The Lightbringer Series
On Hardships Experienced in Storytelling
You don't need to like reality, only be strong enough to face it- Brent Weeks
Introduction
The Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks is a five book series focused on a group of people living in a world of color magic. It is a coming of age tale rife with politics, consequences, friendships and ultimately believing in oneself. Weeks, throughout the writing, lead the readers on a journey through the eyes of the characters. He manages to infuse their experiences with modern dilemmas in a believable way. One can’t help but to identify with each character.
Each Character Has an Experience to Share
The book begins in Kip’s point of view: a young boy born to a poor mother who has little love for him. He has no other known parentage. Weeks does an amazing job describing the trauma that individuals go through, both by design and accident. As Kip progresses throughout the books, he grows to understand how his reactions to these traumas affect his decisions, his life, and his goals. Kip slowly gains trust in himself, and trust in those allies with.
There are other point of view characters that effectively explain the different reactions to the trauma they experience. Karris, who fell under uncertain circumstances in her young adult life, threw herself into work. She changed her entire personality to seem harder, received training among the ‘Black Guard’ (a sort of royal police force) and worked her way into a position of authority. Gavin, essentially the leader of the lands, had experienced war, devastation, as well as issues with his own father. This lends to how he parents in the book. Even the villain is written with a backstory of understandable desire for revenge. Ultimately, politics bring all these stories together, making this a masterpiece in writing. Each character with their experiences in the past move the story to a satisfactory end.
You Grow With the Characters
Weeks has done a fine job in maintaining real world problems in a fantasy setting. Each trial the characters experience is linear, if not congruent, with each of the other plotlines. Each event, spelled out in a way that is not offensive but still bone chilling, lends to the reality of our human struggles. As a reader it was hard to pick a singular character to relate to. They each had an important story to tell, an important journey for not only themselves, but for us.
Overall
Brent Weeks' writing is masterful, and a treat to read. Each of his characters is believable, with a backstory to relate to. With his writing, he is able to put words to the hardships of life, while still giving his audience the hope at the end of the tunnel.
