The Lightbringer Series is Great...but Problematic 

You know it’s gonna be a good day when TheBookGuy shows up in your YT inbox

“Missionary trips” Sir, if I wasn’t subscribed to you already, I certainly would’ve done it by that point.

Just finished this series a couple months ago, and I loved it! As was discussed here, it is not without its share of problems, but I am very much of the opinion that the pros outweigh the cons. The character work just gets better and better with each book, and the higher-quality twists just made me put the book down for minutes on end to process them. A heads up for those who do want to read the series all the way through: there is a post-epilogue (a postlude) scene at the end of The Burning White that is pretty easy to miss as it is within the black-edged pages at the back. Also, something I noticed in the series (very minor spoiler for the magic cards that were mentioned), it really feels like the game Nine Kings was inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh. I have no idea whether it was or not, but it sure seems like it. Great video as usual, Cronk!

Kronk, I love listening to you. But at 62 I am not going to waste reading time on this. Thanks for reading this so I don’t have to.

I forgot who said it but it’s okay to enjoy problematic material if you recognize the problematic elements and I think it’s so true

Anyone else get an ad when he says “This leads us to…” before Magic system? Mine went to “…Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile!” Which, you know… tracks.

I haven't read these, but it sounds like it was a tough video to produce. Thank you for all of your hard work!

Great video! I appreciate that you do not shy away from spoiling some parts of the series so that your viewers can understand if the books are for them.

Great video, I've always been interested in reading this series but my expectations are beyond tempered at this point. I appreciate you brought up the twists, and I found it funny you brought up Pierce Brown earlier in the video, as I take major issue with how Red Rising executes twists. I'm an atheist, but I do find the exploration of religion in SFF fascinating and I rarely find I'm being preached to, but this is one of the reasons (not the main one) I keep putting this series off.

I thought The Blood Mirror was pretty mid, but I very much enjoyed the rest of the series. Broken Eye and Blinding Knife were both fantastic, and I thought Black Prism and Burning White were both very good.

This series is not perfect in any way, shape or form, but boy is it engrossing and entertaining! Thank you for the really encouraging review! 😊

I honestly love this channel so much of my time isn’t consumed by heavy research everything I needed to know about the series with no spoilers bravo!

This is why I love you videos! Having a judgement free look at series. This series however is not for me, it would just piss me off 😅. (So I’m extra glad to know it’s not for me) It’s okay if others like it, read what you want to read for whatever reason😊. This just wouldn’t be fun for me 🌻 looking forward to the next one, hope your day is awesome! ✨

One of the things about the end that always stumped me is that Liv just up and disappeared 1/2 way through the book.

I don't necessarily have an issue with problematic content in my books, depending on how it's framed... But if the author doesn't seem to show any acknowledgement that what they're depicting is morally wrong, that's when I'm out. As an example, I just finished Iron Gold, and Pierce Brown did a great thing with these newer books by including more POVs... They all have such varied opinions, some more sympathetic than others, but it paints a really complex picture of why they all feel as they do, even though from another POV you can see why it may be wrong. If all your POVs are from one side of a conflict, though... There should be a good reason for that. "Our god is the canonically correct god" is not one 😆! I didn't have this on my TBR previously (too many people have steered me clear of it), but you really highlighted WHY it has this stigma around it in such a thorough way, and I appreciate that!! I can now avoid it more confidently. ^^

Weeks’ other series gets dinged for numerous aesthetic similarities to WoT, but I think it’s actually Lightbringer that’s more fundamentally similar: too long, and maybe 20% of the series is kinda bad; digressive plots to nowhere; weird/potentially offensive sex/gender/culture stuff; and yet the whole is great, I think, deeply idiosyncratic with amazing character and plot arcs. I totally get why someone wouldn’t care for Lightbringer, but the sum total is one of my favorite epic fantasies.

This was an EXCELLENT summary, thank you so much for making this! I tried to read 'Lightbringer' back when it first came out, because I was a big fan of Weeks' 'Nightangle' Trilogy, but I just couldn't get into it. And at five books, I just don't got time for that. I might borrow the first one from the library, but now I know I'm not missing out by stopping there. This is your first video I've watched and I really appreciate your style!

Loved these books, i didnt find it offensive.

I was so curious what you would say about this series since I DNF’d it a few chapters into book 3, already let down by the end of book 2. I already didn’t trust Weeks because of my disappointment in the finale of the Night Angel Trilogy, so once things started to seem too shaky I jumped right off this train. Thank you thank you thank you for not acting like the books should be banned. Good on you for that. You rock!! -“This is another sign of the casual sexism we see - I’m joking-“ Hahahaha, I laughed so hard! -The breaking the Halo joke is GREAT. XD Oh, I forgot about the super high cost on their use of magic! That was something I really loved. Still though, even after watching this, I don’t understand the magic. Okay, drafters could only draft one color, but it seemed like they could do literally whatever they wanted with the luxin created when they drafted, regardless of color, and thus the different colors didn’t seem to matter. (Except sub-red. I remember that one being distinct.) There was also mention that magic would gather under their skin, and it sounded like it fazed through the skin and turned into something solid. But in book 3 it was made clear that it literally *rips* through the skin and cause actual damage... So … Gavin should have horrendous scars, making him slightly less handsome … yes? And drafters should lose quite a bit of blood because there was a part that also said they can't patch up wounds with luxin. So the magic cuts them open, but then also they can’t patch themselves up with it? Wha-? I just, I just don’t get the magic, no matter how cool the visuals for it sounded. Perhaps I missed something. ^.^’ There were some things I thought were very cool, and then just contradictions and weird plot choices I couldn’t wrap my mind around in order to continue the series. Interesting video, and great job breaking down different aspects of the series as a whole for this walk-through for us!

I adored The Black Prism. The magic system is gorgeous & the visuals my mind created were so much fun. I still love this series for what i thought it was going to be. All the problematic stuff that reared its head early on, i just expected to get tackled later (I wasn't aware of Weeks's religiosity until completing the series). I held out how right into the final book ... I was somewhat let down by the final book. But i also dedicated about a decade to loving it, so I've let myself hold onto the stuff I love & leave the rest behind.

Thank you so much for this amazing and informative review. I'm beginning a deep dive into the flintlock fantasy genre, and this series has been the one entry on my Possible Reads list that I've struggled to get a feel for. It's on almost every list of books in the genre, and its divisiveness always mentioned, but no source I've found ever explores the relevant issues without spoilers. So, I have avoided both those reviews and the books themselves. Your review is exactly the thing I needed to start my deliberations about whether to read it. A thousand blessings on you, good sir! SPOILER: I will probably read them. Your description of the magic's interaction with technology more or less sold me on the books; that's the aspect of flintlock fantasy I find really fun and interesting (the main reason I hold the Powder Mage books in high regard). But I really appreciate the content warnings. I'm pretty thick-skinned about such things, but even I have lines. So now I know to be on the lookout for icky stuff that might have otherwise thrown me off the books if I'd encountered them cold.

Not just only fantasy; try to make videos on other genres too.

I've been wanting to read this series but now I'm not so sure. Brent Weeks is always hit and miss with me. I really liked his Dark Angel trilogy up until the last book. It had a great world, great set up, interesting political intrigue, and then it all just went out the window in the third book. It felt like the book was suddenly written by a completely different author who knew nothing about the story going in. Which is why I'm afraid to pick up this series because I've heard people say the ending to this series does the exact same thing. It goes completely off the deep end and it leaves you wondering what just happened.

Really awesome breakdown! I loved this series but agree it's got some serious issues, to say the least. For example I'm still confused about the entire scenario around the aftermath of the False Prism War . . . . you know what I'm talking about. If I recommend this series these days, it's with a huge asterisk next to it. Excited to see your take on Islington!

Hey, love your Videos! 🥰 they are such a vibe. General question: Are you on Goodreads?👀

I haven't picked up this series because of what I've heard about the sexism in particular -- I don't think it necessarily sounds horrifically offensive, but the type of stuff that would at the very least make me roll my eyes back into my brain 😆 oooh that's a nice quote from Pierce Brown!

I would love to see you explore an Australian science fiction that I enjoy. Sean McMullen has written The Greatwinter Trilogy and the Mad Ships series. I see no one ever talking about these and appeal to you as an Australian to correct that fact.

After the Licanius Trilogy, would you be willing to review "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard or "The Inheritance Games" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes? Btw, despite its problems this series is probably going to be a hilarious and weird ride for me. In short, I'm sold!

Excellent video. I believe it is important not to ban books or authors even when faced with sensitive topics or offensive opinions. I think it's important to just always contextualize, as there are issues such as racism, misogyny or homophobia that are characterized as hate crimes, and these need to be punctuated to understand where we need to draw the limits of what is acceptable in civilized coexistence and the attitudes and opinions that cannot be replicated because they are simply wrong. I think you've done an excellent job highlighting these issues in the many book series you've reviewed on the channel. Keep up the good job mate!

Can you do a review on the arcane accention by Andrew Rowe

For James Islington I vote two videos 😄😄😄

Hi Mr. Bookguy. First of all I watch your videos mainly for the way you present the content and yourself. I really appreciate the way you look on the whole of reading, book tube and your humour. So let's come to the meat of the comment. I'm pretty sure I've seen the demon cycle by Peter V. Brett on your shelves before, but at least to my knowledge there's no content to the series yet to find. Are you planning on giving the series a review in the future, is it still up in the air? Or maybe you might not have enough to say to do a full video on the demon cycle. I would just like to know what you thought about the books (provided, that you have actually read enough of them). So keep up the good work

I love this series, including the ending (it is one of the points of the book). Andross is one of my favorite gray characters. Have you read the additional material on his website through hidden links, such as the Shawarma scene and the additional ending? Thank you for the detailed review. I am impressed with how you avoided spoilers while discussing certain subjects. Spoilers below... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I enjoy your videos and the positions that you took in this one. I have watched others come to some of the conclusions that you also pointed out. I simply could be wrong or had a different experience. After rereading the series in 2022, my takeaway is all the characters are flawed. There are no good characters aside from the innocence personified by Kip. The overarching plot point is the prophecy. Some characters try to force the prophecy to come true, and others debate. The god character receives no impact from this idea. Is the prophecy real? Meanwhile, the most powerful character has to sacrifice everything he holds dear and humble himself before receiving contact, a la Catholism. I can understand not enjoying it because of disagreement on the faith-based ending, but it is hard for me to understand dismissing Deus ex Machina. To me, it was the point. MC can't save the day without god. And when it happens, god didn't do anything but put him in a position. Thoughts, am I blinded by faith/love of the story, or agree with any parts of the above? The last take is that the whole story is a warning about zealotry.

10.000+ subs, congrats! :) Anything planned for one of the next milestones, maybe?

Missionary trip 😂😂😂😂. Thanks for reviewing this series, I’m taking it off my list 😊

As a Christian I thought that joke was hilarious 27:30

I wanted to like this so badly, I finished the first book and after thinking about it for a few days I decided not to keep reading. I heard that the ending was kind of insane and unsatisfying anyway so I didn’t feel like I was missing out. The magic system was so cool and unique, the religious themes were really intriguing, and a couple of the characters were compelling. But I could not get over the way he wrote about women, even the badass warrior was constantly sexualized and put in strange situations. Gavin’s “sex slave who was totally cool with being his sex slave” weirded me out. Then apparently in later books slavery is just kinda there without any commentary? The weird shit outweighed the positives for me unfortunately. There’s a really fascinating story in there, but it’s buried under a lot of junk. Editing to add: the religion being basically just Christianity was also disappointing. I love complex religious themes in fantasy books, but the clear bias towards Christianity put me off. A religious writer who does it well in my opinion is Brandon Sanderson. Jasnah is an amazing character who critiques the religion constantly, even though Sanderson himself is Mormon.

Hi Cronk! I know you probably get a million recs all the time but have you thought of doing a video on The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black? I would love to hear your thoughts on it 🧚🐸🌳🏵🦗🍄

Boooook Guyyyyy ❤

Well, that clear up all the negativity toward the series as it goes on (aside from "it goes off the rails"). Think I'll be skipping this one until the distant future when I'm out of other things to read.

Do you use Goodreads?

I really loved the video. I've always been in the fence about reading this series, since a lot of people struggled with later books. You had me convinced that this sounded like a great story until you got to the religious part. I can't stand preach-y things 😅

This is a great video, I've been looking for a more nuanced view of the Lightbringer series to help me sort out my own thoughts about it. I DNF'd at Book 4. I don't mind reading books with problematic or sketchy themes, but as others have pointed out, there was little to no critical engagement on Weeks' part with these things. So we're essentially arriving at a point where slavery is included in a series as an...aesthetic choice? I can move beyond this if I'm having fun with the series, and I kinda was for a while. It's pulpy but Weeks just lost the plot for me. There were too many themes that grated against me and so many whacked out narrative choices that had me going beyond "this books sucks" to questioning Weeks' values as a person. It really was that personal for me and that's not how I want to feel reading a FANTASY book, like wtf. It was really surprising to me as a reader how much credibility Weeks lost with me - I'm someone who can push through a slog, especially if I'm halfway through Book 4 in a 5-book series. I just couldn't do it. Read the plot synopsis for the rest of the series and said thank god I'm not wasting my time, dusted my hands off, and moved on! Lmao.

The series was in my tbr from almost 3 years. Thanks for the anti-recommendation, i guess? Hahaha. Just kidding, i'm glad for your neutral insights, but as you describe the books, i think it's not for me. But anyway, now i'm free for other books!

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 Jesus loves you so much ✝️❤️ Have a blessed day!

In going to be honest, this series seems bad.

Nah, you gained a sub for that one 😅 I think it's kind of ridiculous to cancel authors or ban books for their problematic content (at least as long as they're fiction), but it's so very important to draw attention to said problematic content and discuss why it's problematic. I believe fiction's entire purpose is to help us experience things intellectually and emotionally from different perspectives to help us understand those perspectives, but this does not mean that (usually) the author actually believes those perspectives to be right.