The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett Review
As this is a second book, I advice you to read the first book before you read this review. I'm going to try and avoid most spoilers for the second book, but I can't talk about it without mentioning things that happened in the prequel. So, as I took quite a lot of notes while reading, let's quit rambling and get into the actual review!
There are four central points that often struck me while reading this book and that made it into such a well-written and gripping novel. The first of these is the way it deals with tropes. It was made clear in the first book that the inhabitants of this world, Thesa, believe that a Chosen One will one day come and free them from the Demon Plague. At the end of the first book, Arlen, or the Painted Man, saves Cutter's Hollow from extinction by demons and is afterwards considered to be this saviour, the Deliverer, by most of the people. The first book makes it seem like the series might be falling into the very common Chosen One trope, but after reading book two, I'm no longer so sure about that.
Both books offer multiple points of view, with all the protagonists serving as focalizer at one point. This sequel takes up where the first book ends, but switches to a new perspective, that of Jardir, the leader of the Krasians. We learn of Jardir's rise to power and that he aims at setting himself up as the Deliverer himself, subjugating all the Northern people, and forming one great army to rid the world of demons forever. At first, I didn't like Jardir at all and thought the story was going into another stereotypical direction, that of the evil and violent tribal cultures going up against the 'civilized' cities of the North. But I quickly saw that I needn't have worried, because it took a very different direction. Ahmann Jardir fits the role of Deliverer just as well as the Painted Man, and so far, the story has given no indication that one will win over the other. Far from it, the narrative kept indicating that the Deliverer of Thesa is not one destined leader, but rather someone who has the will-power and the self-trained abilities to finally lead the people to fight back.
Thus, by the end of book two, I had the impression that the story wants to break up the trope of the chosen saviour and show that their ability to succeed in a seemingly impossible fight, such as staging an entire war against demonkind, is rooted in the faith of the people and in their own strong will and dedication. I loved how the book really explored this trope, it was so well executed, and the idea of two equal Deliverers seemed very interesting and unique.
This leads me to the second point I really enjoyed. Just like the idea of a chosen Deliverer, the book explores many other important themes. This already began in the first book, but it became even clearer now. Thus, gender roles play a central part in this novel. The story is set in a rather medieval period, or maybe Early Modern, and society is much ordered like it was in Europe at that time, sometimes even worse. Accordingly, men clearly dominate women and there are many prejudices against the 'weaker sex'. As the story progresses, however, these fixed roles are broken up. There are female warriors, like the amazing Wonda, who are clearly more proficient than many men. Then there is Leesha, who runs the hamlet of Deliverer's Hollow by herself, or Inevera, Jardir's wife, who is nearly as powerful as himself.
There is one great scene that shows the breaking up of the fixed gender roles very clearly: Wonda being attacked by several Krasian warriors, who attempt to rape her. Wonda's and Leesha's accusations in this situation lead Jardir to actually go against his own religious laws (which say that a man can simply take most women as he pleases) and punish the culprits. He places the rights of a woman before those of his warriors, something that wasn't done in Krasia before! This isn't the only scene that shows women reaching for, and actually getting, equality in Thesa, but I recommend you to go and find out the rest for yourself and enjoy this amazing book :)
Phew, I think this review will be pretty long in the end.. On the note of gender equality, I want to talk about Renna's storyline. She is an inhabitant of Tibbet's Brook we already met in the first book. Her father is extremely abusive and horrible, and she now gets the role of focalizer in several chapters, so we get a very close look at her life. Renna's sisters being gone, she remains the plaything for her cruel and broken father. Her storyline horrified me a lot, I sometimes even felt sick because I was so sorry for what she had to go through. Her being tried before the Brook's council made me extremely angry as well, at the narrow-mindedness and selfishness of most of the people around her. Renna remained a very ambivalent character for me, but her chapters had me even more invested than those of the others, sometimes. I loved how she learned to stand up for herself, how she didn't cower but absorbed the horrible things that happened to her and grew strong. She made her own choices and didn't let anyone influence her to change her mind.
Oh dear, I could really go on and on about things I loved about this novel. Just like in the first book, Leesha was my favourite character. Like Renna, she is strong and determined, she is smart and loves to learn and do good. There are really very many such inspiring female characters in this book, so if you are looking for a story with strong and multi-faceted ladies, this is the one for you!
One last thing I want to mention, however, is the theme of unity, which underlies the whole story. I'm really hoping that this is what the plot-line of the two Deliverers is leading to, because the need for humans to bond together and get over their differences, to accept and to co-operate, comes up time and again. This is such a great thing about the book, because it advertises friendship and acceptance.
Soo these are about all of the big reasons why I loved The Desert Spear so much. Everything I liked about The Painted Man came up in this one as well, the fascinating world building, the mystery surrounding the demons (which gets even more mysterious in this one!), the brilliantly written characters and so on. It is truly an amazing series so far, nothing is simply black or white in this (except for the demons, at this point). Even the most cruel and evil character is explored, such as Renna's father. He may be a monster, but he also has had his share of grief and tragedy, and there might be a reason for his turning out as he did. Cruelty, injustice or prejudice is by no means justified in any way, but the book gives a very empathic insight into the lives of all the characters.
I don't usually binge read series, but I think I might try and get the next two books soon and read them immediately, so that I'm ready for when the next installment, The Core, comes out later this year! Needless to say, I gave this five stars and can recommend it to anyone who is only remotely interested in fantasy and who likes stories with fascinating characters and plot!
Thank you so much for reading, and have a great day everyone!💕
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