Brent Weeks knows how to write compelling fantasy, and “The Broken Eye” is further proof of that.
“The Broken Eye” is the third book in the “Lightbringer” series and cannot be read as a standalone story. It was published back in 2014.
Book Review: The Broken Eye
- Author : Brent Weeks
- Series : Lightbringer Series Book #3
- 846 pages, Kindle Edition
- First published August 26, 2014
What to expect …
In the third book of Gavin Guile’s story, the focus is on his son, Kip. We follow his education at Blackguard School. The boy knows how to make enemies among the powerful families of the Seven Satrapies, and his allies aren’t many. His life is threatened and his grandfather Andross despises him and tries to make the situation of Gavin’s bastard even more bitter. Kip has many challenges to overcome and training with the Blackguard is just one of them.
In The Broken Eye, several storylines are again followed. Paralleling life on the island, the reader learns about the other front and Gavin’s troubles after the Battle of Roe. The Colored Prince and his army continue their advance on the center of the Chromeria Empire. Without the prism to balance the colors, the old gods return. Their entire world and religious faith are on the verge of total collapse and there is no hope for salvation. The only one who has the strength to deal with this is lost, trapped and broken.
What I didn’t expect
I said it with the first two books and I’ll say it now: Brent Weeks knows how to captivate readers and keep them enthralled. Although the plot follows the stories of several main characters, it’s not at all choppy or confusing. Each plot is presented to the reader in a causal way. Think of the whole story as one big puzzle. The author is the one who gives you the pieces, but they’re never in the right order. You don’t know what the puzzle is made of, and with each new detail, the landscape reveals itself piece by piece. Because the story of Prism isn’t just Gavin’s. Many legends, old gossip, and intrigue are woven together here. The big picture isn’t Gavin Guile, nor the villain of the story, Andross Guile, and there is something bigger than family history.
It’s a big book, but there’s no shortage of action and you certainly won’t be bored reading it. The pages are again filled with action and intrigue. “The Broken Eye” is also a pretty gory book, even brutal at times. The language the author uses is sometimes quite “rich” and the details with which he describes human impurities and lustful desires are certainly not for everyone.
I like how Brent Weeks gradually reveals to us the nature of the Chromeria religion. Why the war with the colored prince and his views on injustice to the colored devils? It’s all the many things that make up this multi-layered plot.
Weeks’ characters continue to develop both physically and emotionally. Kip is the most obvious example of this. At the beginning of the story, he was the yapper, a boy so full of self-doubt and self-loathing that at times he didn’t inspire any sympathy at all, despite his miserable lot. Over the course of the 3 books, Prism’s bastard has evolved into an almost worthy rival to the arachnophobic Andross. Kip shines with a sharp mind and determination mixed with the impulsiveness typical of his teenage years. Crusher’s character grows before our eyes, and I’m sure that’s not all we’ll see of him.
The ending of The Broken Eye isn’t only explosive,
it’s like an atomic bomb that shatters all your expectations. It leaves no doubt that you’ll continue with the next book.
I give The Broken Eye a well deserved 5 stars. If you’re a battle lover, this is the book for you. If you aren’t unstable and can read a few lines about the technology of blinding convicts or if you endured the description of Dazen’s life in his captivity under the Prism Palace, then you’ll love the story. Yes, Brent Weeks can be quite comprehensive in his descriptions and give you the creeps, but he’s also a master of surprises. I can’t prepare you for everything that awaits you in the pages of this book, and I don’t want to. I highly recommend the Lightbringer series and hope to add the other books to my collection soon.
As the old gods awaken, the Chromeria is in a race to find its lost Prism, the only man who may be able to stop catastrophe, Gavin Guile. But Gavin’s enslaved on a galley, and when he finally escapes, he finds himself in less than friendly hands. Without the ability to draft which has defined him . . .
Meanwhile, the Color Prince’s army continues its inexorable advance, having swallowed two of the seven satrapies, they now invade the Blood Forest. Andross Guile, thinking his son Gavin lost, tasks his two grandsons with stopping the advance. Kip and his psychopathic half-brother Zymun will compete for the ultimate prize: who will become the next Prism.
