The Burning White (Lightbringer 5) - Brent Weeks

⭐ 5.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Every other book in this series is an 8, and my goodness does this one botch the landing. First off, it is way too long. The first 300 pages were such a drag, and I hardly remember what happened. The remaining 600 moved quickly, since it is kind of one massive battle to end the 5 book series, but basically every twist was hollow and unearned, and by the end I felt like I was skimming to get through it.

I like the world Weeks has built up, with an interesting magic system and some very cool dynamics and twists. But he consistently writes twists on top of twists, basically undoing cool moments from earlier in the series. The final battle is such a mess I could barely understand it, against bad guys that were hardly explored using mechanics that didn't feel like meaningful results of our characters' strengths. To say there is a Deus Ex Machina to end this series is an understatement, and its upsetting that everything built up to this.

He started something last book that he continued here, where he expands on characters by other characters talking about them, recalling some formative event in their past and then telling us how that makes them feel. So much internal dialogue and reacting, that not only makes the book longer but breaks the "show don't tell" rule, and he does this over and over again. It all just rings so hollow.

I have also noticed the use of Christian phrases throughout the series, and I thought this might make this book some alternate reality, or something. Nope, the whole finale is one big Christian allegory, which is surprising for a series like this, but also just felt so forced. Sacrifices with arms spread wide, trinities, resurrections. I think there is a way to do this that works, but this felt so strange, especially since it has lines that are basically from the Bible.

Not sure what the redeeming moments of this book are. Amazing that such a long book can make me feel so devoid of meaningful content and plot/character development. I don't think the finale totally ruins the series as a whole, but this wouldn't be high on my recommendation list.