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    The Desert Spear
    The Desert Spear
    The Desert Spear
    Audiobook26 hours

    The Desert Spear

    Written by Peter V. Brett

    Narrated by Pete Bradbury

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Peter Brett's The Desert Spear continues the post-apocalyptic adventure he began in his highly acclaimed debut, The Warded Man. The world remains under siege by demonkind stalking the land when the sun goes down. But a new hero has risen from the desert. Claiming to be the mythical Deliverer, Ahmann Jardir now rides alongside the allied desert tribes of Krasia. Jardir and his fellows are on an epic quest to vanquish the demons plaguing the world and bring humanity back from the brink of extinction.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 21, 2010
    ISBN9781449814366
    The Desert Spear
    Author

    Peter V. Brett

    Peter V. Brett is the international bestselling author of THE PAINTED MAN and THE DESERT SPEAR. Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books and Dungeons & Dragons, Brett has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, and then spent more than a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for The Desert Spear

    4.5/5

    38 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is the second book in the Demon Cycle trilogy. I didn’t enjoy it as much as The Warded Man, the first part of the book was really a drag . The second portion of the book really sucked me in though and convinced me to keep reading the series.I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator does an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices and conveying the emotions of the characters. I definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook.The first part of the book goes back and forth in time following the story of Jardir, who leads the Krasians. He was a villain in the first book, but here we learn how he rose to power. About a third of the way through the book we go back to Kylar, Rojur and Leesha and what they are doing at Cutter’s Hollow. Some of the story also focuses on Renna (the girl Kylar was promised to when he was young) and her struggles. All of the events are leading to war between the Krasian and the Northern folks.All of the characters go through quite a bit of character development. I will bluntly say I do not like Jardir and I did not like reading about him. It is fine to want the readers to understand the villain a bit better, but I didn’t need to spend half the book reading his back story...seriously I just didn’t care all that much.Because of the long digression through Jardir’s back story, the story progresses at a crawl. We really don’t get much past the point where we ended in book one. Yes there are some battles and the story progresses some, but really half of this book didn’t need to be here.The second half of this book is very well done. The characters and world are intricate and fascinating. I loved the addition of Renna to the story as well, she really brings something special to the story. The Warded Man continues to gain interesting and new powers.----------SPOILER START-----------------Why is it that all the featured female characters have to be raped in the story? It is a right of passage or something? Is there a reason why we can’t have a strong female lead that hasn’t been raped, beaten, and abused? Just curious why this seems to be a prerequisite for all the females in this book...----------SPOILER END-------------------The book is well written and the second half of the book redeems the first half. Seriously though this is a really, really long book...and it feels really, really long. It wasn’t a fun kind of long either, the first half was a truly epic struggle for me to get through. I can only hope that future books move the story along a bit faster and don’t digress into side stories that are unnecessary.Overall a decent read. I enjoyed the second half of the book immensely but throught that the first half that was dedicated to Jardir’s back story was an epic waste of time. I have The Daylight War to review, so hopefully that will be a quicker moving read. I tentatively recommend this series to fans of epic fantasy. The characters and world are very well done; the book just needs to be cleaned up and have a more concise plot.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I have to say I wasn't dissapointed with this book as a sequel to the Warded Man - an improvement in almost every way on an already amazing series. The writing is superb, and Peter continues his method of telling the entire history of his main characters, even as he introduces new ones (or characters which weren't main before become main characters). You grow up with them, you understand them, and you feel what they feel - I couldn't put the book down.The first section of the book is dedicated to the history of a newly made main character - someone who I didn't like in the previous book, and so I wasn't prepared to accept him as a hero, and really didn't enjoy the first chapter or two. But the writing and story drew me in, and I have to say I enjoyed this book even more than the first. Granted it became better once it returned to the characters I've come to know from the first, but by the end of the history of the new character, I began to understand and even like parts of him. All portions of my previous review of the Warded Man apply, as Peter's writing has only improved since then.I don't want to say too much more without giving away the storyline of the two books - suffice to say, I have to put this series up there as one of my all time favorites so far, without even being complete. I can barely wait for the next book in the series to come out, sometime in 2012.
    • 5/5
      Good read. Looking forward to more.
    • 4/5
      In many ways, this second book is quite different from the first book. It spends a lot of time exploring the backstory of Jardir, which is nice to know about since it explains his actions in the first book. It also builds some nice depth to his character and Abban's, but the exploring is done without clear indication markers of the fact that we're going back into the past. The first time this happens, the reader spends a few moments going "What just happened?" which is not a good thing.
    • 5/5
      Pros: excellent characterization, immersive writing, fast pacedCons: some readers may not like the brutal realism of the narrative (lots of rape - though nothing is graphically described)The Desert Spear is one of those rare books when the sequel is better than the first book. Mr. Brett really comes into his own in this book. The plot (and if you haven't read The Warded Man/Painted Man this will contain spoilers):Jardir, now proclaimed Shar'Dama Ka (Deliverer), has left the desert to conquer- ahem - unite the men of the North under his banner in preparation for the Sharum Ka, the final battle with the demons.Through flashbacks we get to learn how Jardir progressed to his current position, creating a sympathetic, though still brutal, antagonist. And if you don't like realism in your fantasy (rape, bullying, etc.) you won't like this. Meanwhile, Arlen, going solely by the name 'the Warded Man', tries to ally the northern nations to fight against Jardir's forces. During this mission he encounters many people he hasn't seen since his childhood, meetings that cause him to question the decisions he has made. And though others hail him as their deliverer, he has no desire to take on that role. Finally, we are reintroduced to Renna Tanner, whose father Harl became too friendly with his daughters after his wife's death. Her story is quite horrific.Mr. Brett's characters are fascinating, and remain complete people, each with good and bad points. Even Leesha, Deliverer's Hollow's herb gatherer who, under a different author would be insufferably perfect, is written so well you like her despite her many many abilities. Each character's story is interesting and heartbreaking in its own way. In fact, I wanted to skim by the (well-written) fight scenes just to get back to the character based storylines, they were so good.The demons get nastier, with a new breed introduced who are watching the two potential deliverers.Final verdict: read these books. Peter Brett's one of the best new epic fantasy writers around.
    • 5/5
      What a great follow-up to The Warded Man. This is such a good story with characters that are truly deep. The whole story is dark and powerful as it draws you in. You actually feel what the characters are going through. You also find yourself agreeing with the hard and sometimes brutal decision they make for the greater good. Mr. Brett is truly a talented writer and I can not wait for the next installment.
    • 5/5
      Jun10:Well, was a bit of a departure from the first book. In particular, spent a bunch of back story on the leader of the 'Muslims'.Plot: Still very solid. Eventually moved on towards showing some Coreling princes and things to come. The whole harem business was a bit much at times.Characters: They spent a lot of time with the desert leader dude. He was almost worth it. the others were still around and kicking ass though.Style: Still very good. Seemed to lack a little compared to the first book. Very hard to live up to the Warded man however.
    • 5/5
      What can I say? I've been waiting for this book ever since I read the first in the Trilogy, The Painted Man, last year. I've had it on pre-order on Amazon for what feels like forever, so I couldn't help but dip into it immediately after it arrived yesterday. I started it at 6:30, and barring one small break to put Bella to bed, read straight through to the end at somewhere around 3 a.m. - good thing we didn't have to get up for school this morning! My only complaint is that I now have another long, tortuous wait until the final installment appears - hopefully about 1 year from now. I almost wish I hadn't snarfed it so fast, because then I could have prolonged the pleasure just that bit longer ....I loved every word of this book.The story picks up from where it left off, with the invasion of Thesa/the Free Cities by the Krasian army, and follows through on the aftermath of that, connecting us through the eyes of the pov characters from the first story and an important and electrifying new addition - Ahmann Jardir, the Krasian leader. The storytelling is immediate, powerful and personal, individuals making shift as best they can in terrible circumstances, but influencing and directing events by the light of their bravery and integrity. And woven throughout the attempts to forge new alliances is Jardir's history and - indirectly - that of the Krasian people.It's utterly fascinating, and provides a compelling view of the 'other side' of the human conflict in this story. With an honour-based desert-living society it would be easy to slip into a standard muslim-bedu stereotype complete with moral judgements, but this is avoided by a total immersion in that society, giving an understanding of the imperatives driving their apparently harsh code, and the intelligent portrayal of Jardir, a fascinating man moulded into a hard warrior with little space for compassion, but at the same time a canny politician who knows the value of listening to more than one side of the story. The unfolding of his rise to power and his consolidation of position, one step at a time, spreads a broad understanding of his motivation for invading Thesa that takes him out of the region of 'monster' and makes him a very human man at the centre of momentous events, manipulating and being manipulated in turn, as he tries to drag all of humankind to a state whereby the demon invasion can be faced, and stopped.His aims, therefore, coincide with those of the characters familiar from the first book - Arlen, Rojer, Leesha - even if his methods differ. But even amongst themselves, the northerner's methods differ. Arlen pursues his head-on confrontation with any and all demons, whilst Leesha attempts a more peaceful - but no less determined - path with Rojer, devoted but hopeless, at her side. The tensions inherent in the relationships between the characters enhance and contribute to the overall conflicts, making a compelling and dramatic interplay against the background of the invasion and their attempts to rally an alliance against it. Will they be able to find common cause and stand together against the demons, or will the men destroy each other and any hope of a united, coherent defeat of the real evil? It's a fascinating question, and set against the interplay of two conflicting cultures it packs a powerful punch and poses some important questions and the validity of moral judgements without true understanding of the underlying situation/culture.And all the while, a new and deadly threat is rising from the demons as they begin to take notice of the resistance against them, and it becomes clear that there is a new level of threat beyond that which they already face awaiting them, and that the demon core is starting to move against them in earnest - and the outcome is by no means cut and dried, even with the advanced wards they are learning and sharing.But this is not totally an all-action power-packed political-military epic - there is room for the softer, more sensual side too, and that is fully exploited to deliver on a number of levels - from the straightforward eroticism of the Krasian women and the relationship between Leesha and Jardir to the hopelessness of the unrequited love Rojer feels for Leesha, and Leesha in turn feels for Arlen, and at every turn it's well-handled and convincing, alternating between blatant sexuality and an almost coy drawing-of-the-veil, with rich and vivid description making a luxurious counterpoint to the spare harshness of their world.The ending comes abruptly, too soon, on a note of hope, and left me desperate for more. Even now, a day after I read the book, I'm sick with story, snagged on elements of it, and wishing I could go back into that world to find out what happens next. I'm going to go back to the beginning, and re-read the two of them back-to-back. It won't help any with the longing, but hopefully it'll ease the craving a little.
    • 3/5
      I liked the first book, The Warded Man, and had hoped that this second book would be as good. One word there. Disappointment. The characterization has lost its appeal. Rojer is even less developed than before; Leesha has suddenly become good at anything and everything she does, and has become even more beautiful than before; and Arlen lacked the sophisticated and mysterious air he had in the first book. I only enjoyed reading his narratives when he was alone traveling in the forests. His interaction with fellow characters didn't seem true to his character at all. And of course Jadir whose back story took up a full 200 pages, with half of that being an overlap of events that had already happened in the first book. Also, I've thought back to the first book and remembered some of the women scenes that I didn't like and then looked at this book and realized I didn't like any of the women scenes. I simply don't like how Brett writes his women. Too much focus on sex/rape and manipulation. If I hadn't wanted to know the how the basic story played out, I wouldn't have finished the book. I hope the third book is better, and that this was just a weak link, because I would not read this book again.
    • 4/5
      This was good. Much better than the first book in my opinion. You've got the deep characters and inter-character relationships along with lots of action and a spotlight on a new culture- the Crasians. Now at first I really hoped Crasian was short for "crazy Asians" because that could have been really cool. But instead the Crasians are basically Muslims-with-a-twist. Not that I didn't like that but come on, Crazy Asians sound really fun. The culture was really integral to the story and words like Shar’Dama Ka and Inevera gave the book a very exotic feel. I love the idea of warding and the whole "demons come out at night" thing leaves a lot of room for action. My only real problem with the book was that somewhere near the middle, after focusing on the exciting Crasians for a long time he went back to the non-crasians and things settled into the "Little House on the Prairie" mode again (like most of the first book). It was kind of jarring and not that much fun except for some much needed revenge.There was one other small problem: the series didn't end. It really seemed like everything was going to be finished and then it wasn't. I didn't know that a third book was already written and scheduled for release in Feb 2013. Reading the first book is definitely worth it to get to this one. Hopefully the third will be as good (and finish the series).
    • 4/5
      Desert Spear starts like a new novel, not the middle part of a trilogy. The first quarter follows the rise of Ahmann Jardir as he inexorably climbs the ranks within the tribes of Krasia. The Desert Spear, once having established this story arc, follows both Jardir and Arlen, the Painted Man, as their destinies collide. This produces a clever new direction for the plot as humans vie for power and territory whilst continuing to war against the demons after sunset. The first third is hard going, especially since the characters from the first book are entirely absent. However once the action swings back to include Arlen and his colleagues the pace and interest is back to that from the first novel. It's still dark and unforgiving at times, however it's Brett's narrative style and tone that makes this compulsive reading.
    • 3/5
      Not my favorite, but a good, solid science fantasy read. In a post-apocalyptic earth-like world, demons roam the earth at night, preying on humans. Humans can only defend themselves with wards written in wood or stone or in the earth. Most people live either in small, spread out towns or in one of the few large, well-defended cities, but everyone lives in fear. One boy sets out to defy his father but finds himself defying demons with the lost are of tattooing. A young girl develops her talent as ab herb-gatherer and discovers her own lost arts of warding. Another young boy finds survival with his musical talent. The three plots intertwine to make for a compelling read.
    • 3/5
      The first of the four sections of Desert Spear gave us a hawk's eye view of life as a desert warrior. Jardir and Abban provided the lenses through which we observed the life paths of the warrior caste and the scorned merchant caste. To their own detriment, the Karsians are living (or dying) proof of Darwin's theory of evolution: only the strong survive. We saw glimpses of the other castes, including the clerics, subdivisions within the warriors and the women (as broodmares in the warriors' harems, as healers, as seeresses/sorceresses).

      Jardir acquires the Spear of the Deliverer (less honorably and nobly than he should have), declares himself the Deliverer returned and advances north to invade, conquer, convert and conscript everyone and everything to begin the Karsian version of Armageddon against the corelings.

      Jardir overruns the first fort in the North with little trouble and begins advancing on the next rather than waiting a year to consolidate and secure supplies. He leaves the khaffit (merchant caste) behind to do what it does best while he proceeds further north with his quest.

      The rest of the sections reunite us with Arlen (the Warded Man), Leesha (Herb Gatherer of recently renamed Deliverer's Hollow), and Rojer (violinist of exceptional skill and talent, especially in charming demons and unruly animals). Renna makes a dramatic comeback from Tibbet's Brook.

      While we learn many things about the Karsians, their history, philosophy, culture, customs and religion, we see less character development from the cast of the first novel. However, we are introduced, briefly to two new powerful demon types, who play pivotal roles throughout the story. Of the four listed above, Leesha learns and adapts most, while Renna's suffering wrenched my heart, yet her redemption and liberation satisfied tremendously. Arlen and Rojer seem stunted emotionally in comparison.

      A quick read, even at nearly six hundred pages, surging with action and adventure.
    • 3/5
      I just realized my review of The Desert Spear is going to sound overly critical, but that isn't to say I disliked the book. Despite a slow start, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, but it still paled in comparison to how I felt when I first picked up The Warded Man, the book that came before.I'm not going to reveal more than what anyone can read for themselves in a synopsis of the book found on any bookseller website, so I think it's safe to say that it was clear from the start that Jardir, the Krasian leader we met back in the first book, is going to be the Warded Man's rival. Given the circumstances of how the last book ended, Jardir's character wasn't exactly likable, and to flip open The Desert Spear only to have it start off immediately with the story of his life was a disappointment to say the least. I'd wanted more Arlen, more Leesha, more Rojer!After finishing the novel, however, I can sort of see why the author might have chosen to begin it this way. Still, in my opinion, devoting the entire first third of the book to Jardir was a bit too much. Getting through the first part was a trying experience; as fascinating as Brett made the Krasian culture, I soon grew tired of the stereotypes and the pages and pages of testosterone fueled raging.But when I finally made it to where we catch up with our three Thesan heroes again, I was shocked to see how two-dimensional they had become. I was most disappointed with Leesha, who had been my favorite, because she seemed to have become supergirl overnight: beautiful and desirable beyond belief, adept at everything she puts her skills to, perfect in every way. Rojer irked me too, and I realized that what had made him interesting to me in the first book was his relationship with Arrick, his mentor. I remember Rojer's story of how he and Arrick first encountered each other was so powerful and touching that it brought tears to my eyes. No Arrick here meant that the dynamic was gone as well. Then it occurred to me that I felt much the same way about Leesah and Bruna.Arlen fared better. I still think he's a great character, even though everyone else around him seems to have deteriorated into cliches. The less said about any secondary or support characters the better -- some of them, like Gared or Elona or even Jardir's wife have little depth to speak of.Now the good stuff: I liked how Brett provided several "primer" moments to remind readers what had happened in the first book, good for people like me who forget certain details easily, even though it's been barely two weeks since I read The Warded Man. He could have done it more subtly, perhaps, but I appreciated not having to wrack my brain trying to remember something important.And the best part of the book: the last 5%. While I felt the Warded Man had a strong start but fizzled out a bit at the end, I felt the opposite was true in the case of The Desert Spear. The ending Brett left us with is really good, full of action and crazy events that happen both in the north and in the south, and was almost enough to bump my rating up a full star to 4 out of 5. My excitement for this series had waned a little in the beginning, but thanks to the awesome ending, it's now back and I'm looking forward to the next book.
    • 4/5
      Skip the first half… boring back story of the villain… but then it gets great.