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A review by liz_ross
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Let others determine your worth and you've already lost, because no one wants people worth more than themselves."
I hate reviewing five stars books. I think I have said it already, but I will say it again. I hate it. I hate it, because no matter what I say, in the end I will always feel like I haven't said enough, like I haven't made justice to the book. So, I really don't want to write this review, because my love for this book is huge and to reduce it to a few paragraphs doesn't really feel right. But I will try, because this book deserves A LOT more recognition than it gets and the only way it will get it is if more people hear about it and I am sure positive reviews is the way to go.
So, in case you haven't undersrood that yet, I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK. IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! And why? Well, because it is one of the closest things to perfection I have ever had the pleasure to read.
The world is amazing. It's so realistic and yet magical and once you have heard about it, you can't help wanting to find a way to get inside the book and visit it. I think Brett found the perfect balance between plot development and world building and I loved how I would get more and more information about the world while the characters' lives were being developed.
What I liked the most about it was the whole demons concept and the wards that allowed humans to survive against them. I think it was the first time I saw demons like these and it's not only refreshing, but also absolutely captivating, giving the whole story a really interesting dynamic. A dynamic that is obviously influenced by the existence of wards that protect humans from demons - which, although isn't as original as Brett's representation of demons, is still quite interesting as they have their own history and are actually vital to the turn the story takes.
But there's even more than that to the world. I mean, with such an amazing magical system, I wouldn't mind if there wasn't any more world building worth the name. I would take a "normal" world, one of those regular fantasy worlds that is nothing but a background for the story to happen. I won't say I would be happy to see that happen, but I wouldn't be that mad if it did.
And yet Brett doesn't do that. Brett creates and develops his own, unique world. A feudal system full of traditions and clearly patriarchal, but undeniably good and credible. A lot of authors forget that even in the same country, not every single area has the same traditions. Even if they have the same base, some villages or cities may give the culture and traditions more value and attention than others. Brett didn't forget it. While in cities like Miln, where the influence of the governors is stronger, culture and traditions are heavily supported and anyone that goes agaisnt them is likely to end up in prison or dead, in villages like Cutter's Hollow, those traditions, which are already slightly different (we don't have the Mothers/Daughters distinction), haven't as much influence and although the society is still patriarchal, patriarchy isn't as strong as in the cities. And then, of course, there's Krasia, that despite being technically part of the same divided country, couldn't be more different from the rest of the world. Although it is clearly based on the culture of the old Muslim societies, I don't think it intends to cast a bad light upon them as I have read in some reviews - in fact, Brett chose to make the Krasians the only ones brave enough to try to fight the corelings, making them a very different and undoubtely interesting addition to a world where everyone seems too afraid of demons to try to fight back.
I think what Brett really intends to do with what can be seen as his represention of Islamism is alert to the risks of fanatism. Because if we really think about it, we will realize that the rest of the world has as main religion his version of Christianism and both are extremes. Just different extremes. Krasians show the danger of turning a fair fight against demons into the only thing that matters because of religion. The Northerns show the danger of doing nothing and waiting for the arrivial of someone to save them, allowing the demons to kill, hurt and destroy everything they want.
However, no story will ever get five stars out of me just for its world (no matter how amazing it is). The Warded Man got five stars, because not only the world building is amazing but so are the characters and the plot.
The thing is, the characters are also amazing. Realistic, loveable, complex. No character does only good things or bad things. They are flawed, human. And because of that, there's no "good" or "bad" guys. Just people, doing what they think is better and making mistakes. I can give so many examples of what I am saying. Arlen, so desperate for love and so scared of it at the same time; wanting to get revenge so badly he doesn't realize he is giving too much away in order to get that. Leesha, smart, brilliant and strong, but so quick to judge others sometimes. Rojer, so easy to pity and love, but so infuriating when he decides to act like an idiot. Even Jeph, Jardir and Arrick are like that. I want to hate them all so badly, but how can I? They all did what they could, what they thought was better. Jeph and Arrick are cowards. But can we really judge Jeph' cowardice and prudence when we are not the ones living in a world filled with demons? I blame Jeph for breaking his promise so easily, but I can't help but understand him. And I want to hate Arrick so badly for everything Rojer lost because of him. But for every bad thing he did, he found a good one to balance. And the good doesn't excuse the bad, but I can't blame him for being human, especially when he did everything he could to grant Kelly her last wish. And Jardir... Oh, how I want to hate Jardir for what he did! But I can't. I feel an urge to strangle him, to kill him, slowly and painfully. And it should mean that I hate him, but I don't. I can see why he did what he did, I can see that he has good intentions, even if stained by his huge pride. And no matter how much I want to, I can't hate him when all he wants is to get rid of all the demons.
So, Brett created an extraordinary world and the proceeded to fill it with these amazing characters with unique personalities, allowing that world to come to life. And the story itself. These characters are the story. These character, who represent strenght and courage and intelligence, but also greed and pride and hate. They are the story, because more than anything this is a story about humanity. I can't help seeing it as a huge metaphor for the importance of fighting our fears, of not letting them control us and tell us what to do, but making sure that we don't become so focused on fighting those fears that we forget to live. These characters, their lives, their relationships, their growth are the plot. It's them that define what happens and it would only take one of them to vanish for the whole story to change irremidiably.
And it feels right. I can't imagine this story in any other way. But more than that, it makes the story unpredictable. Because humans are unpredictable. This unwelcoming world is unpredictable. And if I can't even find a predictable base to start building a theory, how can I have one at all? I go blind, living the story as it develops and never even if just a little step ahead. And that is amazing.
It isn't just a metaphor for the importance of fighting our fears, though. I can also see it as a very clear warning about many things wrong about our society. From the risks of fanatism (that I've already refered) to the problems with patriarchy, namely the sexism in itself and the hyper-sexualization of the woman body. These were matters that pissed me off, I felt the urge to choke every single man I found (with some especial exceptions) for the way they treated women. But Brett handled these matters well. He created these strong female character, who don't take crap from anyone, man or woman, and that are clear embodiments of the feminism ideals, especially Bruna. And he made some characters question the hyper-sexualization of the woman body and clearly stand against it.
I do have to give credit where it is due. All of this? It would be nothing without Brett's stunning writing style. I can live every scene, feel every emotion, imagine every place and person. I am immersed by this story, taken to its world by his addicting writing style that makes you unable to put the book down.
But if I have to give credit where it's due, I also have to point out the things I didn't like or that weren't as good. And if Brett handled well the sexism and hyper-sexualization well, I can't say the same about rape. He should have <i>never</i> decided to put it in his book, because he doesn't know how to handle it. People have to move on, yes. To cope, to heal. But it's not magical, it certainly doesn't take half a day to heal. Fuck it, most people never fully heal! And the way the character that was raped seems so fine after it, how she needs less than a day to move on? Not right. At all. The few times Brett tried to adress it later seemd artificial, which is great for Brett as an individual as it means he never had to go trhough such a traumatic experience or see someone deal with its consequences, but not good at all to the story or the subject as a whole. So, let me repeat something I have said in other reviews. You don't think you can handle rape well, then I don't care how much you believe it "fits" the story. DON'T. FUCKING. PUT. IT. IN THERE. I can guarantee you, if you don't know how to handle it, then it isn't needed in your story at all. Rape isn't something you can use to "spice up" your story. So, if you are not going to adress it correctly, there's no reason for it to be there.
This whole situation pissed me off so badly that I got really mad at the book. And I got even more mad when I finished the book and realized it <i>so</i> good that it didn't feel right to give it less than 5 stars. I am still pissed about it. But the book as a whole absolutely deserves those 5 stars.
It's a story of courage, love in its many ways, friendship. It's about learning to fight our fears, about not letting them control our lives. It's a story about humanity and how it can achieve great things and fight anything if they wish to do so.
Overall, no book is perfect. But this one is really close to perfection. It's an endearing story of love, sacrifice, courage and friendship set in a magnificent, well-developed world filled with extraordinary characters and inovating magical concepts. A world you will fall in love with so fast you will get to the end of the book without even realizing it and then find yourself wishing you had the second book, so you could find out more about it. Definitely a must-read for any fantasy lover.
"It's not brave to fight a battle you can't win."
I hate reviewing five stars books. I think I have said it already, but I will say it again. I hate it. I hate it, because no matter what I say, in the end I will always feel like I haven't said enough, like I haven't made justice to the book. So, I really don't want to write this review, because my love for this book is huge and to reduce it to a few paragraphs doesn't really feel right. But I will try, because this book deserves A LOT more recognition than it gets and the only way it will get it is if more people hear about it and I am sure positive reviews is the way to go.
So, in case you haven't undersrood that yet, I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK. IT'S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! And why? Well, because it is one of the closest things to perfection I have ever had the pleasure to read.
The world is amazing. It's so realistic and yet magical and once you have heard about it, you can't help wanting to find a way to get inside the book and visit it. I think Brett found the perfect balance between plot development and world building and I loved how I would get more and more information about the world while the characters' lives were being developed.
What I liked the most about it was the whole demons concept and the wards that allowed humans to survive against them. I think it was the first time I saw demons like these and it's not only refreshing, but also absolutely captivating, giving the whole story a really interesting dynamic. A dynamic that is obviously influenced by the existence of wards that protect humans from demons - which, although isn't as original as Brett's representation of demons, is still quite interesting as they have their own history and are actually vital to the turn the story takes.
But there's even more than that to the world. I mean, with such an amazing magical system, I wouldn't mind if there wasn't any more world building worth the name. I would take a "normal" world, one of those regular fantasy worlds that is nothing but a background for the story to happen. I won't say I would be happy to see that happen, but I wouldn't be that mad if it did.
And yet Brett doesn't do that. Brett creates and develops his own, unique world. A feudal system full of traditions and clearly patriarchal, but undeniably good and credible. A lot of authors forget that even in the same country, not every single area has the same traditions. Even if they have the same base, some villages or cities may give the culture and traditions more value and attention than others. Brett didn't forget it. While in cities like Miln, where the influence of the governors is stronger, culture and traditions are heavily supported and anyone that goes agaisnt them is likely to end up in prison or dead, in villages like Cutter's Hollow, those traditions, which are already slightly different (we don't have the Mothers/Daughters distinction), haven't as much influence and although the society is still patriarchal, patriarchy isn't as strong as in the cities. And then, of course, there's Krasia, that despite being technically part of the same divided country, couldn't be more different from the rest of the world. Although it is clearly based on the culture of the old Muslim societies, I don't think it intends to cast a bad light upon them as I have read in some reviews - in fact, Brett chose to make the Krasians the only ones brave enough to try to fight the corelings, making them a very different and undoubtely interesting addition to a world where everyone seems too afraid of demons to try to fight back.
I think what Brett really intends to do with what can be seen as his represention of Islamism is alert to the risks of fanatism. Because if we really think about it, we will realize that the rest of the world has as main religion his version of Christianism and both are extremes. Just different extremes. Krasians show the danger of turning a fair fight against demons into the only thing that matters because of religion. The Northerns show the danger of doing nothing and waiting for the arrivial of someone to save them, allowing the demons to kill, hurt and destroy everything they want.
However, no story will ever get five stars out of me just for its world (no matter how amazing it is). The Warded Man got five stars, because not only the world building is amazing but so are the characters and the plot.
The thing is, the characters are also amazing. Realistic, loveable, complex. No character does only good things or bad things. They are flawed, human. And because of that, there's no "good" or "bad" guys. Just people, doing what they think is better and making mistakes. I can give so many examples of what I am saying. Arlen, so desperate for love and so scared of it at the same time; wanting to get revenge so badly he doesn't realize he is giving too much away in order to get that. Leesha, smart, brilliant and strong, but so quick to judge others sometimes. Rojer, so easy to pity and love, but so infuriating when he decides to act like an idiot. Even Jeph, Jardir and Arrick are like that. I want to hate them all so badly, but how can I? They all did what they could, what they thought was better. Jeph and Arrick are cowards. But can we really judge Jeph' cowardice and prudence when we are not the ones living in a world filled with demons? I blame Jeph for breaking his promise so easily, but I can't help but understand him. And I want to hate Arrick so badly for everything Rojer lost because of him. But for every bad thing he did, he found a good one to balance. And the good doesn't excuse the bad, but I can't blame him for being human, especially when he did everything he could to grant Kelly her last wish. And Jardir... Oh, how I want to hate Jardir for what he did! But I can't. I feel an urge to strangle him, to kill him, slowly and painfully. And it should mean that I hate him, but I don't. I can see why he did what he did, I can see that he has good intentions, even if stained by his huge pride. And no matter how much I want to, I can't hate him when all he wants is to get rid of all the demons.
So, Brett created an extraordinary world and the proceeded to fill it with these amazing characters with unique personalities, allowing that world to come to life. And the story itself. These characters are the story. These character, who represent strenght and courage and intelligence, but also greed and pride and hate. They are the story, because more than anything this is a story about humanity. I can't help seeing it as a huge metaphor for the importance of fighting our fears, of not letting them control us and tell us what to do, but making sure that we don't become so focused on fighting those fears that we forget to live. These characters, their lives, their relationships, their growth are the plot. It's them that define what happens and it would only take one of them to vanish for the whole story to change irremidiably.
And it feels right. I can't imagine this story in any other way. But more than that, it makes the story unpredictable. Because humans are unpredictable. This unwelcoming world is unpredictable. And if I can't even find a predictable base to start building a theory, how can I have one at all? I go blind, living the story as it develops and never even if just a little step ahead. And that is amazing.
It isn't just a metaphor for the importance of fighting our fears, though. I can also see it as a very clear warning about many things wrong about our society. From the risks of fanatism (that I've already refered) to the problems with patriarchy, namely the sexism in itself and the hyper-sexualization of the woman body. These were matters that pissed me off, I felt the urge to choke every single man I found (with some especial exceptions) for the way they treated women. But Brett handled these matters well. He created these strong female character, who don't take crap from anyone, man or woman, and that are clear embodiments of the feminism ideals, especially Bruna. And he made some characters question the hyper-sexualization of the woman body and clearly stand against it.
I do have to give credit where it is due. All of this? It would be nothing without Brett's stunning writing style. I can live every scene, feel every emotion, imagine every place and person. I am immersed by this story, taken to its world by his addicting writing style that makes you unable to put the book down.
But if I have to give credit where it's due, I also have to point out the things I didn't like or that weren't as good. And if Brett handled well the sexism and hyper-sexualization well, I can't say the same about rape. He should have <i>never</i> decided to put it in his book, because he doesn't know how to handle it. People have to move on, yes. To cope, to heal. But it's not magical, it certainly doesn't take half a day to heal. Fuck it, most people never fully heal! And the way the character that was raped seems so fine after it, how she needs less than a day to move on? Not right. At all. The few times Brett tried to adress it later seemd artificial, which is great for Brett as an individual as it means he never had to go trhough such a traumatic experience or see someone deal with its consequences, but not good at all to the story or the subject as a whole. So, let me repeat something I have said in other reviews. You don't think you can handle rape well, then I don't care how much you believe it "fits" the story. DON'T. FUCKING. PUT. IT. IN THERE. I can guarantee you, if you don't know how to handle it, then it isn't needed in your story at all. Rape isn't something you can use to "spice up" your story. So, if you are not going to adress it correctly, there's no reason for it to be there.
This whole situation pissed me off so badly that I got really mad at the book. And I got even more mad when I finished the book and realized it <i>so</i> good that it didn't feel right to give it less than 5 stars. I am still pissed about it. But the book as a whole absolutely deserves those 5 stars.
It's a story of courage, love in its many ways, friendship. It's about learning to fight our fears, about not letting them control our lives. It's a story about humanity and how it can achieve great things and fight anything if they wish to do so.
Overall, no book is perfect. But this one is really close to perfection. It's an endearing story of love, sacrifice, courage and friendship set in a magnificent, well-developed world filled with extraordinary characters and inovating magical concepts. A world you will fall in love with so fast you will get to the end of the book without even realizing it and then find yourself wishing you had the second book, so you could find out more about it. Definitely a must-read for any fantasy lover.
"It's not brave to fight a battle you can't win."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Child death and Incest