Title: Shadow's Edge
Author: Brent Weeks
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: November 1, 2008

Can someone really escape their nature? If you have spent your whole life learning a skill, could you turn your back on everything you've ever known? For love? This is the struggle Kylar Stern, formally street rat Azoth, must now deal with. Despite his best efforts his past comes knocking on his door, what choices will he make?

Synopsis:
The Godking from Khalidor and his elite forces have taken over Ceneria. Kylar kills his master, saves the nobles, saves his love and decides to leave for good. That was where The Way of the Shadows left us, and that's exactly where Shadow's Edge picks up. Kylar is explaining to long time friends (yes I know, "wetboys don't have friends they have targets" but Kylar has always been a bit different.) Jarl and Mama K that he is leaving with Elene and giving up his wetboy greys for good.

Elene, Uly and Kylar set out and get settled and for a time things are going well. Well enough anyhow. As in any relationship there will be difficult spots, and Elene was raised rather conservatively, Kylar on the other hand has been pining after her for ages. You can see where that is going I am sure. That and Kylar just can't seem to stop tracking people and finding situations that practically beg him to go back on his promise not to commit anymore violence.

Kylar, after much internal debate, finally decides that Elene and Uly are more important to him than his old ways, and just as he is getting ready to commit an old friend comes knocking. Jarl, now the Shinga (top of the totem pole in the Sa'kage), wants Kylar back for just one more kill, the Godking. Oh yeah, and Logan's alive. This would have been enough to convince him, and when Jarl was shot down by an arrow right in front of him, the last straw had dropped. Writing a letter of apology to Elene he heads back to Cenaria to see what he can do.

Review:
This is a fast paced and fun sequel to The Way of Shadows. It's a strong follow up and just as fun as the first. The work I used in my previous review was fun, and it still applies. Don't be confused by the 600+ pages, you'll be done with this in no time and jumping to pick up the next, and last book in the trilogy. You immediately get drawn into the characters you are familiar with and are captivated by the ones who are new.

Each point of view the story is told from, either focusing on Kylar, Logan, or really any character, immediately draws you in and then leaves you gasping for more as it quickly changes gear so that the reader can see all the players on the chess board at the same time. While at first this may be a little disconcerting it doesn't make the story seem ill-planned or choppy. Every turn of the page gets our characters in trouble, and I again was in nail biting tension thinking "Oh dear how are they going to get out of this mess!" and the pay off is that its not always the obvious solution.

The dry wit and compelling characters is a major attractor for me. I think that there are perhaps only one or two that I can't get all that excited about, but they are are not major in terms of plot advancement in Shadow's Edge. The tension is often cut by a sly comment or biting internal dialogue but not in a way that seems forced or cheesy. I find that it is very rare for me to get this taken in by the fantasy genre. Shadow's Edge doesn't only take me in, it puts me in a full nelson and makes me read whether I like it or not, and I like it. A+

If you're interested in The Night Angel Trilogy, check out my interview with Brent Weeks over at Fandomania.