The Way of Shadows (Dramatized Adaptation)

The Night Angel Trilogy, Book 1

By: Brent Weeks

Narrated by: full cast

From New York Times best-selling author Brent Weeks comes the first novel in his breakout fantasy trilogy in which a young boy trains under the city's most legendary and feared assassin, Durzo Blint.

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art - and he is the city's most accomplished artist.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

Narrated by: Andy Clemence, Casie Platt, Christopher Graybill, Colleen Delany, David Coyne, Dylan Lynch, Elizabeth Jernigan, Eric Messner, James Konicek, James Lewis, Joe Brack, Johann Dettweiler, Ken Jackson, Michael Glenn, Ren Casey, Richard Rohan, Sunny Lasskey, Terence Aselford, Thomas Penny, Tim Getman

Please note: This 2008 recording represents the technology of the time when it was produced. This is currently the best available source audio from the publisher.

©2008 Brent Weeks (P)2021 Graphic Audio LLC

Amazing

This was an amazing story and the voice acting and audio that went with it made the experience even better

background noise

the book is great. one down side is they have the background noise way to load. some parts you miss out on because the noise in the back is crazy load.

This is da wae

Not bad for my first dramatic adaption, there are some voices like Dorian's that I love (even though I hate his character). After getting acquainted with the voices, it's easier to follow who says what. The one thing that I DESPISED was that there were 8 mins+ of ads in between Parts 1 and 2. I will be sure to never read any other series by whoever. Decent read worth the purchase

Excellent ensemble story driven cast

I've been looking forward to listening to this author for several years, glad this was my first exposure to him.

The best way to experience this book

This is Brent Weeks’s first book and while it is ok it is a far cry from the level he has since improved to. But this Graphic Audio dramatization is truly exceptional and elevates it to a great listen for fantasy fans on a long commute

Mind Blown!!! But the pronunciations 😩

I’ve been a fan of this trilogy for quite some time and have read the books and listened to the amazing audiobooks. It was the audiobooks that allowed me to really delve into the world and understand the cultures of the various groups in Brent Weeks’ world. Having that already established set of pronunciations in the fandom made it very difficult for me to be excepting of, many of the very different ways that this dramatization has chosen to pronounce key names. That is quite literally the only thing that stops this from being absolutely flawless. Well done to everyone involved and I can’t wait to listen to the next one (Though book 2 is far more depressing, and book 3 brings it home in the best way!)!

Overall good, but poor audio mixing

The voice actors did an incredible job, excellent performances. The music choice is amazing, fantastic score.
The volume and mixing leaves a lot to be desired. It frequently covered up the speaking parts and was usually excruciatingly loud.
The story itself is excellent but can be kind of intense for someone not expecting the adult nature of the book.

Great story

Love the story and performers. Really add depth to the experience. Just wish the did a better job balancing sound tracks to background noise. There are times it’s tough to hear what the characters or narrator are saying

There's just no 'great' version

The regular narrated version is pretty dull, dry, and painful to try to slog through. The dramatized version has great narration, but the background gets pretty ridiculous at times. The roaring and wailing and grunting and repetitive flute (and other) music is just WAY too over the top.

"He ran like a silent shadow over the rooftops (huh-huh-GASP-GASP-HUH-HUH_Grrrr-HUH!) leaping effortlessly over gaps between buildings (GRRRRRR-HUUUUUUHHHHH OOOF! Gasp-gasp-gasp)..."

It's a shame, because it's a pretty awesome story line... If they just kept the narrators from the dramatized version, and dropped the background grunting, crazy screaming, insane shrieking, and "wailing/chanting music", it'd probably be pretty decent over all. Then again, as old as this series is, I doubt we'll ever get a decent Audio version of it, so I guess ya just have to kinda pick the best version for you.

Worth your time

Read this obsessively as a teen - coming back to this version as an adult was interesting. Story is slightly more rushed and underdeveloped than I recall in youth and the other reviews about the sound effects and music being abrasive at times are true.