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The Blinding Knife
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The Blinding Knife
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The Blinding Knife
Audiobook24 hours

The Blinding Knife

Written by Brent Weeks

Narrated by Simon Vance

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The gripping sequel to New York Times bestselling fantasy epic The Black Prism from Brent Weeks.

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.
Read the second book in Brent Weeks's blockbuster epic fantasy series that had Peter V. Brett saying, "Brent Weeks is so good, it's starting to tick me off!"

Lightbringer
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror

For more from Brent Weeks, check out:
Night Angel
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows

Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy (omnibus)
Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel Novella (e-only)
The Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 11, 2012
ISBN9781607887829
Unavailable
The Blinding Knife

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Reviews for The Blinding Knife

Rating: 4.423897597439545 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was mostly picked out of desparation: I wanted to read a book without commiting to a new series, because in a week, a new Book would come out that I wanted to read.

    I wasn't a big fan of the first book, for some reason, as I have liked the other works of Brent Weeks so far. And in the beginning, I disliked this book as well. But, after a while, it became a lot better, and the end wasn't bad at all (although I dislike cliffhangers).

    It was a fun and mostly funny read, with very few unexpected turns (although those were done very well). As a part-time MTG player, I apreciated the card game that played a role in the book (and Brent Weeks has hinted at possibly creating something like it in the real world).

    So, in the end, I don't feel bad about giving the book four stars. But it was not a pained I-want-to-give-4.5-stars Book like many other books I rated four stars, it was more of a "yeah, I did not waste my time reading it, but I will probably never read it again"-Book.

    Recommended for fans of the series (obviously) and people interested in a new magic system.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Weeks’ writing has certainly evolved in the time between Way of Shadows and this, his latest masterpiece. The Blinding Knife is an example of epic fantasy at its very best – nuanced, perfectly paced and thematically brilliant. Weeks takes the world he expertly set up in The Black Prism and continues to explore it – building up the geography, history and mythology in wonderful ways.The book follows our old favourites and while some might anticipate some confusion at the multiple points of view, but I found the writing to be clear and well thought-out. The use of short chapters ensured I was never away from anyone for too long. Kip is put through into training to join the Blackguard – the order of the land’s most talented and deadly warriors charged with protecting the Prism and the White with their lives. Karris and Gavin race around the world, taking care of thousands of refugees, trying to prevent wars and fighting colour wights, while grave secrets lie between them. The enemy point of view is cleverly told through Liv, who has joined the Colour Prince in his war against the Chromatorium and fears for her father’s life. Her side is especially interesting because she has been lied to her whole life and while it’s obvious that her former allies aren’t as pure as they like to believe, it’s also difficult to tell how sincere her new ones are.About half way through the novel, after I’d been adequately reacquainted with the characters and the world and was beginning to get comfortable, there are a series of bombshells and wholly unexpected events that left me reeling, and reminded me strongly to never underestimate a brilliant author such as Weeks. These events precipitate disasters left, right, and centre, and I realised I wasn’t putting the book down until I turned the last page! Everything is brilliantly paced, wild battles are beautifully choreographed and interleaved between heart-warming moments of honesty and trust between key characters.The growth of the characters is one of the best aspects of this book – while the previous book focussed heavily on the deep scars and secrets that mark them – legacies of the war Gavin and his brother Dazen waged on one another sixteen years ago to become the Prism, this book goes a long way to heal them. Secrets are revealed, deep hurts are healing and the characters that survive the experience emerge with fresh hope. Kip discovers a sense of self-worth with the Blackguard and finds friends who respect him as he is, Karris works through some of her many and varied hurts and comes out stronger for it, and Gavin embraces some hard truths, shares some of his burdens and regains a modicum of his trust in others.I loved The Blinding Knife – it’s an amazing sequel that surpassed my expectations and has left me desperate for the next instalment, The Blood Mirror. Brent Weeks is a Master of Fantasy, wholly deserving of the title, and fans of the genre should be desperate to get their hands on his books.A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nice one, Weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was fortunate to meet Brent at FantasyCon. My son had him sign both books in the new series. Brent read an excerpt (supposedly) from his next book after Blinding Knife. He has a very distinctive style of reading and I could hear his voice as I read Blinding Knife. That was a little unsettling! Fortunately the excerpt turned out to be as much fantasy as the book! He had us all believing he was going to kill off one of his main characters. He may still do so, but not as happened in his reading. I still haven't forgiven JK Rowling for killing off Hedwig!Anyway - to the book. It follows on from Black Prism. Blinding Knife is brilliantly written and the characterisation is excellent as per usual. The series is a distinctly different fantasy series to any other and he creates a whole new range magic type with associated rules. It's a very long book so those that enjoy reading will regard it as excellent value. It may be overlong if you like fast paced books all the way through. For everyone else - this is a cracking read and I would recommend it. It has everything a fantasy fan would like.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read the first book to this series Black Prism at the beginning of last year. There was almost two years between these books. I thought maybe I should reread the first book before tackling this long one but decided against it. This volume did a good job of bringing me up to speed again quickly. I've always loved Brent Weeks' work so I was excited for this volume. I was not disappointed. This was a great volume, picking up mostly from where it left off in the previous book. The jargon and new terminology sometimes gave me pause as I tried to remember what it meant (there was a very handy catalogue in the back of the book with terminology and names) but the story kept me intrigued and entertained. Kip and his quest to become better, Gavin and his questions of virtue, both kept me turning pages. This is a story on an epic scale. It's a big book but the story is fast paced and the text not overly small so it doesn't take too long to get through. I'm eagerly anticipating the third book. :( It's going to be a long wait.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kip is inducted into the Blackguard training class, of which only the ones who fight their way to the top will be chosen. His grandfather, Andross Guile, first denies Kip, and then starts to play his own sinister game with him. Kip earns a reputation as fat but hard and gains the respect of many of his classmates. He becomes friends with Adrasteia, a slave in his class who was first set to spy on him, and then Kip wins her ownership from Andross Guile in a card game. Kip is desperate for love and approval from Gavin, but Gavin is afraid to let him too close, as he believes that Kip will one day discover that he killed his brother, Kip's real father. Gavin, formerly Dazen, kills a light god as it is being born, and delivers the refugees that he saved in the last book to a new settlement on Seers Island. He tries to get the Council to vote for war, since he knows the Color Prince (formerly Karris' brother) means to take over. Just after he succeeds, and after his father forbids him to marry Karris, a girl whom Andross approves tries to seduce Gavin at night. When he wakes up and realizes it is not Karris, he is furious and pushes the girl toward the balcony--but she falls over the edge. Horrified at what could be called murder, and realizing this will ruin his leadership of the Council into war, he prepares to let his brother go and let his brother kill him. Gavin still thinks that Dazen really should be the Prism, and will be able to do things right. But Dazen, bitter and hate-filled, boasts about how he raped Karris, and Gavin realizes that Dazen now is evil and may always have been... and finally kills him. Karris receives a posthumous letter from Gavin's mother, telling her that Gavin is really Dazen (the brother Karris loved), and that he never stopped loving Karris. Finally there is honesty between Karris and Gavin (as he now is known), and they marry. Throughout this book, Aliviana, who has joined the Color Prince, has both become more cynical and more inured to his brutality, as an opponent of the Chromeria which rules everything. She lives with the arrogant and ambitious Zymun for a while, but then is frightened and disgusted by his lust for power. At the end of the book, the Color Prince reveals that he has plans for Aliviana to become a goddess (this world has stories of the old gods, but now is officially devoted to one god of whom the Chromeria is the theocracy). The Blackguard, taking their new recruits since they were decimated in the last book, head for battle with the Color Prince. They and Gavin fight, knowing that a new god (a green bane) is being created somewhere. It turns out the green bane arises from the sea during the battle. Kip, almost through an accident, is the one to kill the new god. In the retreat from the battle, Kip and Gavin end up on Andross' ship. Kip realized that Andross is a red wight (he has "broken the halo" of color in his eyes and is on the verge of going mad... the point at which light drafters normally volunteer for the Prism to ceremonially kill them). Kip attacks Andross with the knife his mother gave him, and in the struggle Gavin, when Andross is about to kill Kip, pulls the knife toward himself and falls overboard with it in his chest. Kip jumps after him. Andross finds that all of his colors have been restored as if he were years younger. Kip and Gavin are picked up by a pirate whom Gavin knows. But with the knife attack, it became a sword, and Gavin become color blind. He is now powerless and becomes a galley slave. Kip is tossed back in and washes to shore and runs into Zymun, whom he recognizes as the attempted assassin who attacked Gavin in the last book. Zymun casually reveals that he is the son of Karris and Gavin (the result of rape during their betrothal; Karris went away to have the baby). The universe of these books is very detailed and somewhat hard to remember from the last book. But oh, so good at making you care about the characters!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I definitely recommend reading the Lightbringer books close together. Weeks drops a densely built universe on you like a ton of bricks and I lost track several of several plot threads during the gap between books 1 and 2. That's not remotely a complaint, though -- just fair warning.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As good as book 1. Can't wait for book 3. I haven't looked how many books there are in this series, but I don't want to know. I'm hoping there's 7, but it's over when it's over, which will be a bittersweet day... Well done, well done!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If Weeks' first book was great, this one is amazing. The character and story progressions feel great, and the plot really starts to fill in. Definitely the best of the Lightbringer series to date!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This authors sense of humor is great. His hero Kip is far from the characters we normally see in these kinds of novels. The lore is interesting, and the plot unexpected.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved both books 1 &2 - so much started book 3 the day after completing book 2! Creatively written and wonderfully narrated!! Thumbs up ??
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Better than first in series. Great pace. I blew through audiobook in a week. Cannot wait for next in series. Rated R for language. I wish author would stick with other expletives for the period like when older characters exclaim (Their God’s) “beard”. Younger characters use of the “F” word limits audience to some younger readers. One sex scene was moderately descriptive. Fantastic reader for first two books in series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely brilliant. I don't think I've enjoyed a fantasy series more than this by Brent Weeks in years. Fascinating characters, fantastic diversity, outrageously wonderful storytelling, and a spine tingling conclusion. I heartily recommend this series. I adored it so much I purchased the Night Angel trilogy to keep my hunger satisfied.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    i loved it. the narrator is very captivate.Brent weeks is a genius.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great story! Always leaving room for more tale to hear!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow, shades of Brandon Sanderson! An interesting and internally consistent magic system, characters with actual personalities, and innovative ideas that riff on fantasy tropes without being slavish or contrarian. really good stuff!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fantastic series, brilliantly written and narrated, love all the characters
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed this book much not than the first, probably because I wasn't spending a lot of time looking up vocabulary words.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In a word... Awesome! In two words... Very Awesome! Can’t wait for the next one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked it I really did like it I just don't understand why authors have to use so many f-bombs and if you don't mind f-bombs this is a great book for you not all of us can speak that way these days we try to improve our lives and improve ourselves better the things that come out of our mouth so except for the language I would give it five stars pardon the punctuation I listen on an audiobook and I'm voice to texting
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Even Better than the first book! The world and politics are more fleshed out and all the main characters grow in organic and believable ways! Phenomenal!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good sequel, moves the story along. Twists and turns aplenty.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am listening to this as an audiobook and because of the dreaded Covid 19 it has taken me a long time to get to the end as my commuting time has been cut in half. I read the first book a long time ago but then was unwilling to continue until the series was complete. I reread the first book as an audio and then moved on to this. I continued to enjoy it a lot. The only time my interest wanes is during the battle scenes which are not something I have much interest in. But otherwise I like the main characters and I still find it a change to not really know who you should be rooting for to win. Because in this world both sides are flawed and both have admirable aims.Next book is downloaded but is probably going to take me even longer as it's close to 30 hours long.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is fairly standard epic fantasy, with a decent magic system and good action. There is a strange mix of gunpowder and magic, but magic almost always wins. Gavin Guile, The Prism, the head of the Chromeria, is being challenged by The Color Prince; an old enemy and anarchist. Gavin must try to hold together his own ruling coalition and stop The Color Prince, who is gathering every disaffected soldier and magic wielder (drafter) he can find to build his own empire of chaos. The book spends half of the time following Kip Guile, his son, as he trains to join the Blackguard and learn to become a drafter.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Entertaining, good continuation, interesting characters, a really fun read. Hoping it goes on in the 3rd book and that Bent doesn't repeat the small mistakes he made in the Angel books, which was to start to many sub-plots as the books went on.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm not sure I'm going to able to write proper reviews of the individual books in this series -- this is one of those where the entire series likely needs to be reviewed. Not really a cliffhanger ending to this one, but definitely not one to read as a standalone. Mostly everything and everyone just progresses. Oh, I really enjoyed the read because I'm invested in these people and this world. I wouldn't say it moved the series that far along though. Yet, hard to review without spoilers. Let's just say I loved the book, the two brothers man-in-the-iron-mask got resolved, found out more about everyone, more about banes and wights, major reveal about the oldest Guile ... and yet and yet and yet clearly more to follow with nothing exactly resolved. See? Not a very good review to basically say "loved it and found out more."

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is amazing! It is so hard to put down. I want the third book already. I love the complexities in the storyline and the characters.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If Mr. Weeks hasn't read a lot of green lantern comics i would be very surprised, but what he has done with this inspiration is what makes this a must read for epic fantasy fans. Brent Weeks has joined my list of authors who i'll pre-order every new book. Whens the next one come out?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fast paced novel that can easily suck you in and keep you turning pages to find out what happens next.

    Really enjoyed Kip in school. Though, I felt that experience could have been dealt with more in depth. Thinking about novels about characters in school like Harry Potter, Tom Brown's School days, etc the pacing is almost to rushed. I liked the new characters Kip meets and the new color (Paryl)has some very interesting possibilities. Kip comes across as very likable and you find yourself really rooting for him. I think with all the physical labor/training at some point he is going to stop being a pudgy out of shape kid.

    I think the author used the f-bomb once in the book (that jumped out). And it just struck a discordant note for me showing up in the fantasy world here and felt unnecessary.

    While a lot happens in the book looking back it almost feels like less happened just because everything was so fast paced. I will definitely read the next book but I don't like being stuck at a cliff hanger ending for a year. =(

    I've had several people say that this series is their favorite over the Night Angel series (by the same author). Still not convinced but I'm keeping an open mind.


  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good book but a few things kept it from being great. Unlike the first book there wasn't enough Kip and Liv's story just wasn't as interesting. I was also getting a bit sick of Gavin/Dazen. But towards the end this book really picked up and I can't wait for the next book now.

    1 person found this helpful