http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&feed=atom&action=historyShadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks - Revision history2024-03-29T05:33:56ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.34.2http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&diff=157091&oldid=prevSue at 11:43, 14 August 20202020-08-14T11:43:12Z<p></p>
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<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">Revision as of 11:43, 14 August 2020</td>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|reviewer= Magda Healey</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|reviewer= Magda Healey</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|genre=Fantasy </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|genre=Fantasy </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|summary= Enjoyable fantasy, which won't tax your brain but provides exciting plot with good cliffhangers, well developed characters facing genuinely tragic moral dilemmas, convincing uber-evil, inspired monsters and ingenious magic; occasionally marred by too much psychological interpretation from the author and characters themselves, and silly love and (lack of) sex scenes. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|summary= Enjoyable fantasy, which won't tax your brain but provides exciting plot with good cliffhangers, well<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">-</ins>developed characters facing genuinely tragic moral dilemmas, convincing uber-evil, inspired monsters and ingenious magic; occasionally marred by too much psychological interpretation from the author and characters themselves, and silly love and (lack of) sex scenes. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|rating=3.5 </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|rating=3.5 </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|buy= Maybe</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|buy= Maybe</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The large-scale 'fate of the world hanging in balance' intrigue, so essential to every fat fantasy saga, whether heroic, picaresque or both, becomes more noticeable as the action progresses and this reader at least could not help but keep wondering what would connect the various strands of action. We also have a chance to explore a bit more of Midcyru world this time, as characters travel chasing each other and magical artefacts, and this worldbuilding works well, without unnecessary exposition, naturally fitting into the events of the novel. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The large-scale 'fate of the world hanging in balance' intrigue, so essential to every fat fantasy saga, whether heroic, picaresque or both, becomes more noticeable as the action progresses and this reader at least could not help but keep wondering what would connect the various strands of action. We also have a chance to explore a bit more of Midcyru world this time, as characters travel chasing each other and magical artefacts, and this worldbuilding works well, without unnecessary exposition, naturally fitting into the events of the novel. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>But sadly not all is epic fun and games in ''Shadow's Edge''. Particularly in the first sections, when Kylar Stern attempts sincerely to give up killing and violence<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">, </del>and exchange them for the ''daily intimacies of Elene's love'', quite a lot of space is given to their interactions and to the sexual tensions between them (as the intimacies of love fail to materialise). And those parts really do slip: the psychology is awfully over-explained and the language stilted and anachronistic at the same time. I am probably showing my age here, but I have never even heard anybody utter the expression ''trying to be cute'', though I have seen it - strictly in US teen novels and US teen-frequented websites - and something in me really, really protests when it's used as part of an internal monologue of a magical assassin in feudal fantasy world. It could be, of course, post-modern, but it grates. Add to it the sex (or rather preoccupation with it combined with the lack of the actual event) and occasionally I found myself embarrassingly close to the territory often covered by the modern mediocre teen and 'young adult' novel. Luckily, the destiny intervenes and the cringe-inducing interactions of Kylar and Elene need to bother us no more. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>But sadly not all is epic fun and games in ''Shadow's Edge''. Particularly in the first sections, when Kylar Stern attempts sincerely to give up killing and violence and exchange them for the ''daily intimacies of Elene's love'', quite a lot of space is given to their interactions and to the sexual tensions between them (as the intimacies of love fail to materialise). And those parts really do slip: the psychology is awfully over-explained and the language stilted and anachronistic at the same time. I am probably showing my age here, but I have never even heard anybody utter the expression ''trying to be cute'', though I have seen it - strictly in US teen novels and US teen-frequented websites - and something in me really, really protests when it's used as part of an internal monologue of a magical assassin in <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">a </ins>feudal fantasy world. It could be, of course, post-modern, but it grates. Add to it the sex (or rather preoccupation with it combined with the lack of the actual event) and occasionally I found myself embarrassingly close to the territory often covered by the modern mediocre teen and 'young adult' novel. Luckily, the destiny intervenes and the cringe-inducing interactions of Kylar and Elene need to bother us no more. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is still a tendency to over-explain that which is obvious. Weeks would do better to trust his writing skills and let the readers infer a little bit more of his characters' feelings; after all they are, even with all their torn loyalties and conflicted strivings, mostly straightforward and don't require extensive authorial interpretations or stuck-on explanatory internal monologues. Those interpretations tend to slip into the language and conceptual framework of modern psychobabble. Barely dressed-up ideas of cycle of abuse, sexual hurt, empowerment, self-esteem and self-hatred, domestic violence, early childhood experiences leaving lasting scars and similar, turn up their ugly heads in what seems like an artificial attempt at the dreaded 'relevance'. I am not objecting to the themes, by any means, but to the fantasy magi in a feudal world thinking and talking like a 21st century American therapists. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>There is still a tendency to over-explain that which is obvious. Weeks would do better to trust his writing skills and let the readers infer a little bit more of his characters' feelings; after all<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">, </ins>they are, even with all their torn loyalties and conflicted strivings, mostly straightforward and don't require extensive authorial interpretations or stuck-on explanatory internal monologues. Those interpretations tend to slip into the language and conceptual framework of modern psychobabble. Barely dressed-up ideas of <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">the </ins>cycle of abuse, sexual hurt, empowerment, self-esteem and self-hatred, domestic violence, early childhood experiences leaving lasting scars and similar, turn up their ugly heads in what seems like an artificial attempt at the dreaded 'relevance'. I am not objecting to the themes, by any means, but to the fantasy magi in a feudal world thinking and talking like a 21st century American therapists. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Shadow's Edge'' would be a much better novel (although perhaps a tad more challenging to the youngest readers in its potential audience) if the majority of this navel-gazing and emotional explanation was curtailed. We can all see why Natassa's taunting of Ghorky the guard is admirable. We can see why the prostitutes turned warriors risk their <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">life </del>for the king, and what kind of epiphany Elene undergoes when defending the child from a Kahlidorian guard. It's all there, already, in the events, and dialogue, we don't have to be told.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Shadow's Edge'' would be a much better novel (although perhaps a tad more challenging to the youngest readers in its potential audience) if the majority of this navel-gazing and emotional explanation was curtailed. We can all see why Natassa's taunting of Ghorky the guard is admirable. We can see why the prostitutes turned warriors risk their <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">lives </ins>for the king, and what kind of epiphany Elene undergoes when defending the child from a Kahlidorian guard. It's all there, already, in the events, and dialogue, we don't have to be told.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Weeks is much better when it comes to the grand stuff of fantasy epics: the magic is inventive, the evil is, occasionally, genuinely terrifying, the monsters are horrendous, obscene and tragic, the artefacts intriguing, the overarching moral dilemma and conflicts between private happiness and public duty, between piously high moral sentiments and cruel realities of the world, valid and genuine. There were also moments of epic grandeur and real pathos, moving heroism and a good final twist. I also liked the Order of the Garter joke. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Weeks is much better when it comes to the grand stuff of fantasy epics: the magic is inventive, the evil is, occasionally, genuinely terrifying, the monsters are horrendous, obscene and tragic, the artefacts intriguing, the overarching moral dilemma and conflicts between private happiness and public duty, between piously high moral sentiments and cruel realities of the world, valid and genuine. There were also moments of epic grandeur and real pathos, moving heroism and a good final twist. I also liked the Order of the Garter joke. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I will happily read ''Beyond the Shadows'' (in fact, I might save it as a precious distraction for the time of genuine need, i.e. my next bad cold), but I am in a quandary as to how to rate ''Shadow's Edge''. For the over-explanation, anachronisms and psychobabble concepts, two stars, for the epic storytelling, decent characters, compelling magic and great evil players, four stars, and taking into account the likely (older teen) readership of the cycle, three and half Bookbag stars and a recommendation if my above sketched reservations don't put you off. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I will happily read ''Beyond the Shadows'' (in fact, I might save it as a precious distraction for the time of genuine need, i.e. my next bad cold), but I am in a quandary as to how to rate ''Shadow's Edge''. For the over-explanation, anachronisms and psychobabble concepts, two stars, for the epic storytelling, decent characters, compelling magic and great evil players, four stars, and taking into account the likely (older teen) readership of the cycle, three and <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">a </ins>half Bookbag stars and a recommendation if my above<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">-</ins>sketched reservations don't put you off. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Those looking at a believable and powerful rendering of individual emotions, from hatred to desire, from guilt to love, in a grim and wonderful fantasy/dystopian s-f setting, should look at Melvin Burgess' ''Bloodsong''. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Those looking at a believable and powerful rendering of individual emotions, from hatred to desire, from guilt to love, in a grim and wonderful fantasy/dystopian s-f setting, should look at Melvin Burgess' ''Bloodsong''. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Those looking for another easy to read doorstopper of a fantasy saga, with similar "young adult" leanings, but with less <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">of a </del>bloodshed and torture, will enjoy Karen Miller's [[The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller|Innocent Mage]].</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">We also have a review of [[Beyond the Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks]]. </ins>Those looking for another easy to read doorstopper of a fantasy saga, with similar "young adult" leanings, but with less bloodshed and torture, will enjoy Karen Miller's [[The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller|Innocent Mage]].</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l49" >Line 49:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 49:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|name=Ulf Rosvall </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|name=Ulf Rosvall </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|verb= said</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|verb= said</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|comment= I just finished the book myself and went out on the net to find if someone else shared my ambivalence over this series and I <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">cant </del>agree more with your evaluation.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|comment= I just finished the book myself and went out on the net to find if someone else shared my ambivalence over this series and I <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">can't </ins>agree more with your evaluation.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The books has good characterization and the story holds, despite many plotholes, but the "psychobabble" was so <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">totaly </del>out of style for characters in medieval fantasy world.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>The books has good characterization and the story holds, despite many plotholes, but the "psychobabble" was so <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">totally </ins>out of style for characters in <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">the </ins>medieval fantasy world.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I also found it very strange that the author lingered on Kylars and Elenes "virginity", it felt as if a <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">borne</del>-again <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">christian </del>evangelist had hijacked the story to be used in a crusade against teen sexuality.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I also found it very strange that the author lingered on Kylars and Elenes "virginity", it felt as if a <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">born</ins>-again <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Christian </ins>evangelist had hijacked the story to be used in a crusade against teen sexuality.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>On the other hand, the "grittiness" of the <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">worls </del>spells of someone who actually has done his homework on the <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">mediveal </del>world and most of the time I <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">realy </del>enjoyed reading the books.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>On the other hand, the "grittiness" of the <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">world </ins>spells of someone who actually has done his homework on the <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">medieval </ins>world and most of the time I <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">really </ins>enjoyed reading the books.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Ulf Rosvall </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Ulf Rosvall </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Sweden</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Sweden</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>}}</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>}}</div></td></tr>
</table>Suehttp://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&diff=129287&oldid=prevSue at 16:54, 14 March 20182018-03-14T16:54:48Z<p></p>
<table class="diff diff-contentalign-left" data-mw="interface">
<col class="diff-marker" />
<col class="diff-content" />
<col class="diff-marker" />
<col class="diff-content" />
<tr class="diff-title" lang="en">
<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">Revision as of 16:54, 14 March 2018</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l1" >Line 1:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>{{<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">infobox </del></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>{{<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">infobox1 </ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|title= Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy) </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|title= Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy) </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|author= Brent Weeks</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|author= Brent Weeks</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l12" >Line 12:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 12:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|date= November 2009</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|date= November 2009</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|isbn=978-1841497419 </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|isbn=978-1841497419 </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">amazonuk</del>=<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><amazonuk></del>184149741X<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"></amazonuk> </del></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">cover</ins>=184149741X</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">amazonus</del>=<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><amazonus></del>0316033650<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline"></amazonus> </del></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">aznuk=184149741X</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">|aznus</ins>=0316033650</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>}}</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>}}</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
</table>Suehttp://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&diff=75333&oldid=prevSue at 18:00, 11 November 20142014-11-11T18:00:36Z<p></p>
<table class="diff diff-contentalign-left" data-mw="interface">
<col class="diff-marker" />
<col class="diff-content" />
<col class="diff-marker" />
<col class="diff-content" />
<tr class="diff-title" lang="en">
<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan="2" style="background-color: #fff; color: #222; text-align: center;">Revision as of 18:00, 11 November 2014</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l4" >Line 4:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 4:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|reviewer= Magda Healey</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|reviewer= Magda Healey</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|genre=Fantasy </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|genre=Fantasy </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|summary= Enjoyable fantasy, which won't tax your brain but provides exciting plot with good <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">cliffhngers</del>, well developed characters facing genuinely tragic moral dilemmas, convincing uber-evil, inspired monsters and ingenious magic; occasionally marred by too much psychological interpretation from the author and characters themselves, and silly love and (lack of) sex scenes. </div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|summary= Enjoyable fantasy, which won't tax your brain but provides exciting plot with good <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">cliffhangers</ins>, well developed characters facing genuinely tragic moral dilemmas, convincing uber-evil, inspired monsters and ingenious magic; occasionally marred by too much psychological interpretation from the author and characters themselves, and silly love and (lack of) sex scenes. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|rating=3.5 </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|rating=3.5 </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|buy= Maybe</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|buy= Maybe</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|borrow= Maybe</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|borrow= Maybe</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><del style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">|format= Paperback</del></div></td><td colspan="2"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|pages=656 </div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|pages=656 </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|publisher= Orbit</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>|publisher= Orbit</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="mw-diff-left-l41" >Line 41:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 40:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #222; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
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</table>Suehttp://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&diff=11307&oldid=prevKeith: 1 revision2009-10-24T17:15:04Z<p>1 revision</p>
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</td></tr></table>Keithhttp://www.thebookbag.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Shadow%27s_Edge_(Night_Angel_Trilogy)_by_Brent_Weeks&diff=11306&oldid=prevSue at 16:46, 12 January 20092009-01-12T16:46:53Z<p></p>
<p><b>New review</b></p><div>{{infobox <br />
|title= Shadow's Edge (Night Angel Trilogy) <br />
|author= Brent Weeks<br />
|reviewer= Magda Healey<br />
|genre=Fantasy <br />
|summary= Enjoyable fantasy, which won't tax your brain but provides exciting plot with good cliffhngers, well developed characters facing genuinely tragic moral dilemmas, convincing uber-evil, inspired monsters and ingenious magic; occasionally marred by too much psychological interpretation from the author and characters themselves, and silly love and (lack of) sex scenes. <br />
|rating=3.5 <br />
|buy= Maybe<br />
|borrow= Maybe<br />
|format= Paperback<br />
|pages=656 <br />
|publisher= Orbit<br />
|date= November 2009<br />
|isbn=978-1841497419 <br />
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184149741X</amazonuk> <br />
|amazonus=<amazonus>0316033650</amazonus> <br />
}}<br />
<br />
''Shadow's Edge'' continues the saga of the Dark Angel where [[The Way Of Shadows (Night Angel Trilogy) by Brent Weeks|The Way of Shadows]] left: Cenaria has been invaded and ravaged by the Kahlidor with their supremely evil Godking, Kylar Stern's master Durzo Blint has been killed by his pupil, and Kylar himself, now an immortal carrier of the powerful artefact known as ka'kari as well as Durzo's old sword Retribution, is determined to leave the way of the shadows, to renounce killing and violence and to make for himself a new daylight life with Elene, whom he loves and admires for her saintly goodness as much as for her exquisite body, and their orphaned teenager ward, Uly. They travel to Caernarvon where Kylar is to become a herbalist and a healer. <br />
<br />
But both destiny and years of training have a habit of catching up with one, especially in fantasy novels, and before long Kylar realises that being a meek herbalist is just not him, and his Dark Angel duties somewhat forcibly reassert themselves. A murder, kidnapping and a couple of coming-back-from-the-dead episodes later find Kylar in the very centre of the events that will change the fate of the whole world, fighting nightmarish war beasts created by Godking's Frankenstein-like Meisters and saving his friend Logan (and the true king of Cenaria) from rotting at the bottom of the worst dungeon in the worst prison: the Hole at the Maw. <br />
<br />
I read ''Shadow's Edge'' over a weekend otherwise spent overdosing on tea and ibuprofen, prostrate in front of the fire, having succumbed to a nasty cold. And I enjoyed it very much: it is a rollicking story, with enough suspenseful cliff-hangers to keep my bleary eyes open and, despite the intertwining of several subplots, undemanding enough for me to cope even in the virus-affected state. I thought that the storytelling was better than in ''The Way of Shadows''; the subplots weave together with great suspense and there is less choppiness in the narration. <br />
<br />
The large-scale 'fate of the world hanging in balance' intrigue, so essential to every fat fantasy saga, whether heroic, picaresque or both, becomes more noticeable as the action progresses and this reader at least could not help but keep wondering what would connect the various strands of action. We also have a chance to explore a bit more of Midcyru world this time, as characters travel chasing each other and magical artefacts, and this worldbuilding works well, without unnecessary exposition, naturally fitting into the events of the novel. <br />
<br />
But sadly not all is epic fun and games in ''Shadow's Edge''. Particularly in the first sections, when Kylar Stern attempts sincerely to give up killing and violence, and exchange them for the ''daily intimacies of Elene's love'', quite a lot of space is given to their interactions and to the sexual tensions between them (as the intimacies of love fail to materialise). And those parts really do slip: the psychology is awfully over-explained and the language stilted and anachronistic at the same time. I am probably showing my age here, but I have never even heard anybody utter the expression ''trying to be cute'', though I have seen it - strictly in US teen novels and US teen-frequented websites - and something in me really, really protests when it's used as part of an internal monologue of a magical assassin in feudal fantasy world. It could be, of course, post-modern, but it grates. Add to it the sex (or rather preoccupation with it combined with the lack of the actual event) and occasionally I found myself embarrassingly close to the territory often covered by the modern mediocre teen and 'young adult' novel. Luckily, the destiny intervenes and the cringe-inducing interactions of Kylar and Elene need to bother us no more. <br />
<br />
There is still a tendency to over-explain that which is obvious. Weeks would do better to trust his writing skills and let the readers infer a little bit more of his characters' feelings; after all they are, even with all their torn loyalties and conflicted strivings, mostly straightforward and don't require extensive authorial interpretations or stuck-on explanatory internal monologues. Those interpretations tend to slip into the language and conceptual framework of modern psychobabble. Barely dressed-up ideas of cycle of abuse, sexual hurt, empowerment, self-esteem and self-hatred, domestic violence, early childhood experiences leaving lasting scars and similar, turn up their ugly heads in what seems like an artificial attempt at the dreaded 'relevance'. I am not objecting to the themes, by any means, but to the fantasy magi in a feudal world thinking and talking like a 21st century American therapists. <br />
<br />
''Shadow's Edge'' would be a much better novel (although perhaps a tad more challenging to the youngest readers in its potential audience) if the majority of this navel-gazing and emotional explanation was curtailed. We can all see why Natassa's taunting of Ghorky the guard is admirable. We can see why the prostitutes turned warriors risk their life for the king, and what kind of epiphany Elene undergoes when defending the child from a Kahlidorian guard. It's all there, already, in the events, and dialogue, we don't have to be told.<br />
<br />
Weeks is much better when it comes to the grand stuff of fantasy epics: the magic is inventive, the evil is, occasionally, genuinely terrifying, the monsters are horrendous, obscene and tragic, the artefacts intriguing, the overarching moral dilemma and conflicts between private happiness and public duty, between piously high moral sentiments and cruel realities of the world, valid and genuine. There were also moments of epic grandeur and real pathos, moving heroism and a good final twist. I also liked the Order of the Garter joke. <br />
<br />
I will happily read ''Beyond the Shadows'' (in fact, I might save it as a precious distraction for the time of genuine need, i.e. my next bad cold), but I am in a quandary as to how to rate ''Shadow's Edge''. For the over-explanation, anachronisms and psychobabble concepts, two stars, for the epic storytelling, decent characters, compelling magic and great evil players, four stars, and taking into account the likely (older teen) readership of the cycle, three and half Bookbag stars and a recommendation if my above sketched reservations don't put you off. <br />
<br />
Those looking at a believable and powerful rendering of individual emotions, from hatred to desire, from guilt to love, in a grim and wonderful fantasy/dystopian s-f setting, should look at Melvin Burgess' ''Bloodsong''. <br />
<br />
Those looking for another easy to read doorstopper of a fantasy saga, with similar "young adult" leanings, but with less of a bloodshed and torture, will enjoy Karen Miller's [[The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller|Innocent Mage]].<br />
<br />
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.<br />
<br />
{{amazontext|amazon=184149741X}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=6251119}}<br />
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{{commenthead}}<br />
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{{comment <br />
|name=Ulf Rosvall <br />
|verb= said<br />
|comment= I just finished the book myself and went out on the net to find if someone else shared my ambivalence over this series and I cant agree more with your evaluation.<br />
<br />
The books has good characterization and the story holds, despite many plotholes, but the "psychobabble" was so totaly out of style for characters in medieval fantasy world.<br />
<br />
I also found it very strange that the author lingered on Kylars and Elenes "virginity", it felt as if a borne-again christian evangelist had hijacked the story to be used in a crusade against teen sexuality.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the "grittiness" of the worls spells of someone who actually has done his homework on the mediveal world and most of the time I realy enjoyed reading the books.<br />
<br />
Ulf Rosvall <br />
Sweden<br />
}}</div>Sue