| Title | : | The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 031625133X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780316251334 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 704 |
| Publication | : | First published November 16, 2015 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Fantasy (2016) |
As the armies of the White King defeat the Chromeria and old gods are born anew, the fate of worlds will come down to one question: Who is the Lightbringer?
Lightbringer
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror
The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer, #4) Reviews
-
Dayummmmmmmm
-
A prelude novel to the—hopefully—incredible conclusion.
Since the start of this month, I’ve been binge rereading Lightbringer from the beginning non-stop, and I’d say that my reread experience for the previous three books has been rewarding. The Black Prism and The Blinding Knife were even better on reread; The Broken Eye more or less on the same quality. Unfortunately, I have to say that rereading The Blood Mirror gave me an inferior reading experience compared to the first time I read it. There were two glaring main issues that, somehow, weren’t noticeable on my first read: one of them being that The Blood Mirror felt almost like a filler (more on this later) and the other being Kip’s POV that was just utterly full of sexual innuendo and frustrations.
Picture: The Blood Mirror by breath-art (Jian Guo)
The Blood Mirror is the penultimate installment in the Lightbringer series, but it would be better to call this a transitional novel; unlike the previous three books, the main story progression in The Blood Mirror was close to none until the final quarter. Before I get into the parts that didn’t work for me, I’ll get into the one section that worked absolutely well for me: Gavin’s storyline. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration for me to say that you won’t be able to guess what’s coming in Gavin’s POV here, especially if this is your first time reading this book. The revelations changed the shape of the plot and it immediately put Lightbringer as one of the most well-plotted high fantasy series out there. Seriously, I’m on my reread and I can vouch that the hints to the plot twists revealed in this book have existed since the beginning of the series. Gavin’s POV was engaging, mind-blowing, and it made me wish there was more for me to read. I honestly can’t wait to see how his story continues from here; so many monumental events have happened and I have no idea how it all will ends.
“Look at your mistakes long enough to learn from them, then put them behind you.”
Sadly, Gavin’s superb storyline aside, I would have to say that the majority of the book was honestly a struggle for me to get through on this reread. One of the greatest strengths of this series lies within its characters’ chemistry with each other, in The Blood Mirror we have one main character interacts—mostly—only with ONE other main character throughout the whole book. For example, Gavin interacts only with Andross, Teia interacts only with Karris and vice versa, anddd we have Kip’s longevity dialogues and thoughts with libido. In the previous three books, we see every main characters’ relationship changed and develop wonderfully, that characterizations and relationship developments just don’t happen here. The majority of the book was spent on doing mundane things that don’t seem to progress the story whatsoever; Karris’s speeches and dialogues as she takes on her new role were often times several pages long. But the worst part about this book was definitely Kip’s POV, which consists of almost entirely libido frustrations, juvenile sex jokes, and many awful words to replace “penis” and “vagina.” I never want to hear a penis being called a “gentleman’s oak” or “battering ram,” and I never ever want to hear vagina being called a “Jade Gate” or “perfumed garden” again.
I totally understand that Weeks is trying to shed light on a sexual dysfunction called vaginismus, but c’mon… it doesn’t have to take the ENTIRETY of his POV to do it. Not only romance in fantasy rarely worked for me, but Kip’s romance development also goes against what has happened in the previous three books, and his “I want to have sex. I’m fat. Wow, she still likes me even though I’m fat I’m so lucky. I want to have sex with her. Oh no she can’t have sex even though she wanted to. I’m unlucky. But I want to have sex. I understand. Let’s not have sex. Let’s have sex” only serve to seemingly regress the maturity that has gradually happened to him throughout the series. I don’t know how it all will go from here on out; it seems like this libido frustration story arc is finished, and I sincerely hope Kip will go back to being important again in the final book of the series.
As you can probably guess, I’m feeling super conflicted about this penultimate installment. Without a doubt, I would rate Gavin’s story with an easy 5 stars rating; the revelations were mindblowing and the magic system expansion was brilliant. But I think I’ll have to settle with a 1 or 2 stars rating for the other POV. On this reread, I have to conclude that The Blood Mirror is the weakest book of the series for me, but the last quarter and ending of the novel certainly made me super hyped for the final book of the series, which comes out three days from now. With this, my binge reread of the Lightbringer series in the month of OctoBRENT is done, and I look forward to reading The Burning White.
You can order the book from:
Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find
this and the rest of my reviews at
Novel Notions -
Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions to reading fantasy books as soon as I finish the book.
The weakest so far in this series had it's fair share of highs, but one of the lowest of possible lows
This book was a very frustrating experience for me as a reader, as there was so much that I enjoyed about this book. Some of the reveals that were dropped in this book were exceedingly well done, and the patience that Brent Weeks had in not revealing these earlier in the series was much appreciated. Particularly well done was his execution of the underlying reason that there were two prisms at the same time - something that is not supposed to be possible. I actually gave up on expecting a reasoning given, as we are now 4 very big books into this series, but it delivered in wonderful fashion.
I also thoroughly enjoyed (as I have this entire series) literally every scene that involves Andross Guile. Even though we don't get him as a POV character, he's become one of my all-time favorite fantasy villains, second only to Sand dan Glokta from The First Law series. He elevates all characters that are in a scene with him, and I have come to love him more and more as this series progresses to the point where I am giddy whenever he enters a scene.
Unfortunately, this book had the single worst twist I have ever read in a novel. I do not want to ruin it for you, but it essentially ruins a significant amount of what has been done in previous books - including one of my favorite plotlines. It's the hallmark of an author who is trying to be overly clever, and it would make re-reading these books even more frustrating given how much it ruins.
Overall I thought this book was okay - and if the "reveal" I described in the previous paragraph didn't happen this book probably would have been at least a 4/5. I will continue on with this series as I only have one more book to go, but my enthusiasm has been zapped - especially given that I have heard repeatedly from people that the last book is the weakest of the series. -
So Much Love.
Honestly, ever since I started reading Brent Weeks, I've been trying to capture the feel of his glorious writing in all the wrong places. I keep picking up Epic Fantasies here and there and everywhere just trying to satisfy my fix. And yet?
Well let me be perfectly honest here. Less than a handful have matched half of the sheer awesomeness in the Lightbringer series. Many many more are lucky to fill this one's cup even to a third, or maybe a fourth of the way up.
Lightbringer is just that good.
This fourth book keeps up the pressure in no uncertain ways. It still continues to develop the magic system of forming light into solid shapes or burning gels or even just increasing intelligence, but it dives deeper into soul-casting and will-casting as well. I'm thrilled beyond belief. Rule-based magic systems are amazing, but rule-based systems that come with very well thought-out internal pressures and corrections, with quite this much depth of surprising reveals? It just blows me away. Seriously. This is one colorful tale. The battles are bright as hell. :) It's a creative masterpiece.
Characters? Oh god, I can't even begin. I love everyone. All the good, the bad, and all the myriad in-between. Yeah. I'm looking at you, Gavin Guile. Andros.
But who is the one that just deserves love? Kip! I don't care what anyone says. He's always been the man in my eyes. Any author who can take a mouthy fat kid and turn him into quite this much an underdog hero and eventually the hero of the realm with full marks has got to be brilliant.
Oh, I guess I just said that Brent Weeks it brilliant, didn't I?
Well I'm not taking it back! :)
These twists and turns have got me in a real whirl. I'm pretty much speechless in awe.
All this time, we've always been asking: Who is the real Lightbringer? The prophesy is so damn specific and open to interpretation all this time, and yet circumstances keep colliding in utterly different ways to fulfill it. :) I love how the books have been keeping me guessing.
But now we know. I'm so giddy. :)
Jeeze. My only complaint is that someone needs to change the blurb on this book from "Conclusion" and do it pretty damn quick. These stories are NOT done. Oh, maybe another complaint: Don't make us wait so long for the next one! :) -
I don’t know how Weeks consistently ratchets up the tension, weirdness, and world-building with each novel, but here we are at book number four, THE BLOOD MIRROR, and you shouldn’t be surprised by this point that it’s yet another big book of epic fantasy goodness.
Weeks only gets better with time. His characterization grows ever deeper. His settings more fully realized. The magic more strange and creative. The pitfall with THE BLOOD MIRROR, however, is that it’s a transitional book. We know there will be one more book and he spends this entire book setting up the characters in preparation for the final push in the war between the Chromeria and the Color Prince–and of those enemies in the shadows. But I don’t mind because everything Weeks writes has a purpose. -
4.5/5
Another buddy read with my fellow fantasy lovers at BB&B♥"Death always finds a way.
Stop what gaps you may;
Scream defiance that you live,
Life leaks through the mortal sieve.”
So this was my most anticipated book of the year.. It's hard to find words to describe how I am feeling after this book, I would love to incoherently fan girl over this book for hours, but I decided to write a proper review for this book.. So here it goes.. *exhales* So this is very hard for me because I feel like I could combust or hyperventilate at any moment, still three days after reading this I'm still edgy from how amazing it was but I felt a little disappointed and let down at the end. It made me want to go onto my roof and just scream.Everything that happened I did NOT see coming and by the end of the book my mind was actually blown.
So when I was first picked up The Blood Mirror, I literally jumped around my house with joy this book is my baby and if I could sleep with it I would.. Yep that's how creepy I am. But this book it gave me the FEELS BAD even looking at the cover I wanna burst into tears of joy and cuddle it, cuddle the author and all the characters.. (Ahem especially Gavin *wink wink*) the last book left us at a huge cliffhanger so I was so wrapped when I finally got my precious *insert golem voice*. I honestly tried to savor this book for as long as I could.. That lasted one weekend and the book was devoured. I literally couldn't help myself this book was so exciting I could not put it down! Okay now enough of my fan girl cheerleading, everyone who knows me well knows that this is one of my favorite series ever and a treasure I hold close to my heart so this review will be word vomit. But guess what !? It wasn't all rainbows, kittens and puppy dogs.. Some parts in this book disappointed me and I mean really disappointed me.. That's why it doesn't get five stars.. Yes it was everything I expected but then it kinda wasn't, I think Brent Weeks has taken a completely different direction with this book which annoys me, all the other books were perfect but this one just wasn't.. It made me so angry that I hated it while loving it.. Haha sorry I don't make sense but whatever you were warned this review would be a mess, some of the twists were just so fucked up that I felt really disappointed... There was a lack of action in this book which also annoyed me heaps I found this book was just politics which bores me *yawn*. This book made me cry with both joy and anger haha. So pretty much an emotional rollercoaster. So yes clearly this book was not perfect for me, but I still loved it.
“If he was the Lightbringer, he would shake the pillars of the earth. At the Lightbringer’s coming, the pious, the desperate, the poor, the naïve, the fools, the idealistic, the young—all those would flock not to the Lightbringer, but to their hope of what the Lightbringer would do for them. To those who had nothing, he could be everything.”
Brent Weeks has his own writing style that I absolutely love, I love how real his characters feel I also love the fact that he swears basically every second sentence and tends to make up his own words just like I do :D this book was the best in the series for writing and character development everything was just so amazing and realistic. I need to talk about the amount of sex scenes & sexual references in this book it had me giggling like a 12 year old like seriously who calls a dick a horn or talks about the root going into the cave -_-.. Holy shit there was so much sex talk and it surprised me I'm not used to reading sex scenes especially in fantasy books, I feel like Brent Weeks was trying to make a statement that this is adult fantasy and he isn't afraid to write sex scenes or talk about sensitive issues that women around the world face and that issue being vaginismus which is basically when a women can't relax during sex due to her first time being abusive or rough or the female can just be born with it, obviously it's a serious issue and shouldn't be laughed at (even if the name is quite funny) a lot of women live in fear of sex because they have this issue.. I can't believe a man wrote about it and made the issue real in his story, I am so proud of Brent Weeks for taking a step for the ladies and talking about something that most women would feel embarrassed to even talk about with close girlfriends. I'm proud of him for addressing these issues and solving them in his story, well done mate. Bravo.
I'm going to cry while I wait TWO FUCKING YEARS for book five. -
I thought this was a trilogy!!
Sigh.
Why do I think everything is a trilogy?
But on the bright side...
THERE'S GOING TO BE A FOURTH BOOK PEOPLE!!!!
-
So, I finally finished this mess of a book. Believe it or not, I was actually looking forward for it to end. It's such a mess. After reading a few reviews here, I finally get the sense of what's wrong with it. It has an unfinished feel to it. Half of the pages could have been deleted and the story would remain unchanged.
Kip's POV are the worst, and not because of his relationship with Tisis. Everything else about these POVs feels so off. Humans will-casting animals? Big bears going to war? Some pygmies that we never heard about before? They all seem to come out of nowhere. The world building could have been interesting, but it felt rushed and unbelievable. And Kip is so out of character! He was soooo boring! I asked before and I'm asking again: when did he become such a great leader of men? Such a great commander? It's so random.
And don't get me started on Karris' POVs. They were the worst, probably worse than Kip's. She's such a boring, predictable character. Her actions ring so fake. Why is nobody offended by the way she acts? Where is the Spectrum, by the way? Why are they not restraining her the way they used to try to restrain Gavin? And why is Zymun present only once since he's the Prism Elect? We are told over and over again that he's horrible, but we never see him do anything horrible. It's like he's there only to make Karris look like an angel. She's not. She's not believable in her role as the White. And what was that meeting with the White King? It was so random and brought literally nothing. His appearance as described in the previous books was caused by hexes? That sounds so cheap. I wish he were more present. He would surely help move the plot forward.
Teia's POVs get a tiny bit better, though she only seems to be flailing about, in over her head with no idea how to get out. She's not very believable either. All her previous keen intelligence seems to have vanished. She just reacts now.
Gavin's POVs were my favourite. Some revelations were stunning, others fell flat.
Where is the magic? Where are the fights?!
I'll listen to the audio book next. Maybe it will make me notice things that have eluded me during the first read.
All in all, I'm very disappointed with the book. Brent Weeks' editors should have told him that the book felt like a filler.
-
There are spoilers in this review!
So, I’ve reached page 299 of Brent Week’s new book, the Blood Mirror. I was so excited for this book. I’ve been looking forward to its release since I finished the previous book. I even circled October 25th on my calendar and rushed to the post office to get my book. I sat eagerly once I got my hands on it and started reading.
Only to grow bored. But this couldn’t be. Brent Weeks is my favourite author. Maybe I was tired or too distracted. That had to be it. The next day, I kept on reading. I found myself often wondering when a chapter would end and whose story was going to take place in the next chapter.
So far, I’m so, so disappointed with the book. It’s not bad, far from it! There has been a few excellent plot twists and long-awaited explanations. But other plot twists feel odd, rushed. Rushed is the feeling I get when I read this book. Information dump, skimming over details. Nothing happens so far. Only talking and, well, I’m not sure what else. Where is the action? Where is the magic?
I feel that the main problem is the characters. I’ve been thinking about it for the past three days. Why does the book feel boring, stunted, slow? I usually don’t mind information dumps. I love world building. The major problem, I found, is the characters. I barely recognise those characters I grew to love in the past three books.
Gavin has been thrown in the jail where he’d been keeping his brother for the past sixteen years. This turn of event sent shivers down my spine when it happened in the previous book. I couldn’t help wondering what was going to happen to him. Nothing. Well, he tries to get out, of course. But his struggles don’t feel grandiose like his brother’s had been. I loved reading about Dazen’s attempts at escaping, his struggles at trying to outsmart his younger brother and at staying sane. It had been exciting. With Gavin, it just feels boring, perhaps even dumb.
And the fact that Gavin is no longer so central to the action is one of the things that make the book tedious. Gavin was the glue that held the characters together. He was funny, charming, smart, strong, capable. He always made me wonder what he was going to do next, how he was going to get out of the next problem, how he would talk the Spectrum in circles, how he was going to confront his father, how he was going to behave with Kip. In The Blood Mirror, there’s none of that. Oh, sure, he talks to Andross once or twice. But we get nothing there, except that Andross is a big, bad man, something we caught in the first book.
Without Gavin, I get the feeling that the other characters are not used to their full potential.
Kip is a character I grew to like in the previous books. He was a bit annoying at first, what with all his whininess, but I loved seeing him grow. I grew attached to him. His jokes made me smile and his blunders made me wince. I’m actually glad that he gets along with Tisis. I was afraid the author was going to dismiss Tisis altogether, making the Mighty drop her off with her sister, never to be mentioned again. I think it’s cool that she went with Kip and the others. We get to see a new side of her, that she’s not as shallow and uncaring as she appeared in the previous books. She has more character development than Kip, who has been the main character since the beginning. Between The Broken Eye and The Blood Mirror, little time seems to have passed. A couple of weeks, perhaps? Yet Kip is unrecognizable. When did he become such a good leader? Where did he acquire that self-confidence? When did it all happen? It’s as if Brent Weeks forgot to write ‘this takes place two years after The Broken Eye’ on the first page. The friendship between Kip and the other members of the Mighty doesn’t feel as endearing as it used to. I can’t exactly put my finger on why it is so. Furthermore, I’m still uncertain as to what the Mighty want to accomplish. Cut off the Colour Prince’s supplies? Restrict his access to grain? It’s all very confusing. And, suddenly, there are all those drafters not schooled at the Chromeria that appear out of nowhere? And isn’t Kip supposed to be a genius of magic? Why is it he can only use green luxin, so far? That magic system is so interesting; it’s a shame we barely even hear about it in this book.
Karris is another character who suffers from the same problem as Kip. I barely recognise her from the first book. I suppose it’s supposed to be character development, but I just don’t see it. Karris, as the White, isn’t believable. We never got the impression that she was supposed to be super smart. She was convincing, excellent even, in a role as a Blackguard. I never really liked her, but I didn’t mind her. Now that she is the White, she’s suddenly very intelligent, very perceptive, on par with Andross Guile who is supposed to be the ultimate genius. When did that happen? How did she settle so easily in her role as the new White? Her chapters are boring, long. All she does is wonder what to do next, kick people in the head, and choose new clothes. She’s always floundering. And what’s that thing with the Immortals Andross talks about? Where did that come from? Sure, Kip met an Immortal in the previous book, but it feels forced now. How is it that two people as rational and smart as Andross and Karris believe such nonsense?
Teia is also another character whose chapters became boring. I rooted for her in the two previous books. I thought she was funny, smart, witty, cool. I wanted her to succeed. Now, like Karris, all she does is flounder about, worrying, whining, not doing much. Her chapters bring nothing to the story. Where is the Order? Where is all that cool talk about magic and the past and how Lucedonius was actually a bad guy? Oh, and her swearing in into a full Blackguard was so rushed it made no sense.
The Colour Prince is also a character I miss. He was interesting. I liked hearing about his side of things. What is he doing now? What does he plan to do next? And what the hell is Liv doing, going around breaking the halo and playing the goddess? That was so random. And her father too used to be such an interesting character, but he completely vanished. And Commander Ironfist. He just disappeared. He was one of the main characters and now he’s completely gone. I guess he will reappear at Kip’s side eventually, but so far, his presence is sorely missed.
So, something really is missing from this book. I don’t get the same vibe I used to get from other books written by Brent Weeks. It seems rushed, too stuffy. It’s as if Brent Weeks wants to dump tons of useless information on us without actually moving the plot forward. In my opinion, some time should have gone by between The Broken Eye and the Blood Mirror. Perhaps a year or two, so characters like Karris and Kip would have had a chance to grow in a way that was believable. Maybe Teia would no longer be so clueless about everything and Gavin would have found a way to make a cool comeback.
Anyway. It is entirely possible that the next four hundred pages are going to blow my mind and that I’ll end up loving this book. I certainly hope so. -
*** 4.55 ***
A buddy read with the greatest Fantasy Fanatics at BB&B!!! We need some Magic in our lives!!!
Just wanted to say that I wrote a big, emotional review, and GR ate it somehow and now I am upset and am sure my review will suck....
Having said that, I need to let you all know how happy I am that this series exists in the Universe!!! I fell in love with the Lightbringer World from the first book and the Magic System is one of the most interesting and implausibly plausible I have ever read about! It is like science, magic and will all mixed up in one and the price the wielders of the magic have to pay is very realistic, as brutal and unfair as it may be. Nothing comes without a cost and at times this could be the life of the magician itself. Thus balance, thinking, planning and "budgeting" the use of the magic, what is worth giving such big part of your life for and what is not, seeing how those who are rich can use those who are poor or enslaved to do the magic for them and thus they pay with shortened lifespans, while their masters get richer, live longer and persevere, becomes the way of life for those who can Draft Luxon. The injustice in a society where such wondrous magic and possibilities exist, the fact that slavery is so deeply rooted in the majority of the cultures of this world, the way some humans are treated as more human than others, all of those are issues that Brent Weeks deals with, but does in a way that is neither preachy nor intrusive. It is just a fact of life for the world's inhabitants and each has to deal with their moral, social or faith crisis in a way they see as right, thus giving us a book full of characters with variation in values, many thinking that they are the ones with best answers for the faith of all, while not completely able to look at all sides, at the fact that almost always there are those who end up as sacrifices for the comforts of others ...
WOW! If I read just what I have stated above, I would think that this book is all about class politics and magician superiority. It is not!!! Those are just the background where the Guile Family has established itself and the expectations that come with being related to Andros Guile, the tyrant supreme and one of the biggest bastards I have met in literature. However, he is not just a one dimensional villain, and in this book Brent Weeks shows us that, making us question even our pure dislike for him and his actions and decisions. Don't do this to me Brent, I would really like to just hate him and not be able to relate to that monster... Because it shows that even we might become monsters if the conditions are just right...
Andros Guile, Gavin Guile, Kip Guile, Zymun Guile - they come by their blood honestly and have to deal with the complexity of being gifted with talents beyond those of 99.9% of the population, as well as status and privilege that comes with the family name. We now have two more Guiles by marrige, Karris and Tisis, both becoming very worthy, smart, cunning and strong additions to the Dynasty. As individuals, every Guile is formidable, as a group, if they ever manage to find something to overcome their differences and unite them, they would be unstoppable!!!
" ... "“But Teia had a superpower that no one had counted on: she was completely paranoid. She had thought she was being followed a hundred times since she’d started working for the Order, so she’d figured out a thing or two. One, she was a paranoid mess. Two, she was pretty good at it.” ..."
Until the end of book 3 we fell in love with Gavin, Kip, Teia, Karris, Iron Fist and the Mighty. I have a feeling that Brent Weeks decided to turn everything on its head in book 4 and almost start a new. There are characters whose actions we used to find noble and courageous, now we are given to see them in a whole new light, making us doubt the love and loyalty we had developed for them. There are several revelations in this book which took my breath away and I wanted to scream, cry, questioned WTF???, and even made me question if I was truly comprehending the plot and development of the story. So many things we took for granted got turned around 180 degrees and a whole new picture began developing as the story progressed. I am not about to even mention what and when and why, because I think everyone should experience it for themselves, but boy, be ready for some heartbreak!!!!
The best part of the book are the characters and their growth and development. For some I am happy and bursting with pride, for others, I am confused and do not understand why I am being encouraged to like them, while for couple of our hereto favorites, I am very, very worried about the direction they might be forced to take and the devastation it promises to bring .... I am not sure my heart would be able to take it...
" ... "“I don’t remember that, either. I remember thinking he’d cheated. But maybe there is no cheating, there’s only success and a thousand flavors of failure.” “Thanks.” Old me is a dick. Guess that proves it is old me.”..."
As disorienting as those turns and twists made the story at times, I totally appreciated it! The shock and dismay made me engulf the book on two sittings and I did not even notice how long it was - it felt like it just flew by! It had all the trademark Brent Weeks battles, fights, politics and banter, while keeping us on our toes at all times. The way Karris, Kip and Teia have grown to become some amazingly strong characters is the reason I personally loved this book the most! They are all dealing with conflicting feelings and moral dilemmas which I can see everyone of us being stumped by and I cannot wait to see how they deal with them in the next book!!! Or BOOKS - maybe at least 3 more, how about that, Mr. Weeks???? I don't want to say goodbye to them yet, please!!!!
I recommend this series to EVERYONE!!!! You guys are not going to regret it!!!
I wish you all happy reading and may your horizons ever expand with the magic of books!!!! -
The book that "broke" this series for me. I thought the first 2 were some of the most original fantasy I had ever read. Then Weeks went for a twist so crazy even M. Night Shyamalan thought he overreached. I still haven't had the gumption to pick up the final book even thought I own it.
But it wasn't just the twist(s) in this. Taking characters that were set up well early in the series like Liv, Gavin, and Kerris and reducing their roles so much in the previous books just made this one seem exhausting with the overabundance of Teia; a character I like by the way.
This just feels like what happens when you have a really good trilogy on your hands and you try to extend it to 5 books and have to come up with something wild on the fly. It's the second straight Weeks series I'll likely be DNFing. Which is sad after my adoration of Black Prism and Blinding Knife. -
Where did it go so wrong???
-
* I was sent this for free from the publisher in exchange for a review *
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS :) It's actually my most anticipated book for the end of this year and I kind of maybe did some begging to get a copy of this early from the publisher. I am super happy to say that all the begging and all the reading was SO worth it becuase this book lived up to and exceeded all of my expectations, and I for one am happy that there will be a 5th and final book as so much happens here that I feel it would have been sad to rush the ending into one volume.
This is book #4 in the series so if you don't know anything about the previous ones maybe check out one of my reviews for the earlier ones (e.g.
my 'The Black Prism' review). If you have read those books already then I think you can expect more of the same epic magic systems, cruel, crafty and creative characters and an even more expanded world. I just love the way that Weeks keeps opening up new tricks and surprises with each volume. I always think I know what may happen and then, BOOM, something else new comes along and I am once more shocked and excited to keep reading through to the ending!
In this book we follow Kip, Gavin, Teia, Karris, Liv and more of our old friends again as they continue to battle against the Colour Prince. This character has caused the whole of the Chromeria many problems, and we can see that there's a lot of new power shifts, magic and mayhem starting to unfold as the final battle between them approaches. I really like that even though we are building up to a big epic battle, we're not focused on just that and we actually see our character continue to form and break bonds, make and discover secrets and open up more to us, the reader. I really appreciate feeling like I know characters, and with these ones I do and I feel like I'm privy to many of their diabolical secrets and plans :)
As always this book made me smile and had me stunned at various points through the plot and I loved that. I really cannot wait to see what Weeks manages to pull off for the ending of the series, and I know I will be doing some begging for that one too! I gave this a 5*s overall, and I have reviewed it
here in video form if you want to take a look! -
3.5 Stars
The first 2/3 of this book were pretty slow with some interesting moments but towards the end important things started to develop, some long-standing mysteries were revealed and the pace picked up noticeably. Even so however this book definitely felt like it was setting up the next book, especially as there was no real tying together of the main plots as occurred in the previous books. This book suffered from that lack of an exciting ending that advanced the plot and payed off different character arcs although it did a very good job of setting the next book up to provide that decisive ending. Hopefully Weeks doesn't announce that last book is now going to be 3 books released over 5 years. Seriously Brent don't honey-dick the people like that. Don't do it.
In the first 2/3 of this book fairly little of note happened in any of the main storylines. Kip seemed to regress from some of his character development in the previous books which was disappointing although he improved towards the end. His sections had some cool military strategy and in the second half had plenty of exciting action scenes. However I felt some of these could have been trimmed and the first half of his sections or so, before he began his campaign could have been gutted down to bare bones. Along with the action and military strategy Tisis was probably the highlight of this plotline. She was an interesting, somewhat enigmatic character in the previous book and she really stepped up in this one. Her relationship with Kip had some really touching, well-done moments but it also had a really dumb, contrived element that was obviously included to serve the plot.
Gavin continued to do absolutely nothing as in the last book and his sections continued to be pretty weak. However the revelations about his past were very interesting and his scenes with Andross were incredible: fraught with mystery, suspense and suppressed emotion. I did find some of the revelations rather convoluted however and if I weren't already so invested in these characters and the already elaborate plot I might think these twists had jumped the shark in terms of just throwing in surprises for the hell of it.
Karris had some nice character development but it was only really a continuation of her part in the last book without any major developments at all this book. She had an important role in Teia's story and her scenes with both Teia and Andross (that man can't have a boring scene) were cool but she really did practically nothing of importance this book. She did have a powerful scene at the end however and her meeting with her brother was pretty interesting.
Teia also seemed to be threading water early on but about halfway through she was put into some very interesting situations that advanced the plot and her character significantly. Her actions in Paria should have a major impact on the plot moving forward and her decisions towards the end of the book finally advanced her relationship with the Order of the Broken Eye which had been in limbo for ages now.
Meanwhile Liv's plotline has finally gone completely off the rails. Liv's plotline in this series is one of the strangest I've seen. I really suspect that Weeks has changed his plans for her plotline greatly as the series went on and now has no idea what to do with her. On a more positive note the single scene with Corvan and the Third Eye was brilliant. A really touching scene between 2 minor characters I would like to see more of
This book was for me undoubtedly an example of an author dragging out a fantasy series (in the honorable tradition of such pillars of the genre as Jordan and GRRM). I definitely feel that between this book and to a lesser extent the last book a lot of trimming could have been done. A reader who isn't as invested as I am in this world and these characters and plotlines might struggle with this book. With all of that said I still found it to be an enjoyable adventure with a large cast of likeable and interesting characters, lots of intriguing mysteries and plot developments, more developments to one of the most unique worlds and magic systems in fantasy and exciting action. This book also did a great job of setting the next book up to provide a climactic finish to the series so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how one of my favorite fantasy series' ends. -
4.5 Stars
I can happily say that The Blood Mirror is a worthy penultimate entry into the fantastic Lightbringer world created by Brent Weeks. I loved this book. It made me question so much. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me rage and despair. It gave me hope and took it away. It shocked me and delighted me. It ended way too soon.
I do not deny it. I am easy to please. And fantasy….fantasy is my kryptonite. But I had HEAPS of fun reading this tale. It fell short of perfection, but it nevertheless still succeeded in reaching the lofty heights I expected it to.
Warning: The rest of this review is spoilery. -
There were a lot of good things about this book but in the end it was weighed down by too many words! The author keeps adding to his world with massive info dumps which may be okay on the written page (you can skim if you want) but do not come across well on audio.
If you ignore that some of the good things were
* Gavin escaped at last!!! Not that it is a complete escape but at least he is out and about and can maybe contribute to the story. His scenes in the prison were good too.
* Kip is beginning to fulfil his abilities and has become even more interesting now we know who he really is!
* Karris is also beginning to be interesting though she still has a way to go.
The ending was decidedly strange and again was affected by the audio. I had no idea the book was about to finish and then it just did. It felt as though I was in the middle of a paragraph and then suddenly I was into the end notes and someone was explaining to me about vaginismus (forgive me if the spelling is wrong. It is not a word you come across every day especially in fiction.)
I got the impression
Brent Weeks was writing one book, got as far as 700 pages and thought he had better make it two. So he just stopped where he was.
Never mind. At least we get another book and if he brings it home strongly everything will have been worth it:) -
Finally finished! This could have been good if I can only care about the characters more. Honestly, I did start liking the main characters in The Blinding Knife but the fairly poor showing of The Broken Eye did nothing to solidify my then growing investment. Gavin Guile was probably the only one which I still have a decent interest in but his arc dragged and had a lot of what I personally find to be plot devices to shock the reader and provide avenues to lengthen the narrative. One of the revelations herein was foreshadowed quite heavily in the preceding book and did not feel as contrived given that it explained . However, the level of mental self-flagellation involved really weighs on the spirit of this reader.
The plot progression in this book was excruciatingly non-existent, with only some glimmer of development showing up in the last 10-15%. I do understand how this book can have a higher rating than mine, ie. only if one really love the characters. Otherwise, it was quite a struggle for one like me who straddled between “don’t care” and “there’s some hope yet”. And after dragging me through the quagmire of these last two books, Weeks had the audacity to insert a development which did intrigue me, almost right the end. It involved the one character which I still had some investment in and hence, I am stuck with the possibility of actually trying to finish this series in spite of huge amounts of reservation for 90% of this book.
Sigh, and double sigh.
Note: I’ve resorted to audio as I have a spare credit lying around; didn’t feel like paying $15 for an ebook as I wasn’t too thrilled that this was merely the penultimate when I initially expected a finale. And I listened to this while running and commuting, so I won’t feel like I could have spent my time reading something better. -
4.0 Stars
Spoiler-Free Series Review Video:
https://youtu.be/OosD4rbJJEs
This is easily the best of the four published books in the Lightbringer series. Along with some amazing twists and turns, the character development in this one was fantastic. It felt very satisfying to see how far some of the characters have grown since the beginning of the story. I am so excited for the fifth and final book!
(Side note, Brent Weeks really seems to enjoy writing awkward sex scenes.) -
“Look at your mistakes long enough to learn from them, then put them behind you.”
This started exactly where the previous book ended, Kip and the Mighty are on the run, Teia is at the Chromeria, Karris is now the new White and Gavin is still suffering. Not much happened plotwise, but the revelations in this was mind blowing, I'm still processing some of the things that was revealed about Gavin, like how is that even possible, I finally know what the title of book one 'The Black Prism' means. Its just so crazy.
“The seeds of love may sprout where they will, but we choose whether to water them and give them light or to pluck them like weeds from the soil. We always have a choice.”
I'm going to do my Malazan review style here and mix the plot and characters together, it makes review better.
Kip's character development in this book was nicely done, looking back now I can't believe he's the same self loathing boy from Tyrean. Kip is now confident but not arrogant, he is now in charge of the Mighty even though Cruxer is the commander they work so well together, Kip is now leading an army against the White, oh my beloved Kip. His relationship with Tisis is one of my favourite things in this book, Kip with a girl. His friendship with Cruxer,Winsen, Ben headed, Ferkudi and Big Leo is enviable.
‘Don’t decide to change. The world is full of people who have decided to change but haven’t. Don’t decide to change—change. If you want to be different, act different.’
Gavin is now in his prison, the one built with Luxen. He has lost his powers, one eye and almost everything. He is sane just by shell will alone, I just don't want him to go crazy, that's if he was sane to begin with.
Karris is making me proud. She is now one of the most powerful people in the Chromeria. She is battling all the political things, Andross, The White king who is her brother and trying to bring down the Order of the Broken Eye, at the same time looking for her husband, somehow she is compartmentalizing everything, I just hope she doesn't break.
Teia is still infiltrating the Order, I'm so afraid for her, I don't see how things will end well for her. I just don't want her to die.
Liv is back and she is even more stupid, Andross is still evil. Gavin and Gill Greyling are still awesome and Ironfist, oh Ironfist I don't know what to make of him anymore. I also like Antonius,who is Tisis' cousin. -
On my re-read I can simply confirm that this is a transition book and I cannot wait to see where this story leads!
Sure, there are quite significant revelations (Gavin just is so cool!) and women kick ass in this book.
Yet, it covers about one year and it is not too detailed (compared to the books before).
I am just so ready for
The Burning White - I just cannot wait! Expectations are high and I am hoping disappointment will not be a word I use to describe the last installment!
I had a blast going through this book. There was some action yet it was fairly limited.
What was breathtaking was the delicate chess play to position all the right people in the right place for the last book of the series.
I read somewhere that this was to be considered a transition book - yet, I feel it is so much more than that. There are some new characters (and here is where my 4 rather than 5 stars rating is based - I am not sure whether Tisis is that good of a person and it really feels like there was a significant change of mind by Brent Weeks on her role) but I was amazed to see where each old character was and where he or she was going.
Now I am going to have an issue in waiting for the next book! -
A Fantastic first buddy read with the fantastic Eon, Luna and Choko at BB&B !!
I LOVED this book!!! Honestly, for me, it's the best volume of the series so far. Brent Weeks crafted a beautiful piece of Fantasy here. This book was not exactly action-packed or fast-paced and yet a lot of awesome and shocking stuff happened! The story unraveled smoothly but I was hooked from cover to cover. The Blood Mirror focused mostly on character's development and growth and on world expanding, laying the scene for the big finale and I couldn't have been happier!
Okay so I usually have trouble writing reviews on books I loved (criticism comes more naturally! :P) So instead I tried to summarize all the things I loved.
The great stuff♡♡♡ The plot twists and revelations. BW took huge risks in this book with major "make or break" twists but they worked perfectly for me! Some were merely surprising, some were heartbreaking and some changed completely my perception of some of my favorite characters.
♡♡♡ The characters' development! I loved the way all the characters had evolved in this book, for better or for worse!
- Kip's growth was so satisfying! In all his POVs I was like "YES!!" "Finally!" "Well said! Well done man" because yes Kip finally grew into a man, accepting himself with his qualities and flaws, shutting his big mouth when required and reaching a balance between whom he thinks he is and the perception others have of him. I loved the decisions he made fast and efficiently, I loved that despite the war and the horrors and the dangers, he was still fair and good and honorable and unyielding !“You can hate me, but you will not pour poison in my wife’s ears about me. Not while I’m here. Not while I’m gone. Do I make myself understood?”
I was so happy with Kip's evolution because truth be told, his constant self-loathing was really painful to read in the first two installments. I'm so looking forward to discovering what he will achieve in the final book.What if the story I’ve been telling myself about who I am has been wrong? And a chunk of his self-loathing broke and faded away.
- Teia's development has been gradual and quite terrifying!
- Gavin's POV was so powerful and so important in this book! I was in turns shocked, sad, happy, perplexed, afraid, outraged, relieved! This book was for Gavin the journey of the self-(re)discovery and introspection.I’m tired of being shit. Of being a liar. Of being an oathbreaker. This wasn’t about Karris. It was about Gavin and what kind of man he was. Gavin the Liar. Gavin Get Along, who wanted everyone to love him … and quietly cheated in the background. Gavin the Gray.
- Karris's development was spectacular and she finally became the strong unyielding smart flawed and caring woman and leader the former White had seen in her. She is the embodiment of the strong female lead I hope to read about!! And I absolutely loved the way she handled Andross from the beginning of the book! Their scenes together were really great.
- Tisis!!
- The Mighty ! Their evolution, parallel to Kip's own, was so endearing and I loved their loyalty and their banter!♡♡♡ The feels!!! The emotions, the friendship, the loyalty, the hard yet right decisions, the faith, the hopes, the doubts, very present in the Blood Mirror, gave the book strength, realism, depth and beauty. It made me laugh, it made me doubt and question what I took for granted, it made me cry.
If I had to complain about something, however, I would ironically complain about the characters' development ! Yes yes, I know I just praised it earlier but let me explain ! What bothered me is that, with all the great evolutions some characters underwent, it was really difficult for me to reconcile them with the image I forged of them throughout the first 3 books.
But unsurprisingly, my biggest complaint is of course Liv! Liv is the only one in this book who turned a bit in circles and then remained this stupid arrogant useless insipid character! Fortunately her chapters were scarce and short! Aghhh
Conclusion
This book is amazing ! It was a huge surprise for me! Go read it!!
-
I never thought I would see the day I would rate a Weeks book a 3, but I don't feel this book deserved more. Nothing really happened. I read 600 pages where people were obviously being moved into position for the final book. However did it really need 600 pages? Yes, Weeks excels at the shock reveal. There were 3 of these throughout the book that clearly stick in my head, yet I guess they don't have the impact they would have once. I moaned in the previous book that it felt a bit like a filler book and I have to say this book definitely was a filler book. Not a lot happened, it took weeks to read and I wasn't engrossed. I'm hoping the pay off in the final book will be worthwhile.
-
So this series has apparently gone from 4 books (was it supposed to be 3 at the start? idk.) to 5. I have some mixed feelings about that. On one hand I'm really enjoying this series so far. It's fun and fast paced with lots of cool, interesting characters, well-developed plots, intriguing mysteries and some of the most unique world-building I've seen in fantasy. On the other hand I'm really not a big fan of fantasy author's honey-dicking their readers by announcing a series' will be x books in length then going over it. Hopefully this won't turn into a GRRM type situation which given that Weeks apparently has punctually released a trilogy before this series that I've not read, and that it takes a special kind of genius to dick their fans like GRRM has done I'm hopeful it won't wind up like that. Also worth noting is that the last book (3) seemed to be experiencing the dreaded fantasy series lag (nowhere near WoT books 7-10 levels of blackhole of plot development but still noticeable) as it had less forward progress that the previous books and Weeks seemed to be wrapped up in some seemingly unimportant stuff. Anyway I'm still looking forward to this book and hoping that the series will be resolved in a timely manner.
-
I hate to admit it but I'm more than a little disappointed with THE BLOOD MIRROR. It was a decent book and honestly I enjoyed being back in the Seven Satrapies but it just didn't meet the mark. I now understand how women who have sex but not orgasms feel.
The biggest problem with this book is that it was abrupt. Things just happened quickly and without remorse. This didn't have to be a bad thing but it makes me feel like I'm left with just the bones of the story. The previous books felt more full and each chapter was fleshed out. I felt for the characters and lost myself in the world. This book made me feel like an outsider, like someone was telling me a story.
The Kip chapters were a huge disappointment. At first they are almost exclusively about sexual dysfunction. Then when things start to progress everything happens so fast that I'm left in the dust, confused. I still don't understand how Kip built his army.
I don't know. I'm just disappointed. I hope book five makes up for it.
Recommended. -
WHAT?!?!
This book isn't out yet and you have this book 5 stars?
Yes. Zero fucks given. Save me the hassle of giving 5 stars when it is out.
***EDIT - UPDATE***
I so love being right. Five stars for you Mr. Weeks. Take a bow. -
A beautiful disappointment.
The Blood Mirror does a lot right and continues to build up the excellent world of the Lightbringer series, with a dose of action as well. But it only really functions to set up the next, and final book. Lots of lore, hints, and subplots are dropped and created but not much actually happens. Think Winter's Heart from The Wheel of Time series. It's a perfectly competent book, but a bit of a letdown, especially compared to the absurd heights that the third book achieved.
Following on this, the Tisis-Kip romance was a bit weak and awkward. While it had many beautiful and poignant moments, the subplot involved with it was a similarly corny and awkward. The whole romance just felt a bit forced. Not really happy with how Weeks went with that, but we'll see how it culminates in the final book.
In conclusion, while a perfectly competent book, The Blood Mirror was a disappointment in that it just functions as a setup for the next, and final book in the series. Still, I eagerly look forward to reading the conclusion of this epic series. -
I think this book should have been called Lightbringer 4: When Plot Twists Attack!!!
Holy crap the plot twists. Literally everything you know from previous books is WRONG. EVERYTHING.
This book was so good, and I like that, after three hugely epic, action packed climaxes in the previous three books, this one's climax was a more quiet, emotional one. There's nothing that says the climax of a book has to be hugely epic battles and duels. Sometimes quiet emotion is just as fulfilling in a story. The Wheel of Time has some very epic action packed climaxes, but my favorite of any of the books was the quiet, emotional one where Rand finally figured everything out, alone, at the top of Dragonmount. Those are the ones that stick with you, when you look back on a series. They're the ones you remember, because of how they made you feel.
This book does have a bit of middle volume syndrome where it seems like the only real things that are happening are characters positioning themselves for later events, but the constant plot twists and everything literally being turned on its head, the humor, and the huge amount of character development more than makes up for it.
If you liked the first three, you will definitely not want to miss this one. If you haven't read any of this series, I certainly recommend that you pick up the first book, The Black Prism, (I KNEW there had to be some hidden meaning in that title, because it didn't appear to be referring to anything in the book, while also seeming like it should be) as soon as you can.
Now, excuse me while I go invent time travel so I don't have to wait for the next book. *cue the Back to the Future theme* -
Okay, the re-read of this was fantastic as well, it's all making me just want the final book to see how Weeks will manage to tie everything together. He opens up so many things in this story, such as will over animals, a new set of leaders, new confidence and problems for our characters and more twists again. I find myself constantly in awe of the storytelling and the way Weeks can weave threads together when people are all doing their own thing in the world now. I think that the finale will be fantastic and I look forward to reading it when it comes out :) 5*s again.
-
I predict that there's gonna be 7 books
-
Executive Summary: I enjoyed this one more than
The Broken Eye, despite a slow start. Not quite as good as
The Blinding Knife though. Still, I can't wait for the final book.
Audiobook: Simon Vance is fantastic as always, though he can be quiet/hard to hear at times. He does a variety of voices that make the audio a must for me though, and I'm always more inclined to listen to any book he reads.
Full Review
I've often struggled with Brent Week's work. I like his ideas, but his execution at times can come across as juvenile to me. I've enjoyed a few of his books, and downright loathed a few others. The start of this book felt that way to me, and made it feel slow and had me concerned I wasn't going to like it.
Thankfully things picked up pretty quickly and I was sucked back into it. One of my main issues with the first few books was Kip. He still has his moments, but thankfully his character has grown to a point where I enjoy his parts of the story apart from the initial bit.
I think all four of the main POVs were interesting though, and there was never a feeling of disappointment when the POV would switch to someone else. Tia continues to be a favorite of mine, and Karis seems a lot more cunning than she has in previous books.
We get a lot of great world building, both in terms of history and with regards to the excellent magic system that kept my interest despite my misgivings at time. The political intrigue is also quite well done. None of the antagonists feel like cartoon characters anymore and that makes for much better story telling in my opinion.
As a side note the book came with a 15 minute recap of the first three books which I really appreciated. There were also some good refresher moments throughout that all helped to jog my memory and enjoy the book more.
Overall I'd say this is probably the second best book of the series so far, and really set things up nicely for what will hopefully be the final book. I'm looking forward to seeing how things get wrapped up.
