Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book in The Demon Cycle by Brett. The series is supposed to have five books; the third will be titled The Daylight Wars and is scheduled for a Feb 2013 release. The fourth and fifth books are tentatively titled The Forest Fortress and The Core. I really enjoyed this book it has excellent world building, characters that are easy to engage with and an epic story.
I listened to this on audiobook and I really enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices and capturing the characters personalities.
This follows the story of Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer. Arlen leaves his small village to learn how to be a messenger and ends up apprenticing as a warder. Leesha dodges marrying the town bully and apprentices as a healer. Rojer, loses his parents but becomes a jongleur. They all live in a world where the night is plagued by demons known as Corelings.
This is a very well done fantasy. There are a lot of characters but they are presented in such a way that they are easy to keep track of and relate to. The world is well done and creative. The characters are likable and easy to engage with. This is one of the few epic fantasies that has an engaging female lead that offsets the male leads very nicely.
Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer have both dark and light aspects to their characters, but unlike some fantasies they are clearly the good characters in this story.
The Corelings are clearly the evil that needs to be vanquished in this world. In the beginning of the story they are kind of just a massive evil that everyone fears. As the story continues though we are slowly starting to learn that there is more to the Corelings than we first knew.
The story does move slowly but the characters are well done and easy to engage with. I love the magic of warding and enjoyed this detailed world plagued by demons. The story covers a broad span of time and switches POV between the three main characters. The POVs worked perfectly for this story.
The book is very easy to read and very well written. I cant wait to see what future books in this series hold.
The only thing that really bothered me about this book is the notion that no one had ever thought to ward weapons or themselves before Arlen thought of it. Right from the first section where they are talking about ward posts I wondered why no one wore warded jewelry or wrote wards on themselves...but I guess if you can get past that point youll really enjoy this story.
Overall an excellent epic fantasy read. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, or Michael Sullivan I think you will enjoy this book as well. The characters are easy to engage with and there are both strong female and male characters. The story is violent but not as bleak as Brent Weeks Night Angel series for example. The world is well done and intriguing. Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy.
I listened to this on audiobook and I really enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices and capturing the characters personalities.
This follows the story of Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer. Arlen leaves his small village to learn how to be a messenger and ends up apprenticing as a warder. Leesha dodges marrying the town bully and apprentices as a healer. Rojer, loses his parents but becomes a jongleur. They all live in a world where the night is plagued by demons known as Corelings.
This is a very well done fantasy. There are a lot of characters but they are presented in such a way that they are easy to keep track of and relate to. The world is well done and creative. The characters are likable and easy to engage with. This is one of the few epic fantasies that has an engaging female lead that offsets the male leads very nicely.
Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer have both dark and light aspects to their characters, but unlike some fantasies they are clearly the good characters in this story.
The Corelings are clearly the evil that needs to be vanquished in this world. In the beginning of the story they are kind of just a massive evil that everyone fears. As the story continues though we are slowly starting to learn that there is more to the Corelings than we first knew.
The story does move slowly but the characters are well done and easy to engage with. I love the magic of warding and enjoyed this detailed world plagued by demons. The story covers a broad span of time and switches POV between the three main characters. The POVs worked perfectly for this story.
The book is very easy to read and very well written. I cant wait to see what future books in this series hold.
The only thing that really bothered me about this book is the notion that no one had ever thought to ward weapons or themselves before Arlen thought of it. Right from the first section where they are talking about ward posts I wondered why no one wore warded jewelry or wrote wards on themselves...but I guess if you can get past that point youll really enjoy this story.
Overall an excellent epic fantasy read. If you enjoy Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, or Michael Sullivan I think you will enjoy this book as well. The characters are easy to engage with and there are both strong female and male characters. The story is violent but not as bleak as Brent Weeks Night Angel series for example. The world is well done and intriguing. Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy.
Helpful Score: 1
LOVED IT! A fast paced entertaining story that kept me reading well past bedtime. I enjoyed the character development and storyline from the first page to the last. Some very unique story lines and fantasy concepts.
It's been a long time since I've found a fantasy book that captured me as much as this one did. I would have gladly called in sick to work just so I could finish it but alas I needed the money. I loved the concept of the book and it was very original.
The story is about a place where demons rise from underground to kill everything in their path. The only thing that can protect you from these demons are wards. If your ward is broken or worn out then the demons can get through. There was a time when man was able to fight these demons and they had sent them back where they came from but eventually man started turning on each other. Soon the arts for killing the demons with wards were lost.
This story focuses on the lives of 3 kids in separate places. Each one has their own destiny. I loved reading about each of them. Brett has a wonderful way of coloring the landscape in my mind and his characters as well. I am looking forward to reading The Desert Spear which is the 2nd book of this trilogy.
The story is about a place where demons rise from underground to kill everything in their path. The only thing that can protect you from these demons are wards. If your ward is broken or worn out then the demons can get through. There was a time when man was able to fight these demons and they had sent them back where they came from but eventually man started turning on each other. Soon the arts for killing the demons with wards were lost.
This story focuses on the lives of 3 kids in separate places. Each one has their own destiny. I loved reading about each of them. Brett has a wonderful way of coloring the landscape in my mind and his characters as well. I am looking forward to reading The Desert Spear which is the 2nd book of this trilogy.
Every once in a while a writer will come along with a whole new type of fantasy book that will blow my head off my shoulders. Then every once in a while a writer will take a conventional fantasy archetype and create something new and exciting with it. Brett has done both in the same book. He has created a baddie, the demons, that are new,exciting, scary & interesting. The brief synopsis's (like the one on the back cover of the book) don't prepare you for how cool these demons are. I loved this book and am already reading "The Desert Spear", the second in the trilogy.
In the genre of fantasies, this book is awesome! The characters, demons and story line are well-developed - high praise as usually something is lacking. The people were so real ... I can't explain it - you'll have to read the book. I thoroughly appreciated the author's ability to use violence only as needed within the story and without the heinous graphic portrayal other authors deem as necessary. Enjoy a high caliber story - I most certainly did!! Looking forward to book two.
As with any new sci-fi/fantasy series, the first book starts off a little slow due to the amount of exposition needed to introduce the reader into a new world. Once you're in, though, you're hooked. Or at least I was! I couldn't put it down and was ravenous to know more once I was done reading. In a world full of dangers both human and supernatural, one boy grows into a force for independence. Be sure to read the sequel!
This is an action-packed page-turner. It's a harrowing tale, without any warm and fuzzy moments. The ending will make you anxious to read the next one. I give it 5 stars because I didn't want to put it down.
The book is well written, and keeps me reading to find out what is going to happen next. However, I only gave this book 2.5 stars because the meat of the story did not start until around page 300. The majority of the book is background story of the three protagonists and when I finally get to the end where the meat and potatoes of the story is, I'm left with the feeling of "That's it?" as opposed to "I want to read more!" Don't get me wrong, the journey through the book was good, I just did not like the destination much.
Didn't know what to expect, but I'm glad I read it.
Plenty of action and a lot of twists. I just put
book 2 + 3 on my wish list.
Plenty of action and a lot of twists. I just put
book 2 + 3 on my wish list.
