Book 2 in The Demon Cycle series
Read by Colin Mace
Genre: epic fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook
About The Desert Spear:
The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general — some would say prophet — who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth . . . or is it?Source: Info in the About The Desert Spear was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8176879-the-desert-spear on 03/01/2016.
Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons — a spear and a crown — that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind — whether they like it or not.
But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries.
Once the Shar’Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons — or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another.
Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent — and deadly — than any that have come before.
In this book we are introduced to a more sinister kind of nemesis. This time around the demons are not just mindless but strong, fast, with sharp claws frightening beings. We get to know a higher kind of demon with vicious cunning. Can fly and command vast armies. Mankind has no chance! Aha! And then we read on....
Like The Painted Man, this book is also a slow start despite the convenience of the audiobook. I think the other reason for this book being particularly slow start is because it openned with the story of Jardir whom we met in Book 1. I didn't like him. And that dislike colored my views about reading his side of the story. Thus it took a great deal of perseverance on my part to plod through his story. Consequently, it dragged the pace of this book down considerably. Usual fantastic world building. Masterful story telling quality. And the dreaded "jumping-through-multiple-threads" style of telling the story. **sigh**
The story has multiple threads and jumps from thread to thread every couple of chapters or so. Like for example I was reading about Arlen for the last couple of chapters. Then the next chapter jumps to Leesha. I have to go back to the last chapter where Leesha left off because I had forgotten what had happened to her last while being immersed in Arlen's story. The continuity of the story is broken. This story telling style feels jarring to the reading flow. And this is the very reason why I stopped reading Ian Irvine...
No, it's not graphic sex that tacked the "Parental Advisory" sticker on this book/series. It's the rape, incest and other issues. This also contributed to this book's slow pace. Although the author kind of glossed over it.
The narration - by now I am already used to Colin Mace's reading. I still don't agree with all of his interpretations of the book, but, it is easier for me to just let it go now.
But here is the real kicker, the book ended in a big whooping cliffhanger! This book is just a chapter of a bigger book. The story didn't start nor ended in this book. At all. Just a chapter.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 1
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 2
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries
 |
Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons, Peter V. Brett (“Peat” to his friends) has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Art History from the University at Buffalo in 1995, and then spent over a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in Brooklyn. |
Books in The Demon Cycle series:
FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.
The ebook and audiobook copies of this book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Due to high volume of spam I have to utilize comment moderation. Please bear with me. Thank you!