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The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer #2)

by Brent Weeks (Goodreads Author)

4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 · rating details · 6,393 ratings · 483 reviews

Gavin Guile is dying.

He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies.

Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color w...more

Hardcover, 671 pages

Published September 11th 2012 by Orbit (first published January 1st 2012)

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May 18, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am really excited to see how this great series continues. Finally the release date is coming up soon. I really love the new book cover, the colours are amazing and that is great considering how colour is sooo important when it comes to this series.

Yes!!! I finally have this book after waiting a year. I am about half way done it and I love it!

I finally finished this book! I was not disapointed at all! This is an amazing fantasy novel and it is one of Brent Week's best novel yet! This is one of...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_release_read, read_2012, top_25_2012_novels

awesome stuff so far about 100 pages in - had to reread Black prism and greatly enjoyed it again on the 4th or 5th read; great news that there will be four books in the series as the author needs another 1000+ pages to finish it

I finished the novel staying again way too late and turning the pages too fast towards the end to see what happens and I plan to start a reread later in the day to enjoy the book at leisure.

A few points (review on publication which means either Sept 11 or when i see it in...more

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May 31, 2013 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'll be honest, I didn't like Brent Weeks at first. I knew his Night Angel Trilogy as the 'ninja books' in the bookstore because of their cover art. It wasn't until I saw them appear on bestfantasybooks.com's Top 25 List that I decided to pick the first one up. I couldn't get into it. The pacing was rough, the characters were shallow, and the world was bland. If I hadn't made it to around page one hundred, I probably wouldn't have picked up a book by Weeks again. I'm glad I started enjoying The...more I'll be honest, I didn't like Brent Weeks at first. I knew his Night Angel Trilogy as the 'ninja books' in the bookstore because of their cover art. It wasn't until I saw them appear on bestfantasybooks.com's Top 25 List that I decided to pick the first one up. I couldn't get into it. The pacing was rough, the characters were shallow, and the world was bland. If I hadn't made it to around page one hundred, I probably wouldn't have picked up a book by Weeks again. I'm glad I started enjoying The Way of Shadows when I did because it has led me to the latest book by Mr. Weeks, The Blinding Knife.

The best thing I can say about it? It's a freaking masterpiece.

(Possible spoilers for The Black Prism follow)

One thing I enjoy about Weeks' books are that they blend into one another, and so, in The Blinding Knife, there is little to no rehashing of events, characters, or ideas in the beginning: it picks up right after The Black Prism and keeps going. From the get-go we have Gavin performing heroic acts, Kip finding his place in the Chromeria, and Liv struggling to get into her new life with the Color Prince.

The book is unbelievably fast paced. Each character gets several pages of screen-time, then the chapter is over and we get to see another character's happenings. Never have I read a 600 page book in two weeks, and I credit that to Weeks' excellent pacing.

The thing that I enjoyed most, however, is how much the world has expanded since the previous book. The addition of Nine Kings, new colors, strange happenings, gods, and new locations are rampant here, and makes The Blinding Knife feel absolutely crammed with material and lore. The story is fantastic, with plenty of plot twists, almost all of which are complete game-changers.

In the end, I will say that I haven't read such a daring, ambitious, entertaining novel in years. I've seen other reviewers say it, so I will too: This book is the one that confirms Brent Weeks as one of the best fantasy writers out there. It's brilliant, sometimes funny, clever, fun, dark, and heartbreaking at the same time. It's an absolute joy to read, and a book that everyone who reads fantasy should try. I don't know how Book 3 or 4 can top this one, but whether they do or not, The Blinding Knife is, and forever will be, one of my favorite books.

Hats off to you, Mr. Weeks! You should be proud of what you have done.

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Oct 11, 2012 Edward Keller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kung-Fu Panda With Gore

There are five reasons for which I would have ranked the novel lower than it deserves, were I a member of the despicable tribe of reviewers who allow personal biases - and even the extent to which they approve or not of the character’s behavior – to distort appreciation of mastery and technique. But, since when Zarathustra sprach, he sprach about me – I am immune to those petty un-Vulcan emotions.

Reasons I would have hated the book were I not Homo Superior:
1. I don’t dig p...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Willsauger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall, it's a generally good story.

Problem, for me, lies in the amateurish writing (not mistakes) but redundancies in place. Just stupid little things that could be left out could make this book much better.
I had the same difficulty with the last book. So I won't hope for a change with the next.

Story wise, it was rather good. Fair warning, you never sense a true 'antagonist', or a real 'goal' that the characters are seeking. Maybe people will refer this to 'the characters living out their live...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another great, imaginative book. Only thing I don't like about it is when authors leave stories unfinished because there'll be another book in a year or two. Give me a longer book, not a cliff-hanger.

It smacks of the Back to the Future part 2 movie or is akin to a TV series past its prime hoping to keep viewers "hooked." I like books that end and sequels to pick up with another story like Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. I don't like one story taking 3 or 5 books to finish like A Game of Thr ...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Sven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The Blinding Knife is a book with three major plot threads and I had pretty different feelings about each of them. The largest is Kip's, the second largest is Gavin's, and the third is a significantly smaller one featuring the character Liv.

Kip's Story (4.5 Star)

I really enjoyed this part and I think it easily makes the book worth reading by itself. Kip came across to me as much more interesting and likable in this book than he did in the first book (The Black Prism). Though toward the end the...more

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Jun 02, 2013 Mike Walsh rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Blinding Knife builds and expands upon the great world that Brent Weeks introduced in the first book in the series, The Black Prism.

I suppose I have a soft spot for coming of age stories, because that may have been the main reason why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. First thing, I like how Brent Weeks made Kip a big ol' fatty who is a terrible warrior (although as we find out in the course of events - of course he's very powerful). I think throwing him in to the Blackguard and having...more

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May 12, 2013 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fantasy

Fully deserving of five stars! I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series.

After his chance meeting with the Blinding Knife in the first book, Gavin now only has one year to live when he thought he had five. Unable to prevent war from breaking out, he is doing all in his power to stop it from escalating - again, at the cost of himself and those he loves. Meanwhile his bastard, Kip, is beginning to discover that he is more of a fighter than he has ever given himself credit to be. And a...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Matthew Parks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another excellent Brent Weeks book, excellent action sequences and some really big emotional and story payoffs in here. Some expansion on the world established in 'The Black Prism', but not so much that it felt like a patch to concepts from the first book.
I think my biggest complaint for this book would be so many build-ups without resolution, I assume to be resolved in a later book. A couple of times I was genuinely upset after reading a chapter because I was so frustrated (which I consider to...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Jonathon Dunstan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Okay, so I just finished Brent Week’s second novel in the Lightbringer Series: The blinding knife. I gotta say, I am impressed. First of all, I just reread another series back to back. And what annoyed me about that was that the first 50 to 100 pages were spent basically recapping every little reference that was made. It was incredibly annoying. It sort of makes sense if you know the reader hasn’t read the first book in over 3 years, or if you are referring to an earlier series. But the same ser...more Okay, so I just finished Brent Week’s second novel in the Lightbringer Series: The blinding knife. I gotta say, I am impressed. First of all, I just reread another series back to back. And what annoyed me about that was that the first 50 to 100 pages were spent basically recapping every little reference that was made. It was incredibly annoying. It sort of makes sense if you know the reader hasn’t read the first book in over 3 years, or if you are referring to an earlier series. But the same series? Come on, we aren’t idiots. Just having the book pick up, as though the reader had just finished the first book was very refreshing.

Another thing I enjoyed, is that for a book at this size, the pages were actually filled with text. I hate having a book look like it will take me a few weeks based on it’s thickness, then finding out the font and line spacing is generous, with huge margins on all sides. If you’re the type who likes to annotate, I guess this is useful. But I loved that this book was pretty much filled to the brim with story.

So the story, what can I say about the story. It’s awesome! Weeks’ first series while an awesome premise was pretty predictable with many of the subtle hint’s being not so subtle, or felt as though tacked on after it whole chapters were written. This book? (and series) Well, a lot of the subtle hints I picked up, I’m not even sure were hints, and I won’t find out until the next book is released. The plot has not been predictable at all, whilst still maintaining my suspension of disbelief. There aren’t any characters that have done anything that feels out of character. And the game of Nine Kings in the book? Completely fascinating. It feels like it could be the premise for its own series of books on it own. But here, Weeks almost uses it perfectly. Almost.

(view spoiler)

It was a fantastic read, and I had assumed that I could expect the next novel sometime towards the end of the year. Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case, with this recent post from Weeks on his blog:

“So when’s the next book out, Weeks?”

When I was on my book tour a few months ago, I expressed my hope that the next book in The Lightbringer Series might, might be out in a year.

...

Neil Gaiman might tell you that you haven’t any right to ask. I gave you a good story, o book buyer, so shut up.** (**Not an accurate paraphrase) But as I made the mistake of publicly disagreeing with an SFF icon, it seems to me I should put up or shut up. So here’s the word in brief: No New Lightbringer Book from Weeks in 2013.

While it’s annoying to know that I won't see the next book until next year, neither do I want to see a book that is rushed just simply to meet a deadline. I think this is a good sign. I’ve read too many trilogies, that start of just as strong as this one, that end anti-climatically.

This is a book that will be kept on my shelf to be re-read many times to come.

5/5(less)

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Feb 18, 2013 Joshu Fisher rated it 4 of 5 stars

I keep meaning to post some more reviews, let's kick things off with this book by Brent Weeks.

The Black Prism was the novel that kicked off this latest series by Weeks. It was an interesting book that struck a chord with a bunch of us on staff because it was a good example of innovation. A magic system based on making light solid, mix in some curious world building, cool mechanics for the magic (along with a cost not unsimilar to what the Wheel of Time series does for using it).

While The Black P...more I keep meaning to post some more reviews, let's kick things off with this book by Brent Weeks.

The Black Prism was the novel that kicked off this latest series by Weeks. It was an interesting book that struck a chord with a bunch of us on staff because it was a good example of innovation. A magic system based on making light solid, mix in some curious world building, cool mechanics for the magic (along with a cost not unsimilar to what the Wheel of Time series does for using it).

While The Black Prism was an interesting book, there were things about it that left a friend and I, in particular, feeling a little frustrated. Because of that, I went into The Blinding Knife a little suspicious; my guard was definitely up. Needless to say, if you haven't read the first book, there may be some spoilers here, but I'll use the tags, so bear with me.

TBK picks up right where the first book leaves off. Gavin has survived the assassination attempt, though not without a cost. The book sets up the interesting question of what it means when the Prism himself loses the ability to draft certain colors. It's a sign that things in the world are beginning to fall apart, and that the Color Prince is the least of the worries that Gavin will have in book two. The story in the book revolves a lot around Gavin and his continuing struggles and works as Prism, as well as Kip and his life as he returns to the academy and tries to learn to be a drafter and deal with his grandfather.

It makes for an interesting story in a lot of ways. The Kip end of things has a lot of the standard elements you might expect from the trope of boy goes off to magic school, though it uses interesting elements from the setting to spice things up and make it much more engaging. One of the problems that I have with TBK though is that the Kip segments tend to be so much more engaging than the majority of the Gavin segments that much of the other parts of the book just seem like interludes you have to wade through to keep you abreast of what's going on in other areas. Normally that's not an issue, but when that's like half of the text...it starts to wear on you a little bit.

There were a lot of questions about various items and systems in the first book that were left pretty unanswered. A lot was just placed before the reader without much in the way of explanation, and you were left assuming that it'd be filled in later on in the series. It is nice to see that TBK tries to tackle a couple of these things, though it definitely does end up adding in a few new problems of similar nature. There are mythology and magic mechanics things that just don't really seem to make sense, and once again you're left wondering if Weeks is going to tie everything together in a cohesive manner in a later book, or if it's just going to be snipped off prematurely, as if the author realized "oh...yeah, that actually doesn't make any sense whatsoever, let me take care of that."

Ultimately, I like TBK, and I like it more than TBP. I think the innovation is still there, and that there are some really cool scenes in the book. It still leaves me wanting more, which is definitely a plus. We were all a little underwhelmed with some of the later offerings from the Night Angel series, so it's really really good to see that Weeks is managing to follow up a book with a strong sequel that makes a compelling case for spending some money as opposed to just giving up on the series.

If you liked The Black Prism at all, I highly recommend The Blinding Knife. It's not in any "Must Read" status for me, even so, but it is definitely worth your time.

Overall: 7/9
As a Sequel: 7/9
Stand Alone: 6/9

Verdict: Buy it, no need to library or mass market paperback this one.
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Jan 23, 2013 Lavanya Ray rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, fantasy

Genre : Epic Fantasy, Action/Adventure.

It was actually a great adventure for me to complete an epic fantasy novel of 115 chapters and 671 pages (Hardcover edition) in just seven days, but I am glad that I finished it quite smoothly. Thanks to the exciting story line and the even more exciting way of story telling.

The second installment of The Lightbringer series is worth reading, but if you haven't read the first books yet, you might get lost inside the story and the alternate universe where ma...more Genre : Epic Fantasy, Action/Adventure.

It was actually a great adventure for me to complete an epic fantasy novel of 115 chapters and 671 pages (Hardcover edition) in just seven days, but I am glad that I finished it quite smoothly. Thanks to the exciting story line and the even more exciting way of story telling.

The second installment of The Lightbringer series is worth reading, but if you haven't read the first books yet, you might get lost inside the story and the alternate universe where magic is closely related to both the industry and religion. There are certain words and theories those a reader must understand before starting to read, but once you get inside the story you will become frenzied and go on until the last chapter and author's note is finished.

The story is told mostly from Kip's (Gavin Guile's bastard son) pov as this part is mainly focused on his life as a trainee Black Guard, and the enemy camp (Color Prince and his men) is portrayed from Liv's (Aliviana Danavis) pov. The gradually weakening and dying Gavin Guile comes often though. His times with Karris White oak were very practically romantic which appealed me the most.There was the crazy pov of the Gunner too which was funny in a dark way, but at the end he proved to be another important character.

Basically The Blinding Knife is a story of heroes. Unlike other fictions, I was surprised to notice this, each and every character here has a good reason behind their actions and these reasons make them hero. Each of the character struggled through their journey. Kip struggled to prove himself and to gain a parent; Gavin struggled to save his people and find his love. Ironfist struggled to get a clear perception of his duty, and Liv struggled to find out the truth and right path. This character expansion made the effect even better and convincing. So when I read how the Color Prince Koios White oak betrayed Karris White oak and Dazen Guille, I felt bad about that but still failed to hate him. When Aliviana Danavis joins the enemy camp on her volition,it made me think, what should a girl do when she receives the respect she deserves from someone she is not supposed to be with?

There are some characters who made the flow of the story smooth and irresistible, and it will be an injustice if I don't mention them. The first name comes into my mind is Commander Ironfist, who made a loyal friend and warrior to the protagonist Lord Prism Gavin Guille, earned respect and admiration from the very beginning. Adresteia, a slave girl and Kip's partner stole the limelight in some situations, so did Cruxer, a fellow trainee of Kip. Luxlord Andross Guile was another very strong and confusing character, as sometimes he gave the impression of a cunning and powerful Luxlord, and there were times when he appeared as a negetive character.The Seer was an interesting and alluring character, so was Corovan Danavis who at the end of the book receives a great honor of becoming a Satrap. Finally, Zymun White oak, a sly yet charming young polychrome who shocked me at the end chapter.

Magic was a very influential element in the whole story, it affected the social structure, economy, religion and of course the politics. It was really very curious to learn the intricate details of the magic, the light, and how the trainees are been trained to use it in the battlefield. After the characterizations, this was something I loved about the book.

Overall, this is a magnificent epic, stirring and sometimes thought-provoking, with a very enthralling effect. Only one drawback, it ended in the middle of the revelations leaving us craving for the next part (I almost hated the author for ending the book there). It took almost 630 pages to reach the final chapter, and then there were glossary, maps and other stuffs to help comprehending the complicated descriptions. But even after that I would love to re-read the whole 670 pages (approximately) happily, and start the new installment.

After reading this Brent Weeks and his Lightbringer Series is my new favorite. My ratings to The Blinding Knife FIVE bright shiny never fading stars.
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Jan 17, 2013 Jeffrey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Brent Weeks is quite a master. Night Angel is one of, if not, my favorite series I've ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed Black Prism. From the transition between the two series (N. A. to Light Bringer), one quickly realizes how much Brent has grown as a writer. The world and magic systems are much more fleshed out in L. B. He makes the character of an epic fantasy novel feel as if they were taken from our world and simply placed in his own. Their actions and thoughts are so on point to what it f...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Justin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-scifi, favorites

When I bought this book, it was probably a mistake. I was in the middle of getting ready for my exams, and considering I had finished the first read through before my exams were done, I may have made some...less than ideal time management decisions.

And perhaps the best praise I can give Brent Weeks is that a couple weeks after I finished this book, and was heading home for the holidays, I decided a second, closer read was the best way to spend the train ride. And I regret nothing.

There are time-...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Melissak rated it 4 of 5 stars

The second book in Week's series, I think I liked this book even better than the first. The first was slow, a little difficult to understand at first and get into, but by the time I got to this book, I was already absorbed in the storyline and found it easy to ease into.

This book featured mainly Kip, Daven/Gavin, and Liv - but it also added little scenes from unknown characters who I think will be prominent in the third book, but not so important in this book. I enjoyed how Week's incorporated t...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 22, 2012 Zurlo Enrico rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have to admit that i'm disappointed. I had high expectation for this book but i found myself bored most of the time and i had trouble finishing it. In my opinion the only interesting thing were the relationships between characters, especially Karris and Dazen. Their love was really well portrayed.

Bad things (some SPOILERS):

1)Kip isn't likeable at all. I can't reconcile him mouthing off people one second and acting all shy and insecure the next moment. Even when he shows his superior ability in...more I have to admit that i'm disappointed. I had high expectation for this book but i found myself bored most of the time and i had trouble finishing it. In my opinion the only interesting thing were the relationships between characters, especially Karris and Dazen. Their love was really well portrayed.

Bad things (some SPOILERS):

1)Kip isn't likeable at all. I can't reconcile him mouthing off people one second and acting all shy and insecure the next moment. Even when he shows his superior ability in magic i don't feel any pride at all for him.

2)The war is hardly felt. It seems for most people just an afterthought in other things that really matters. On principle i agree on a change of perspective from the usual, but here i really can't shake off the feeling that it is just the author who can't convey emotions to that part of the plot.

3)The timeline is too compressed. Too many things happens in too little story time. This is mostly true for Kip. Just a few months before he had no powers and he was an abused child, and now he is thrown into a war fighting as if he is one of the greatest warriors ever(he certainly shouldn't have been on the green bane). Brent should have given him more time to train and mature (i especially didn't like the fact that he got in the blackguard with just a month worth of training against guys who had spent most their life preparing for that, and he wasn't certainly strong to begin with since he always lost in the fights in his village versus much weaker adversaries)

4) Gavin Guile was such a waste. He was the most interesting character of book 1 and in this he was even better. I was really looking forward for his escape. His madness was really appealing (it reminded me of Theon on "A Dance with dragons"). Then the author just go and kill him off to show us a change of heart of Dazen. I was like....i read so many chapters of this guy, learned his past and explored his mind, and you just kill him without letting him do anything at all? Oh hell no!

I think i'll read the next one just for continuity (i have finished much worse series) but for sure the level of priority has gone down a lot.

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Sep 28, 2012 Julian rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 27, 2012 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars

About a year ago, I went to my local library and picked up my first Brent Weeks book. I read the Night Angel trilogy and thought it was really good. And then, about two months ago, I finally read The Black Prism and decided. Brent Weeks is one of my favorite authors. It was one of those books I just couldn't put down and kept daydreaming about even after I finished it. I was doubly excited to see The Blinding Knife was coming out soon and I didn't have long to wait. And I was not disappointed. B...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Sueij rated it 4 of 5 stars

More simply outstanding storytelling and worldbuilding by Weeks. He's so good that I feel like I need to justify why this isn't 5 stars more than I need to explain why it is 4 stars. It's 4 stars because Brent Weeks tells amazing stories, winds threads together in intricate and fascinating ways, creates characters that are believable and keep you invested, and doesn't always take you where you expect.

I guess the only reason that this story is four stars instead of five is that this series feels...more

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May 19, 2013 Obaid Haroon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fresh off the back page and the first thought is that "thank God there's a fourth book". Not just because in the world of good series the more the merrier. But because if this was the penultimate instalment, then the last boom would have a lot of explaining to do. But there's gonna be 4 overall so it's all good.

To the book. Straight after the battle we begin in the middle of an ocean, where Dazen is surrounded by blue and can't draft any of it. Yet still manages to out run a sea demon. Hell of...more Fresh off the back page and the first thought is that "thank God there's a fourth book". Not just because in the world of good series the more the merrier. But because if this was the penultimate instalment, then the last boom would have a lot of explaining to do. But there's gonna be 4 overall so it's all good.

To the book. Straight after the battle we begin in the middle of an ocean, where Dazen is surrounded by blue and can't draft any of it. Yet still manages to out run a sea demon. Hell of an intro.

As the book moves on we see the characters get more in depth. Follow Kip through becoming a Blackguard. His friendships with Teia, Ironfist and Cruxer as well. Getting a little more steel in his spine and being christened Breaker does wonders. Also we get Teia as a POV person who's a drafter of what I'm assuming are gamma rays or x rays.

Either way it's clear there's a romance blossoming between her and Kip. And I'm thinking Liv is gonna come back into it at some point making the inevitable triangle.

Gavin finds an island of drafters but not one of them gets recruited into the army? Er...ok? But there's a sexy ass seer who clearly wants Gavin. But with Kerris literally right there he makes a wise choice not to bang her brains out. And the one time Kerris doesn't accompany him on a grid sweep he finds a God and kills it. As you do. Then he just finds a home for 50,000 people, makes a new satrapy helps build homes for the 50k folk and creates the ninth wonder of the world. Before skimming his way back to Chromeria. Man gets around.

Meanwhile our boy Kip is getting intensive Blackguard training as he gets a lot stronger and a little less slow. But he does good. Gets drawn into card games with Andross and has his ass handed to him. Repeatedly. Playing for stakes. What an idiot. But when the game matters he pulls through and wins Teia's contract. The first thing she tries to do is warm his bed. He stops her of course but it was a hilariously awkward moment. But despite his best attempts she doesn't let him sell her. She clearly has a master/slave fetish.

Then, testing day. Amazing scene. He has to stay in the top 14 and there's a conspiracy to keep him out. And he looses his last fight knocking him down to 15. Gutted. But Cruxer, damn what a guy, fights his way back to the top and then when everything is over, shatters the knee of number 2. Such a great moment. And when I say shatter I mean dropping a crystal egg from ten stories high kind of shattered. Then lo and behold. Breaker gets in.

And while all this was happening, Kerris finds out the truth about her brothers, forgives Gavin, goes to his room and interrupts Gavin having sex with Kerris who is actually Ana and runs off, which then results in Ana getting thrown off the roof by Gavin and after realising he isn't a Prism anymore goes to free his brother, who admits to practically raping Kerris which then prompts Gavin to bury two lead balls in his chest. *Takes Breath*

Then two Blackguards cover up the murder, saying she jumped, which prompts Kerris going after Gavin who is hiding in his room, but she goes to Jasper and gets the crap kicked out of her on Andross' orders, which leads to her ending up in Gavin's bed recovering, followed by a confession of guilt, love and shame, then a proposal, the worlds shortest engagement and the quickest wedding ceremony ever. And i know it wasn't just me saying "About damn time!"

Well those were me two favourite scenes hence the descriptions there. The book carries on in an interesting manner and all sorts happen. Assassination attempts and loud screaming sex (is there any other kind?)

Liv makes an appearance or two. Really starting to annoy me she is. Supposed to be Corvan Danavis' daughter yet going around like an idiot.

Fast forward to the end and we have a big battle and a green bane. Hail Mary plays and a very long (shell) shot. Won't ruin what happens but it's well written and well worth reading. And the very end is a twofold slap in the face. You're not really sure it's actually ended but when the implications hit you, it's all going down. (less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Gareth Otton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-read

This second instalment from Brent weeks was a truly enjoyable read. As with the first novel in this series he has managed to create a highly involved world even though his writing at times can be quite light hearted. I am particularly impressed with this being as his previous trilogy, the Night Angel trilogy, were far darker in their content.

Brent weeks is fast becoming one of my must read authors if for no other reason than the truly enjoyable characters he churns out. Kip (aka Breaker) is one...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Carole-Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Another super adventure in this well-crafted universe. Although nearly 700 pages long (and that's why it takes me 4'ish days to read!), the intricasies in the characterisations are well worth the intense read!

Kip, our as yet undefined hero, grows in stability and understanding; and he is more of a hero than he understands! But I think he has enough friends to help him along in his development - and he IS intelligent and logical (even though his almost persona does interrupt that development). I...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Joel rated it 1 of 5 stars

If you find the overuse of f-words and sexual situations annoying and offensive, then I recommend staying away from this book. The Black Prism was a great book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But for some reason Brent Weeks decided to take a different tone with the Blinding Knife. I would have given it more stars, but the use of the f-word in a fantasy book is kind of turn off for me. It kind of sends cracks through my imagination which prevent me from becoming fully immersed in the world that has...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brent Weeks’ “Lightbringer” series is an absolute must read for fantasy fans looking for something outside the normally realms of fantasy writing. With a unique world, well developed characters, and great plot twists, this is one of the best fantasy series I’ve read in a long while.

The Blinding Knife is the second in this series, and if you haven’t read the first, “the Black Prism”, I’d really recommend that you stop reading this and go pick it up right now. In fact, if it’s been a while since...more Brent Weeks’ “Lightbringer” series is an absolute must read for fantasy fans looking for something outside the normally realms of fantasy writing. With a unique world, well developed characters, and great plot twists, this is one of the best fantasy series I’ve read in a long while.

The Blinding Knife is the second in this series, and if you haven’t read the first, “the Black Prism”, I’d really recommend that you stop reading this and go pick it up right now. In fact, if it’s been a while since you’ve read The Black Prism, you might want to have a quick re-read before starting on The Blinding Knife. There is no prologue, no quick rehash to get the reader up to date; The Blinding Knife doesn’t mess around with the niceties of an introduction, it just launches straight back into the story, picking up where The Black Prism left off. If you’re anything like me, who can be surprised by the ending in a favourite book EVERY single re-read, then you’re going to spend a little bit of time treading water as you wait for the memory flashes to fill in the blanks.

This story builds on the already well developed characters, so again, if you haven’t read book one you’re missing out on major character development. We get to see more of Gavin Guile of course, but to see his interactions, relationships and roles develop, grow and change is beautifully well written, with the clever twists that I’ve come to expect from Mr Weeks.

But a large side story focus’ around Kip, Gavins son, with his development, growing powers, slow self-discoveries; Kip really takes the show in The Blinding Knife, becoming a truly impressive character that I can’t wait to see develop even further in the next book.

There are so many plot twists and developments it’s quite remarkable that the story doesn’t end up as a jumbled mess, but Mr Weeks has such a deliciously easy and deceptively simple writing style that it’s not really until you turn the last page and sit back basking in the afterglow of a great novel that you realise how truly intricate the plot threads are.

By the end of this story you are left wanting more, desperately left wanting more in fact. But there is also a sense of loose ends almost tied up and things starting to become clearer.

The Blinding Knife is definitely a re-read, but I personally intend to wait until the series has all be published before I gather all the Lightbringer treasures and hibernate reading them all one after the other in delighted contentedness.(less)

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Sep 24, 2012 Leah Petersen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Insert string of profanities here over the fact that I've finished The Blinding Knife and there's no Lightbringer #3 yet. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!

I suppose that sums up well enough what I thought of this second installment of Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series. I did nothing for two days until I had finished it. The characters are so sharp and strong, even the ones who aren't. Unlike certain other big fantasy authors right now *cough*Abraham*cough* whose main characters are spiraling...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Matt Gilliard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Obviously, I read a lot. I'm at fifty two books so far this year. And this year hasn't been a year with a string of mediocre fiction. 2012 has been the year of Ready Player One, Control Point, The Night Circus, Wool and World War Z. I'll just come out and say it, The Blinding Knife is the best book I've read this year.

I've not been bashful about my love for Brent Weeks' books. My original intention was to write a You Should Be Reading post about him before reviewing The Blinding Knife. But this...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Jesslyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: auto-buy-series, auto-buy-author, cat-epic-fantasy, cat-series-ongoing, pre-ordered, cat-series-cliffhanger-ending, z2012-kindle-reads

I'm not sure I'm happy with this one. IMO, there wasn't enough development although a lot of stuff happened. I feel like either it should have ended sooner or been extended a few more chapters. It just stopped.

This is not to say that I wasn't glued to this book enjoying every minute. It just made me wish I could wait to read the entire series all at once.

This is probably the most tepid review for a 4-star book that I've ever done so I guess I'll stop here.

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Jun 13, 2013 Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brent-weeks, fantasy, lightbringer, adult, dark-fantasy, epic, high-fantasy, magic, awesome-heroines, commence-insanity, favorite-villains, hawt-heroes, war, action, cliffhanger-slays, dat-twist, favorites, hateable-characters, i-cant-even, intense-as-all-hell, read-in-2013, romance, these-people-are-seriously-fucked, why-you-do-that-to-me-author

Synopsis:

Gavin Guile is dying.

He’d thought he had five years left—now he has less than one. With fifty thousand refugees, a bastard son, and an ex-fiancée who may have learned his darkest secret, Gavin has problems on every side. All magic in the world is running wild and threatens to destroy the Seven Satrapies.

Worst of all, the old gods are being reborn, and their army of color wights is unstoppable. The only salvation may be the brother whose freedom and life Gavin stole sixteen years ago.

My...more

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About Brent Weeks

Brent Weeks was born and raised in Montana. After getting his paper keys from Hillsdale College, Brent had brief stints walking the earth like Caine from Kung Fu, tending bar, and corrupting the youth. (Not at the same time.) He started writing on bar napkins, then on lesson plans, then full time. Eventually, someone paid him for it. Brent lives in Oregon with his wife, Kristi. He doesn’t own cats...more

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The Night Angel Trilogy (Night Angel, #1-3)

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Quotes from The Blinding Knife

“Love is not a whim. Love is not a flower that fades with a few fleeting years. Love is a choice wedded to action, my husband, and I choose you, and I will choose you every day for the rest of my life.” — 14 people liked it

“Bewildered as he might be, sometimes a man's highest calling is simply to stand, and hug.” — 7 people liked it

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The Blinding Knife (Lightbringer #2)

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