The Desert Spear - Wyrms.de

English language

Published Sept. 6, 2010 by Del Rey-Ballantine Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-345-50381-7
OCLC Number:: 422760019

(1 review)

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?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 …

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?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.From the Hardcover edition.

4 editions

Kadomi reviewed The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett (The Demon Cycle, #2)

Review of 'The Desert Spear' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Continuing the Demon Cycle from The Warded Man which I really enjoyed, The Desert Spear was both good and yet falling flat for me. The first book focused on three characters: Arlen, Rojer and Leesha. The Desert Spear throws in additional PoVs, most dominantly Jardir, the Krasian who thinks he's the Deliverer and comes to conquer the rest of the world so he can wipe the demons off the face of the earth, but also Renna Tanner, a minor character in the first book who is from Arlen's boyhood village.

I think I enjoyed the Jardir chapters most, giving us a look back at his childhood and his rise to power. He's a grey character, not good, nor the clear villain. As far as the other characters go, I will admit to being more than a little ticked off at Leesha, who is as Mary Sue as they come. She's …

Continuing the Demon Cycle from The Warded Man which I really enjoyed, The Desert Spear was both good and yet falling flat for me. The first book focused on three characters: Arlen, Rojer and Leesha. The Desert Spear throws in additional PoVs, most dominantly Jardir, the Krasian who thinks he's the Deliverer and comes to conquer the rest of the world so he can wipe the demons off the face of the earth, but also Renna Tanner, a minor character in the first book who is from Arlen's boyhood village.

I think I enjoyed the Jardir chapters most, giving us a look back at his childhood and his rise to power. He's a grey character, not good, nor the clear villain. As far as the other characters go, I will admit to being more than a little ticked off at Leesha, who is as Mary Sue as they come. She's the best Herb Gatherer ever, wards better than anyone else, learns foreign languages in mere days and additionally is the most beautiful woman ever. It's all a bit much. I felt a Nynaeve-level of annoyance with her.

The worst part of this book however is clearly the casual use of sexual violence throughout the book. This also happened in the first book, but happens even more in The Desert Spear. Be it male rape as educational tool, the incest of the Tanner household or the Krasians raping across the lands they have conquered or amongst each other, I never felt like this was a necessary plot tool or added anything to the story. It's too out there, too much. Very distasteful.

And yet I will trooper on, maybe he'll have learned something by the next book and will show improvement in that area. A girl can only hope.

Subjects

Demonology -- Fiction