Assassins. Assassins in a fairly lawless society filled with children living on the streets, gangs, brothels, and some bad, bad stuff. Check trigger warnings if you are sensitive to books containing dark topics.
But.. this book is sword and sorcery at its finest with a MC that you cant decide if you love or hate. It is so easy to get sucked in... I've read this book at least 3 times!

The Way of Shadows is an excellent starting point for the Night Angel Trilogy and is one of my favourite fantasy titles to this day. The story follows a young protagonist named Azoth, a homeless child looking to get of the streets by becoming the apprentice of the cities most accomplished “wetboy”, a highly trained assassin who utilizes magic. There is plenty of action, mystery and romantic elements incorporated into the book, adding some variety to the overall story. It’s very dark and gruesome with unexpected plot twists and excellent characters. I wouldn’t give this book to anyone younger than 14 due to some of the graphic content. Although this story isn’t a ground-breaking novel that will change the genre, it’s a great story definitely worth checking out. 4/5 Stars
- @Fulton of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library

The Way of Shadows is a real page turner, read almost 100 pages the first day and finished the book in 10 days (which is unheard of for me...for books of similar length i tend to average closer to a month)
The time span for the book was about 10 years, at first was unsure about jumping several years at a time, but came to appreciate it as it allowed for thorough development of the characters by living through their lives when they were young and as they got older vs being in the present and reflecting back.
This seires was recommended to me by a friend, and when i first looked into was unsure how interesting a book about a street kid wanting to become the best assassin by taking apprenticeship with an assassin who was a legond. But the one day stopped by book store and started reading the first 4-5 pages and found it dives right in and hooks ya, so i went ahead and requested the ebook from the library. I can hardly wait to start the next book.

I came to this story based on reviews from other readers, but found it to be very mediocre writing, and the plot way too convoluted and detailed for a story that essentially about the training of an assassin. The political ramifications within the world detract from the story, and would have been better if they had been excluded entirely (or if the author felt it was absolutely necessary, included as an appendix).

I started the Lightbringer series before reading this book, and had read so many great reviews of this series that I had to get it. But, have a hard time getting into this story. I like Durzo and Azoth/Kylar, but the rest of the characters are fuzzy to me. A little bit too much political intrigue for me, too many unknown alliances or connections. I do like the hint of a previous life (s) for Durzo. Will continue to plod on, to find out more in the next book.

I enjoyed the early parts of the story but later parts are based on magic that has no basis, rationale or explanation. So, I lost interest about 3/4 of the way through the book. Stopped reading and started Rothfuss's “The Name of the Wind” which is excellent.

This book was AWESOME! The story goes so deep and you really have to be paying attention to understand it.

However, I am only fourteen years old, and some of the sexual scenes and swearing definitely weren't appropriate (at least in my opinion). So I would recommend this book if your over sixteen or something.

Amazing story!! Lovable characters. Nothing revolutionary or lofty, just very, very good story telling. Won't change the fantasy genre but it will continue it.

Excellent series to read. Once you start forget about putting this book down until you complete the whole series.

An amazing book that I think everyone should read at least once in their life time. This is realistic in the world of fantasy, full of adventures and explore relationships in such a way that it seemed as though the reader themselves have gone through what the characters have experienced. I recommend this trilogy to anyone who wants a good read, because you will definitely find it in this book.