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A review by robwcote
The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett
2.0
I want to love this book. I really do. The magic system is cool, the demons are cool, and Arlen Bales aka The Warded Man aka Magical Batman (at this point, maybe Superman) is cool. In fact, I think Brett does a good job getting inside the mind of most of his male characters, and he makes them feel realistic (to a point), flawed, and relatable. Given the despicable nature of some of those characters, that's no small feat.
What does not work, and what this book focuses on for much too long, is the way the female characters are portrayed. Entirely too much of the arcs of the main female characters is focused on what they mean to the man they are fixated on. In truth, it's the driving force behind the chapters devoted to Leesha, Renna, and even Inevera. The blatant use of female sexuality as a weapon and tool, likewise, belongs to an archaic kind of thinking that is best left to writing from a less enlightened age.
If the rest of the books in the series focus on the male characters, that will be a very good thing. Because while the male characters have lots of interesting politics and battling and humanness on offer, the female arcs manage mostly to serve as an example of why paternity tests should be mandatory.
What does not work, and what this book focuses on for much too long, is the way the female characters are portrayed. Entirely too much of the arcs of the main female characters is focused on what they mean to the man they are fixated on. In truth, it's the driving force behind the chapters devoted to Leesha, Renna, and even Inevera. The blatant use of female sexuality as a weapon and tool, likewise, belongs to an archaic kind of thinking that is best left to writing from a less enlightened age.
If the rest of the books in the series focus on the male characters, that will be a very good thing. Because while the male characters have lots of interesting politics and battling and humanness on offer, the female arcs manage mostly to serve as an example of why paternity tests should be mandatory.