4 1/2 stars. Gavin Guile is losing his powers. This is happening at a particularly bad time in his life. He is trying to prevent the seven satrapies from going to war. The Color Prince continually causes him problems. The old gods are reemerging, and they’re not easy to stop. On top of all of that, he has various family and relationship issues to deal with. Lastly, he is keeping a few big secrets from a lot of people.This was much better than The Black Prism. The writing was more cohesive. The storyline had a better flow. It was action packed but that wasn’t what sucked me into the story. It was the character development that made me want to keep reading more. The Black Prism only touched the surface about who these characters are and what they are capable of. Gavin is a complex character. I love some things about him and hate others. He truly has good intentions behind everything he does, but sometimes the way he handles things has devastating effects, not just to himself but others as well. It’s admirable that he does what he thinks is right even when others don’t agree with him. He deserves praise for the good that he does, but he lets it go to his head sometimes. He’s got a bit of a ego.The Color Prince is despicable yet I can’t hate him. There is logic to his madness that I can’t argue with. I think he could prove his point in a better way. He is a psychopath, so the greater good doesn’t factor into his plans. I understand what he is trying to do, and if he does it the world would be drastically changed. But would it really be better or simply chaotic in a new way?Kip is hands down my favorite character in the series. He stumbles through life while trying to figure out what he’s doing along the way. He’s special but not all at the same time. He’s still the fat kid with low self esteem, but he is brave and does what is right when he needs to. That fact that he’s humble about his great accomplishments is appealing. Kip is easily the most relatable character. I love it that he doesn’t have any great aspirations. It’s not that he intends to be a failure because he doesn’t, but he doesn’t expect to be the next prism or a satrapy or to be admired by all. All he really wants is to be loved, which seems to be the one thing he doesn’t have.The moral of this story is don’t trust anyone. This includes family. There was a lot of backstabbing and lies. Barely any of the characters really trustworthy and won’t change their allegiance or stance when the situation changes. The cliffhanger at the end will definitely change things. I can’t wait to get started on the next one. After reading the Black Prism, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Blinding Knife, and I was not disappointed. This book is just as gripping as its predecessor. It reads as a continued development of the events in the previous book. In fact, they could almost be one book, the continuity is that amazing. Of course, from a size point of view, it makes sense they are broken up. Oh, and it allows both books to have a major climatic event to be shaped around. However, I definitely view it as a continuous time line rather than a separate works.Also, may I just say that this is the first time I have read an appendix to a fiction book? This book is literally that good.I can't wait to read #3!
What do You think about The Blinding Knife (2012)?
It's hard to follow in the shadow of the Black Prism, but The Blinding Knife delivers none-the-less.
—meliliger24
Quite a good book, well written and certainly held my interest.
—moonmint2011
Multiple views made this book hard to follow.
—Allison
