The Blood Mirror

By: Brent Weeks

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 20 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The nail-biting continuation of the Lightbringer series from New York Times best seller Brent Weeks.

When does an empire fall?

The Seven Satrapies have collapsed into four—and those are falling before the White King's armies.

Gavin Guile, ex-emperor, ex-Prism, ex-galley slave, formerly the one man who might have averted war, is now lost, broken, and trapped in a prison crafted by his own hands to hold a great magical genius. But Gavin has no magic at all. Worse, in this prison Gavin may not be alone.

Kip Guile will make a last desperate attempt to stop the White King's growing horde. Karris White attempts to knit together an empire falling apart, helped only by her murderous and possibly treasonous father-in-law, Andross Guile.

Meanwhile Teia's new talents will find a darker use—and the cost might be too much to bear. Together they will fight to prevent a tainted empire from becoming something even worse.

©2016 Brent Weeks (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

Winner of Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 2013

Runner-up of Endeavor Award, 2013

The start to get very interesting...

As this series approaches the finale some interesting bits of information are revealed that change the way you will view some of the main characters, none more so than Gavin Guile. No character arc has been more full of surprises than Gavin's and the revelations about his past in this book finally explain why he is known as the Black Prism. Gavin is in a bad spot for sure but he may yet play a key role in shaping the future of this world, but not for the reasons you think. He also isn't the only main character shaping up to be a major player in the outcome of the war as Andross, Kip, and Karris all find themselves jockeying for position in order to influence things to their preference. One thing is for certain, this book sets things up for a conclusion to the series that will be hard to predict.

Although I can see why some people walked away from this series at the beginning, I am glad that I didn't because the story continues to get more interesting and the character development goes in directions that I didn't see coming. That keeps the series fresh and enables it to stand out within a crowded genre where it is hard to be unique these days. Brent Weeks has done a great job at slowly revealing facts about each character's past that makes you rethink your views of the character as well as the likely outcome of the overall story arc. In my review of Brent's Night Angel Trilogy I commented that I liked how he shed new light on prior events from earlier in the series that made you think differently about the characters (and their motives) and he takes that concept to a whole new level in this series. One book remains and I will be eager to pick it up as soon as it is available.

Simon Vance does another excellent job and the combination of Weeks' writing with Vance's narration leads to an awesome listening experience.

Amazing

This book was everything I hoped it would be. I have been eagerly been waiting for this book ever since I finished the last book and it didn't disappoint. There is a lot of character growth in this book and you also get to see how things happened as well as some pretty big twist along the way. This could possibly be one of the best books in the series

Good, but not the end

Story is great, and the twists are welcome. And Weeks seems to be geared up for a long series with the way the book ends.

not quite the pay off the first 3 had.

excellent exposition for the last volume but not quite the pay off the first 3 had. Pretty fucking awesome battles and imagery as you expect from the series though

Very enjoyable

Again this was very well written. I was instantly drawn straight back into the story from where the last book left off. I do wish the protagonist would get a few more wins. It does seem that the a agonist can do no wrong and their plans win out no matter what but others it's a good listen.

And the twists just keep on comin'

If you could sum up The Blood Mirror in three words, what would they be?

SO MANY TWISTS

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gavin (Dazin)

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This book is so well read, that you don't really notice this is an Audio Book. Narrators are like offensive linemen. If you don't notice them, that is the best compliment you can get.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, I started the book with so many questions. Most of them were answered, but now I have so many more questions.

Any additional comments?

Anxiously awaiting book five!

love it

can't wait for the next one. this series is spectacular. Simon Vance is an awsome narrator too

NEED BOOK FIVE

I need book 5 ASAP! I'm addicted! I've never been so enthralled from book one through book four of a series. Please don't disappoint in the final installment....

Love Brent Weeks

I love fantasy books, and in my opinion there are two authors who do it best; Robin Hobb and, recently elevated to the same level of my admiration, Brent Weeks. Joe Abercrombie deserves a mention, but the depth of Mr Weeks's characters has me reading/listening to his books over and over again.
Also, Simon Vance is a fantastic narrator. I've listened to books I might have passed up because he narrated them.

Loved IT

Now, hurrrrry please bring on the next one. The sooner the better I have a bad heart and a paralyzed diaphragm, and it would be great if you could HURRY UP Thanks again, great story 😇😉