The Burning White

Hardcover, 992 pages

Published Aug. 5, 2019 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-25130-3

(2 reviews)

In the stunning conclusion to the epic, New York Times bestselling Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks, kingdoms clash as Kip must finally escape his family's shadow in order to protect the land and people he loves. Gavin Guile, once the most powerful man the world had ever seen, has been laid low. He's lost his magic, and now he is on a suicide mission. Failure will condemn the woman he loves. Success will condemn his entire empire. As the White King springs his great traps and the Chromeria itself is threatened by treason and siege, Kip Guile must gather his forces, rally his allies, and scramble to return for one impossible final stand.

2 editions

ghost with books 👻📚 reviewed The Burning White by Brent Weeks (Lightbringer #5)

"On ending well" my ass

3 stars

Content warning Spoilers about the end

Weeks wrote an essay explaining why The Lightbringer went from three books, to four, and finally five. He titled it "On Ending Well," and I suppose he hoped that the title and the essay itself might help him to do just that—end his story well.

It did not.

The end of this book—and, thus, the series—was a colossal disappointment to me. I almost gave the book a 1- or 2-star rating just for the end, but having tried my hand at writing stories myself, I decided that would be unfair. The majority of this book is actually quite good, I thought. Excellent pacing, gut-wrenching reveals, satisfying conclusions to some important story arcs—it's all there. This could have been great, if only Weeks had been willing to let his characters die; if only Weeks hadn't employed God Himself to save our protagonists.

There was a time when I was telling all my friends about this cool fantasy series I was reading. Now I can't recommend this to anyone.

How disappointing.

Kadomi reviewed The Burning White by Brent Weeks (Lightbringer, book 5)

Review of 'The Burning White' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I had been looking forward to this book so very very much, and now I am a bit sad. The Black Prism is one of my favorite contemporary fantasy books and the setting and a lot of the characters are just oustanding.

But I can quote my book review of The Blood Mirror almost verbatim here: As much as I love this series so far, this was my least favorite book so far. Which is disappointing but at least I can pinpoint it to why this is so: Kip. I don't care about Kip. I skimmed his long chapters. It also means I stopped caring about his gang of Blackguards, the Mighty. I find it ridiculous to believe that this teenager from a backwater transformed into a genius tactician and leader beloved by everyone.

This is still the case in this book, even more so. The showstopper characters here are …

I had been looking forward to this book so very very much, and now I am a bit sad. The Black Prism is one of my favorite contemporary fantasy books and the setting and a lot of the characters are just oustanding.

But I can quote my book review of The Blood Mirror almost verbatim here: As much as I love this series so far, this was my least favorite book so far. Which is disappointing but at least I can pinpoint it to why this is so: Kip. I don't care about Kip. I skimmed his long chapters. It also means I stopped caring about his gang of Blackguards, the Mighty. I find it ridiculous to believe that this teenager from a backwater transformed into a genius tactician and leader beloved by everyone.

This is still the case in this book, even more so. The showstopper characters here are Gavin and Karris, not Kip and Tisis.

So we get the huge final battle of the Chromeria against the White King and his banes and Orholam comes in to save the day. The pseudo-Christianity was a bit of a bitter pill. Kip as Jesus is something I really did not need in my life. Much less Kip as Jesus risen from the dead because God loves him. It's a long book, too long, and while it resolves most narrative threads, it does so in a very very deus ex machina way. Disappointing.

I am not sad I read the series, but I am glad I am done with this book.