Weeks, B. (2008). The way of shadows. New York: Orbit.

12/13/08 to 12/17/08
***
The plot of this book shot along at a jet-powered pace. I had a hard time putting it down. I usually don't feel as much of an attachment to male characters, but Kylar was definitely an exception. He was written with such depth and awareness that I couldn't help but empathize with him. Now for the stuff I didn't like. Weeks had a bit of a slow start to the point where I felt somewhat confused about what was happening. That really cleared up, but there continued to be a few points along the story line where I stopped and asked myself, "am I confused, is the character confused, or is this a rewrite that feels incomplete?" Not a good thought, to say the least. The level of confusion was particularly present during some of the fight scenes. When they worked they were cinematic and great, but when they didn't work I was left thinking, "who did what when?" Finally, the mushiness factor got turned up in a couple of places. It wasn't bad, but I could do without quite so much sentimentality. With all that said, the storyline and characters were so compelling that I really enjoyed the read, and even if the next books are no better, this will qualify as a great series.