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  • The Black Prism

  • Lightbringer Trilogy Book One
  • By: Brent Weeks
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (978 ratings)

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The Black Prism cover art

The Black Prism

By: Brent Weeks
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's Summary

This fantastic new recording was released in September 2016 and comes from the acclaimed narrator of The Lightbringer series Simon Vance.

The start of a brand new trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Way of Shadows.

Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.

But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

©2010 Brent Weeks (P)2016 Little Brown Book Group

What listeners say about The Black Prism

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Redone by new Narrator

Previous reviews on here where done before the very talented Simon Vance re-narrated this book. If you are even slightly interested in fantasy or magic then you need this series in your library. Unique Ideas and incredible depth make up for a new and exciting world. If you skipped this series over due to some of the negative reviews about voice narrator you should give this another chance.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Give it time...

A little slow and hard to get into, but give it time and it is like a drug!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Great narration. Poor characters/world for plot

This is a modern fantasy with modern use of terminology and, from my understanding, the author has written some books previously. The writing itself is easy to listen to supported by the excellent narrator. Unfortunately this fantasy does not hold up as it focuses very much on its magic system to the point that at times it rapidly spins its own jargon at you. In addition, the plot is king in this story at the expense of believability. Political/world/characters only serve to forward the plot and unfortunately it doesn't really consider the importance of actions and nuance and effects to everyone around the decision makers. You just have to roll with the plot holes that form, and there are huge ones, despite clearly being within an institution with rules that are swept by with a broad brush and not considered to any extent. As such the level of detail in the characters/world/systems are not realised and failed to be interesting. In addition, characters often made stupid and unreasonable decisions that do not make sense to the characters and are not explained which goes back to the point that everything serves the authors plot.

I would say, if you're in your teens or a young adult and don't mind the crass adult elements, then this is likely going to be a solid read. If you are a bit older and have read and enjoyed titles like Wheel of Time, Kingkiller chronicles, Song of Ice and fire, Farseer sagas etc that focus on character and world building, then steer clear of this book. I endured it so hopefully so you don't have to.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Sexist

Mighty be written by a horny 14 year old boy. Abandoned half way through after several instances of slut shaming and other sexist language.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A long road

slow to get into and ends when you just get hooked! so get ready for a loooooonnnng saga. seems promising though.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

another Brent weeks triumph!

loved it. fresh concept. imperfect but highly likeable characters and no complaints. just the right level of addictiveness. and 22+ hours of entertainment. don't hesitate. loved it. I know i said that already but it was worth saying again.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

hard

hard to understand at times but it got a little bit better after awhile .

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

Very entertaining story with great characters. The narrator did an excellent job! Satisfying end that still leaves you wanting more.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good quality

Great listen all the way through. Captivating story and we'll read. looking forward to the next book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Narrative wins out

Would love to see this book done again. Gavin sounds like his IQ has taken a hit with a very large stick.

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1 person found this helpful

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