Today is just Night Angel day for me and thus it is a happy day for me. Now this morning/ afternoon/ brunch-time, I posted about why Night Angel trilogy seemed to click because of what the story was about. It was a political thriller with magic assassins and a sewer dragon. Sewer Dragon. I'll let that sink in for a second, see if you really still don't care for the series after that.
Yet, the books carry with it so much more than just that. The series is very mature, it's very intense, it's very graphic. It makes you remember it just by that. But for some reason, you don't hate any of it. Not that you love it, but, you don't hate it. It doesn't make you sick to your stomach.
Beyond that, what the characters do don't make you hate them. Well, I mean, the protagonists. The Godking and his children are putrid monsters of "humans" that disgusted me whenever they were on the page. These characters, almost all of them, are anti-heroes. It isn't "what they should do," it's "what they have to do" to keep order. That means blood, that means sacrifice, that means not being the good cop when you have to and making that tough call.
In my opinion, this separates the series from other fantasy series. Most of them. Game of Thrones wastes no time in sparing you the graphic language and scenes. The Lord of the Rings plunges you into a world of adventure and potential darkness. Eragon, though a little more childish, does deal with loss and adventure in the beginning.
How does the Night Angel trilogy start off in Way of Shadows? Azoth, a guild rat, is spying on a couple of guys while peeping around for some money and nearly gets killed by the most powerful wetboy ever, Durzo Blint. Our hero, the one we're counting on to save the day somehow and shake free of his shackles, is just some kid that can't even hide under a building?
The characters don't necessarily carry the series like the other books do (Eragon is named after the main character, for Pete's sake) and even shows that there are more important things going on than their little lives. There is war and political struggle going on, along with a humongous prophecy to shape up Midcyru. Does it really matter about Azoth? No! Durzo could care less about Azoth at first.
And that's where the book makes itself relevant. Unless you make a name for yourself, prove yourself to be worth other people's time, nobody is going to give you a second look. All throughout the book, we get to see that. Who's Azoth? The pathetic guild rat or the boy who knows what must be done to succeed in a world of evil people? Who's Durzo Blint? The one to give orders or the one to take orders?
The world shapes these characters, the characters do not shape the world. The continent of Midcyru is an evil, twisted place because of the Sa'Kage and the actions of the Godking. Whoring is a regularity. Assassination is as common as a mugging. Death is a flu. We see this in their actions. Everything they do is based off of the world of the trilogy. None of the characters set out to "save the world," in fact, they set out to save only the people they care about. The others? Well...shoot, they can take care of themselves, right?
"Wow, this book sounds messed up, why would I read it?"
Because the protagonists have human traits. We see Kylar struggling with what he is doing as a wetboy, particularly with his first kill. He is affected by it, even in a world where this is common. Because the world is so dark, the characters have so many layers to them that make them human. However they cannot be the good guys because in the world of Midcyru, the good guys end up six feet under.
Our beacon of light, Logan Gyre, is no exception to the rule. At the end of Way of Shadows and all throughout Shadow's Edge, for the most part, we see how even our knight in shining armor is far from perfect. Logan's tragedy is actually one of the most compelling parts of Shadow's Edge because it is always so interesting to see what will happen next to him. He physically and emotionally transforms into something completely different from when we see him in the end of Way of Shadows, or even when we first meet him in that same story.
It is a little sickening to see how regular the Godking and Momma K see the world that we see as essentially barbaric. Everything just happens, as if it's according to plan. Everything, at least, always seems that way. But what happens if, in this seemingly invincible fortress, one person discovers a secret, or a flaw in the plan?
The secrets in this book, oh my gosh, are the driving force behind it. Everyone is a liar. Everyone. You really think that Elene isn't? Okay, yeah, sure, watch her character in Beyond the Shadows. Oh, really, Dorian isn't a liar? HOW then did he get into the castle in Beyond the Shadows? Even the magic itself is based on a lie! Kylar and Durzo's destinies is a lie. The only thing in this book that doesn't lie is the Wolf...but he's just super awesome (and has an awesome backstory that just sheds so much light on everything).
Most of the secrets that kind of set everything up come in the first book, Way of Shadows. But that's how it should be. With everyone knowing these secrets, it's great to see the consequences. And I assure you, there are several. A major character dies. Kingdoms rise and crumble. Things explode (yes, I am not joking, things literally blow up). Someone even changes their name to a proper title (King).
Yet for all the secrets there is also false information. It's almost a parody. We've always seen that there is this one character who we think is destined for something, yet it turns out to be someone or something else entirely. This occurs a lot in the Night Angel trilogy, from Kylar to Vi to Dorian to even Solon (Solon and Dorian's come together in a very interesting way that you almost completely forget about but when it resolves you feel proud for sticking with it). There are a whole lot of fake outs in this book that happen, and it's very interesting to see how they affect the work as a whole, as well as how the characters even interact with one another.
Luckily, there is one area of this series that is not driven or forced into the story: romance. This is very subjective, because I feel that oftentimes, romance can ruin a good fantasy story. Luckily, romance is wiggled in nicely to not necessarily serve as romance, but as like a thought. The thought of love is nice. The scenes with Kylar, Elene, and Uly are, while cute, a little slow. They slowed the book down, maybe for a good thing since Shadow's Edge fires on all cylinders constantly. Yet they are the only romantic part of the book. Vi and Kylar have no romance, nor do Momma K and...her lover that I will not say (read it and find it >:) ) It is all the thoughts of love, love told in stories. Unlike Lord of the Rings where Aragorn and Arwyn is a little bit of a side-story about romance and him falling for her and her becoming mortal and what not, the Night Angel trilogy skims the surface. What happens with Vi and Kylar is not romantic, it's a bond (darn it, Vi, why you put rings on?), it's an element of the story. And besides, it's not love if it's not mutual, like you can't have one person love the other while they don't share the love. Then it's just...not love?
What the book lacks in romance (thankfully) is substitued with political problems, and there are a lot of them. The Sa'Kage want, no, have control, and wish to maintain it. Duh, that's what any organization wants. Again, the book does not hold back on being nice. You wanna survive? Kill your enemy, otherwise they kill you. That's how the story works, and it does not sugercoat the heroes into being all "killing is wrong, I'll never be seduced into the dark side!"
Whoops.
What's very interesting is how the two largely separate storylines seemed to always intertwine. You would never guess that Durzo and Kylar's business would get mixed up with the Gyre's...but it does. And how would Logan's situation in Cenaria with Terah Graesin relate to Dorian's predicament in Khalidor? It does, BIG time. You constantly forget about these little things that are happening in the book because so much is going on. Luckily, the ending of the series brings it all together (and there are Titans, so, that's cool). When you realize that these little things remain and end up being quite important, you have a big "OH that's right!" moment...actually you have a lot of those.
So while all of this is going on and keeping you interested and involved in the story, the characters are growing and developing with each new development that ensues. The Nocta Hemata in Cenaria City drastically effects the outlook of Momma K. Logan's dire situation in Shadow's Edge obviously changes him. With every one of Kylar's chapters, something new about him has changed. He is either more like Durzo or less like himself, and yes, there is a difference.
Characters and organizations never fully change, another thing the book has relevant to the real world. The characters may seem different and the world around them may be changing, but in the end: Durzo is a wetboy, Elene is a damaged quiet girl, the Sa'Kage wants power, and Logan wants what is rightfully his. Their desires hardly change outside of what the story demands them to do. This is what causes them usually to become anti-heroes. They need to save the world? No, they have a personal goal they must fulfill and will do anything they must to make it happen. Most other characters simply allow their quest to guide them and hope for it to bring them closer to their original goal, but, that does not cut it. At least, it is not as interesting as a character taking matters into their own hands.
The Night Angel trilogy is the perfect blend of fantasy and politics, and is a trilogy that I do want to re-read, but it is very heavy and even though it's been months since I finished it, I can't seem to get myself to reading it again. One very gratifying thing that it convinced me to do, though, was start watching Game of Thrones on HBO because I figured nothing could be more gruesome plus enthralling as the Night Angel trilogy.
And you know what?
I was right.
So read it, see what I'm saying. Just make sure there are no kids to read it, or you'll be getting a lot of questions...and they may say things at school that can get them in big trouble.
See you next time!
P.S. I want with all my might for this trilogy to be turned into a TV show, because, it would be an amazing TV show.
Links to images:
Joker meme: http://m.memegen.com/2yffwf.jpg
Anakin choking image: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQyIE0cYBsHqkLMmA-_rkW9xqf4e7cC_i4id_ydXlUUAIVvOsI
No comments:
Post a Comment