The Warded Man

Predictable Stuff.

The Warded man is another hero's journey of a boy who is thrust from the womb of his home and into the terrible reality he lives. This novel follows Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer, each following similar coming-of-age arcs, jumping years, until they finally converge near the end of the book. Structure is good, but you must stray from it to keep things interesting. The story almost turns into Dune while Arlen is in the desert, but thankfully Brett decided to stop there, and instead give Arlen a Edmund Dantes-esque return as the titular Warded Man. There are some funny bits, some sweet revelations of the good in the hearts of some lowly characters and the action was often bloody and thrilling, but overall the inner story of the characters was flimsy, and Arlen essentially becomes the Batman of his world.

Brett's prose would have gotten me flayed in school, he almost entirely tells instead of shows, often repeating the obvious multiple times in the same paragraph, then having the dialog repeat it again, never allowing for subtext. He bashes the reader over the head with the apparent, yet neglects details like describing what the demons actually look like until quite a few chapters in. The world that he created feels more like a rough sketch, which would work with a cast of strong and complex characters, but those are missing here.

Another odd and bothersome aspect of this book is the constant examples of rape, incest, and molestation that permeate the story. About every other chapter has the characters in some conflict with sexual predators, or their own juvenile sexual issues. Particularly Leesha, who in the story is so beautiful that she turns any man alone with her into a drooling rapist. Well written, this may have lent itself to the complexity of the story, but it was not well done. This aspect was clumsy, predicable, and left me cringing more than once, and actually less interested in the character's fates. By the end, it felt like a heavy handed attempt to shape Leesha's and the others characters, but failed to do so.

Certainly not the worst fantasy you could pick up, but if you want a well done, gritty, fantasy, check out Joe Abercrombie and the First Law series. Or just a great, original fantasy book, try The Name of Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and see how it's done.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is a lightweight, maybe good for adolescents

I found the writing style to be ho hum, and the characters to be very two dimensional. The bad guys in the hero and heroine's early life are either all good or all bad, paper cutouts of dysfunction, cruelty, cowardice, and dullness.

The villains in the story, the demons, were so paperpunch cutout as to be laughable. A rock demon with scales, 12 feet tall, scary teeth, a strong tail? C'mon.

I left it unfinished. Life is too short to waste on a long story about people I care nothing for.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

For Those who love Goodkind and Brooks.....

I received this new novel by Peter V. Brett a couple days ago from Del-Rey for review and so I decided to sit down from my few months being a mom to read it. I was so glad I did. The Warded Man is an intense ride that begins with the lives of three young children that through different diversities survive to fight on in a world where just the corelings or demons aren't the only things that should be feared.


In this well written novel, you will meet Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer, each set on their own path by tragedy or by the evil of others. Their journeys are all thwart with different types of danger from One Armed demons to the evil of greedy men. Each one will have you wrapped around their stories as they pull you from the world you know into one that nights are feared and demons roam only to take you into that darkness never to return.


The Warded Man is a well put together novel. With intense actions scenes that do not rob from the brilliant dialogue, the beautiful, yet, horrifying imagery literally engulfs you in a world that is filled with mountains, deserts, wall cities, and small villages. Each chapter brings you deeper into the shadows filling your mind with visions of small fire demons to the large stone ones.


I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves good fantasy and great action. It is a bit on the dark side with some violence to kids as well as to grown ups so please use discression when looking at it for kids younger than sixteen or so. Other than that, I implore you to give Mr. Brett a chance. I know I will be reading the next in his series for sure.....

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great

Great story

Good Story, Well written, Worth reading. I will be following this series

I was looking for something to read while waiting for the next books in seveal other series I am reading to be released. I came across this and decided to give it a read, I am glad I did . It is a well written story, it flows nicely with out too much filler. It has a good amount of drama and well written characters who you come to care about. I found that it was written well enough that at times I swelled with pride for the characters or was deeply saddened by the trajic events that occured to them.

You see it happening, but that is okay

This story has a sort of predictable feel almost from the first chapter. But while the overall plot is nothing earth shattering, I was very much attached to the characters. As the book progressed, I noticed how much more I became invested in the storylines. A few twists and turns added a bit of fun. It wasn't a great read, though definitely a good one. I will happily read the next book.

Mixed bag

I enjoyed the world, but the main characters (while initially very interesting) began to really frustrate me as time went on. I don't think I would recomend this book.

Excellent Flow and Characters

Strong characters and a driving plot, this was hard to put down. If you are a fan of David Gemmel looking for a new author or if you like solid heroic fantasy give Peter Brett a read.

Great Read

Really vivid and well thought out world. Wonderful characters that are very real feeling.

Very good

Enjoyed

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read!

I really enjoyed this book. Excellent world building, great characters, intriguing premise. I'm looking forward to reading the second in the series.

One of my favorites

I found this book in the back of a bookstore around this time last year and have read it four times since then along with its sequel. It is fantastic and is highly recommended. It goes deep into the characters within the book and brings out the fears in all of us.

Amazing!

Enthralling plot, great character progression, i could barley put it down!

Loved It!

It really was a great book. I had bought it b/c a friend recommended it and it sat in my Nook library forever. I just didnt pick it up, thiught i could find something i liked more. (Im a VERY picky reader. Only epic fantasy similar to Lord of the Rings and it has to catch me pretty quick since im always thinking that nothing could ever be better than the last book I read, which 9 times out of 10 i think every time) But it was great. The only thing i hate about it is the 3rd one, The Daylight War, isnt out and isnt supposed to be until 2012 ( according to a link on wiki) The second one is great as well. Buy It! You wont regret it i promise!

Great Read

Was my first book I purchased on my nook. I have say I was not disappointed. It was an easy read but the multiple story lines that continue to develop keep the reader interested. Initially the emphasis is on character developmemt, but you soon realize the reader is exposed to and learning about the environment through the characters. The reader is allowed to explore the world ravaged by corlings as the characters mature, travel and learn within this world created bt Brett.

WONDERFULL

Hardest thing about this book wwas puttting it down. it will keep you reading from start tto finish!

Excellent story

I really loved the progression of the story. I could hardly put it down. For people who are sensitive to depictions of rape and incest, be warned. It isn't graphic but those topics are used often to create psychological tension. As god as it was it was difficult to read sometimes.

Easy reading, with multiple story lines

I picked this up as one of my first Nook eReader books; trying to see if I would like reading on the Nook. The story gripped me, and led me to the next in the series, which I also devoured.

I read pretty quickly anyway, and I think the Nook, enabled me to read at least as fast as a normal book.

There is another series, Runelords by David Farland. I enjoyed that series as well as this one.

I highly recommend this book in any format.

Screws the Proverbial Pooch

Story starts out well enough. Gives you insight to these characters, their lives and how the corelings slowly but surely ruin them but definitely leaves something to be desired. Untapped potential with some characters and their potential for a gripping story.

The book flows well and continues on at a good pace until the sudden jump where all the characters unite. A good character, with good motives and a noble goal, goes from this man to a vindictive berserker more intent on killing demons than saving his people. The only woman in the story is more or less viewed as a constant sex tool more than an actual character. Constantly being forced into the role of helpless maiden who must be violated to have some character development. I'd say something about Rojer, but he's actually the only character I consistently enjoyed.

The author starts out strong but leaves a lot to be desired. I finished the book, but I don't think I care about what the characters become to complete the series.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good read

Overall the story was quite good and I would suggest it to anyone who likes adventure sagas. My only disapointment is that the fight scenes need quite a bit more work to be captivating. But aside from that thebook was enjoyable and I will be buying the next one in the series.