Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Demon Cycle Series


The Demon Cycle Series, is a fantasy book series written by author Peter V. Brett. There are currently three books in the series, the first is The Painted Man, second is The Desert Spear, and the third is The Daylight War. There are also two books that will complete the series. Each novel follows multiple characters in the first person. In the world that the books take place in is plagued by demons, that originate from the center of the world or the ‘core’, but they can only be on the surface during the night. People live in small villages and walled cities, known as the free cities. The only way to protect themselves from the demons that plague them is using defensive wards, which are a kind of magical symbols that repel the demons. But humans cannot easily harm the demons because their skin has something that closely represents plated armor that cannot be penetrated by any blade known to humans for hundreds of years. These wards can be drawn, carved, or constructed, and are drawn on posts that are placed around villages as a sort of wall to protect them from the demons. But these ward posts often break or get damaged, so demon attacks on villages are common.


The first book of the series, The Painted Man (The Warded Man in the US), follows three characters. The first and most followed is Arlen Bales. At the beginning of the book he is a ten year-old who is living with his family in the small town of Tibbets Brook. One night there is a demon attack that takes the lives of his mother and sister, in which he sees the cowardice of his father. And decides to run away and become a messenger, who is a nomadic warrior who is in charge of making sure that news, mail, and other things get to one town to the next. Arlen soon wants to try and find ways to fight the demons, which drives him through the first and part of the second book and gives him the title, the Warded Man. Arlen’s hero’s journey is a very unique on that is not even complete after the third book, although he becomes wiser as the story progresses.



The second character that is introduced to the story is Leesha, a thirteen year-old, who is from an area known as the Hollow. Her family is one of the wealthiest in the Hollow. Her father is one of the kindest and most well respected people there, but her mother resents her for not being a boy, and not marrying as soon as she can. Leesha soon becomes the local herbalist, who is a sort of healer, which stops her from having to marry for seven years and a day. She soon becomes a major figure in the Hollow as a healer during demon attacks.
The third character introduced to the story is Rojer, who is a toddler at the beginning of the story as the only surviving member of his family after a demon attack. He is rescued and taken in by a jongleur, who is a type of roaming entertainer. Rojer becomes a jongleur himself and plays the fiddle. And he soon develops the ability to control demons with his music.
In The Desert Spear and The Daylight War, more characters are followed. Some of the characters that are introduced are Jadir who is the leader of the people of Krasia, which is a desert civilization to the south of the Free Cities. Their culture shares similarities with Islamic culture. His wife Inevera is also introduced as a character in the third book. There are also many chapters that are flashbacks to her past with involves Jadir's past as well. Abban is also another character that is follower. He is a Krasian merchant who works with Jadir and is very powerful. And Renna Tanner also becomes a major character. She is an old love interest of Arlen when he was still in Tibbets Brook. She fights a abusive father at home, while trying to get away from Tibbets Brook.
This is a great book series for anyone who enjoys fantasy novels. The world that Brett creates is amazing,and  full of magic with some mystery. The characters are greatly developed over the first three books, and the plot is great. Currently there are three books out. The Warder Man, The Desert Spear, and The Daylight War. With two more books that have yet to be written. These are amazing books, and I would strongly suggest them to anyone looking for a new book to read.

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