The Desert Spear
 | |
| Author | Peter V. Brett |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Larry Rostant |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Demon Cycle |
| Genre | Fantasy, Horror |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 608 |
| ISBN | 0-345-50381-3 |
| Preceded by | The Painted Man |
| Followed by | The Daylight War |
The Desert Spear is a fantasy novel written by American writer Peter V. Brett and sequel to The Painted Man (titled The Warded Man in the US). It is the second part of the Demon Cycle and was released in April 2010, published by Del Rey Books in the US and Canada, and Voyager in the UK.
Summary
The novel continues the story of mankind's battle against demons known as "corelings", which rise from the planet's core each night to feast upon humans.
The Desert Spear is book two of the Demon quintet. The Deliverer has returned, but who is he? Arlen Bales, formerly of the small hamlet of Tibbet's Brook, learned harsh lessons about life as he grew up in a world where hungry demons stalk the night and humanity is trapped by its own fear. He chose a different path; chose to fight inherited apathy and the corelings, and eventually he became the Painted Man, a reluctant saviour. But the figure emerging from the desert, believed by many to be "The Deliverer", is not Arlen. He is a friend and betrayer, and though he carries the spear from the Deliverer's tomb, he also heads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demon plague and anyone else who stands in his way.[1]
Major characters
Jardir ("Shar'Dama Ka")
Jardir, the self-proclaimed Shar'Dama Ka [Deliverer], returns to become a pivotal figure. His childhood, as well as the unique customs and rituals of his people are greatly elaborated on. Wielder of a relic supposedly used by the preceding Deliverer himself.
Arlen Bales ("The Warded Man")
Having discovered the lost combat wards necessary to fight the corelings and the subsequent betrayal by his "friend" Jardir, Arlen became a wandering hunter of corelings. Through this he met Rojer and Leesha. Together they managed to save Cutter's Hollow from destruction, becoming a leader in their eyes despite his own denials. Now he must spread the fighting wards to the rest of the humans while struggling with his own humanity, which is thrown into question by the absorption of demon magic through the eating of coreling flesh.
Leesha
A herb gatherer from Deliverer's Hollow (formerly Cutter's Hollow).
Rojer
A fiddle player, who can charm and incite fear into Demons. So far he is unable to fully pass on the magic, though his apprentices are close.
Renna Tanner
After she was abused by her father and sentenced to death by the unrepentant villagers, Renna lost her fear. Along with Arlen she braved the night, killing corelings. Her personality shifts dramatically through the book as she becomes imbued with coreling magic painted on her skin. She gets more aggressive and driven, and sometimes cruel - as proven in the episode when she cut the hand of the man who tried to grope her. Unlike Arlen, though, she lacks the cool logic and tight control that define him now.
Renna is the daughter of Harl Tanner. When she was 10 Arlen and his father stopped at her father's farm on their way to a herb gatherer; she was promised to Arlen. Later, though, her sister, Ilain, ran away with Arlen's father, because Harl was raping her night after night, and Arlen left too, to become a Messenger. Her older sister left with her betrothed after a while after she suffered the same treatment and she was left alone with Harl and father didn't allow other suitors to come near her. 14 years later she tried to run away with Cobie Fisher, but her father caught her repeatedly and, in the end, stabbed and mutilated Cobie. Renna snapped and killed her father with the same knife and cut him into pieces. Later she found her way to Ilain's house where Cobie's relatives found her, and asked for a trial, believing that she tried to lure him and she killed him and her father - partially true. The Village Speakers held a trial, but as neither of her sisters were willing to speak about their father, she was found guilty and was sentenced to be tied to a stake and left for the corelings. Arlen found her that night in the center of the village and cut her loose. She travelled with him since.
Corelings
In addition to the corelings introduced in the first book, The Painted Man, the novel features new corelings, first described in "The Great Bazaar and other stories".
Water Demons
Tentacled corelings unable to live on land. Not much information about these corelings has been provided in the books.
Clay demons
Small, dog-sized creatures that occupy the Krasian desert and use their camouflage to blend in with surround walls and overwhelm their prey; their armored skulls can deliver a heavy blow.
Sand demons
Smaller versions of rock demons, which stand on all-fours and are the most commonly encountered demons in the deserts of Krasia where they hunt the sands in packs
Fire demons
Small demons capable of spitting fire, they are the first demons to completely solidify during at dusk due to their size. Fire demons have a racial hatred towards Wood demons, and may attack them if no other prey is nearby and they have sufficient numbers.
Wood demons
Amongst the largest demons, a typical Wood demon stands between five and seven feet tall, with skin exactly resembling the bark of a tree. Wood demons have a natural hatred for Fire demons, so much so that they will attack any Fire demon nearby, especially if they are in or near a forest. With the exception of Rock and Mimic demons, Wood demons are amongst the most physically powerful Corelings.
Rock Demons
Composed completely of solid rock, no other Coreling can quite inspire the amount of fear as a Rock demon. Rock demons are the most physically powerful Corelings, except perhaps the Mimic demon. Their power and ferocity, as well as a measure of intelligence (as seen in the actions of "One Arm" from The Painted Man), make them exceptionally dangerous. Their attacks consist entirely of brute force, enabling them to take advantage of the smallest weakness or misalignment of a warded area.
All other demons fear and respect the power of the rock demon, backing away from them and giving them a wide berth. Only the Fire demons will come close to Rock demons, who hope to be the first to enter a warded area if the Rock demon is able to find a weakness.
Mind demons
These are the coreling princes. They are the strategists and generals of the demon horde and princes of the hive; physically frail, they rely upon telepathic powers which allow them to read the minds of and control people as well as command the coreling drones. In addition to telepathy the mind demons also possess the ability to use magic beyond the simple healing abilities of other demons, deactivating wards or using their magic offensively. Usually, they're bonded telepathically with a mimic.
Mimic demons
Bodyguards to the physically fragile mind demons and are able to effect the form of any living thing including a human or other corelings. The mimics themselves lack even the thought level of the basic demons but act at a higher level due to the direct control of the mind demons that control them.
Bank Demons
Frog like demons large enough to swallow a man whole. These demons come up out of the water and grab people who stray too close to the shore with their tongues, at which point the demon either consumes its prey on the spot or drags it into the water to drown it.
Snow Demons
Snow Demons are large, cat like corelings who live in the mountains close to Miln. They are covered in white fur and spikes. They rarely come down to the low lands as they are very vulnerable to heat.
Wind Demon
A dangerous demon of the air, this type of demon takes people from the sky. The large wing-span makes it hard for it to take off but once in the air, it is hard to take down.
Reception
The novel entered at no. 35 in the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller List in April 2010.[2] It has ranked in the top 15 of The Times Hardback Fiction Bestseller List since its release in April.[3]
Sequels
The third volume, entitled The Daylight War, was released February 12, 2013. Following the events of The Desert Spear, the books main characters must fight against an army of demons. According to Brett, The Daylight War precedes two more planned novels (in addition to novellas) in the series, making it a quintet.[4]
Film adaptation
It has been confirmed that the Demon Cycle has been optioned for film production by the major Hollywood director Paul W. S. Anderson and longtime producing partner Jeremy Bolt, the duo behind the Resident Evil film franchise.[5]
References
- ↑ "Author's Blog - Peephole In My Skull: Desert Spear Update, II". May 2, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑ Schuessler, Jennifer (2010-04-23). "The Desert Spear at no. 35 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller List". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑ "Author's Blog: Peephole in My Skull: Two Timer". 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
- ↑ Brett, Peter V. "Publishing Update", Peter V Brett. Retrieved 17 September 2013
- ↑ "'Resident Evil' duo picks up 'Warded'". HollywoodReporter.com. 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
External links
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