Beyond the Shadows

Beyond the Shadows, by Brent Weeks, is a satisfying exercise in imagination. His prose is so clear, the images he evokes so powerful, that the events in the book seem to leap right off of the page. Weeks has created Midcyru: a world of magic, assassins, wetwork, myth,legend,love, and murder, and has somehow managed to weave it all together into a story for the ages.

Before I continue, It should be noted: In this world, there is a critical difference between an assassin and a wetboy. As Kylar, the main character,puts it (often with a sneer), "Assassins have targets, wetboys have deaders." In other words, an assassin tries to kill a target. Once a wetboy chooses their deader, their fate is sealed. I mention this mainly so that every time I say 'wetboy', or 'wetwork', you don't think I'm talking about an unusually aroused male, or someone who spends too much time in a pool.

The plot: Klyar, the wetboy granted immortality by the magical black ka'kari finds himself torn between political and magical factions. In a previous book, Kylar loses his dominant arm in an epic battle and, due to a fluke of magic and Cosmic Sadism (my opinion, not the author's) is unable to grow it back. Kylar,desperate to regain his lost limb,strikes a deal with a God: steal the magical sword Curoch from Lantano Garuwashi, the leader of the proud and battle-hardened Sa'Ceurai, and he can have his arm back. Only after striking this deal does he find a note from his former master (who he believed dead) saying "Make no deals with The Wolf" (The Wolf is the name of the God, so Kylar is basically screwed). In addition to Kylar's Quests, there are several other factions at work in Midcyru.

Some of these include:

• Dorian the Prophet, son of the recently deceased tyrannical Emperor of Khalidor. Dorian only wanted to escape from the borders of his father's kingdom, but, due to an unusual turn of events,  has become Emperor. Now, Dorian finds himself straying down the same unsavory path as his father. 
• Viridiana,  the beautiful former wetgirl (eh-hem...I just mean that she's a killer, like Kylar) must face Kylar's wife,Elene, and inform her that, in the midst of an epic battle, she was forced to establish a magical and oftentimes erotic bond between herself and Kylar. Perhaps more challenging than that is convincing Elene that establishing the bond was done out of pure necessity. Nope, no ulterior motives here.
• Logan Gyre, intended King of Cenaria, must field assassination attempts and political turmoil as he struggles to balance his sense of morals with the necessary evils that ruling a country calls for. 

These are only a few of the stories and perspectives that Brent Weeks has managed to weave. Somehow, through means that must have been magical , he's created a world that I look forward to seeing in his next book.

If you give this book
Now, when someone says they're a ninja or an assassin, I just laugh. Amateurs.