Update 10/15/17 
 Re-Read with buddies! 
 This is one of my favorite epic fantasy series ever and upon re-reads, I'm hardly in a position to recant. Especially now. I'm still thrilled as hell. :) 
 I can't quite tell whether I love the magic system or the characters more. I absolutely love the smartass "Kip the lip" fat kid whiner turned badass, but it's Gavin Guile that really steals the show. Has there ever been such a complicated character in existence? Charming, devious, uber-powerful, totally evil and absolutely on the side of good all at once. What the hell is he? Ah, but I've read the whole series and I know it just gets better and better, but this first book is utterly kickass. 
 It's almost pure action, gorgeous colorful magic system, bigger-than-life characters, and best of all, it's probably one of the most fun books I've ever owned. I've raved about it to everyone I know. For good reason. :) 
 Still fantastic? You better believe it! 
 Original review: 
 I truly suspected that I'd fall head-over-heels for the new Brent Weeks trilogy, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. If you are in the mood for a great and creative magic system in a very well thought out fantasy world that is so thoroughly steeped in action, melodrama, action, crazy mind-blowing characters, action, and color, then pick this damn book up immediately and thank your lucky stars you did. I'm a fanboy. I cannot wait until I pick up the second book. Oh wait, I have it in my hands and I'm typing this out with only one hand. Now I've put the book in my mouth so I can keep typing. This hurts, some, because the book is so wonderfully thick and if I ever thought that I might have been getting less than my money's worth, then I'm an idiot. 
 Did I mention this fantasy is a fast-paced action full of twists and gorgeous colors throughout? This novel is what happens when a novelist's imagination is much, much bigger than any hope that the story could ever be made into a movie or an anime and will give the reader all of the scope and power to vision it all in as much glory as he or she likes. And I liked, Oh, yes, I liked it a lot. It's different from most fantasy novels, although it may not seem so from these words; in that it allows magic to be big, heroes to be big, and then let them be bigger and more complex and even downright evil while being good at the core at the same time. That's as close to a spoiler as I'm going to get. You'll see within a few hundred pages what I'll mean by this, and then be surprised several more times, again. 
 My only complaint at this point will be in waiting for the third book, because it's not going to be long before I finish the Blinding Knife. Brent Weeks has done it again and ranks up there with my very favorite Fantasy novels of all time. :)