Beyond the Shadows: The Night Angel Trilogy, 3 Mass Market Paperback – Illustrated, December 1, 2008

I've read a lot of series, and this is the one I've enjoyed more than any others. Once book 1 really gets rolling I couldn't read anything else until I made it through book 3. Very interesting characters, plot, and world.

It's been a while since I read this for 1st time and I just re read the series during my holiday and decided it deserves a review. This final part brings all the storylines together and although things feel a bit convulated and artificial at times, the characters are as vibrant and intriguing as always.Although not as brilliant as say...Prince of Thornes, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns (must read) read .....I still feel Kylars journey is an impressive one. Highly recommended

Great ending to a great series.

I agree with a number of other reviewers who only gave this series 3 stars however I have to say that after passing up these books for years due to the corny childish looking covers and thinking they we're some stupid kiddie "Ninja" books even after I started noticing everyone talking about this work and this Author I finally broke down and decided it was not fair to "judge a book by its cover" and give Mr Weeks a chance before blowing him off for good and boy am I glad I did! I have to say he ranks up there with my top 15 favorite Authors alive now and for a FIRST WORK I am very impressed, especially seeing as it sounds like he has had no formal training in writing!? I have to give him 4 stars since with just a little work I believe I would have put him up near the top of my all-time favorites list or within the top 10 easily and that includes people such as David Gemmell, Stephen Erikson, Martin, Robert E. Howard, Donaldson, Feist, Brooks, Rothfuss, Abercrombie, Lawhead, Bakker, Tolkien, etc...I think mostly, as the Authors first work and possibly a bad contract deal/bad publisher choice, it showed.....He has exceptional talent but I wonder if the publisher "harassed and hurried" him into finishing too quickly?! Knowing how they operate (all they think about is money) I guarantee that or something similar, is most likely what happened, reading Mr Rothfuss's blog not long ago after ranting about how long it has taken to finish his second book in a trilogy he apparently had already had written he claimed, I was pretty shaken and put in my place for "jumping to false conclusions based upon zero facts" to find that apparently even the death of both his parents, one after the other and both while finishing his second book, did not stop the greedy publishers of his books from pressuring him to finish up his second book (He had agreed to finish each book within 12 months I believe he said), luckily he refused to be badgered and pushed back, and so instead of a book every 12 months he took 3 years for just his second book! and said he wanted to make sure it was PERFECT for his audience and fans! I applaud him and his courage and integrity and to hell with the "contract" and publisher, if you made a mistake and need to adjust the "terms" then by God, get a lawyer if needed and do it! I encourage MR Weeks to take a hint from him and DO THE SAME, you have the potential to be one of the best fantasy writers of this generation, I could not put the books down and have been lying on my couch now for a week reading all three non-stop and finding some of the best characters and story plot I've ever read, now you just need to flush out the details and finish developing it properly! and do not worry about fitting it into someones square hole, if it takes 12 books, take a lesson from Steven Erikson....and don't think everything has to fit in three books...I'm really not sure where that came from but it is a stupid "rule" that every author seems to think they have to follow and it drives me crazy! Trilogy, Trilogy, Trilogy my ass....Do what is "right" for you and how YOU work and express your art and to hell with what the publishers and editors and "the rules" say you need to do! Believe me, the publishers can't live without people like you, they need you more than perhaps you know and definitely more than you need them now with the world of the internet and self publishing and with your stock in trade going way up with this first series, you can pick and choose what to do and when to do it and do it right.I know its easy for me to stand here and sound self-righteous and say "I would do things differently" without ever having stood or walked in your shoes, I know its hard when you have a family to feed, believe me I've done what I've had to do to make sure my family has had a roof over their heads and food on the table, so who am I to judge you for what perhaps you had to do, but I hope you will read these reviews and take the constructive criticism for what it is worth, realize you no longer have to bow to the proverbial and almighty dollar (I'm sure there are plenty of publishers, fair publishers who would give you a large loan/advance and let you take all the time and give you all the freedom you needed) so if you need to hire an attorney and break a crummy contract, I say go for it and do it and don't let anyone rush your excellence or edit your book so much that perhaps it comes out different from what YOU WANT.My Advice to MR Weeks, DO NOT SIGN ANY MORE CONTRACTS THAT HAVE DEADLINES IN THEM, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THE STORIES RIGHT, YOUR WAY. DO NOT LET THE MONEY GRUBBING PUBLISHERS PUSH YOU TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING BUT YOUR BEST!God Bless You and Your Family,--JNR

I really enjoyed this series, there were some parts where it seemed slow but the ending, just amazing. Looking forward to the next series.

NOTE. This is a review of the third volume of a trilogy, and it assumes that you're familiar with the previous volumes.Brent Weeks's "Beyond the Shadows," third of a three-part creepy dark fantasy, brings the author's debut effort to a satisfying if choppy conclusion. All the characters, all the artifacts, all the magic finally converges at a place called dramatically enough the black barrow, and those characters who survive will no doubt carry on to deal with more adventures (there are a few loose ends and a hint of more to come), and I'll be there to cheer them on when the time comes.However, the author, I fear, has been poorly served by his editor. At least that's what I think happened here. In the editor's attempt to bring in the book at a reasonably unreasonable word count, some expository passages must have been chopped away. Artifacts lost are retrieved "off stage" and returned to their owners; one character from overseas arrives with a Macguffin at precisely the right time (how'd that happen?); a reconquest of disputed lands happens with ridiculous ease. And then there's the matter of poor Uly, who never gets a single line. After forcing her into the action in volume 2, her tale should have reached some kind of conclusion. Again, maybe it did and the editor cut it; or maybe she'll reappear in future volumes. As an adult, hopefully.Then, too, while the editorial scissor had no trouble functioning, the editorial blue pencil failed to memo the author about consolidating some of the scenes. A long sequence in which Kylar is tasked with the job of assassinating a queen ends, as in previous volumes, with cliffhangers, after which we cut to another thread of the tale. And that's too bad, that assassination---and maybe it's the highlight of the book as well as showing how good Mr. Weeks can be---is therefore chopped into several interrupted segments. Readers who simply flick ahead looking for the next segment in the Kylar thread and decide to backtrack later will have lost nothing.But all in all, Mr. Weeks has done a fine job in his first effort. So to conclude I'll reprise here what I said about volume 1: In the last line of his acknowledgments, Brent Weeks makes this offer to his readers: "you give me a couple of pages," he promises, "and I'll give you a helluva ride." He delivers on his promise.

Firstly - the book itself, physically, is really good quality. I had the first two of these from Amazon and they were really bad print quality and creased like mad. This is high quality, feels a lot nicer to hold/read.This is a decent ending to what I’d call a decent series. Weeks can definitely hook you into a story, I just feel like here he struggled to get me excited about any of the characters. Their development lacked a lot of depth apart from a key character who is only present in the first book which really impacted my enjoyment of the last two.It’s as if he tried to cram too many different POVs/stories and concepts into the last two books which is really noticeable but the story itself was worth the ride. He’s also writing another novel at the moment in this world so worth picking up!I honestly can’t give any of weeks’ books five stars though for one key reason - the man CANNOT write female characters. As someone who hasn’t read lightbringer I feel like this could improve but if reviews are anything to go by I’m not holding my breath.Don’t let that single fact put you off though, I’d highly recommend giving the series a go for the story and premise alone.

I have read this more than three times and it just gets better with each reading. I fell in love with Kylar from when he was still Azoth - even then you could feel how filled with a deep sense of justice he was (even as down trodden and helpless as he was then) as well as his deep yearning for love. As harsh a master as he was, I found myself respecting the ever mysterious and cynical Durzo. I grew to love so many of the characters (Elene, Logan, Momma K, Count, Vi, Jenine and more) that littered this amazing masterpiece. And will revisit with them often, especially when I need a dose of hope amongst other things.

I have recently re-read the Night Angel trilogy. And once again I am reminded why Brent Weeks is up there with my favourite authors. The characters are fantastic, the story is complex, the world building is thorough and immerses you into the world. Re-reading this trilogy I picked up a lot of nuance that I think I may have missed with first reading because I was desperate to get to the end of the trilogy in order to find out what happened. I truly hope that the author writes more books based on this world. Having said that the five books of the Lightbringer series we’re also utterly fantastic. Great trilogy by a great author: more books please!

'Beyond the Shadows' is the third and final instalment in Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy. The trilogy so far has followed the life of Kylar Stern, a young man who has developed since childhood from an orphan thief to a trainee assassin (or `wetboy'), and who has now finally taken on the role of the immortal Night Angel, the embodiment of justice.The most entertaining parts of Kylar's tale are his interactions with both Durzo Blint (his mentor) and the black ka'kari (the magical item that is the source of his special powers), which are full of easy humour and sarcasm. However, these conversations don't happen very often, and Kylar's chapter are mainly focused on his complicated relationships with Elene and Vi. This book also has a wider scope than the others: we see more of the world and its inhabitants. While this gives the book something of a grander scale, I actually miss the focus of the first two books, which were mostly set within the streets of cities. The first book particularly focused more on character development within the confines of the city's underworld, and I think that approach was actually stronger than that of this book, which mostly seems to be `send the characters to loads of different places on loads of flimsy pretexts'.One of the things I do really like about the plot is that there is always something happening: lots of little events occur within the tales of most characters, which helps to make the novel a fairly fast-paced read (although some of the events are a bit contrived). The way the various plotlines finally entwined was fairly well-conceived, and the final battle definitely had a feel of the epic about it. The sacrifice involved in the defeat of evil is somewhat glossed-over, but adds a nice sense of loss and emotion. However, I feel that the payoff was somewhat unsatisfactory, mainly because [spoiler] it revolved around the man characters gathering around an artefact, Power Rangers-style, and using previously unmentioned magic to end the epic battle and instantly transform the battlefield into a place of beauty.For me, some of the strongest plotlines were those of the `supporting' characters. I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of Dorian's descent into darkness and subsequent redemption; and Vi Sovari's search for friendship and acceptance was my favourite storyline in the whole trilogy. The characters of Sister Ariel, Solon Tofusin and Feir Cousat were also fun to read about, but unfortunately they are very minor and don't feature as much as I would have liked. On the other hand, there were many characters I simply could not engage with, and whose chapters I found a little slow and dull, which meant that I didn't sympathise with them enough to feel the appropriate emotional impact of their various fates. I think this is one aspect that detracted from my enjoyment of the book: the fact that Weeks has so many good characters yet does not seem to develop them as strongly as he perhaps could have, while placing too much focus on characters who are a little two-dimensional.There are plenty of aspects within the book that make it gripping - such as the torture of Kylar, the fate of the usurper queen Terah Graesin, the mystery of the Dark Hunter and the continual revelations about Durzo Blint - but there is also plenty of stuff in between that makes it, well, less-than gripping. I did enjoy reading it, but as the conclusion of a trilogy? It goes out with more of a whimper than a bang.(Review first posted on my blog 'The Half-Strung Harp'.)

clocking in at 688 pages, in 99 chapters and an epilogue, comes the third and final volume of the night angel trilogy. One long fantasy story spread over three volumes. If you've not read  The Way of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy)  and  Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy)  then go and read them first. because this far in you're not going to get quite as much out of the story if you jump on so late.If you have, read on.This picks up the story right from after the big battle at the end of volume two, and the shocking news that kylar then learned. with both the north and south in turmoil, new leaders arise. In the north, someone has to replace the godking. But can the character who does be a better ruler than their father was?In the south, with the city under the control of a certain lady not suited to be queen, should those who pledged loyalty to her honour that pledge? and should kylar deal with her?Amongst the ongoing story there is the one strong moral question: do you do the right thing when the cost is too high? and lots of the characters here will have to consider that. It also makes the reader think about it, which is good writing.With more battles looming and darkness on the horizon, can it end happily for everyone?Let's just say you won't forget the end in a hurry.It does wrap everything up, but there could be further adventures in this world if needs be.And that I wouldn't mind. A very good ending to an excellent trilogy The Way of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy)Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy)