The Warded Man

Now to the interesting stuff, my review of The Warded Man by Peter V Brett.

Brett's debut novel paints a world where demons rise from the earth each night and humanity cowers behind painted wards with the power to keep the demons at bay but are unable to harm the creatures. It's a dark, desperate world and one that instantly pulls you in and wanting to know more.

The story focuses on the boy Arlen, who is your classic farm-boy turned hero, who leaves his tiny home town to become a messenger, one of the few that brave the night and the demons. As we are led through Arlen's life it is hard not to like the kid and I personally felt he was a very well rounded, if sometimes a little childish, character.

Eventually the story moves on to two other character POVs, a young woman named Leesha who becomes a wise woman/healer and a cripple boy with dreams of becoming a famous performer. I am sorry to say that the girl annoyed me. Although her chapters were okay, I felt the constant talk of sex a little out of place and found her to grate on me.

This is a shame, cos the cripple, Rojer, was actually a fun character. I could honestly see Arlen and Rojer getting along and having adventures. But Leesha can stay at home...

Despite being a debut, The Warded Man is very well writen with decent pacing and doesn't get so bogged down in any one place as to become boring. But at the same time this is a fault of its own as the story feels quite short and I finished it in a single weekend of reading. Many chapters were very wrenching, in particular some of the Rojer chapters really pulled at the old heart strings but then the story was rushed forward and left them feeling slightly abrubt.

Plot is fast and thick, combat is fun and flows very well. The world, if feeling a little small, is beatifully descriptive and populated with a living, breathing society that makes you believe this world could, and very well may, exsist - unlike some novels I could name where extras are trotted out whenever there is a panning shot.

The ending is fun, but I think it lacks the epic feel that Brett was going for. Though not by much and the conclussion definatly leaves you eagerly awaiting the sequel.

I definatly recommend this novel and hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

4/5 STARS!