Book Title: The Warded Man (Demon Cycle #1)What did I think? A friend gifted me a copy of The Warded Man for my birthday, and I was worried I wouldn't like it. Demons? Meh. An orphan farm boy (sigh) who (conveniently) has the right skills to save the world? Meh. I wasn't excited by any of it and that wasn't helped by a rather slow start.
Author: Peter V. Brett
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Own a Copy
Amazon UK, Goodreads
Goodreads Summary: As darkness falls after sunset, the corelings rise—demons who possess supernatural powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards—symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms, but those days are gone. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.
The novel focuses on three protagonists, Arlen, Leesha and Rojer. We meet them as children and watch them live their lives in this world where humans are being hunted by demons as soon as the sun sets.
As a reader you assume from the very beginning that all three protagonists will eventually meet and it takes Brett quite a while to get there, which is why almost 70% of this book feel like a set-up.
But I was never bored. Quite the opposite. I enjoyed watching them grow up and I slowly fell in love with them.
The worldbuilding is really intriguing and detailed. It's a dark world with almost no happiness and the three protagonists face tragedy wherever they go. This isn't a happy story and none of the protagonists get to live a happy life, even happy moments are rare.
The demons and the magic system feel well developed and the characters have a lot of depth. I will definitely continue to read this series.
Great review! I still have to read this, I have had the book for a million years =)
ReplyDeleteWhile this isn't really something I would pick up, it does sound interesting. It's great that the world and the characters are so well-developed. That goes a long way to making me enjoy a book.
ReplyDeleteoh I'm glad you enjoy this one despite your reservations. I would be doing the Snoopy dance with the word "demon"
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you loved despite thinking you won't! Books feel so much more awesome when they surprise us :) And I love demon books! I like how well written the characters are too :) Great review Olivia...
ReplyDelete