Look to the picture on the left, it is
a cover for a book called, The Painted Man. When I saw the
cover of this book initially, I wondered, who is this cloaked man, and what is
his story? This is one of the coolest book covers I have ever laid my eyes on, it makes you want to read the book and find out what it is about.
The Painted Man is the
first installment in a high fantasy pentology called, The Demon
Cycle. The series is penned by the best-selling author Peter V. Brett.
For more than 2 years, the series'
first four books waited for me on the bookshelf. I was waiting for
the final book to be released so I can binge read the whole series. Upon the series' completion, I quickly dived into The Painted Man. Over the next 4 nights, I immersed myself in Peter V. Brett's monster-infested world, and I loved every page of it!
Synopsis:
The red sun sank below the horizon as the darkness took the land. Among the black forest emerged the shapes
of something inhuman; for the demons, AKA corlings, have have come to
terrorize the night yet again...
Ancient legends and sagas sang the
story of Deliverer, who, in the forgotten melinima once led humanity
to victory against the demonic hordes. In those days, humans, wielding mighty weapons etched in battle wards, were able to
stand toe to toe against the corlings in mortal combats. When the
corlings finally retreated, the age of magic faded from the living memory,
and in its stead came the golden age of science.
Alas, the peace and the prosperity was
not to last. Like a thief in the night, the corlings re-appeared to
gorge themselves on the human flesh. With the battle wards long
forgotten, the humans did not stand a chance against the corlings.
For hundreds of years, the corlings grew stronger, night after night,
and so humanity dwindled until it is but a shadow of its former self.
Is humanity doomed? From the aftermaths
of corling attacks came three survivors. Among them, one named Arlen
Bale, will turn the tide of the battle when he becomes The Painted
Man.
My thoughts on this book:
Wow, just wow! The Painted Man gripped
me from the very first page until the last. I read this book, some
550 pages in length, in 4 sittings. The time became a forgotten concept when I was reading The Painted Man, and I was not able to put the book down. What is so good about this book? Here is a short answer - The Painted Man is superb in 3 areas; the story, the
characters, and the worldbuilding.
Three POV characters narrated the story
in The Painted Man; Arlen, Lessha, and Rojen. The first half of the
book followed the journeys of these three characters, from their
childhood until they reached adulthood. These characters were haunted by their memories of past trauma, coming to term with their internal conflicts. Arlen is The Painted Man, and (arguably) the main
protagonist. Out of the three POV characters, Arlen interested me the
most. I especially liked the way Peter V. Brett depicted how Arlen wrestled with the tragic loss of his mother.
Meanwhile, Leesha, although an interesting character, but I did not
like her as much because she seemed too kind to be real. However, I like Rojen a lot, he is a musician and also the 3rd POV character in the book. While each of these characters has a unique voice and a personality, but their stories have a common theme – fear.
Indeed, fear. I believe in this book Peter V. Brett was writing about fear, and the struggles associated with overcoming
fear. I tip my hat to Mr. Brett because he wrote
powerfully and beautifully. His characters have substances and depths.
I think Peter V. Brett must have extensively researched psychology
prior to penning his characters, because his characters feel authentically human. As a reader, I cared
for, and connected with these characters. When the book concluded, I walked away with a sense of investment in the story and its characters, and I wanted read
more of it.
The Painted Man also boasts some of the
best worldbuilding in the genre. The world in this book is detailed and fascinating. While this book may be speculative fiction, with fantastical elements set in a
pseudo-medieval world, but Peter V. Brett's world is also a
post-apocalyptic one, where humanity declined to the rock bottom due to centuries of slaughters at the hands of powerful monsters. This
post-apocalyptic vision depicted, very realistically, how the human
civilization could adapt its social structures, in areas such as ethics, philosophy, economy, and religion, to survive in
such extreme conditions.
In my opinion, The Painted Man
is a bit like a mixture of A Game of Thrones, Aliens, and 28 Days Later. It is a refreshing take on the high fantasy genre, and it comes with splashes of horror. I
have never read a fantasy novel as unique as this one, and the book was a
blast. This is a must read for any fantasy readers. As for me, I am off to the exciting sequel, The Desert Spear.
Until the next time, happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment