The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer, 4)

In general I like weeks' books for their length which gives ample opportunity to develop both plots and characters. However in this case it seems that I kept waiting for something to happen, a plot line to resolve, someone to escape and take action, almost anything! As always Weeks writes well and produces a very readable book. However, unlike the previous three in the series, there was nothing that compelled me to keep reading late not the night or pick it up again as early as possible. It wasn't even a matter of how will Gavin escape this "predicament" or what will happen to Kip next. After the first time or two I simply stopped caring whether or not Kip would consummate his marriage. This book could never stand alone, what would be the point?Please note the original trilogy, as advertised, turned into a tetralogy and obviously now into a pentalogy. And there is nothing to say that won't in turn morph into a hexology. But something needs to start happening to move the action and plot along. Please!

For me personally, this book takes the series as a whole from being very good, to being great. This is easily my favorite book in the series so far and it has set up the series finale perfectly.The Lightbringer series has been strong from the beginning but one of it's only flaws, in my opinion, has been pacing. This book finally fixes that. It's a real page-turner (not something I would have said about the first three books in the series). I think the author must have become a better writer throughout the process of creating these books because this book flows beautifully. I couldn't put it down!There is a lot of growth and change taking place among the major characters and not all of it is pleasant or good. Some of the main characters go through hell. This series is not a "feel-good" story but it's also not exactly depressing. I think that, for a fantasy world, you would be hard-pressed to make things more believable. The story is starting to become a lot more complex and there is the growing realization (for the reader) that the larger conflict in the book does not encompass all of the major issues that this civilization faces. In particular the unruly and chaotic environment of their world due to the magical forces at work as well as the very troubling institution of slavery in their society have become more and more of a clear concern. Winning a war will not solve these people's problems.Both the plot and the larger context of the world that the characters find themselves in are fleshed out a lot more in this volume and I am genuinely curious to see how things conclude. I'm happy that I only heard about this series recently and that the 5th and final volume releases this year. I think waiting would be brutal.On the downside; I'd say that some of the changes that the characters go through seem to come on a bit too quickly and I don't like all of the choices that the author has made but this is easily the best book in the series so far and it has elevated this series to being among the best I've read in the genre.

I pre-purchased the digital copy for myself months before release and bought the hardcover version for my son the day of release I've put off the review simply because I don't quite know how to word this.Dear Brent...WTF? You start the book off with the same OMG this is fantastic reading, can't wait to read the next sentence, I'm on the edge of my seat, excitement flowing, as the previous books had. That first action with Kip on the boat feels like it is like the only action in the entire book. Don't get me wrong, the book is good, it continues to develop the character's we have all fallen in love with, has so so many 'whoa...so that's what really happened' moments that expand what we read in the previous books.I've purchased all Mr. Weeks previous book's (not just this series) and will continue to. He is a fantastic writer and I absolutely love his writing style, character development and plot twists. I was just a little let down with the lack of action Blood Mirror had compared to the previous ones of this series. Still, I highly recommend it and hope, so hope, that the next one (or two or three) of this series will put me back on the edge of my seat, can't wait to read the next sentence.........

Honestly I think I drafted black luxin I'd forgotten so much of this book! I read it at the same time as the others but for some reason I just didn't remember this as well. And it's not like its bad, I really enjoyed it and the revelations, I knew there were lots but I'd underestimated it totally.As to the story itself I won't get into much being the fourth book and all but we keep our four main POV's and they all shine in their own way. Karris is perhaps a bit let down, she doesn't get half as much screen time as the others but hers is still good when we're with her. She gets the interaction with Andross the most and he's always good.Kip is learning to be a leader while also suffering some marriage problems. The campaigns are brilliant but I loved the parts the Kip and Tisis. I've read other reviews that really disliked that bit but for some reason I really enjoyed it. It's a bit random I'll be honest but for a romance between two teens it actually strikes me as very realistic. Most teen romances in these type of books have what are basically children being far too mature for their age or totally over the top melodramatics. I thought this does the whole tentative, unsure aspect of it very well. Throw in a war and political strife and no wonder they have issues. Anyway I loved the Kip and Mighty storyline in every aspect and am very curious as to how it's all going to pan out. I also found it actually quite sad. They're burning through their halo's and it really struck me how young they all are. It's such an interesting system how magic can literally cut short your life.Teia and Gavin have by far the darkest stories here. Teia is mired in her role as spy and she is being changed by the compromises she's making. I'm not even sure she realises it yet but I do wonder where she is going to end up. I don't see her changing sides or anything but she could go quite far down the dark side. For a guy who had it all for so long the author is really beating down Gavin for the last two books. It doesn't get any better here and he spends most of the book with himself, or aspects of himself anyway (you'll know what I mean if you read it!). Nothing much happens here and yet so much does. This is where nearly all the revelations are and they are worth it. Still can't believe I'd forgotten so many of them.Anyway I've no idea where this is all going. All sides have points in theory and one thing is for certain, I'd imagine it's going to be quite a different world after. There hasn't been really any main character deaths so far so I'd imagine that's going to change. I am both looking forward to the concluding volume and slightly apprehensive. I really like all the characters and I just don't see it ending well for all of them.

The first two in the series were great, the third OK but this one needed culling. Definitely a case of a trilogy being overly stretched out and it doesn’t even finish here as there’s a fifth to come. Sadly this book is largely filler, waffle, padding and in need of an editor with (Orholam’s?) balls to cut it down by about 90%. I really hope book five has more going on than this. As someone else has noted, on Kindle the story finishes at 88% too with the rest a glossary of terms which could easily have been put online instead.

So many reviews on this book being 'badly put together', 'not furthering the story' etc. If you feel this way towards this book, I think you need to re-read it, as you've obviously missed the majority of the punchlines. The heart of this book has been uncovering secrets, revealing a hidden story line and dropping some pretty huge twists that change everything that has been silently building in the previous three books. Some of the plots on this book have been put together with such genius, that it's very easy to miss if you are not fully following the story. That means it's obviously not a book you can skim over, otherwise, you'll put it down and feel understandably disappointed. This book is a great line up for the finale which will undoubtedly be pretty epic. Bravo Brent, keep 'Gavin Guiling' your way through story writing so it keeps us on our toes.

This is the best saga for fansty readers out there (well maybe it is a tie for first place with Brent Weeks other trilogy The Night Angel Trilogy) Brent Weeks is incredible this is a must read for any fansty buff out there. If you liked Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games or any other book with magic this is the saga for you. Brent Weeks is one of those writers that makes you think one thing and then not only completely turns it around but then suddenly turns it on its head a few chapters later making you just sit up and go 'NO WAY'. You always fall in love with his characters and through his book come to feel like you know them. Absolutely brilliant this is a must read for fantasy or really any kind of reader.

Some real surprises and really well-written - as I've come to expect from Brent Weeks. Great characterisation - people you really care about - very clever plot writing and a complex and novel world. Almost all the characters are sympathetic in some ways and this novel clarifies why 'nice' Gavin treats his 'brother' so cruelly. Who would have guessed? I thought this was better than the third novel - really didn't like the cliffhanger ending for novel 3 - but although I really can't wait for number 5, I don't want the story to ever end. Yes: Brent Weeks is THAT good. Readers are in safe hands.