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malignantcactus's review against another edition
5.0
This was kind of everything that I wanted in a follow up to The Black Prism.
possessdbychaos's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rynetry's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting story, dude is still bad at writing the stories of woman, but he seems to have learned to contain himself a bit in this one, it felt less like a sore thumb…
creeves1818's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ham_jansen's review against another edition
5.0
Another great installment in what is becoming a very creative and interesting story. There are a few rough edges to the plot and characters that I am not sure what their purpose is, but the overall freshness and quality of the story more than makes up for it.
aceinit's review against another edition
4.0
Warning: This review contains spoilers. Giant, glaring, gaping spoilers for major, massive events throughout the narrative.
If you don’t like those kinds of things, please kindly find somewhere else to be.
In The Blinding Knife, Weeks picks up precisely where he left off with The Black Prism and takes his readers on one hell of a ride, raising the stakes and putting everyone in even more danger than before. The Blinding Knife is, for the most part, a worthy successor to Prism, which blew me away with its intricate plotting the dynamic of the secrets surrounding the identities of the Guile brothers. I lost sleep over Prism, debating the entire Gavin/Dazen identity crisis with myself. I can’t tell you the last time a book made me lose sleep. Which is why I spent months anxiously waiting for The Blinding Knife to show up in my mailbox.
Initially, I was not disappointed. As the imprisoned Guile brother comes closer and closer to freedom and the Prism’s world unravels around him, it seems that Gavin and Dazen are heading for a clash of identity and will worthy of the fantastic setup Weeks has given it.
And then...
Well, then the book took a detour into Crazyville about 1/2 of the way through the narrative.
It started with Gavin throwing a girl off a balcony. I get it, Weeks was trying to show that through Gavin’s loss of blue, he’d become a bit unstable. But there is nothing on this earth that will convince me that scene, or most of what came after it, was necessary. I cannot reconcile such an act with the character I have come to know, and it still grates me, particularly given how this murder was so effortlessly covered up and actually PAVED THE WAY for Karris to realize she was head over heels in love with “Gavin” and for them to eventually marry.
This is the most absolutely absurd route to true love ever taken. The entire thing. All of it. Just...ridiculous.
There is also the problem of the startling and brutally anticlimactic resolution of the Gavin/Dazen storyline. After so much struggle, and with so many potential, radical fallouts in the work that could shatter their world more effectively than any color bane, Weeks just decides to end the storyline by having “Dazen” murdered by his brother. And, again, I get it. “Dazen” was insane. Whatever plans Gavin had had for him, they were useless now due to how far gone his brother was. But Weeks had built up to something truly phenomenal in the dynamic he created between the two brothers, and the havoc that could potentially be wreaked if “Dazen” emerged from his cells after a decade and a half of imprisonment and asserted his true birthright. But it’s all gone, wasted, and I cannot imagine what would drive a writer to create such a fantastic, tension-filled build-up for no payoff whatsoever. A waste. One of the more tragic ones I’ve read.
And then there is Kip. Kip, who continues to coast through at least 80% of the book on blind, stupid luck and other people’s achievements. Surrounded by such giants as Gavin, Dazen, and Andross Guile, Karris and Koios White Oak, and General Ironfist, Kip’s weaknesses stand out even more. He is whiny. He is insecure. He's clumsy. And, we get it, he’s fat. No, we really, really get it. He's fat. You can stop mentioning that any day now. We don't need to be reminded every chapter. Really.
If Kip was Week’s attempt to create a human, relatable character amid all the larger-than-life ones, he has not, in my opinion, succeeded. Kip is an irritation, and I spent most of his chapters just wanting them to be *over* so I could get back to the interesting parts of the narrative. He is maturing, slowly, but not quickly enough, and I doubt I will ever see him as more than an interlude between better things. If Weeks had killed him off as carelessly as he had Dazen Guile and left Dazen alive instead, I would be a much happier reader.
If Kip and Zymun can just kill one another somewhere between this book and the next one, I will be ecstatic.
But Kip is obviously destined for Great Things.
Damn it.
The novel, of course, ends on a series of spectacular cliffhangers. The implications of the Blinder’s Knife, from which the book derives its title, being the most fascinating of all. I absolutely was *not* expecting the truth Kip discovers regarding Andross Guile, which in itself is one scary as hell future to contemplate. But add the truth of what Andross is to the effects the Knife had on him and, well...
Impending clusterfuck in 3...2...1.
That, I cannot wait for.
Most importantly, I anxiously await what will happen to Gavin—and consequently the world—now that he has lost all his colors. Which is, by far, the biggest cliffhanger of them all.
Despite the enormous missteps starting at the balcony scene and continuing pretty much until Gavin’s wedding to Karris, The Blinding Knife was still a superb read. I am officially on pins and needles awaiting a release date for the third installment of this wonderful series.
If you don’t like those kinds of things, please kindly find somewhere else to be.
In The Blinding Knife, Weeks picks up precisely where he left off with The Black Prism and takes his readers on one hell of a ride, raising the stakes and putting everyone in even more danger than before. The Blinding Knife is, for the most part, a worthy successor to Prism, which blew me away with its intricate plotting the dynamic of the secrets surrounding the identities of the Guile brothers. I lost sleep over Prism, debating the entire Gavin/Dazen identity crisis with myself. I can’t tell you the last time a book made me lose sleep. Which is why I spent months anxiously waiting for The Blinding Knife to show up in my mailbox.
Initially, I was not disappointed. As the imprisoned Guile brother comes closer and closer to freedom and the Prism’s world unravels around him, it seems that Gavin and Dazen are heading for a clash of identity and will worthy of the fantastic setup Weeks has given it.
And then...
Well, then the book took a detour into Crazyville about 1/2 of the way through the narrative.
It started with Gavin throwing a girl off a balcony. I get it, Weeks was trying to show that through Gavin’s loss of blue, he’d become a bit unstable. But there is nothing on this earth that will convince me that scene, or most of what came after it, was necessary. I cannot reconcile such an act with the character I have come to know, and it still grates me, particularly given how this murder was so effortlessly covered up and actually PAVED THE WAY for Karris to realize she was head over heels in love with “Gavin” and for them to eventually marry.
This is the most absolutely absurd route to true love ever taken. The entire thing. All of it. Just...ridiculous.
There is also the problem of the startling and brutally anticlimactic resolution of the Gavin/Dazen storyline. After so much struggle, and with so many potential, radical fallouts in the work that could shatter their world more effectively than any color bane, Weeks just decides to end the storyline by having “Dazen” murdered by his brother. And, again, I get it. “Dazen” was insane. Whatever plans Gavin had had for him, they were useless now due to how far gone his brother was. But Weeks had built up to something truly phenomenal in the dynamic he created between the two brothers, and the havoc that could potentially be wreaked if “Dazen” emerged from his cells after a decade and a half of imprisonment and asserted his true birthright. But it’s all gone, wasted, and I cannot imagine what would drive a writer to create such a fantastic, tension-filled build-up for no payoff whatsoever. A waste. One of the more tragic ones I’ve read.
And then there is Kip. Kip, who continues to coast through at least 80% of the book on blind, stupid luck and other people’s achievements. Surrounded by such giants as Gavin, Dazen, and Andross Guile, Karris and Koios White Oak, and General Ironfist, Kip’s weaknesses stand out even more. He is whiny. He is insecure. He's clumsy. And, we get it, he’s fat. No, we really, really get it. He's fat. You can stop mentioning that any day now. We don't need to be reminded every chapter. Really.
If Kip was Week’s attempt to create a human, relatable character amid all the larger-than-life ones, he has not, in my opinion, succeeded. Kip is an irritation, and I spent most of his chapters just wanting them to be *over* so I could get back to the interesting parts of the narrative. He is maturing, slowly, but not quickly enough, and I doubt I will ever see him as more than an interlude between better things. If Weeks had killed him off as carelessly as he had Dazen Guile and left Dazen alive instead, I would be a much happier reader.
If Kip and Zymun can just kill one another somewhere between this book and the next one, I will be ecstatic.
But Kip is obviously destined for Great Things.
Damn it.
The novel, of course, ends on a series of spectacular cliffhangers. The implications of the Blinder’s Knife, from which the book derives its title, being the most fascinating of all. I absolutely was *not* expecting the truth Kip discovers regarding Andross Guile, which in itself is one scary as hell future to contemplate. But add the truth of what Andross is to the effects the Knife had on him and, well...
Impending clusterfuck in 3...2...1.
That, I cannot wait for.
Most importantly, I anxiously await what will happen to Gavin—and consequently the world—now that he has lost all his colors. Which is, by far, the biggest cliffhanger of them all.
Despite the enormous missteps starting at the balcony scene and continuing pretty much until Gavin’s wedding to Karris, The Blinding Knife was still a superb read. I am officially on pins and needles awaiting a release date for the third installment of this wonderful series.
linzthebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely love this series and could not put The Blinding Knife down. There are so many plot twists that I never know what to expect. I love the complex magic system that's not only based around colors drafted but also the psychological/emotional effects of it. I think the society that this magic system has created is intricate and I was fascinated by it. I love Gavin as the main character. He's not perfect, he knows what his flaws are and still tries to be better and do what he can as Prism. I really liked seeing Kip trying to figure out who he wants to be. There's just so much with this book that I love.
I will say that I noticed some have it grouped as a Children's book or YA. I really do not think this is a YA book- my own opinion. It's pretty violent and sexually explicit. I'm also not a parent, so take it with a grain of salt. Yes, Kip is a main character and 15, but I would definitely not think this would be kid-appropriate.
For my full review check out: https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-review-blinding-knife-by-brent.html
I will say that I noticed some have it grouped as a Children's book or YA. I really do not think this is a YA book- my own opinion. It's pretty violent and sexually explicit. I'm also not a parent, so take it with a grain of salt. Yes, Kip is a main character and 15, but I would definitely not think this would be kid-appropriate.
For my full review check out: https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2021/09/book-review-blinding-knife-by-brent.html
stupidusernames's review against another edition
1.0
[1.5 stars]
A fun, “popcorn fantasy” novel flawed by: bad, immature prose, hyper-sexualized female characters, and a main character that incessantly self deprecates throughout the entire story.
A fun, “popcorn fantasy” novel flawed by: bad, immature prose, hyper-sexualized female characters, and a main character that incessantly self deprecates throughout the entire story.
mrbear's review against another edition
4.0
A definite improvement on the first book. The writing still isn't perfect (though much improved), and a lot of the characters are still pretty irrational (what's the deal with everyone just letting Andross do whatever he wants when he's clearly nuts/totally powerless?), but the story picks up in this book and that really carries it through.