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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Book Review: The Daylight War



Hi, fellow beauties!



Today's review will be about Peter V. Brett's 'The Daylight War', the third instalment of the Demon Cycle, a fantasy series.
Enjoy!


Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Price: 12,95 €
Previous Books: 'The Painted/Warded Man', 'The Desert Spear'

Content:

Every thirty nights the darkness intensifies and the demons grow stronger. Humanity must prepare for the next attack, but one month is scarcely enough time to train a village, let alone a continent caught in the throes of civil war.

Arlen Bales understands the threat better than anyone. Born ordinary, the demon plague has shaped him into a weapon so powerful he has been given the unwanted title of saviour and attracted the attention of enemies above and below ground.
As Arlen prepares his people for war, another liberator leads a demon-killing army out of the southern deserts. Unlike Arlen, Ahmann Jardir embraces the title of Deliverer. His strength resides in the relics he carries, and the magic wielded by his first wife, Inevera, a powerful priestess whose allegiance even Jardir cannot be certain of.

Once Arlen and Jardir were like brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals.
As humanity's enemies prepare, the only men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all: those that lurk in the human heart.

(This text is taken from the blurb of the book and not owned by me)




So after liking 'The Painted Man' and adoring 'The Desert Spear' I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third book the Demon Cycle. When it finally landed on my doorstep I was beyond excited but still busy with another book. At the time I had finished that one, unfortunately my exams had started and I completely forgot about it, shame on me, until my friend told me she was actually reading it at the moment and already had a very good head start. Being the competitive person that I am, I immediately took to the (nonexistent) challenge.

And oh boy, I didn't regret it!

One thing Brett did in 'The Desert Spear' was giving us the background of one of the main characters as a second story line to the actual plot. I really enjoyed it because it made that particular character just that more loveable. It was the same in this book and although the main plot took me ages to get hooked to, the second plot never failed to entertain me especially because I had liked the featured character from the beginning.


SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

What I didn't like was the fact that Arlen and Jardir grew so similar in their powers. I found this wasn't logic at all that Arlen had to suck up months worth of magic to be able to perform like he did and that Jardir just had to carry a crown and spear to do ten times the things Arlen can do. This made me think 'What is the point of having Arlen if there is nothing he can do that Jardir can't do better?' besides Arlen being the main protagonist. In the second book, Arlen had his wards and Jardir had his fighting skills, I liked it much better when it was that way.
Also, the only female character that didn't annoy me really was Inevera. I hadn't liked Renna from her very first appearance, I just found her character really unpleasant and was a massive Arlen/Leesha shipper but she developed after the wedding, I think she improved so much!
Leesha was another matter, to me she wasn't the witty, smart and independent person she had been the books before but constantly wining and never taking action besides climbing into someone's bed.

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER


All that sounds pretty negative now, but those were just things I rolled my eyes over, nothing to really make me stop reading. And when I drew near the end of the book I could not be moved to put it down. I could, in fact, but you get the drift.
I had been told that the ending was a massive cliffhanger, but that? Like, seriously? I couldn't believe it when I read the last words of the book, I've read a lot of books in my life but I don't think I have ever been more frustrated by the end of a book and the fact that I still have to wait months until I'll be able to know how the story continues.
I actually tweeted about it, I never do that!

All in all I enjoyed this book so much! Perhaps not so much as the second book of the series but still immensely. The constant change of perspective ensures every person grows dear to the reader and no matter what happens, someone is on the losing side, which at least put me into a real emotional conflict that was so interesting to explore.
Also, the Krasian dictionary at the end of the book really helped me a lot to get back into the story and the world, I really recommend reading it first if you don't happen to have read the second book right before you get cosy with the third one.


I hope you enjoyed this little book review!
Have you read the Demon Cycle series? What do you think about it? What are your favourite fantasy books?


Have a splendid day!
xx

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