I read the first novel of the Night Angel Trilogy on the basis of a friend’s recommendation way back in high school, only recently coming back to finish off the last two of Brent Weeks’ fantasy trilogy (though I do believe a new entry in the same world has since been published). On the whole, it was an engaging read, feeling a bit like a time capsule for the dark fantasy often published in that era, with all the associated strengths and weaknesses therein. In some superficial ways, I liken it to the romantasy genre currently taking the publishing world by storm, except with a definite tilt towards the male reader, versus romantasy’s tilt towards the female audience. So, let’s dig into Brent Weeks’ Night Angel Trilogy, without allowing in any pesky spoilers (though admittedly it gets spoiler adjacent).
First off, for those unaware, there is the trope of a male author over-sexualizing the women in their works through base description. This is sometimes referenced shorthand as ‘breasting boobily’ or ‘boobs boobing boobily’. And, well, just do a Google search and you’ll find a number of Reddit threads discussing this phenomenon in relation to Brent Weeks’ Night Angel Trilogy. The fantasy genre unfortunately has no shortage of this trope. However, in the context of this series, the descriptions in question are often from the narrative perspective of boys in their teens or early twenties, and the general intent of their usage – at least based on my read through – was to show how it’s better not to judge someone solely on their appearance, how that could easily go awry. And in terms of an accurate depiction of a teenage boy, I was in the throes of puberty once, and while I wasn’t ever really prone to describing women in such teenage-boy-poetic fashion, I definitely knew other boys that did. So is it accurate in that regard? Unfortunately for all us guys out there, yep. These books contain descriptions of breasts and ass in the vein of Bugs Bunny ogling Lola Bunny with eyes drawn larger than his head while pulling at an imaginary necktie and saying “awoogha.” Or perhaps think of a Japanese anime character seeing a well-endowed woman and getting a nosebleed. And well, as the current romantasy boom – and the bodice ripper, harlequin romance novels that have been popular since the beginning of modern publishing – have shown, sex sells, whether targeted towards the male or female gaze. Titillation is one of the most universal of all humanity’s facets. Books have historically been a safe space for sexual expression, and I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yums, so to speak. Still, it is a lot, and how you as a reader might respond to it will vary. At the end of the day, it’s about not reducing characters to just these facets, which goes into the next topic.
How an individual’s facets distinct from one’s physical attributes are given focus is important to me in any given narrative, whether of a male or female or anywhere between. On this track, the Night Angel Trilogy has a mixed record. Certainly characters like Momma K and Vi Sovari have interesting arcs, one finding success in a realm dominated by evil men through ruthless cunning, the other overcoming her trauma to think of her body as more than just a tool used to kill or seduce. There are other examples too, such as the mage Ariel. Two of the main characters, Kylar and Logan, both young men, get their own descriptions pulled straight from the minds of horny young women and have ample agency. Without getting into specifics, the costs of Kylar’s magic drive a lot of interesting tension, and one truly heartbreaking moment in particular. However, we have Elene, one of the main characters and Kylar’s love interest, whose sole purpose in this series is in service to Kylar, and her acceptance of that fact didn’t sit super well with me. And going back to Momma K and Vi (and Elene and Jarl and others), it’s worth noting that these books are perhaps overly reliant on certain types of trauma to define its characters, and women do bear the brunt of that (though not all).
These books depict a lot of violence, pain, and suffering. Heroes need evil to vanquish of course, kind of a requisite part of most any such fantasy epic. All the better if the evil destroyed is particularly depraved. The sword and sorcery fight scenes are commensurately really fun reads, and the magic system generates some quite cool moments. But the level to which sexual assault is used to show someone is evil at times made me think I was binging episodes of Law and Order: SVU. Were these types of things common in the medieval period that serves as the groundwork for so much sword and sorcery fantasy? Was misogyny a frequent occurrence too? Do these things still happen? Yes, yes, and yes. Even so, the amount of such occurrences in this trilogy is a lot. It did wear on me a bit. Once more, how you as a reader might respond to it will vary.
So, at the end of the day, would I recommend this as a read? Well, as in pretty much all cases, it depends on your taste. If you like a dark sword and sorcery fantasy with epic fight scenes, magical conflicts, and easy to read prose – and you’re willing to wade through descriptions of some of the worst aspects of humanity before the heroes win the day – then sure thing, give it a go. Otherwise, probably go for a different one. Something I didn’t really get to here either is that, while the magic system allows for some very cool moments, there is a bit of a tendency for Deus Ex Machina type resolutions that may not satisfy everyone, a not uncommon occurrence in stories that incorporate prophesy as a key narrative tool. Nonetheless, I overall quite enjoyed this series and its ending. As far as whether I’ll read the follow up series, not sure. These days, it seems like the entire world is vying for my attention – everything, everywhere, all at once – and the bar for moving up my to be read list grows ever higher. Think I might read some more Ursula K. Le Guin next. I’m also finishing up The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett at the moment, which is a fantastic read.
All the best,
M. Weald
M. Weald 