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The Painted Man (Demon Trilogy 1)
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Review
'I enjoyed The Painted Man immensely. Action and suspense all the way.'
Terry Brooks
‘An absolute masterpiece… literally unputdownable, and deserves to be the next Big Thing in dark fantasy.'
www.ozhorrorscope.com.
'A very accomplished debut fantasy. Recommended.'
www.sfrevu.com.
Readers Reviews:
‘If the next two books in this series live up to this one it will be one day named as a classic fantasy series.’ Joanne Horsley, (NSW)
‘What a book!!! I am going to go insane waiting for the sequel/s to come out!!’ Robert San Remo (NSW)
‘Fantastic first book for his trilogy!! This is a name to remember.’ Linda Naremburn (NSW)
‘Absolutely brilliant! This one will easily slot up there as one of my top 5 or 10 favourites, and will be strongly recommended.'
ANZ WA account manager response.
'The first in a fabulous new fantasy series that is likely to become a classic. Excellent fantasy literature; can't wait for the next book.
The Cairns Post
‘It is impossible to put this book down.’ Merryl (Dianella, WA)
'An excellent book. It kept me awake long after I should have gone to bed.' Rachelle (Burnie, TAS)
‘A great read and not your average fantasy.’ Bonnie, Booktagger Rating: 9/10.
www.ozhorrorscope.com
`An absolute masterpiece... literally unputdownable, and deserves to be the next Big Thing in dark fantasy.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 81 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Painted Man tells the tale of Arlen whom we meet as a 11 year old boy in the aftermath of a demon attack on the village of Tibbet's Brook. Arlen lives in a world where the coming of night brings the rise of the coreling , demons of various flavours ( wood near forests , stone in the highlands / mountain ranges and sand in the desert , you get the picture ) Humanity has chosen to hide behind magical wards that these coreling cannot cross , living sheltered lives only during daylight hours.
Without spoiling the story tragedy strikes and Arlen leaves home, determined to not be cowed by the coreling , angry at humanity's inability or lack of willingness to take back the night .
The story is also told through 2 other POV's , Leesha is a 13 year old girl at the start of the book and lives in the woodcutting town of Cutters Hollow . Her fairytale existence is shattered with public humiliation and she ends up apprenticed to the hamlets healer, a crone almost as fearsome as the demons themselves.
The third and final POV is that of young Rojan , when his parent wards are breached his family is slaughtered and he is taken in by the a wandering jongleur ( master performer be it in music / magic or song ) He is taken to the city of Fort Angiers and becomes apprentice to Dukes own minstrel.
Now so far it all seems so far so farmboy/girl saves the world , and i guess in part it is, but the books strength lies in the characterisation, we see Arlen , Leesha and Rojen grow up in little vignettes , skipping forward a few years each time, we get to see Leesha become a woman and an accomplished healer ( and carrier of knowledge protected by the women of her trade) we see Rojen's struggle to support himself and his alcoholic mentor and we get to see Arlen grow to become a skilled ward maker who struggles to fight his inner demons (his desire to fight the coreling ) and eventually embarks on a career as a messenger , hunting for ways to fight the demons when he has the chance.
All in all the books has all the usual fantasy tropes , its largely predictable and it does absolutely nothing new...... However the strength lies in the way Brett has painted these characters and the absolute perfect pacing of the book . It rarely lets go from the first page , Arlen and co are very likeable , the character motivations are plausible and the corelings are suitably frightening . The Painted Man is very much a book in the mould of David Gemmell , anyone who loves a book that is simply a good fast paced story with likeable character need to read this
Without spoiling the story tragedy strikes and Arlen leaves home, determined to not be cowed by the coreling , angry at humanity's inability or lack of willingness to take back the night .
The story is also told through 2 other POV's , Leesha is a 13 year old girl at the start of the book and lives in the woodcutting town of Cutters Hollow . Her fairytale existence is shattered with public humiliation and she ends up apprenticed to the hamlets healer, a crone almost as fearsome as the demons themselves.
The third and final POV is that of young Rojan , when his parent wards are breached his family is slaughtered and he is taken in by the a wandering jongleur ( master performer be it in music / magic or song ) He is taken to the city of Fort Angiers and becomes apprentice to Dukes own minstrel.
Now so far it all seems so far so farmboy/girl saves the world , and i guess in part it is, but the books strength lies in the characterisation, we see Arlen , Leesha and Rojen grow up in little vignettes , skipping forward a few years each time, we get to see Leesha become a woman and an accomplished healer ( and carrier of knowledge protected by the women of her trade) we see Rojen's struggle to support himself and his alcoholic mentor and we get to see Arlen grow to become a skilled ward maker who struggles to fight his inner demons (his desire to fight the coreling ) and eventually embarks on a career as a messenger , hunting for ways to fight the demons when he has the chance.
All in all the books has all the usual fantasy tropes , its largely predictable and it does absolutely nothing new...... However the strength lies in the way Brett has painted these characters and the absolute perfect pacing of the book . It rarely lets go from the first page , Arlen and co are very likeable , the character motivations are plausible and the corelings are suitably frightening . The Painted Man is very much a book in the mould of David Gemmell , anyone who loves a book that is simply a good fast paced story with likeable character need to read this
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a mixed book for me; I felt there was an extremely strong story/theme but it was let down in places.
Firstly the good.
I thought that the premise of the book was excellent and refreshing. Brett manages to portray the fear, hate and loneliness of Humanity living in the age of Demons. In the first chapter (when a demon attack is described) it is very raw and the loss well written.
The pacing is generally good throughout the book, there are moments when it loses pace/track but otherwise things plod steadily forward.
The characters are the strongest part of the book - I felt extreme empathy with the 3 main members. Particularly Arlen in the first half of the book, and Rojer in later parts.
Now the bad, and some of it is very bad.
The first bad part is the sex; there seems this wierd fascination for fantasy writers (not just Brett) to depict a LOT of sex. And a lot of very brutal sex, fruity references to virginity and so forth. For Leesha that is a core part of her story - but it is overdone I think. Lots of silly references and crude jokes/stories that detract from a key character.
The second bad part is Arlen. He "disappears" for a large part of the story and, as a my favourite character, that is a shame. By disappear I mean there are months of "in-book" time we just do not hear about him. When he reappears helping Rojer and Leesha on the road he is initially portrayed as a "wild man", then something else, then... I'm not sure he really fits this character as well as Arlen the boy forced to become a man. The strength of Arlens character comes from his resilience, his bloody mindedness in fighting back, his anger; none of which really sticks when he returns to the story. His and Leesha's sex scene here is poorly done; it was a good plot device executed badly.
The worst part of the book was the finale; it has a weak premise and it is not adequately put together in the context of all the characters. It felt "rushed" as a battle with a number of plot holes and contrived parts.
Finally; there are parts of the book that feel "sticky" and badly written. paragraphs don't flow and the writing tends to wrap itself around a description/topic (this is probably more the lack of a good editor)
With all that said; it is still absolutely a recommended read. As fantasy goes the characters are extremely good and the plot, if executed a little weakly, is excellent. You can pick it up and enjoy it completely without really noticing the weak spots.
On the other hand: it has put me off the remainder of the series.
Firstly the good.
I thought that the premise of the book was excellent and refreshing. Brett manages to portray the fear, hate and loneliness of Humanity living in the age of Demons. In the first chapter (when a demon attack is described) it is very raw and the loss well written.
The pacing is generally good throughout the book, there are moments when it loses pace/track but otherwise things plod steadily forward.
The characters are the strongest part of the book - I felt extreme empathy with the 3 main members. Particularly Arlen in the first half of the book, and Rojer in later parts.
Now the bad, and some of it is very bad.
The first bad part is the sex; there seems this wierd fascination for fantasy writers (not just Brett) to depict a LOT of sex. And a lot of very brutal sex, fruity references to virginity and so forth. For Leesha that is a core part of her story - but it is overdone I think. Lots of silly references and crude jokes/stories that detract from a key character.
The second bad part is Arlen. He "disappears" for a large part of the story and, as a my favourite character, that is a shame. By disappear I mean there are months of "in-book" time we just do not hear about him. When he reappears helping Rojer and Leesha on the road he is initially portrayed as a "wild man", then something else, then... I'm not sure he really fits this character as well as Arlen the boy forced to become a man. The strength of Arlens character comes from his resilience, his bloody mindedness in fighting back, his anger; none of which really sticks when he returns to the story. His and Leesha's sex scene here is poorly done; it was a good plot device executed badly.
The worst part of the book was the finale; it has a weak premise and it is not adequately put together in the context of all the characters. It felt "rushed" as a battle with a number of plot holes and contrived parts.
Finally; there are parts of the book that feel "sticky" and badly written. paragraphs don't flow and the writing tends to wrap itself around a description/topic (this is probably more the lack of a good editor)
With all that said; it is still absolutely a recommended read. As fantasy goes the characters are extremely good and the plot, if executed a little weakly, is excellent. You can pick it up and enjoy it completely without really noticing the weak spots.
On the other hand: it has put me off the remainder of the series.
111 of 128 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Superb debut novel from Peter V. Brett. This is the first instalment of the Demon Trilogy, a real thrill ride of a read. The novel places the reader into the world of "Tibbets Brook", where the night is inhabited by seemingly immortal demons, and the inhabitants have to protect themselves and pray for the first light of day. The novel tells the story of Arlen, Leesha and Rojer, each of whom is equipped with very different skills, but together may be able to save civilisation. The book is very character driven, and the deveopment of these characters is done extremely well. There are so many authors writing in the fantasy genre, but Peter Brett offers a completely new take on it. The story moves along at a cracking pace, and never lets up. I read this in one sitting (9am - 6pm), it really is that gripping. I can't wait for the second part of the trilogy! One of the best books I've read this year, and one of the best fantasy novels ever!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Start
We meet the characters from very early on in their lives and see how at first they are tormented by their differing situations and we get to see how they develop and by the end of... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Von-Ricthoven
Good start
This is a powerful start to a story that has obviously been well plotted to run over the three books, the characters are strong and well formed from the start even the lesser... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Leon
Hollywood Take Note
In a word, fantastic.
I've never read Peter V. Brett but have just ordered the second book in this series, which is probably the best compliment I could pay The Painted... Read more
I've never read Peter V. Brett but have just ordered the second book in this series, which is probably the best compliment I could pay The Painted... Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Rosen
Fab
Found this a little difficult to get into but was SO glad I stuck with it. An intriging and highly intelligently written story which isn't afraid to go to some dark and complex... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Doris
Exemplary
Mr Brett has taken the fantasy genre and breathed new life into it by creating a universe that is both novel and fascinating. Read more
Published 1 month ago by F. C. Fletcher
Bland and predictable
I remember really disliking this book because of its shallow characters and overall dull setting. I realize many people seem to like this book but for me personally it was as... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mellow Kirby
Loved it!
A very imaginative book. I loved it from the very first chapter. Was getting tired of the same old hack and slash fantasy and this was certainly a breath of fresh air. Read more
Published 2 months ago by PonyMad
Couldnt put it down
This is an excellent read,I couldnt put it down.It started off slowly and I thought 'What am I doing reading about demons that come out of the ground at night for'. Read more
Published 3 months ago by The Bream man
An amazing, well written epic fantasy adventure
In a fantasy world where demons rise at night - rock demons, fire demons, water demons and air demons the inhabitants of this world hide behind wards at night. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lynette Ferreira
Thoroughly enjoyed this - really engaging and engrossing
It took me quite a while to get around to this novel. If I'm honest, I have no idea why. I think it just came out when I already had a lot on my plate and so it got pushed down the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stefan
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