The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett Book Review

The Painted Man is the first book in the Demon Cycle series by Peter V. Brett, and as I'm currently reading the second book, I thought I might as well review the whole series and hopefully get one or two people more to read it. This was honestly amongst the best high fantasy novels I've read this year!

Although it has been several months since I read this first book, it's still quite fresh in my mind and I still have to think back on it often. The story was incredibly gripping and engrossing, I never wanted to stop reading. It only took me a couple of days to get through this book and I enjoyed every single page of it. So now let me tell you whait is about and why I enjoyed it so much!

In this first installment we follow our protagonists, Arlen, Leesha and Rojer, who live in a world that is invaded by demons every single night. They rise from the Core as soon as the sun is gone and only go back to the centre of the earth at first light. Due to this infernal plague, humans have to stay within their warded houses at night, so journeys that take longer than one day are attempted by only a few. These wards are magical runes drawn on wood or stone to keep the demons at bay, but their power is limited and not always one hundred percent reliable. As this infestation has been going on for as long as anyone can remember, most have forgotten how - or completely given up - to fight the infernal brood.

Arlen, who was forced to go through some terrible experiences and revelations because of the corelings, does not, however, give in to the general air of defeat humanity has succumbed to. He learns to live with his traumatic past and decides to become a Messenger. These are people who travel between the few cities and settlements, braving the demon-infested night protected only by ward-nets, thus sleeping in the open surrounded by demons that are only kept back by a thin screen of magic. Because of Arlen's bravery and will to fight, he makes some important discoveries and meets Leesha and Rojer along the way, and a glimmer of hope returns to their small group.

As I already said, I enjoyed every single page of this book and can honestly say that I don't have anything negative to say about it. I'm sorry if thoroughly positive reviews are boring for you, but this book is just that good, in my eyes :)

Let's first talk about the characters. Leesha was by far my favourite. She reminds me a bit of Hermione, they are both tough, very intelligent and helpful. Leesha grows up in a small hamlet, with her abusive mother and her intimidated father. Girls in places like that grow up expecting to marry as soon as possible and bear many children. Villages need high birth-rates, in order to not simply die out, as it does happen that protective wards on houses fail, thus leaving whole families unprotected and easy victims for the corelings. Leesha is at first as keen as any other girl to marry her betrothed, but she later goes through an admirable development and turns into a very interesting heroine. She has an aptitude for healing, and as she grows up, she learns to use that talent and stand up for herself. Her chapters were by far my favourite, she is such an inspiring and relatable character!

Arlen was a bit less relatable, and maybe not as likable as our heroine. That didn't bother me at all, however, as his storyline was so interesting and full of suspense. He is far from perfect, but he is extremely brave and capable. Despite all the terrible things that have happened to him, he helps others and fights for complete strangers. At the same time, he is very conflicted about his talent and identity, thus making him human and complex despite his great power.

All of the characters were very well written. Brett created some rather ambiguous characters, but that is just what is so good about this book. All the people have different ways of dealing with hardship, and the writing gives the reader insight and understanding for most of them. The demon plague causes everyone in this world to face an existence in perpetual fear, making the story partly into an analysis of how humans deal with such a state of living.

I also really liked the setting and world building in this first novel. There are only a handful of actual cities, other living in small villages like Arlen and Leesha. Thus, cities and hamlets are very far apart, with the only means of communication being the Messengers. Accordingly, there are huge cultural differences between places. It was especially nice to see the novel create a multi-facetted world, as we not only get places reminiscent of medieval European countries, but also tribal cultures living in the desert. Arlen's forays into the desert were highly fascinating; traveling there is even more dangerous: a lack of water and the vast distances between oases, with sand easily obliterating the protective wards in the night. The people living in that area are also very different from those we meet at the beginning of the novel. I hope these cultural differences are explored further, and eventually broken up, in the other installments!

So to sum it all up: The Painted Man is a novel full with interesting and varied characters, who quickly grow on the reader and make for a completely engrossing reading experience. All the characters had something that made me care for them, one way or the other, so my reading didn't lack for emotional investment at all, and I can't wait to see how their lives go on.
To this Brett adds a complex world under a, seemingly, never ending threat. Thus, the reader gets to not only experience a tale full of suspense, but also to consider how differently some confront such an apocalyptic way of living. The pacing must not be forgotten either. We follow the characters over a long span of years, but I was never bored. The story moves very quickly and creates a lot of suspense by giving the most important episodes in detail, and summarizing in other places.

I hope I was able to motivate more people to pick this fast-paced, action-packed and highly interesting fantasy series up. I'm currently in the middle of the second book, The Desert Spear, and so far, it meets my high expectations. I'm completely unable to tell where the story is going at the moment, but I can't wait to see how it all turns out; to learn about the origin of the demon plague and see if humanity will be able to break free of their shackles of fear and despair.

Have you read these books? What are your thoughts on them?
Thank you all so much for reading and have a great weekend! 💕