The Black Prism

Lightbringer Trilogy Book One

By: Brent Weeks

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

This fantastic new recording was released in September 2016 and comes from the acclaimed narrator of The Lightbringer series Simon Vance.

The start of a brand new trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Shadows.

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

©2010 Brent Weeks (P)2016 Little Brown Book Group

Great story ruined by robotic narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes- if Simon Vance was reading it!

What other book might you compare The Black Prism to and why?

Brent Weeks reminds me of Branfon Sanderson

What didn’t you like about Cristofer Jean’s performance?

You may as well have the kindle robot read aloud. Worst ever voice. No inflection. Terrible timing. It was like listening to someone read it when they don't actually understand English. The syntax, timing, and colour was missing. Just awful.

Could you see The Black Prism being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Probably a bit complicated for the screen plot wise but I could see Charlie Hannum as Gavin/Dazen

Any additional comments?

Great story which I have read 3 times and will never listen to again from this narrator.

Love the print book...audio not so much.

What did you like best about The Black Prism? What did you like least?

I truly enjoyed this book in print and was looking forward to a good listen. The narration is definitely not one of Audible's best efforts and I was relieved to see Simon Vance will be narrating the next two books.

Slow start with great characters

i wish the narroater would be half as hyped about the story as I am :)
but he still does a fair job and brent weeks delivers as in the night angel :)

Good story but very stilted delivery ruins it

Good story but very stilted delivery ruins it
The narration sounds as if it was designed for children and reminds me of the Simpsons😝

Wooden.

Good story, etc. Unfortunately, I felt like I was being addressed by a plank of wood. Poorly performed.

Really cool and worth the credit!

Wasn't sure if I would like this series but it's going very well and I'm looking forward to the next one. Any fans of Sanderson or Rothfuss can happily spend a credit here

Great Story, Poor Naration

Would you listen to The Black Prism again? Why?

I will listen to it again, I'm sure. This is a wonderful story full of vibrant, realistic characters and some of the best world building I've ever seen. That said with this performance, vibrant characters feel wooden and charismatic, subtle leaders feel like bullies. The reading takes away from the wonderful story. If your tossing up between the audio book and the book, take the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gavin Guile forever, thought in this reading the performances of female characters where much more vibrant, so possible one of the women.

Would you be willing to try another one of Cristofer Jean’s performances?

No. At times I had to physically check I hadn't somehow switched to the robot voice reading from my e-book. He did however provide nice expression with the female characters. The men either felt like wood blocks, robots, or their voice and their character where so misaligned that they ended up feeling off.

Any additional comments?

Read the Book, or if you can stand it listen to the audio book. The story is wonderful, and even with the horrible narration I'm sure to listen to it again.

Good but not great.

Great world building, good character development, but the overall plot is a bit haphazard and feels rushed at times.

Not a full book and it has issues

Disappointing. The story felt incomplete. Like the entire point of the book was to sell the next book. The story was ok, but the world building felt hobbled together. The magic system is interesting, but when you think a little harder it makes no sense.
There are many better books as it stands. And I won’t be reading more of the series.

Unexpectedly amazing

Someone alert the media because there’s a giant hole in Dhaka. Created by my jaw. This has been sitting on my TBR for so, I’d taken it for granted. Take it from me, kids, don’t take ANYTHING for granted. Book 1, The Black Prism, is set in the world of Brent Weeks’ brilliantly-crafted Lightbringer books, a world dominated by a magic system based on light (duh!) and colors. Every person who can use magic is called a drafter, and the Prism is the only drafter who can split and use every single color in the rainbow, making him or her an emperor. This is not a hereditary title, however, and is a gifted granted by god (called Orholam). The current Prism is the new love of my life, Gavin Guile. But Gavin is not who he pretends to be. His entire life as Prism was a lie the size of which could literally destroy the world order.

There is so much to talk about here, but I promise to keep it as short as possible. First off, the magic system and worldbuilding. It’s thick, rich and layered like cake (or onions!), but it’s also presented so carefully that you are never overwhelmed. The color system is unique and utilized in a way that makes it seem almost plausible, and I loved how much variety and depth there was when it came to cultural and social diversity. Secondly, the plot. Take a hammer, change everything about it, and then slam it on your reading muscles, because the twists (yes, multiple) will leave you gasping. The beginning of every third of the book sets everything up, and then the last two paragraphs shatters everything into smithereens. And it’s BREAKTHAKING!

If Lightbringer is in your radar, and even if it’s not, read the first chapter. If you’re not hooked by then, then DM me, because I need to MEET THE PERSON WHO DOESN’T FALL IN LOVE WITH GAVIN GUILE.

Also, Kip is MINE. He’s a sweetheart, and adorable, and I will protect him with my life.

*scrambles for Book 2*

Great series! (new narrator)

I listened to books 1-4 back to back....and as I can't remember where each book ended, I'm going to have to review them as a oner!

Despite listening to 4 books one after each other, I didn't get bored for an instant. Never a sense of padding, or randomness in the plot. Indeed, in book 4 it takes a turn I didn't see coming. With hindsight, there was some foreshadowing, but it was either too subtle, or I was too engrossed to notice it. Love all the characters- even the not so nice ones become increasingly interesting as the series moves on. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a curved ball gets thrown.

Very well narrated too. Earlier reviews suggest a not-so-great narrator....the books must surely have been redone because I'm super-fussy when it comes to narration, and I couldn't fault this. Not quite Rupert Degas, but Simon Vance holds his own.

Really looking forward to the next book in the series......it promises to be a good one!

Great Entertaining Intelligent Story

Any additional comments?

seems like this audio book has been re-done, other comments regarding narrator may be pre re-do. Simon Vance performed expertly and brought the book to life i would disregard other comments as they seem outdated.

Bland narration

After 3 hours I found it hard to warm to the narrator. There were attempts at characterisation, but I found little in the way of intonation or drama.

A Great Book, Now With A Good Reader

When I first listened to The Black Prism it was a different reading and while I enjoyed the book it was in spite of the reading. Simon Vance has changed that and elevated this excellent renaissance-fantasy into my favourites list.
Guns, magic, lies, monsters, drama, romance - this book has it all. If, like so many, you missed out on Weeks' first series because of the start of The Way Of Shadows then rest assured that this is far more accessible and may even convince you to give the Night Angel books another go.

Wrong narrator - spoils the book

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I struggled to get through this book because I just couldn't take the narrator seriously. I found the book mildly interesting, but didn't have anything else to read so stuck through it. When I saw the sequel was read by someone else, I thought I would give it another go and I am so glad that I did! Suddenly the characters I knew from the Black Prism came to life and I found myself thoroughly engrossed and enjoying the story immensely.
If you don't get on with the narrator and feel the story and characters are bland, stick through it and try the second novel, read by Simon Vance - it really is a fantastic.

Enjoyable book, not ground breaking

There are a number of reasons to enjoy this book, and to hate it.

What's to enjoy?
The magic system is pretty clever. I like it that people have varying levels of ability. Some can use only 1 colour, some 2, other more. Not all colours have to be joined together from the spectrum etc. I like that the colours have their own attributes - which can effect a persons personality.
I also like a couple of the characters. Karris comes off as a strong middle aged woman (i would guess here age would be around 40) - strong personality as well as strong of body. I grew to like Kip a little more. I like the fact that he is fairly hopeless and lacks self confidence.
The story was good, if a little unoriginal - bad leader attacks city, good leader defends city. You know where you are going to end up - its just how we are going to get there.

What's not to enjoy?
Some of the characters are annoying or flat. Gavin is super powerful - to the point of being a God. While i could accept that he is amazing at casting - it would have been nice if he was flawed in other ways. But alas, he is also an excellent politician, tactician, orator, good looking with a quick mind. Maybe he will change in following books.
The Bad guys were a little too bad. I am a king and want to bring down the world because i am pissed - yeah, twiddle that tash with maniacal laugh.
The magic system (yeah, I know its a positive). Some of the stuff that can be done is massive. With a little thought and organisation the world should really have been a utopia. Within a couple of days a wall (we do not know exactly how long it is) is constructed from magic with cool features such as adjustable roofs, touch sensitive windows and seal protectors. Wow, 4 days from start to finish.
Short chapters. While this was great at the end of the book (getting the battle from different perspectives in a few pages), it was annoying at the beginning - you are taken from one part of the work to another a little too fast.

I read a few reviews before I started that the narration was pretty poor. I wouldn't go that far. The narrator did vary his voice for different characters and seemed to deliver the light hearted moments well. It wasn't brilliant either - he seemed a little too fast and his natural pitch a little annoying.

All in all,I enjoyed the book, and will read the rest of the series. There just wasn't the spark there to make me feel it should deserve more than a 3.

Poor Performance

Brent Weeks tells an entertaining story in an original setting, unfortunately flawed by poor characterisation, plot holes and occasionally jagged prose. These problems are made all the more jarring by a wooden performance from Cristofer Jean. This poor reading makes what would otherwise be a simple but largely enjoyable book into one well below average.

Good.

Fun book. Magic good. Builds well. Characters interesting. Not the best book ever but I hammered through it fast so it's definitely the audio equivalent of a page turner.

Horrific narrator

Had to return after half an hour of listening as I could not deal with the narrators tedious voices of characters, especially his female ones. May have been bearable if not for that, but he still wasn't a great voice to listen to.
The book itself is quite good, and I am currently very happy with listening to the second book, Thank God they swapped narrators!

Good story terrible narrated

Lots of interesting ideas in this book but narration made me cringe and really grated!