, his squad mates that left the Blackguard to protect and fight for him, and is organizing offensives against the White King in Blood Forest. His ragtag troupe of warrior drafters are all that stand between the White King and the capture of Blood Forest, which would be a major blow to the already weak Chromeria. Did I mention that on top of all these tactics, he’s also got to handle Tisis now? Yeah, she was quite an interesting addition to the story and I was surprised to find that I ended up liking her. At first I was very skeptical of her seemingly sudden feelings for Kip, but she appears to be genuine and useful.
Though less grand than before, Gavin Guile is still hanging on by the tips of his fingers here. He has fallen far indeed- now a colorblind, one eyed wretch, Gavin is on the receiving end of what he considered to be his genius creation. What goes around comes around, huh? I felt pretty bad for him for the entirety of the book, but it turns out he was being set up for what’s going to be a big role in book 5. Just can’t keep a Guile down.
Karris is a beast. I haven’t given her proper credit in previous reviews because it’s so hard to thoroughly discuss every character of significance, but she is very powerful. The White was grooming her for a greater role by having her go on unusual missions and then become her spymistress and Aurea’s gamble paid off. Karris is the new White and she’s got a plate full of troublesome situations including (but not limited to) Andross Guile, searching for Gavin, managing satraps, attending executions, and sort of overseeing the infiltration of the Broken Eye. Karris has had tremendous growth and has matured well- I can only hope she’ll keep Andross Guile on his toes and on her side. Karris’s mental checklist had me smirking several times- well done.
Teia… oh my goodness. Teia is always in a situation. Her talents coupled with the benefit of having what is essentially an invisibility cloak have made her formidable, though I still worry for her every time she encounters Murder Sharpe. He’s a creep and his dentures make the creep factor even worse. I hope Teia crushes all who oppose her…
The Blood Mirror was great, though it did have a different atmosphere than the previous books. This I think was largely due to the dark turn of Gavin’s chapters and the addition of Tisis into Kip’s life. I like her, but she’s definitely changed things and I’m still trying to figure out if it’s going to be for the better in the end. I can honestly say that the finale for the Lightbringer series is going to be one of my most anticipated books for whatever year it’s supposed to come out.
I was not happy about Kip leaving Teia and ending up with Tisis. But by the end I was convinced.
Unless Weeks is playing a long game with her. Which would be the utter betrayal, so I’m hoping he won’t go down that path.
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I will be SOOO upset if Tisis is playing him!
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I haven’t read any Weeks – Yet! I do have The Black Prism and really wanted to read it but as usual my own books tend to take a bit of a back seat. This year I’m hoping to make a bit of headway on my own TBR.
Lynn 😀
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^^PREACH IT. I’ve got piles of books that I’ve purchased, but review copies are priority so they just keep gathering dust!
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