VOTE, plus The Way of Shadows reviewed by Yours Truly

If you live in the U.S., vote today.

Brent Weeks has a new trilogy 2/3 of the way on the shelves at this point, I’ve read two and last night I posted my review of his first book The Way of Shadows. I was impressed and to be honest, a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. I realize I might be a bit late in posting my review, but here it is. Weeks and his work are also generating some interesting buzz in the SFFWorld Forums. Next week I’ll post my review of the second installment, Shadow’s Edge.

On the one hand the book’s design and physical feel reminded me of another recent book which I didn’t enjoy so much. On the other, the story was engaging, entertaining and hit all the right buttons for me. The story itself is the somewhat clichéd coming-of-age story of the “assassin-with-the-heart-of-gold” with a liberal dash of “hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold,” but Weeks made everything work.

I’m all for new and interesting things to read that might be out of the mold of typical (Mieville, VanderMeer), but like a fine, dependable recipe which produces a delicious meal every time you create it, I think Weeks’s The Way of Shadows is a highly enjoyable ‘meal’ that delivers very well on its preconceived expectations. I’ll also say that the book is most assuredly not a Young Adult novel, despite a youthful protagonist.

I found Mighty God King's awesomely Photoshopped literal titles of fantasy novels via SF Signal at , plus part 2 and part 3:.

Lastly, if you live in the US, go out and vote. Although I’m happy to be voting for a change in which I believe, I’ll be happy when this thing is finally over.