Synopsis
Set in a world where color is the basis of all magic, Gavin Guile is the current Prism—and one that happens to have many secrets. Secrets like his brother Javen, who he defeated in the great war years earlier and now keeps in a dungeon below his home. Or secrets like his son Kip, a young man raised in another land who has yet to realize the full extent of his powers. As Kip begins to learn the truth behind Gavin and Javen's great schism, he will also learn that time is running out for the world as they know it. For the Prism is not what he seems to be, and there are greater powers afoot than could ever have been imagined.
Publishers Weekly
With this complicated fantasy about family politics, bestseller Weeks (The Way of Shadows) moves into familiar territory. An unloved, orphaned boy is the offspring of someone important; twins assume each other's identities; an aged ruler clings to power. Weeks manages to ring new tunes on these old bells, letting a deep background slowly reveal its secrets and presenting his characters in a realistically flawed and human way. Gavin Guile is facing his final five years as leader of a magical college whose members turn colors of light into various materials. Seeking to rectify the lingering wrongs from the war against his twin, Dazen, he is instead forced to acknowledge a bastard son, face down a corrupt governor, and stop a challenge to the state religion. Frequent perspective shifts keep the reader guessing as to who is heretic and who is hero. Author tour. (Sept.)