The Desert Spear: The Demon Cycle Book 2 | ||||||||
Peter V. Brett | ||||||||
HarperVoyager, 782 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Dominic Cilli
In atypical fashion, instead of continuing the story right from where it left off, Peter V. Brett backtracks
in The Desert Spear. This novel begins in the time when Jardir was growing up in Karsia before he meets
Arlen and the narrative tells of how he grew into power and the circumstances which led to his
betrayal. In The Warded Man, Jardir's betrayal is shocking, but Peter V. Brett's focusing on the events
from Jardir's perspective casts him in a much different light as we slowly begin to see the reasons that led
up to this crucial portion of the story. The contrasting and changing perspective of The Desert Spear is
really a breath of fresh air to the reader as Brett is creating some very complex plot threads and some very
interesting characters.
The action at the start of The Desert Spear finally catches up with The Warded Man and Brett uses
an overlapping chapter to push the action forward in time to the point after Jardir's betrayal. The changing
perspectives certainly isn't groundbreaking, but it works really well and most importantly, these contrasting
viewpoints force the reader to rethink the story and its characters plus who they see as
being "good" or "evil." As the characters develop so too does the plot, world building and magic system. All
the elements that make a good fantasy novel are well thought out and blended masterfully with enough twists
and turns to make The Desert Spear a real page turner.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I found one of the most intriguing parts of The Demon Cycle
is the parallels that Brett draws between his characters religious beliefs and their modern day
counterparts. It's easy to see that Brett is using the Krasians (Islam) and The Greenlanders (Christian) to add
another layer to this exquisitely written novel. Peter V. Brett tells the story from both perspectives and his
writing creates several insights into the relationships of these two modern day religions, while simultaneously
creating a theological system all his own. It's remarkable and it elevates The Demon Cycle
from just good solid entertainment into the sublime. When you can tell a story that is this much fun while you're commenting
on the most topical subject in the world today, you're on the top of your game. Do not miss this series.
When asked to write a third-person tag line for his reviews, Dominic Cilli farmed the work out to an actual 3rd person, his friend Neal, who in turn turned it over to a second person who then asked his third cousin to help out and this person whom Dom doesn't even know then wrote in 8th person Omniscient mode "Dom's breadth of knowledge in literature runs the gamut and is certainly not bounded by the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. One thing I can say with certainty is that of all the people I don't know who've ever recommended books to read, Dom's recommendations are the best." |
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