Review: The Painted Man - Peter V Brent

US title: The Warded Man
Demon trilogy, book 1

Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 480
Published: 2008

As darkness falls each night, the corelings rise.  For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards–symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and mystery, and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile.

It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms. But those days are gone. The fighting wards are lost. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the the wards.

Arlen will pay any price, embrace any sacrifice, for freedom. Crippled by the demons that killed his parents, Rojer seeks solace in music.Beautiful Leesha, who has suffered at the hands of men as well as demons, becomes an expert healer.

Together, they will stand against the night.

Yes, it seems to be a fantasy week, what a lovely week it has been. This book wasn't scary, but the world was, and I would never even want to think of having to have to live there.

Plot:

Man has always had demons, but then magic was discovered and wards created to keep the demons away. Wars were fought, and the science emerged, the wards were lost and now so much is gone, and humankind is loosing. They hide behind their walls as the night comes and demons attack. fighting back is futile.

Arlen keeps wondering why they can't fight back and he becomes much more than he ever imagined. Because he know that if they don't fight back, the demons will win. There are also two other POVs in this book. Leesha who becomes a herb gatherer, and Rojer who becomes a jongleur. They are all important in this society. Arlen brings news, Leesha heals the dying and Rojer makes people forget about the pain.

My thoughts:

I liked Arlen and he grew up to be a very determined man, and when the book ended I kept wondering what happens next. Leesha, she had courage and she was smart. It's not an easy world to be a woman in. Rojer, well I will tell you soon.

The world was freaking scary, those demons, having to hide at night, hearing them howl, how could this possibly end? The world building was interesting, the ward magic and the structure of the society was good. Everything fit perfectly.

But the negative part of the book, Rojer, luckily his POV wasn't around as much because he frankly bored me. 

Even with that it's still a great book, and it might be the scariest fantasy world I have read about in a really long time.

Recommendation and final thoughts:

I'd recommend this to fantasy fans, I wasn't sure about the demons, but the moment I turned over page 1, I knew I had to have more.  I will definitely read book 2, it was a cool book, and because something happened at the end. It will turn even more interesting.

Cover thoughts: Dunno, but it does look better close up cos you can see wards on his face.