Book 3), The Daylight War (The Demon Cycle

I love this series.

If you like fantasy books (Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, the Mistborn Trilogy, etc), I would strongly recommend reading this series. It has a very interesting (and different) system of magic, is well written and edited, and has a plot that kept me engaged throughout. I hate writing spoilers, so I will leave my comment at that.

I'm excited for the final two books in the series.

Often by the third book, I find a fiction series begins to lose dynamism, the characters, in particular, becoming less vivid and the tension of the storyline dissipated somewhat as the writer runs short of ideas.

Brett does the opposite. Despite juggling an increasing number of characters, the Daylight War manages to keep you guessing about every element of the story: the motivations of the characters, what will happen next - everything.

If you love a good sci-fi yarn, the Demon Cycle is simply a delight.

My only complaint: the ending is an incredible cliffhanger, worthy of the best. How on earth are we to wait for the next installment?

I couldn't put this one down. I found myself staying up until 2am for several nights in a row to finish this one. I usually read each night, but only for 30 minutes or so.

I was surprised to see that some people were complaining about this book being too repetitive or having too many flashbacks. I didn't feel that way at all. I felt that it was just as strong as the first two books in the series.

I love this world and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Oh yes, it most certainly was worth waiting for. I couldn't begin to see how it was all going to all come together, let alone work out. I felt like I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. When I realized I had read the last page, I had a fit. So now I'm going to be on tenterhooks waiting for the next installment in a terrific series. I have loved reading this series, and need to know what is going to happen to my cast of characters.

This is the kind of book series you read and you never forget. Book 3 of the demon cycle The Daylight War keeps the tradition of greatness Peter V Brett has set for himself. The wedding scene alone showed the authors versatility. This book will envoke many emotions while reading it. If you enjoy action, love stories, good drama, epic scale story telling and all that other good stuff thats part of the fantasy genre this is book/series is for you.

I loved the first book in this series and have continued to follow it out of loyalty, however this is getting incredibly difficult as nothing seems to happen and the author is obsessed with giving really long back stories to characters that I couldnt care less about.
Like I said, the first book , the painted man was excellent. It had an interesting fully realised world and a decent if somewhat unimaginitive cast of characters,. The second book was abad rehash of the first one and this third book is the worst thing I have read in a long time, ill stick with it cos im committed and I paid for it but I couldnt in recommend to anyone else

I hope that there is more in the works to further the expansion of these books. I would hate to think this is the end of the story it feels a little blunted there is so much more story here. This is a must read.

HIs writing is captivating and enthralling. Once you pick them up it is extremely difficult to put them down until your done...at which time you're depressed because there is no more to read. This one was more of a cliff hanger than the others, but absolutely a joy to read and I would recommend the author to anyone who loves the genre.

Spoiler alert...I hate cliff hanger endings and this book has one.

Despite this I think it's a worthy sequel to the Demon Cycle Series and I desperately want to read the next book in the series.

As always, Peter V. Brett has outdone himself! I couldn't put this book down. I bought it while I was in the middle of another novel (from an author I love) but put it down to start, and finish The Daylight War. Cannot wait for book 4!

I really enjoyed this book, even though it ended on an annoying cliffhanger. This features all of the characters in the previous books, but the character that we get to see from the beginning is Inerva, and I really enjoyed seeing a woman's side of the culture that was featured in The Desert Spear. The first half of the book is mostly split between the flashbacks and the two possible Deliverers preparing for war with the the Demon Princes. It could be a little slow at times, but I still loved my time spent in this world. Even though this is called the Daylight War, there really isn't any fighting between the different Human civilizations, and there are really only a few battles with the demons. This was a little disappointing as I expected that more would happen, but the book was still entertaining. I'd definitely recommend this book if you read the first two books (especially Desert Spear), but this would be a horrible place to start if you're new to the series. Overall, this book still hasn't topped the debut novel Warded Man, but I'm hooked on this series and I'll definitely be pre-ordering the next book.

There were few plot twist. Mostly the characters from the previous volumes proceed toward their logical confrontations, interspersed with prequel style flashbacks to give some history to the Krasian characters. Overall a very enjoyable read and I look forward to the fourth installment.

I really enjoyed the book. However, I Hate when a great book ends in a cliffhanger and you have to wait a year or two for the next installment. Mr. Brett, don't Channel George R.R. Martin..... Write like the wind!

I love trying to determine who I want to win, and who I dislike, in these books. It keeps changing, and I found myself sympathizing with Inevera as her story is told in this book. I want everybody to win! But they can't. And you will discover that in this book. Holy wow. I cannot wait for the next one!

Third book of the Demon cycle, the reading is really smooth and enjoyable. I just would say that at then end the book went too fast, to just let us in a big Cliffhanger. I'm waiting desperately for the next book.

I really like this series. It is well written, full of intersting characters. The supernatural elements are woven in so well you forget that this is a fantasy. This is the lates book in the series. You should start with the first one in order to appreciate the development of the plot and the growth of the characters

What's to say, it's hardcover, a great story continuation, and it causes you to become closer to all the characters making everything seem so real and personal.

Loved the last 2 books so much, and this didn't dissapoint

Man oh man! Just when I thought it could not get any better Brett proves me oh so wrong!

"The Daylight Way" continues to expand upon the excellent plot from the previous two, throwing in yet another character's point of view, Inevera, the puppet-mistress herself.

I know that some readers find the flashbacks and re-telling of the same events from different viewpoints, but I really like that Brett adds a new viewpoint each novel because in the end, the only characters I really, really despise are the demons. Which to me makes the books all that more engaging, because while I get frustrated with many of the characters actions, I find myself being able to stand in their shoes. In many fantasy stories and monster stories with rival humans, one of the humans is so vilified that I am pleased when they are killed off. Not so in the Demon Cycle. Brett reminds us constantly who the real bad guys are.

The demons are back in full force in this one too. IN the previous novel, "Desert Spear", the demons lost some of their bite, if you will, as Jadir and Arlen began to figure out their powers and turn the tables on the various breeds of demons, making their threat a background one, more of a occupational hazard than genocidal threat.

With the mind demons running the show though, the genuine threat of the demons are back and it's beginning to look dim for humanity.

Brett does a superb job of answer some lingering questions about the demons, from the mind demons POV, without giving away too much of the secret of the creatures. I'm am almost as excited to learn more of the previous age, and the true extent of the demons as I am to see what happens after the ending of the book.

Oh I forgot to mention that? The ending is one of THE biggest cliffhangers I have ever seen at the end of a novel. A chapter or section of a book, sure, but the novel!!! When I turned the page and saw the glossary, I about threw my kindle across the room!

But in the end that is ok. I like it when an author is able to pull at my heart strings right like that. I'll just have to wait patiently for the next installment!

P.S.- I bought the kindle edition and once again found the formatting to be flawless.

What a great series! Those of you who have read the first book, know what I'm talking about. With this book as with the Desert Spear, Peter Brett continues to develop the background story of the main characters, in this case Inerva and fleshes out Renna's character. I've read the critic reviews about flashbacks and covering old ground, but I think that it adds depth to the story by being able to see the same events that happen thru the other characters perspective. Don't worry, the book is not all flashbacks, the plot still moves and is not, as some people may think, treading water. In fact the cliff hanger at the end makes you wonder where the plot will twist next.

I will acknowledge that there are more sexual encounters in this book then in the previous books, but I will wait and see if this is the new "norm" for Peter. I don't think it is. I'm of the opinion that it is the result of the character development where the main characters seem to be emotionally repressed. I'm not saying that there should be all these scenes (they're not explicit, pretty PG if you ask me), but the characters would be all robots if they weren't able to emotionally attach themselves to each other thru means other then conversation and long walks on the beach.

A great book in the series, I am definietly waiting for the next one. I was almost turned off by the critics, but I'm glad that I purchased the book, since I've been looking for a new author and series lately. If you read the Warded Man, you know that this is a great book and this book builds on that, moving the plot along nicely.

I have read a hell of a lot off books but never have I been gripped and pulled into the world one as I have with Bretts' books! There's a connection he binds between you and the character like no other writer IV read so far! I can't remember having so many conflicting emotions at one time whilst reading! It was like being sucked into the vortex of this world he writes about and living it for yourself and so on the to Brett I take a bow!

I've been looking forward to this, the next entry in Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle. I'm glad to see that the new book not only didn't disappoint, it exceeded expectations. I never thought he could make me empathize with many of the characters from the previous books that he chose to highlight in this book, and yet he did. I'm more excited than ever to see what he has in store for us next.

If you haven't started with the Warded Man you should buy it now. I recommend buying everything related to The Demon Cycle (3/5 books written plus 2 short story collections). You'll become attached to the Characters and the world they live in.

All I can say about this book is wow. If you liked the first two books then you will love this one. I do have to say that they way he ends this book is a huge cliff hanger. My only complaint is that it takes him so long to produce a sequel. I will have to wait years to find out what happens next.

I love it but I also HATED the ending.

<SPOILER ALERT>

I hated the cliff hanger. I also really dont like Arlen being with that dumb rude chick she makes him seem like he's ignorant and stupid...Anyway, I ended up loving it anyway.

At first based on previous books calling this a trilogy I was hoping this would be the end. It is not, but this did not stop it from being a very good book! I am glad that it will continue. It was good character development and it filled in a lot of gaps. I enjoyed it very much and I can't wait to read the rest of the series when it comes out.

The third book was everything I hoped for! Some of the drama is a little cliche, but it's not enough to ruin the awesome fight scenes and interesting character developments. I can't wait for the next one! :)

I highly recommend this book! If you've read the first two books, you'll definitely love this one. I reckon this one is the best one out of the three so far. It also looks at Inevera's life and how she grew up and got to her position and lots more powers are discovered by both Rojer and Arlen.

As strong as the previous two installments in this series. I really liked the additional background provided on all the characters and their respective histories and how this shaped the way they behaved and what motivated them. Brentt`s talent in storytelling, plot and character development certainly is the star of this book, though he is not flashy or over technical when wielding this skill. This was an excellent read. I look forward to the next installment. You`ll like this book if you enjoyed the other two books in the series and enjoy good old solid storytelling, the fantasy way.

It is action-packed, dramatic, romantic, and everything else that you might want from a good, long book. I highly recommend it!

(P.S. Perhaps you should read the other books from this series first, though)

It seems to be the fate of second rate fantasy that only with its second or third installment it turns out how bad it really is. The Painted Man was delightful for its choice of villain, the "corespawn". The Desert Spear was interesting for again making Arlen Bales suffer, and for his new rival, Jardir, from an entirely different culture. However, there were already flaws: Leesha, a village's herb gatherer, became a sort of Mary Sue, ending up betrothed to a Prince. Book three continutes the flaws without making an interesting own contribution. Brett uses a ASOIAF style POV system, but much more clumsily. While in the first part we have mainly Renna's POV and Inevera's, Renna's is later abandoned completely, and Inevera's bores because the timeline now overlaps with that of book two which we already know. Arlen has only one or two passages for his POV, and others have already commented on his "dumbing down": he regresses intellectually and emotionally to an uneducated "farmer's level" - but in book two and in Brayan's Gold he had already been Royal Messenger with a formal education, and he is also educated in the Krasian ways (he speaks Krasian fluently). This regress is just unbelievable and upsetting. The chapters are a countdown to the first new moon after the events from book two, since some sort of revenge by the Core is expected at this next opportunity, and it takes about three quarters of the book to reach this point of time in both cultures, Arlen's and Jardir's. But then this event is quickly executed and nothing really exciting happens (a repeat of the Battle of Deliverer's Hollow from book two, really). Finally the book ends with a duel between Arlen and Jardir, which is inventend only on the last ten pages and then quickly set up. - SPOILER - At the end of the duel, both characters fall from a cliff. We learn that (seemingly) Jardir dies and Arlen survives, given his new power of dematerialization. The book literally ends with this fall. Now I love a good death of a favorite character. Most good fantasy has one, it adds drama and allows for a more interesting emotional journey for the survivors. But here, it is nonsensical. Obviously, Jardir is central to the story - why develop Inevera's background if he won't survive? Or Abban. Or Jardir's children. Or his love for Leesha. We have had to read about Jardir on about 800 pages in books 3 and 4 - what for? he didn't do anything really interesting yet. So obviously he is not going to stay dead for long, or otherwise we should feel very, VERY cheated. - END SPOILER - So the whole duel and cliff thing is just an improvised end for a book in which nothing else of interest happens. I feel cheated already, and won't pick this author up again.

This is, by far, the most original story I have read in a long time. I was visiting Patrick rothfus' website and saw a reference to this series an 4 sleepless nights later I made a note to track the next books progress as I had read all 3 books and am dying for the 4th! Well done.

Ótima continuação para a história. O autor aprofundou os personagens e, honestamente, me convenceu a reexamina-los, abandonando a idiossincrasia. Faltou amadurecer a redação. Poderia não ter repetido demasiadamente algumas frases (embora tenha entendido a intenção de enfatiza-las). Aguardarei ansiosamente os próximos volumes! Espero que o 4º seja tão bom quanto o primeiro e melhor do que os dois últimos.

This book builds and builds until finally it comes to the most earth shattering halt I have ever experienced. This series, I highly recommend to anyone that loves a story with characters that have extreme depth.

I give this one a 5 because it is much better than what the store suggests to me lately, but a more accurate rating would be 4.5

This book is much more interesting than the second imho.
That is mainly because on the second one, the a big chunk is redundant
in an effort to give background for the desert leader.
His wife is from the beginning as interesting as he becomes at the end.

*spoilers*

However there are some gaps. An example was Leesha poisoning a messenger, then letting him know about it, and that he would die in 2 days.... He would then have all the timein the world to go to another village and pay someone to deliver a copy of the message...

Anyway, better than the 2nd, but the end sucks... Also, i hope they both survive,
imho the last move of Arlenwas out of character (he does not usually surrender,andthat would mean also the death of his wife) plus the dice reading was not saying something about death...

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, and was eagerly anticipating the conclusion. Instead, Brett has apparently decided to drag the story out into four books. As a result this book is thoroughly diluted.

Worth reading? Yeah, maybe. But prepare to be disappointed.

I found it engrossing, absorbing and well written. It was hard to put down. Character development and overall descriptions gave a well-rounded picture that captured the imagination. Would recommend this to anybody

I'll be honest. As most of the people who have reviewed the book, there is a general dislike, especially for the first part of the book. I had the same problem. I started reading the Warded Man series at the same time I picked up the King Killer Trilogy. (Name of the Wind, Wise Man's Fear) My biggest problem was that I began this book expecting the literature genius of Patrick Rothfuss, but instead I was left with Peter Brett. Peter Brett is an outstanding writer, but even he pales in comparison to Patrick Rothfuss, or in my opinion. The first half of the book was extremely boring. It just bored me, and Renna's character annoyed me. Simple as that really, but around midway that changed.

When the halfway point was reached it felt as if the book took a fundamental shift. To be fair, little is gained story wise in the entirety of the book, but so be it. The book had its purpose, and it served it well. Now was it as good as the last two, no, it wasn't. Simple as that. Yet, put it this way. This is a 5 book series. Yes, a 5 book series. The third book, as expected with any story of this type will lack in a lot of things, even in it being interesting. This is the reason I gave it 5 stars. It is part of a series that thus far has been 5 star worthy, and although this segment of the story lacked, its needed. Imagine a story with the intro, the climax, and the end. Not too much of a story. If you can't appreciate that fact then I suggest you stop reading long series in general.

I have been anxiously waiting for this book to be released since I read the second book in the series, but I am sorry to say that this book was a total disappointment. The plot did not progress, dozens of flat new characters were introduced, and ultimately I lost interest in the characters that I loved in the previous books.

Consistent follow-on from previous books in the series. flows well. Extensive detail. Couldn't put it down. surprised when I came to end of book. Sorry to have to wait an unknown amount of time for the next book.

The Demon Cycle continues to impress. The character development is very well done in this volume. Relationships become more intense and complex, communities are built and destroyed as well as new powers being discovered. For anyone who enjoys epic fantasy or a great adventure story this book and series is perfect.

I think that this book was fantastic...even though they did not talk about Arlen or Jardir much till later. I think that it helped us understand Inevera more, which will probably come in handy in the later books. I enjoyed the entire book from beginning to end, and I think the title was very close to what happened, even though others did not. But I won't explain why since I do not want to spoil anything. Can't wait for book 4 to come out!

The Daylight War is the third book in Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle series. This is a novel with intensely deep characters, an exotically rich world, and a sweeping story. Mankind has been brought low by an unforeseen threat, demon like monsters that roam the world at night and who can only be harmed by sunlight and magic. For centuries the world has been at the mercy of these beasts, but the coming of the Deliverer has swung the tide of war back into the favor of man. Yet in this case, there are two deliverers, and mankind wages a war between them. Only one can win the Daylight War and lead them united against the demons of the night.

First off, The Daylight War is not a book you would want to suddenly jump into. You'll want to start with the first book in the series, The Warded Man (or The Painted Man for UK editions). Then you'll want to read the second nook in the series, The Desert Spear. Both are outstanding novels. The Daylight War continues the wonder that Peter V. Brett weaved in the previous stories, while introducing new threats and fleshing out more characters. In The Desert Spear, readers were well rewarded with Jardir's point of view, the man who would become supreme leader of the Krasian warrior society. In The Daylight War, we get to see his wife's viewpoint, and a whole new side to the events that occurred in the previous novels. Inevra is very similar to Jardir in that she too is a very human character with very relatable ambitions and motivations. When first looked at, she appeared to be ruthless and untrustworthy. But when her side of things is revealed, that changes completely.

Aside from Inevra's story, Arlen, Rojer and Leesha's stories continue. I think this would have to be the best I've seen Arlen so far in the series. When he started out, he made a few rash decisions that caused me some grief as a reader. Sometimes I wanted to tear my hair out and scream at him. As he became the Warded Man, he began to lose his humanity, which caused a little bit of a disconnect for me. But Renna changed everything. Bringing her into the story was a masterstroke, and was just what Arlen needed to bring back his humanity and to balance him as a character. He's now more awesome than ever, and with his new found magical powers, he's practically a superman. Renna is no slouch either. As a new character stepping into the limelight, she's almost as powerful a warrior as Arlen. Given time, she will certainly be his match. Her addition to the adventure is indispensable.

Through the series, Rojer has become one of my favorite characters. It's not often that you get to see a court jester become a hero in the story. Plus he's a fiddle wizard! How awesome is that? In The Daylight War, Rojer gets even more excitement and page time, so all his fans can eagerly look forward to some great stuff. While I'm no fan of Leesha, she gets her own page time too and is faced with dealing with Jardir and her reunion with Arlen. More or less, she gets lots of drama issues to deal with. Toss in other characters like Wonda, Gared, Jardir, Amman and others, and you get quite a wonderful cast of characters to lose yourself in.

As for the story, there is a lot of preparation for the threat of the mind demons. Both Jardir and Arlen are preparing their sides for a coming conflict during the next new moon. Inevra's POV means there are some flashback sections. About three quarters of the way in, the night battles start, and the book ends with a nice climactic battle which I will not spoil for you. I will say this, it's a cliffhanger that will cause you to burst with emotion. Brett reveals just how devious of an author he is.

With a beautifully rendered backstory for Inevra, and deeply portrayed characters that are easy to get lost in, The Daylight War is a truly great book. Brett's storytelling is like stepping into a dream. It so easily captures your imagination and immerses you in another world and another life. I'd have to say this is the best book yet in the Demon Cycle. If you are looking for a great series, look no further. I give The Daylight War a five out of five.

Her aura pulsing with fury, the Algai’ting Ka, mother of all demons, lashed out at all who disturbed her reading the long-awaited novel, The Daylight War.

Ok, so maybe I didn’t eviscerate my friends and family-but it was a close thing, and in the end, I am glad of the myriad of interruptions that kept me from finishing the novel in less than three days. I would not have put it down otherwise, much as I read within 24 hours the first two of Peter Brett’s exquisitely crafted Demon Cycle fantasy series. And this is certainly one to be savored. First off, if you love fantasy, and have not read any of Brett’s Demon Cycle, stop reading this right now and click over to buy The Warded Man. I promise you it is the best money you will spend for a high-action, literature of the fantasy novel. His first novel is perfection, and he followed it up by delving deeper into the world and its history in The Desert Spear, without losing the wonder and flawless writing of The Warded Man. Those of us who love fantasy know how rare that can be. With The Daylight War, Peter V. Brett meets and then exceeds expectations, bringing things to climax after climax, and leaving his reader wanting more. But on to a really rough summary thus far of The Demon Cycle, in case you’re still debating picking up The Warded Man:

The Warded Man tells the more-than-humble beginnings of our protagonist, Arlen Bales, a boy living in a time where demons rise from the earth each night to slaughter terrified humans who do not have proper “warding” to keep the evil from their homes. Tragedy strikes (of course) and Arlen is forced to grow up fast, traveling to other places and learning the hard way about warding, healing and other things which can protect him, and eventually, those he cares for. One of his journeys leads him to a place named Krasia (much like Ancient Babylonia) where the people actually fight against the demons with pride. We learn about an ancient prophecy of the “Deliverer” and the former “Deliverer’s” weapons. Arlen is betrayed in Krasia, but it makes him stronger and forces him to become “The Warded Man.” All the other characters are introduced in this novel as well, and each has his or her own chapters, which made for a truly rich and developed world.

The Desert Spear dragged a bit to me at first. I was thinking “Where is Arlen and all the others I love???” as the first half of the novel focused on Jadir, the betrayer from the first novel, and his entire caste system in Krasia. After a while, thanks to Brett’s execution, I was pulled in to the history and background of Jadir and his motivations for the betrayal (led by his “sorceress” wife…although sorceress is not quite the right word for her). This led to a touch of empathy for Jadir, but mostly helped set the stage for Jadir being claimed the prophesied “Deliverer.” But isn’t that Arlen?? Well, yes, but Arlen isn’t claiming that. Instead, the novel switches back to Arlen, now home again, having built up his adopted town, renamed Deliverer’s Hollow. We are brought back into the lives and development of all the other characters, but now the dread looming isn’t demons, but the imminent and subsequent invasion by Jadir into their lands. He is following the laws of his God by unifying everyone, and training them to fight the demons, but inflicting the Krasian caste system upon the native peoples. You know a reckoning between him and Arlen will come one day. You also are learning about the demons’ own caste system, as Brett does an excellent third-person cutaway to the demons’ own plans. Arlen is reunited with his first “intended” girl and the story is deeply satisfying as a whole, and yet leaves you yearning for more.

Happy to say, two years later, The Daylight War is here. Brett starts the story off with Arlen and his intended, Renna, only a few days after their near-death encounter with a mind-demon, which ended The Desert Spear. Renna is going to do whatever it takes to keep up with Arlen’s ever-growing and dramatic changes. Lots of affirmations of their devotion to each other, and Brett reveals through Arlen’s own relaxed speech, laughter and smiles that the man and woman are suited to each other. Arlen is the boy we all cheered for in The Warded Man, as much as he has become the living myth as The Warded Man/Deliverer. Our other characters have also developed, matured and gained in strength, and you just know how everything will play when the big battle begins. Before we reach that (which occurs during the waning of the moon) we are taken back in time for another character’s backstory. This time it is of Jadir’s Dama’ting wife, Inevera.

Like in The Desert Spear, everything slows down to me when I enter the Krasia story arcs, but this is due to the language, which is properly italicized, but my mind makes me stop the rapid reading each time to sound out the words and after a while, I get annoyed with it. Not Brett’s fault, just my own personal reading style. Anyway, so we get to discover Inevera’s backstory. Since she has been the puppet-master to Jadir and others, it was actually a happy surprise to discover how she came to be this sorceress-like person, what her dice really said during those critical fortellings, and basically seeing the turning points of Arlen’s life from yet another point of view (the last was from Jadir’s). There were quite a few “Aha!” moments during her arc, which other readers of the series will jump on as well. As always, these chapters focused on others merely add yet another layer to the mythos of the Demon Cycle world, and enhance the reader’s experience there.

Once we return to the present, the book goes from Arlen’s story, to the Krasians, and the readers discover that everything predicted by the dice regarding the Deliverer of prophecy plays out with both Arlen and Jadir. The demons are fighting smarter, we learn more of their caste again, and the humans are adapting with more wards and fighting styles to keep up with the barrage of assaults. Sub-plots also abound with our more minor characters. So there are two stories here: Who is the real Deliverer? and How can the demons be defeated? The answers are: You have to read for yourself.

In summary, if you read fantasy for clever dialogue, well-developed worlds, multi-dimensional characters with depth, and one Hell (excuse the pun) of a plot, this series is for you.

The Daylight War picks up the action again, returning the reader to the glory that we first found in "The Warded Man". If you couldn't guess by the cover, we're focused on Inevera this time. Well worth the read, can't wait for book 4.

I was thoroughly entertained all the way through book 3. I would even say it was more enjoyable than the second book of the series. As always, great story, great writing, fantastic characters and world development. Can't wait for the next!

This is a great series to read though unfortunately I was able to finish The Daylight War in a day. I had read some mediocre reviews so I was skeptical going in. Frankly, don't sweat it. If you enjoy the characters, the drama and action then you'll love this book. Things don't happen only because someone has a spell...there is a significant human element here. Sure, there were the occasional sentences that I could soon over but that was more driven from my wanting to get to more meat than covering earlier book background. Good book. Read it!

Another stunning book by Peter Brett. A must read for fantasy enthusiasts, Peter once again delivers an incredible story within his world with an ending that leaves you wondering how long you will have to wait for the next one.

Before anything, it's very important to keep in mind that the demon cycle is NOT A TRILOGY. This is the third book of what is going to be at least a five book series.

If you were expecting the plot of the demon cycle to move forward at a steady pace, you are going to be incredibly disappointed. This book is HIGHLY focused on the past of Inerva, Jardir, and the culture of the Krasian people. There is an index of terms in the book and god did I need it. Dal'Sharum, kai'Sharum, kha'Sharum.. Thanks for making the terms distinct and not at all easily confused, Mr. Brett.

While I loved the first book in the demon trilogy, each successive book disappoints me a little more. It feels like Brett is putting way too much work into fleshing out the backgrounds of his characters and world via flashbacks instead of doing it through effective narrative. In this case he decides to dedicate half of the book to flashbacks and half to the actual Daylight War. You'll finish the book feeling like you've only just started getting into the story because that's exactly what happens. The story finally picks up after force feeding you flashbacks only to finish just when you're being drawn into the story again.

Bottom line.
If you are very, very interested in the Krasian people, their culture, and the past of Inerva and Jadir: You will enjoy The Daylight War
If you are more interested in the plot moving forward at a steady pace and constantly confuse Krasian words: You won't enjoy The Daylight War

Note: A very long email I wrote out to Mr. Brett in the comments now. One scene is mentioned but no spoilers.
UPDATE: He responded and vice versa. I'll update the comments if more discussion follows.

I disagree completely with the criticism I read in many of the reviews of this book. Holy cow! They're wrong people! Trust me this book is AWESOME!!!!!!! Love love love it! I hate having to wait for the next one!

Another great story. One to be proud of, for both the reader and the author. I have read a great many series' for one almost at mid life and have enjoyed this as much as stories about gunslingers and sentient trains.

Well, I am having a hard time starting this review because this book was all over the place for me. This review may contain some spoilers for previous volumes in the series, though I will try not to spoil anything from *this* volume.

Brief character list (only the ones I refer to below, not exhaustive) so you're not lost if you haven't read this series or it's been a long time since book 2: Inevera is the first wife of Ahmann Jardir, the ruler of the Krasians (a group of people clearly modeled after a Westerner's view of traditional Arabs with some odd sexual deviances inserted for who knows what reason); Arlen is the "Warded" or "Painted" Man (depending on whether you have the US or UK version of book 1) of the title; Renna is Arlen's fiance, basically; Leesha is an Herb Gatherer (herbalist/hedge witch/medicine woman sort of job) who is returning/has returned to her home in the North from a trip to meet with the Krasians (Ahmann Jardir is taken with her and there are some complications in that regard); Rojer is a jongleur who plays the fiddle and marries two Krasian women.

First off, it was long. Probably quite a bit longer than it needed to be. I think there were numerous unnecessary diversions. Large parts were spent on the character Inevera's past. Which would be fine if she had anything of importance to contribute to the story. But her storyline gives us two types of information: (1) stuff we learned from her husband's POV scenes in the previous book and (2) inside information about the dama'ting (an order of priestess/seer-type women who have power in Krasian society). So half of it, we don't need. The other half, I just don't see how it's relevant. If dama'ting training was pivotal to the outcome of this book, I could almost be OK with it. But it's not pivotal to the outcome. Instead, it's just another extended "magic school" trope we see in Harry Potter and Brent Weeks's Lightbringer series and Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles and a dozen (or more) others. Only we have to read endlessly about the carving of dice.

Second, there was the language. When Arlen and Renna have scenes together, it's nearly unbearable to read (especially at the beginning). Renna turns Arlen into a country hick. Now, maybe that's what he always was, deep down inside. But the dialect (unfortunately, often spelled out) is just painful. And then there are the Krasian words. There's a glossary at the end, and I had to refer to it a lot. Because you cannot guess the words from context. I found this supremely irritating. I often didn't know if a person or a battle was being referred to, or whether a man or woman was being referred to, etc. And the apostrophes! In places that don't even make sense. As well as Krasian words for things where we don't need made-up words. For example, there is a phrase that seems to have some derogatory connotations and refers to men who prefer to have relationships with other men (trying to avoid the the store zap bot here). But that is a concept we understand in English and there is no need to invent a word for it. There's another phrase that means "first wife" or "primary wife." We understand that, too, as it relates to a polygamous society. We don't need made-up words for that. I think by cutting unnecessary vocabulary, the author could have made it so his readers didn't have to constantly flip pages. Nothing breaks immersion like encountering a word you've never heard of and having to flip to the glossary. I read this in paperback and it would've driven me batty on Kindle.

Third, the title seems misleading. No "Daylight War" occurs in this book. War between the Krasians and the Northerners (Arlen's people, generally speaking) is discussed. But it does not ever happen. We are treated to a fair amount of preparation for the Waning (a time when more powerful demons emerge to do battle with humans), as well as some pretty devastating battles with demons. OK. That works for the series. And it's actually interesting, since the two human sides who are in conflict with each other have developed different demon-fighting strategies (both strategies are effective and we want to see them combined, though that doesn't happen in this book).

Fourth, some characters just take a turn I don't care for. I guess Leesha's transition really happened in book two, when she started sleeping around. After having been put off by her mother's behavior (which involved sleeping around with lots of men). It didn't make sense then, based on her circumstances at the end of book one, and it still doesn't really work. I sort of see why she takes up with the character she does near the end of the book, but her mother makes a good point partway through -- she hasn't been using common sense or her Herb Gatherer skills or she wouldn't be in her particular situation. Leesha is still sympathetic and complex, but certain aspects of her character (sorry for the vagueness, trying to avoid spoilers) simply don't work very well.

Fifth, there are some scenes from the POV of a demon leader. I think "bad guy" POV scenes can work, but not when the villain is so one-dimensional. He doesn't have any redeeming qualities and is pretty much only out to kill and manipulate. I'd just as soon have his motives left a mystery and see the struggle from the humans' perspective.

There are some things I find interesting, as well. Rojer's relationship with his wives and his ability to influence demons with his fiddle playing is a strong point and hints at a basis of Krasian/Northerner cooperation early on. There's some plotting going on among the Krasians with a merchant (Abban) that I'm not sure what the outcome will be. I think I'll be happy to see where that goes and there is an indication at the end of the book that it may not be what we expect. Arlen goes around healing people, potentially at great cost to himself -- Renna keeps warning him not to overextend himself. I wonder if this is going to have consequences (other than those we've already seen, of people thinking Arlen is the Deliverer who will save humankind from the demons). Arlen's powers and the struggles he has in using them while maintaining his sense of self have the potential to turn into something pretty good.

And the ending. It was a cliffhanger but I am not too upset since book 4 was released yesterday. But I did feel rewarded for getting all the way to the end, and I am actually looking forward to reading book 4. If Mr. Brett can turn the book around for me (even a little) after all the complaining I've done up above, he deserves some credit for that.

I understand this series is going to be five books. I think it probably would've been better as 4, with the vital information from this volume folded into #2 and what will be #4. That being said, I haven't given up on the series completely -- the ending did draw me back in. So I can't give a super low rating, either. 2.5 stars.

Brett continues his Demon Cycle series, further developing his characters. In book 1 we are introduced to the 3 central characters of Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer. Some supporting characters are also introduced, notably Ahmann, Abban, and Inevera.
Book two brought the three significant supporting characters into the forefront, developing their stories. Brett delves into their history and brings us all up to speed on why they are who and how they are.
Book three retells much of the story laid out in book two. While there are significant plot advancements, Brett gets a little lazy. He brings Inevera’s side of the story into view. While well done, it is backtracking significantly. Brett continues to advance the story in real time as he gives us the character history lesson.
Bottom line: not as good as the first book or second books, but well-done and a good read nevertheless.

Note: I missed the 1st 2 books, but they were filled in without any info-dumping. Nice work.

Main idea: There are demons, and the Deliverer is going to save humanity. The not-Muslims in the South and the not-Christians in the North each have their own messiah. Will the two work together, or Can There Be Only One [tm]? Seriously, it would be so interesting if they could co-operate! But no, people have to fight people while fighting off demons too. The not-Muslims train hard to fight demons (side effect - they can fight men too) while the not-Christians are much less skilled.

The woman in the sheer red silk on the cover is the Southern Messiah's main wife, and she is a holy woman. She can tell the future with her dice made of demon bones, just like every Holy Woman, but she's really good at it. And good politically - she can't hold power on her own but her dice led her to marry the man who could become the Deliverer. The book dips into her past - growing up with her mother, becoming a holy novice, and the women's politics that almost got her killed.

Meanwhile, the North is trying to fight both demons and Southern invaders, and they are losing like anything.

Meanwhile again, both the Northern and Southern messiahs have committed morally questionable acts. Are we-the-readers supposed to forgive the not-Christian while condemning the not-Muslim? I think Peter Brett presents both cultures as very complex, with shades of good and evil, raw power and subtle power, group-goals and personal-goals coming into conflict. Choose your own hero.

This book left my brain feeling overloaded, and I plan on reading something very light next.

This is the third volume of the author's "Demon Cycle". I found it as entertaining and exciting as the previous ones. Even if "Painted Man" - the first of the series - remains (slightly) the one I preferred, all three volumes are good although somewhat different. Some other reviewers seem to have been rather put off by these differences, although this is one of the main features that I appreciated precisely because it keeps the reader engaged and interested (or at least that's how it worked for me!).

One of the ploys used by the author is to shift the emphasis of each of his books while still telling a story that involves all of his characters. The first volume was (mostly) centred on Arlen Bales, and three parallel characters that he comes across. The second one was largely (although not only) about Jardir, the other "Deliverer" who fully assumes the title and power that goes with it and want to unite the whole continent under his rule to fight the "demon plague". This one is more centred on the female characters, and on Inavera, Jardir's first wife and one of his main counsellors, in particular.

The tale of Inavera's youth and rise to power, and how she influences and helps Jardir to become the Warrior King and religious leader of the Krasia allows yet again Peter Bret to recast significant parts of the story he has already told in the two previous volumes. However, once again, he introduces a different perspective, that of the ruthless, ambitious scheming and beautiful Inavera. He also adds a number of details which were absent from the previous volumes, showing for instance the key role she played in the betrayal of the Par'Shin and the rise to power of Jardir, her partner/husband. Finally, it gives the author, once again, the opportunity to depict the society of the Krasia - the Desert Spear - and how this brutal, fanatical, cruel and intensively misogynistic society is forced to embrace change.

The characterization is perhaps even more elaborate than in the previous volumes. In addition to Inavera, Abban the much despised cripple and childhood friend of Jardir, is also a major agent of change but plays largely his own game. Both are rivals. Both are the most trusted advisors of Jardir. Both love him and seek to influence him, and he cannot fully trust either of them, with perhaps more to come in the next volumes...
Two other major features stood out for me in this rather thick volume.

The fight against the demons continues and increases as they mobilize two armies and half a dozen Demon Princes to destroy human resistance. While I will refrain from any further spoilers, you can expect a couple of major (and rather terrific!) battles opposing humans and demons led by their very powerful and intelligent princes, about which you will learn more.

Then there is the volume's climax, as the two "Deliverers", Jardir and Arlen, the one who want the title and the one who does not, meet and fight it out in single combat, pitching their extraordinary powers against each other.
So, lots of excitement and suspense, but also the introduction of some rather more graphic sex which did was not deemed necessary in previous volumes and does not add anything substantial to the story in this one.

One thing that I tended to get a bit annoyed about is the book's abrupt ending which seems to be almost "de rigueur" nowadays when authors come up with series. Still worth four stars.

Like many other reviewers, I am a fan of Brett's Demon Cycle series, but I was terribly disappointed by this third book in the series. The first book was great, the second book tipped into a bit too much backstory compared to plot development, but was otherwise good. However, with the third book, Brett has completely lost his way. I think "The Daylight War" has three main problems.

First, there is far too much backstory about Inevera -- a character who was already covered adequately by the backstory in the previous book in the series. I did not count pages, but it seems to me that Brett wasted about half the book going over Inevera's past, and only a tiny fraction of that was worthwhile. Brett would have done better to split up Jardir's backstory from the second book across books two and three, perhaps expanding it slightly with the tiny amount of Inevera backstory from book three that was new. That would have made book two better by reducing the amount of backstory, and improved book three by removing the vast majority of the repetitive Inevera backstory.

Second, being titled "The Daylight War", readers of the series naturally expect book three to be about a conflict between a conqueror, proclaimed "Deliverer", and the human cities that he means to conquer. In short, a war of man against man, in the daylight, with the conqueror's claimed goal being to unite mankind under one rule in preparation for a war against the corelings, which would naturally occur at night. However, book three is not about such a daylight war at all. At most, it is about a one-on-one duel, but that duel only takes up a tiny fraction of book three.

Which brings us to the third and worst problem with this book. Almost nothing happens. The plot hardly develops at all. There is a lot of boring backstory, a couple demon battles that are hardly more than what we read about in previous books, and the two battles are so similar that one could be forgiven for calling them one battle seen from two points of view. If it is not bad enough that the plot development is virtually nil, Brett sees fit to leave us with a cliffhanger, so even the tiny amount of plot that does develop in book three is not concluded in a satisfactory manner.

I generally choose a rating by starting at three stars and adding or subtracting based on the main strengths and weaknesses of a book. This book gets +1 for being part of a promising series, then -1 for each of the flaws listed above. 3 + 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 1 star. I hope Brett will learn from this mistake and the last two books in the series will be better than the third book. However, I feel that I have wasted my money on this book and if I continue with the series at all, I will be borrowing books from the library rather than purchasing any more -- I feel that badly let down by Brett with this book.

P.S. What do people think of all the 5-star one-sentence reviews that have been appearing for this book (click on "see all reviews" then sort by "newest first")? Are these just fans who cannot be bothered to articulate what they liked about the book? Or are they mostly sponsored reviews (perhaps they are given a rebate from the publisher in exchange for a five star review?). I'd be curious to hear what you think in the comments to this review.

The Daylight War is the 3rd installment in the Demonwar Cycle by Peter V. Brett. It concerns a world (strongly hinted to be a future version of ours) that is plagued every night by demons that rise from the ground to kill the human population.

In the preview book (The Desert Spear) the rise of Jardir and his attempt to unite the humans by force was described, as was the continuing story of Arlen Bales, Leesha Paper and Roger Inn, the other major players in the story.

This book follows on immediately from the previous book. At the next new moon the demon princes are going to arrive in an attempt to destroy both Jardir and Arlen (both believed by many to be the fabled Deliverer) and both must prepare for the coming.

Most of the story follows Arlen and the people of Cutter's Hollow in their preparations for the next new moon. It also follows the return of Leesha and Roger to Cutter's Hollow following their journey to Everam's Bounty to stay with Jardir, and the many different threads that arise from that encounter and their return home.

As with the previous books the focus is on the characters involved, their interactions and personalities. Even more of the supporting cast is explored, with the main inhabitants of Cutter's Hollow and Jardir's inner circle becoming familiar to the reader. Conflicts and secrets between the characters abound with old feuds settled.

Again the writing is sublime with the descriptions and personalities of the characters a particular highlight. The scenes fighting demons are well written and Brett seems to have worked hard to produce something different in each one so they are never dull or predictable. The ending is brilliant and there are plenty of threads to pick up in the next installment.

Definitely recommended, but have patience it is a very long book.

Again we have a book that has been bloated with redundancies and stuffed with dullness to the point where it does an impressive job of drowning out the rest that is actually pretty great.

It was bad enough when we had a rather large percentage of book 2 being a rehash of many events from book one, but presented from a different character perspective. Here, we have almost all of those same events getting presented yet again from a third character’s perspective. It was interesting, but not awesome the first time, as those were my least favorite parts of the book, but to have had them redone now three times in all three books in just stupid. We didn’t get a single bit more useful information or addition to the story at all by going over it again. The amount of time it took to even skim through all that to ensure I didn’t miss anything actually important was way more than I wanted to spend and it was surrounded by an awful lot that was just dull.

With the repeat and some truly boring filler, this book probably could have been cut down to about 1/3 of its size and been a stellar book because all the rest is actually pretty awesome, though I think it is pretty official that I cannot stand Leesha’s character. I was a bit iffy on Reena after the last book and while I liked her better here, she had her stupid girl moments where I wanted to smack her. Arlen is still the best in this series by far and there just wasn’t nearly enough time spent on him with all the rest going on.

I’m developing a serious love hate relationship with these books and I’m still not sure if they are worth the time it takes to wade through to get to the good stuff.

I am writing this with the understanding that this COULD have been an amazing series and Brett RUINED it. The world building was good and the story of Arlen was interesting. A little back story on the rest of them was good and a little went a long way. THEN...he goes and decides that those of us who bought the book about 'The Painted Man' really wanted to read a book (hundreds of pages) about some bitter, lunatic, pseudo-muslim tart and her dice. I read for a while, expecting something to change and then realized it was just going on and on and on and on and on. So, I flipped forward to see how much longer I would be forced to read about a character I didn't care about and just put the book down. I haven't picked it up again. This was a bait and switch. I picked up a book about a hero and was instead given a book about an angsty arabic prostitute/witch. No thanks.

Spoiler Alert.Even in the first two books I often felt like much of the back story was something I had to 'get past' to get to a part that was interesting. By the time you get to current events there are still parts in all three books where not much is happening or it is just too descriptive. There are some really good parts to each story though, and some refreshingly original story that is really readable. The first book is my favorite of these 3 and when I finished it I thought "well at least I have all that back story behind me and the next books won't have to cover all that". Wrong, more back story. I also picture Arlen as a dark, mysterious, hero, warrior (with a very humble beginning) but now he is in love with Renna. I picture Renna now as a classless, desperate, under-educated, not too bright, country bumpkin who would have had sex with anyone to get her off the farm with her incestuous father. Great job fleshing that character out. So now she is the love of Arlen's life and he talks just like her and strives to introduce her as an important part of him. I don't need every female character to be the stereotypical "beautiful, proud, intelligent, willful" but I don't like Renna at all. I was honestly hoping she would get killed off right away but that didn't happen. This might be my last book in this series - just too many pages to skip past.

Amazing! I have read all of his books including his short stories. This one is just as good if not better then the others! Couldn't put it down. Would recommend it to anyone who strives for adventure!

I pretty much screamed "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" when this one ended. Not wanting to give out spoilers, mostly that "NOOOOOOO!" came from it being the end and wanting more. Then I find out, there is no more... yet. I went through this when I was reading The Dark Tower series and I feel very sorry for an author that takes on a multi- volume story, since they're usually very good and nobody can wait for the next installment. This is a wonderful story that is full of surprises. You make your mind up about certain characters only to have it changed later on in the story because of how they evolve. There is some very masterful character development going on here. The same can be said of the author. His skill seems to have evolved from the first story, which was a great one as well.

I never heard of Peter Brett before seeing The Warded Man show up in my recommended stories on Audible.com and I'm very grateful for whatever algorithm their developers used to match me up with this series.

The ideas in the book are as good as in the previous instalments but there are major flaws:

1. Lots of filler, meaning large sections where nothing very interesting happens. Lots of people talkng about whats just happened and will happen next, lots of politics, lots of talk about emotions and love lives, you get the idea.
2. One word is never used if ten would do.
3. Yet again the approach early on is to follow a character from childhood right through to their participation in events from previous books. It worked in the previous two books but at this stage its a little boring and I hope it is not repeated in future books.
4. All this "ent" stuff and pigeon English really grates after a while.
5. Oddly the battle with the demons doesn't seem to be a key focus any more. In fact the majority of the book doesn't even really involve demons, the result being the tension and action from the first book is gone and its been replaced with endless yapping. Its closer to a randy middle ages soap opera than to Painted Man.
6. Since nothing much happens other than chatter you really need strong characters but I thought most were pretty dull in this book. Even the characters from the previous books are beginning to feel a bit 2D and boring. We don't have any story lines as bad as the Jardir/Leesha one though which is progress.
7. There's some un-necessarily gratuitous acts in the book, seemingly just for shock value. I don't mind dark story lines but I'm not entirely sure I like how Brett chooses to handle them.
8. The ending is a big let down. Its nice that around 70-80% through the book something actually happens but then we get to the cliffhanger ending worthy of any low-rent soap opera.

Of all the issues the main one is that, other that in the closing stages, the pace of the book is painfully slow. I find that a little surprising as the first book in the series was so fast paced and exciting and it leaves me wondering if Brett knows where he is going with the books?

I suspect not. That wouldn't necessarily be a big issue if the books kept up the quality/pace of Painted Main but I think he's falling back on the old tactic of writing long bloated books whilst the author tries to work out what to to do next (think Robert Jordan).

So whilst I'm hoping this book is just a blip, I'm not sure.

As the Demon Cycle expands, the narrative delves into secondary characters to further the world-building process. While this may shift the main interest away from Arlen and Jardir, I believe it serves as an enhancement...NOT a detriment. Brett's story-line is top notch, and the characters (both major and minor) are evolving at a fairly decent clip. In addition, we are given more than a glimpse into the Demon Core--revealing a hive-mind complexity. It would be fantastic if we could be shown whether the demons had always existed in the core, or if it was a relatively recent relocation. In other words...is this Earth Mr. Brett?

I for one, will continue reading the series--however long it proceeds. It is a hypnotic tale...tinged with both remorse and hope.

I've liked each book in The Demon Cycle more than I've enjoyed the previous one. This is a very dense book but so much fun that that is a perk rather than a downside. I also appreciate how each book builds on the prior books by delving into the viewpoints of people who were merely antagonists in the prior books. This book adds Inevera to the mix and she's a fascinating character from her own perspective. Again, Brett turns someone who seems merely antagonistic in prior entries into a rich character with understandable motivations that you would like to see triumph rather than boo against. This book is worth picking up the series if you haven't started it yet, just keep in mind that while The Warded Man is good, the sequels are noticeably better. The sequels also increasingly avoid the major social problem of the first book, making the obviously middle eastern inspired culture the villain, by spending time inside the heads of the leaders of Krasia and making their goals sympathetic even if their actions still aren't. I am very eager for book 4.

Quite a few reviewers and (former) fans of the Demon Cycle were very disparaging of this third entry in the series. I agree with their assertions that it was rough to sit through another backstory book. But I disagree that it was an unnecessary divergence from progressing the main war.

Jardir's story may have been rounded out in The Desert Spear, but since Krasian society is so thoroughly divided, Inevera's story tells a very different story. Brett doesn't excuse her actions, but he does show her side of society.

Admittedly, this backstory does slow down the advancing war, but I for one enjoy a slow buildup. It makes the final reveal that much more startling and satisfying.

Oh yeah, a definite cliffhanger. Have The Skull Throne ready and waiting.

I'm sorry Mr Brett but despite loving your book 1: Warded Man and somewhat disappointed with your book 2: Desert Spear, you had me hitting the pits with your book 3: Daylight War.

I was so excited that I bought it without considering the reviews, believing that a talent such as you who can write up book 1 may have accidentally slip on book 2 but will self-correct yourself with this book but alas, this book is terrible.

How bad is it? So bad that I stopped reading it after mid-way.

Seriously, you attempt to try something challenging with eight POV but don't you know that readers love to read stories that progress and not hold itself on the spot across almost the entire book? Much less moving backwards!

Then there is the annoying hollowness of the characters (especially the female characters...did you somehow learn under the tutelage from Robert Jordan?! Good grief...) and the absurd obsession with sex! Please! I believe your book is labelled as fantasy without the erotic.

Once again, sorry - I will not bother with the rest of your books in this series. A thorough letdown.

I'm sorry to say so, but as many other reviewers have noted, this book has a lot of problems.

Many readers complained about the excessive flashbacks and history in the previous book, The Desert Spear: Book Two of The Demon Cycle and that continues here. Personally, I didn't find it as objectionable as other reviewers, as the flashbacks do serve to give more interesting (to some) background about Krasia and flesh out a previously very flat, one dimensional character. But again, your mileage with this may vary.

As another consequence of this, the plot hardly moves. At all. In the end, this book covers roughly a month in all. There is definitely no "Daylight War" taking place in this book, so if you had some hopes of big showdowns between the Krasians and the country bumpkins, you'll just have to go on waiting.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the book for me personally was the horrible turn the characterization has taken. In short, Leesha goes sex crazy and in one ludicrous and fairly graphic sex scene smugly thinks to herself that her partner "isn't man enough for her" but that she's "more than enough woman for him".

Arlen, the Warded Man, after his discovery of power at the end of Desert Spear becomes essentially invincible. This is a problem as it really robs the plot of any suspense whatsoever regarding combat or his personal safety. Much of the book is taken up with overblown and ridiculous descriptions of his incredible abilities. Also, Arlen decides to become "normal" and embrace his identity as Arlen Bales once again. This results in him adopting a rather obnoxious accent and "aw shucks I'm just a normal country boy" attitude in conversations (though certainly not in behavior!).

Jardir is much more interesting in all this time, trying to integrate Krasian and greenlander society in a workable fashion. Unfortunately, a number of his scenes serve no purpose, and I really feel should have been deleted by his editor. A couple that stand out are the one flashback in which Arlen visits Krasia and asks to fight in the night. With this entry in the series, we have now experienced this scene THREE TIMES. Also, there is a random scene in which Abban defends his daughter. It is pretty graphically violent and gruesome, and served no plot purpose whatsoever.

The worst though, would have to be Renna. Did you think she was flat and pointless and obnoxious in Desert Spear? Prepare to have all of that multiplied by a factor of 10. She serves no purpose other than being Arlen's romance object with which he at one point has such wild, white hot sex that the entire structure of the inn they are in shakes. Literally shakes. I told you this book went off the deep end with Arlen's prowess. Anyways, Renna spends the book being fairly stupid and thoughtless as well as deceitful, emotionally out of control, violent, and inexplicably adept at hand-to-hand combat. There is still no explanation of what chemistry she and Arlen have other than being sort of into each other when they were kids and Arlen not allowing her to be torn apart by corelings.

Towards the end of this meandering book, Arlen suddenly decides, despite his previous attitude of being totally focused on killing corelings and unifying mankind, decides that he despises Jardir and challenges him to a duel. Jardir points out that their killing each other would be wasteful and stupid at this point. Arlen doesn't care because RAGE. They fight. The duel and book ends in an obnoxious cliffhanger which will probably show Arlen having won.

One other problem I had with this book was the way in which the author had our protagonists go to some length to express their disgust and hatred for Krasian society. Presumably we readers are supposed to sympathize with their views. But I don't. Throughout the book, the Krasians are far more interesting, and their actions and behavior seem much more reasonable than what is going on with the people of Deliverer's Hollow. The Krasians over the course of The Daylight War achieve a great deal of integration with the people and culture of their captured city. In contrast, our protagonists react very negatively to Krasian culture. The single instance of their adopting Krasian customs is Rojer's marriage. So by the end of The Daylight War, I find myself firmly in the Krasian camp, cheering on their conquest of the continent.

In the end, I really hop this represents the lowest the series can go. I came in with high hopes, but the plot never went anywhere, and the characters were strikingly unlikable. I found many of their actions and behaviors irrational and confusing. I found the tone struck against the vaguely Middle-Eastern Krasians somewhat xenophobic. I hope the sequel to The Daylight War takes the series in a better direction.

I made it about 75 pages into Daylight War before I stopped reading. In my opinion the story just became a bit too childish. I enjoyed the opening scenes, just as I enjoyed the first 1/2 of Desert Spear, but once the story returned to the Warded Man it just became a bit too cartoonish and childish for me. The first book of this series was so good. The first part of the second book that takes place in a Arabic/Islamic sort of demon fighting culture was really good as well, but once back to the Warded Man and his people the story became very repetative and silly. Perhaps I will pick it up and try again a year from now, but for now this series is a great example of what could have been.

Like many other reviewers I enjoyed the first book of this series immensely. The magic system was unique and hinted at a much deeper potential. The second book was also enjoyable due to the fulfillment of many of the hinted at promises of deeper magic/warding. I too grew a bit tired of all the flashbacks in the second book. The third book bordered on unreadable. The constant jump of POVs, sometimes mid-chapter, made it all but impossible to follow this story. A poorly executed device to count the days before the waning of the moon helped little in keeping timelines flowing in a coherent fashion especially since it was intermingled with Inevera flashbacks. I found it odd that many flashbacks were to cover plot points that were already covered in previous books or chapters we had just read. Do I really need to know what five different characters were thinking during an encounter? Seems like just flat out poor storytelling. While it was obvious that Ahmann's wife would play a critical role in his life it would have played out MUCH better if he would have kept her involvement in the present and through the eyes of Ahmann. I honestly found myself saying WHO CARES when presented with page after page of her brother, father and mother not to mention way too many chapters on her training as a girl. Honestly, I might not even bother with books four and five....and that is saying a lot since I somehow slogged through garbage like the twilight series and the Hunger Games trilogy.

The other books were interesting enough for me to to get the third and fourth from the library, but have stopped halfway through the third because it's just not enjoyable to read anymore. There are too many flaws in the worldbuilding and characters that make it exhausting and frustrating to read.

I stopped at the point where in the space of four paragraphs there are SEVEN interrelated characters that all have "A" names. (Page 342 of the hardcover) Three are 5 letters long that start with "As-" which makes it difficult for the reader to easily differentiate them.

The same goes for many of the foreign words in the book, which is further exacerbated by the use of the traditional cliche apostrophes in fantasy novels. There's a glossary in the back, but then the reader has to constantly flip back to check the difference between a "Kha'sharum" and a "Kha'ting" since they are very different even though they sound so much alike. Whole sentences become gibberish due to this. It's good to have consistency in a made up language, but not so much that it blurs together to the reader.

It was interesting to see Inevera's backstory, but becomes boring when combined with almost zero movement of the main plot halfway through the book other than characters journeying from where they were at the end of the second book. I feel like it would have been better to pace it differently, maybe by having her backstory start in the second book. Also it was misleading to have the prologue be the start of her story, since it continues throughout the book. It would have been better to just call it "Chapter One."

Leesha's headaches are very irritating, as other reviewers have mentioned. The way none of the characters really develop past their backstory becomes tiring as well. I did like Renna, but I felt like she would have dropped "Tanner" from her name and called herself "Demonslayer" or something like that. It just seemed weird that that would be part of her past that she would keep.

I think the only way I'd struggle through the rest and book four was if I was bored and extremely drunk.

The way Brett has decided to put out his story is unique and I wouldn't say that in a good way. So far he's had three books that have all focused on almost the exact same timeline. I don't know how many books he plans on coming out with in this series, but I hope the next one moves the story forward a little more than he has done so far. Based on the conclusion to this book I can only assume that will be the case. I'm not sure what next main/semi-main character he could focus on next. Maybe one of the demon lords?

Aside from my gripe this was great book. The reason for the three stars is that it is a little too gritty for my taste. The sexual undertones throughout this book are significantly more gratuitous than he's done in the past. I'm not even sure I'd call them undertones as it seems to be what the book is focused on. Arlen is great character and I don't think the author needs to detract from the story by characterizing everyone in his book like a dog in heat.

If it weren't for the superb action, overall story and Arlen Bales, I'd have ranked this book much lower.

Save your time and skip the first 18-20 Chapters or at the least just read the first paragraph because you will get nothing but a bad mood because of the unbounded amount of backstory. The simplest way to phrase this is that this book was nothing but a recollection of what has already happened. It seems Brett couldn't find anything to write about so he decided to fill this book with empty backstory that are as worthless as this book. More than half way past the book and all that has happened is 95% backstory about trash and crap that does nothing to add to the story and only makes you wonder whether Brett wrote this book or his publisher. The continuation of the story is so far minimal and all we know is exactly what we know from the last book. EXTREME DISAPPOINTMENT and WORTHLESS PIECE OF CRAP!!! Advice for Brett and all other authors "stop listening to your publishers and write your story's as they should be and not with this crap that ruins your reputation.

I feel the need to respond to some of the reviews on here because I think they are unfair and blown out of proportion.

First of all, there are ONLY 3 FLASHBACKS in this book, only one of which is even remotely lengthy. The percentage of the book that is spent in these flashbacks is so overblown in these reviews it's not funny. They comprise MAYBE 25% of the total book--and that's being super generous. They are all relevant and give the reader a perspective on events that is intriguing and compelling. I personally love the length of the books (I read so fast that I am left horribly unsatisfied by anything less than 600 pages) and the flow is written in a way that it feels like I am still reading it crazy fast. The action is fierce, the tension is palpable, the plot is satisfyingly intricate, the relationships are complex, and the world is masterfully painted.

Secondly, the backstories (in all three books) are critical to the story and the building of complex characters. They're well written and give insight into everything that has happened, motivation for everything that is happening as it unfolds, and foreshadowing for everything that will happen in the future. None of the (human) characters are inherently good or bad. They are all deeply flawed and deeply lovable--and they are so because they've been written well with thorough attention to making them three-dimensional, human, and relatable.

Thirdly, the assertion that there is a "real story" and a "flashback story" that are separate from one another is ridiculous. This is Peter V. Brett's book--the entire contents of which are the "real story" because they are all a part of HIS story that HE has chosen to write. Every element is interconnected and within the lifespan of the characters, simply told in a creatively relevant and progressively revealing way across the full series. These are all artistic decisions that are only the author's (and editor's) decision to make. It is perfectly valid that some people would like these stories told in chronological order and they are absolutely entitled to state their preference of not liking the early lives of the main characters interspersed throughout all the books. That being said, the assertion that any of these creative decisions were an overlooked mistake that the author should "correct" is arrogant at best. If you don't like it, fine, but if you want to say that it "should" be this way or that... well go write your own d**n book the way you'd like to see it done--no one's stopping you. If you read the e-mail thread that a previous reviewer posted (the Holy Flashbacks Batman review), Peter Brett (who amazingly deigns to respond to this self-entitled back-seat writer) directs him to a blog that perfectly articulates justification for these backstories: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2013/03/these-are-not-resolutions-youre-looking.html

I for one love these books. All of them equally as much as the ones that precede them. I won't go into detailed description of them here--you can find that in the official blurb and the other reviewers' comments. I will say that I am infinitely frustrated at the last page of the book, but in an absolutely delicious "OMFG I have to wait how long before finding out what happened?!?" way. PLEASE GAWD HURRY UP WITH THE NEXT BOOK, I NEED TO KNOW! ...

...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love the world Brett has created, I hate what he's done with it.

Every aspect of this series has so much potential and I think that's what pisses me off so much about this series. The first book was fantastic, incredible magic system, incredible world building, incredible characters. The beginning of this series was so damn good, and then things get bad, they go from bad to worse and the trend continues.

He makes all of his characters do things that the reader doesn't want him to do. I was really disappointed at the end of the second book, by the end of the third book he had run all of his characters so far into the ground that I was having trouble remembering what I liked about any of them in the first place.

The worst part is that Brett seems to be enamored with this shitty literary formula of starting all of his books, by telling the exact same story from three different points of view. The only point of view I cared about was in the first book, making me spend half of the second and third books reading the same plot, from the points of 2 characters that I don't even like just makes me feel like Brett doesn't even care about the story or his readers. He took the same shit structure of the second book and made it even worse in the third book by telling us the same story again from an even worse point of view.

I won't be reading the fourth book in this series unless I see some seriously positive reviews from the REAL readers. Most of the 5 star reviews on this website feel computer generated.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was in this book and the direction I see this series heading, I wish I could give it less than 1 star.

The story line helps carry over from the other books.
Some whine "It's not a trilogy storyline"
Newsflash - Not everything needs to be, some story lines are good enough to carry forward, as long as the writer can handle the burden. It seems Mr. Brett is up to the task, and that the books will come out in a timely manner not to leave the readers hanging two, five seven years in-between books. (Those shall remain nameless, Not due to my bias, but because they will right themselves into oblivion, never to be thought of again.)
It does seem that this is transitional piece, setting us for the deluge of whats to come. I am looking forward to the onslaught.
At the fact I am looking forward to it shows Mr. Brett has done his job, and I will buy the next book.

Like many other reviewers, it seems, I liked The Painted/Warded Man, enjoyed The Desert Spear less, but was interested to see where the series was heading and ultimately was disappointed by this third installment.

The unusual thing is Daylight War isn't necessarily that bad, it simply possesses positive and negative points in equal abundance. Leaving the reader a feeling of spending time with a treasured friend who has been unusually obnoxious that day.

So where to begin?

I'll start with the good - unlike The Desert Spear, the demons feature more dangerously in this installment, and Brett shows his flair for battle and bloodshed. Most of the story is 'interesting' (said in scare quotes because interesting doesn't always cut it, more on this later) We find out more about the demons and this is exciting, also the consequences of Arlen's ingestion and continuing demonisation become both bad-ass and concerning.

What went wrong?

Unfortunately quite a few things. I don't want to pan the backstory issues too much as many, many other reviewers have done this. What I will say is treating us to Inerva's backstory is 'interesting' but not vital to the plot at all. We already know she succeeds in achieving the position she covets, and her backstory does not bring any tension to the plot that wasn't already there. Her backstory did highlight a general flaw in Brett's writing in that almost all his main characters seem to such inherit a knack for their special skills, and while there is some story in the development of said powers (in book one mostly) often it is more a case of being born able to do cool stuff.

Another problem, which may just be my opinion: Brett seems poor at creating authentic relationships. Without going into spoilerish detail, characters just fall apart and explicitly together again without real character consistency. In terms of details Brett comes across as torn between an x-rated George RR Martin take on love(sex), and a more innocent funny style that jars with the former.

Anyone with a paper copy of this book will likely realise this is a bloated tome. Brett has a talent for violent, dangerous scenes and apocalyptic bad guys. The ultimate problem with the Daylight War is everything else that happens in this story.

Peter V. Brett continues his tale of a future world beset by demons that rise every night from the Earth’s core. The Warded Man (paper) and Ahmann Jardir both faced a demon prince in the The Desert Spear (paper) . In the third tale Ahmann Jardir is planning The Daylight War (hard from Del Rey) in which he will prove he is the deliverer. But first he and Arlan have to each face three demon princes. Mr. Brett reviews the first two books by telling the tale of how Jardir’s wife, Inevera, pulled him to power. The tale is intense and impossible to put down. Alas, it ends in a cliff hanger leaving the reader to wait a year for what is probably the final book in this well done Review Printed by the Philadelphia Weekly Press

I was a bit miffed at Brett's third book of the Demon War series. I had read quickly through the first two, and even the additional short stories. This one made me feel a bit let down. It seemed it was a lot more boring content to read through, and it bogged me down.

The story continues the ongoing war of humans versus the demons that rise at night. Whereas the first book brought us Arlen Bales, the changed (and warded) man, and book two gave us Jardir's background more in-depth. Book three seemed a bit of a waste as it spent much of the time backtracking about Inerva, Jardir's first wife. I never cared how she came to be his wife, and still don't see the relevancy to the whole story line of why we need to know this.

Also, Arlen hooks up with Renna, and they get Promised (married). This gal is a brat! Defies all warnings, suggestions to the good, and does whatever she wants. And the dialogue she has with anyone is like a third-grade kid. Yes, I know she is supposed to be 'backwoods' and thus uneducated, but it's cheesy stuff.

I did like the advancement of the current story line, though I am a bit miffed at the ending. Obviously there is a fourth book to come, as it would suck for Brett to end the series this way. I do hope the next book will stick more to the current story, instead of going back over every character's life up to the point where they enter the story.

UPDATE:
I decided to read the series again since there is soon to be a new book in the series and in doing so I found that some of me earlier opinions have changed. I think that it may be because there are more books now, but I am enjoying the backstory and the more in depth insights into characters. It has enabled to feel like I know them and while I might not agree with what they have done and their reason for doing it and in some instances I understand why they feel they must do as they have. There may too much information in places, but overall I am glad I read these books again.

425 Stars: Updated January, 2015.

When I received this book, I retreated into another world and my family knew that until I finished it they were on their own. It's not often that I skip all else, to read a book but I had high expectations. I loved the first book. The second one did not achieve the same feeling, but I was not disappointed with the time and money I had spent to read these two books. However, I am thankful that all I wasted was time with the third. If I had spent 12.99 or even 5.99 for the latest, I would be very upset with myself.

There have been many reviews that went into the problems with this book. However, I found it summed up better in the letter that reviewer Christopher Alan May, sent to the author. I hope that I do not get into trouble for including these quotes: "I didn't finish The Daylight War with any of the previous satisfaction or anticipation at the continuation of the series. I'm not even sure I can keep reading! This in itself is a thought I can scarcely believe I'm considering. After the opening book, I could have never seen myself ditching the series."
"There are many things I could say to elaborate on my feelings but there is one particular and noticeable problem that overrides all others: The book's pacing, or the lack thereof." " A perfect example: When Innerva goes to visit her mother in the city in present day, their interaction and conversation alone, without any pretext, would've been an excellent way to reveal more of Innerva's character than all of the flashbacks combined. It let us know about her relationship with her family, her background, some of her motivations; it could have been a great and enlightening scene. Better still, it was only a few pages long but full of information. Instead, it feels more like beating us over the head with the same details about Innerva because of how much we already know and makes the entire scene superfluous. The flashbacks not only manage to completely wreck the book's pacing: they can and do detract from good scenes."

Like Mr. May and so many others, I am wondering if I am going to finish this series. There are at least two more books in the series and I hope that the author does not continue this trend, but from his response to his readers concerns (there is a link in the above-mentioned comments you can follow) he feels that this important to the story. If it is so important, why did he wait until the third book to tell this story, why did he not telling the stories as they occur in the books? I didn't mind it as much in the second books when he was basically telling more of Jardir's back-story, even though there was too much redundancy. With this book even the redundancy is superfluous (pun intended). Is this his way of giving new readers who have not read the previous two enough information so they don't have to read the previous two books? Is this to continue through the five books the author's projecting? If so, the last one will need to be 1000 or more pages. Will book 4 be filled with Amanvah and Sikvah's back-story and lets not leave out Count Thamos, Abban's Jiwah Ka, Shamavah, Kaval, Hasik, Coliv and countless others? The story was to be how three seemingly ordinary people came together, learning from one another and showing others how to keep from being destroyed from not only demonic forces but also other humans who want to conquer and subjugate them. If conquered by the humans, their sons and perhaps even daughters will be taken from them and raised to believe as they do, fight as they do, and believe as they do and the men are deemed honorable they will become citizens. They themselves will have to dress as they do and believe as they do, living as third class citizens (Khaffit) with no rights and they are lucky ones; the rest will be slaves. The demons will just destroy them until there are too few of them to band together and fight. What happened to the original concept? When did it change to read like an alternate Deliverer/Anti-Deliverer between two religions, one in which failure to at least appear that you believe that Evejan is the ONLY truth and failure to follow Evejah means death while the "false" religion believes in a Creator but does not force you to do so? (More parallels to our reality; warriors immediately enter heaven once they have killed demons (alagai) and men who have died in the "holy war" (alagai'sharak) against demons are accorded the highest honor (see Sharik Hora)).

Like others I wonder if like so many other authors he is trying to increase page count while he makes his contractual deadline and as always when this is the situation, it is the reader who suffers. The only reason I gave it 2-stars was I am choosing to remain optimistic and believe that the next book will return the series to its previous high standards. If not, then I will edit this one down to 1-star when I write the next review.

1.50-STARS * Receiving this book through the store's Vine Program did not influence my rating or review of this book; all opinions are my own*.

I was really enjoying this series until he added Renna. She seems like a forced character. Beyond her, there are more POV characters being added, that I am not sure what their point is. The story in this book does build to a climax that I was suspecting - but not in the way it was written. I will definitely finish reading this series.

This is the third book in the Demon Cycle series, there are supposed to be five books total. We still have demons coming out at night slaughtering people. The Deliverer from prophecies is supposed to be here now. But there are two men and that could be, Arlen Bales or Ahmann Jardir. Arlen tattooed himself all over with wards and fights the demons. Now he has found some people to be around just to try and live a normal life but they keep insisting that he is the Deliverer. Ahmann has a magical spear and crown that was found by his first wife, Inevera, and he insists that he is the Deliverer.

Contrary to popular belief, this book has nothing much to do with progressing the story along. This book is a collection of flash backs to fill in the background of Inevera. There is a little action at the end but barely enough to keep it part of the series.

I loved The Warded Man. The Desert Spear was a little bit of a let down but it helped by filling in some background. The Daylight War was just a waste. Inevera is not important enough to have a whole book on her. She is a minor character and could have had one chapter catching us up on her past then moved on with the story.

I am really disappointed. Then I learned this was a five book series. Well, they way they are going, I might as well just read the last chapter in the fifth book since it looks like the rest are going to be nothing more than flash backs. This easily could have been a trilogy without all the background.

If you liked The Warded Man and can't wait to read more of the story, don't waste your time on this one. The story doesn't progress. But if you like all the history behind the character, you might enjoy The Daylight War.

Shawn Kovacich
Author and Creator of numerous books and DVD's.

So the last time I was in the Demon Cycle world I was pretty upset. There was one thing that really stuck in my craw, so to speak and I hate to say that, for me, this series and author has failed to be redeemed.

There was a lot, I mean a huge butt ton of rapes in this series.

Now I get it that this is a lawless world. That stepping outside your door can lead to everything from being torn to bits by demons or being castigated by local villagers, but seriously, I didn't feel that the rapes in the book were handled in a senstive or even terribly realistic way.

Because of the rapes happening to practically every character, their growth as men and women were strangely wrong considering the context of what had happened to them.

Now, before people get up in arms about this, I'm not trying to say that once someone is raped they are a victim forever and are incapable of doing anything ever again. But their reactions to it and what comes after can be wildly different, but in this case, I just couldn't understand nor rationalize some of the characters decisions and foreverafter those characters became rather unreliable narrators.

For me, this has been the overwhelming weakness of the story, the lack of real character development. The person in the book who I've been closest to 'getting' is Arlen and he's the only reason I've continued to read this series.

Like others have said, this book doesn't move the plot forward much. There is a lot of back story and a lot about the Krasians and the more I learn the more strange and horrible they seem. Whatever sympathy I might have had for them has been burned away.

I'm really split on whether or not to read anymore of this series,

This is the 3d book of the Demon Cycle, set in a world where demons rise every night to attack and kill humans. There are 2 main groups of humans, the Krasia desert people of the South and various groups of humans in the more fertile North. Arlen Bayles in the North has magic powers to fight demons and teaches different villages how to defend themselves with defensive wards and warded weapons. And King Jardir of the South is also powerful and might be able to defeat the demons, but he is invading the North and is fighting with Arlen.

However, this book spends many pages on a subplot of how Inevera was chosen as a candidate for priestess in the South, her training, and her ascension to high priestess before becoming King Jardir's 1st wife. This subplot is well written but flawed. There is no explanation of how the people of the Krasia city in the desert get food without enough water even for washing. And there is no explanation of why a city that steadily loses population due to men being killed by demons every night does not have a high women to men sex ratio. And that story, though interesting, is distracting because it does not directly relate to the main plot. As a result, readers who might like the premise of this series should start with an earlier book in the cycle. And even those readers who have read the earlier books might want to skip this book.

Surprisingly I'm hooked with this book. I enjoyed it more than the first 2 in the series. The characters are growing on me and they are getting more complex and believable as the story continues and we learn more about them. I've already bought the next one and can't wait to see what happens. It's not on par with The Wheel of Time, Fire&Ice, Stormlight Archives, Lightbringer or The Name of The Wind, but I'm enjoying it.

I enjoyed the first two books so much that I bought this before I had completed book #2. I'm 2/3 thru book 3 and am completely and hopelessly confused. Where is the concise action, prose and character development?? It's like this book is just a filler...full of romance and female angst (gack) and too many gory action scenes....I will attempt book four, but if it continues with the romance-a-thon, I will be sending it back in a heartbeat. I want much more of the style and content of book 1, please.

Last summer I quickly digested Peter Brett's The Warded Man, followed in succession by The Desert Spear. Although the idea of "corelings" seems slightly derivative of the Sci-Fi film "Pitch Black," he introduced compelling characters and an interesting warding system of magic. I would argue that the first two books offered us compelling characters (Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer) that struggled to discover ways to conquer the god-like strength of corespawn. I also found Jardir's backstory in The Desert Spear interesting. However, I largely rebuffed Brett's attempt to convey sympathy for Jardir--I still choose Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer as my favorite trio of respectable, honorable characters. Brett's strength is character development. As others state, he does not paint vivid environments in which to immerse yourself. The world is not particularly interesting, transitioning between Medieval Europe and the Middle East. For Brett to continue selling novels, insightful narratives, and close a great series he must provide us with exceptional characters for whom we care deeply.

The Daylight War unravels the solid characterization that Brett achieved in his first two novels and add-on novelas. SPOILERS BELOW:

1. Arlen. What happened? Brett drew his audience into a lucid narrative about Arlen's quest for knowledge, his insatiable desire to discover and craft new wards in his first two novels. This is gone. Now that Arlen encountered the "mind demon" in The Desert Spear, he simply "knows" things. Rather than Brett taking the time to send Arlen on adventures that present challenge, discovery, and reward, Arlen now encounters a problem and "draws" on mystical power to simply KNOW the solution. Did I mention that he can now teleport, dematerialize, and (wow!!) fly! His new abilities annihilate space and time, making it utterly pointless to embark on quests for knowledge and power. Finally, Arlen retreats from his Renaissance education back into the backwoods, uneducated brawler. He now utters "Ent" in nearly every dialogue. He becomes enraptured with Renna Tanner, without us knowing why. Much of his dialogue pivots around lusting for Renna, pinning after Renna, saving Renna, or patronizing Renna. His character arc has now become the God-Mode, Country-Bumpkin Demon-Killing Soap Opera Star.

2. Corespawn. Do you want to read a novel with truly challenging enemies, or a novel about monster trucks running over kittens? If you prefer battle scenes more akin to the latter example, then The Daylight War will satisfy your appetite. Simply put, the truly frightening demons in the first two books are now mere insects that Arlen can dispatch by the thousand with immense fireballs. If humans (even warded-spear wielding grandparents) can destroy rock demons, then who really cares about humanity's struggle with the corespawn? Now, even mind demons are like helpless infants--particularly when Jardir struts in with swag and puts the Spear of Kaji through a mind demon's heart.

3. Sexualization of Women/Pre-Pubescent Girls. I won't spend much time here, as others cover this more extensively. Without exception, nearly every woman in The Daylight War lust after sex, engage in consensual prostitution, or experience rape or violation with inanimate objects. The TRAGEDY of this book's gender politics revolves around Leesha Paper. She devolved from an independent, herb-gathering and warding genius, to a wily bar wench who sleeps with whomever she encounters and uses her body to advance political cooperation. I could forgive Brett his sexualization of Leesha if the raunchy sex-scenes were embedded in an immense amount of time spent developing her character in meaningful ways. What happened to her ward-crafting gifts? Her studies of the ancient mechanics of the old world? Even her amazing ability to heal the Hollowfolk palls in comparison to Arlen Bales (read: Jesus Christ) who can make the blind see, revive the dead, and heal any wound without even a touch. The inherent problem with this book (and the continuing series) is that Arlen Bales has become too powerful for the story. By advancing his skill-set to the absolute boundaries of fantasy, the other characters are no longer as necessary for the "struggle" in this narrative arc. In fact, Arlen's constant antics (to digress) continually remind the reader that she is reading fiction and fantasy, something that detracts from one's ability to escape into the environs of the book.

Why did we find Leesha important in The Warded Man and The Desert Spear? Because she was an indispensable part of the trio (including Rojer and Arlen) who had invaluable skills to offer. She knew science, medicine, and warding. Arlen knew warding and was the "strong-man" of the group who fought demons. Rojer could charm demons with his music and diminish the amount of needless deaths in battle. Now, even Rojer's role is pointless. His ability to charm demons becomes quite useless in the Waning battle, and Arlen annihilates nearly everything anyhow.

A few others I won't flesh out:

-No real plot development (read above: 620/650 pages contained sexualization, misogyny, boring backstory, and recaps of the previous books)
-Pointless cliff-hanger at the end, with a contrived, stilted fight between Arlen and Jardir.
-If one word would suffice, rest assured that Brett uses fifty.

As an aside, I would offer one suggestion to improve this book (or future books). DO NOT continue to rehash previous story-lines by haphazardly adopting GRRM's brilliant PoV writing style. Instead, offer your readers more depth about the world through character interaction, questing, and discovery. For one, I'd love to know more about the "old world technologies" that Arlen despises. What exactly did the last deliverer use to kill mind demons by the hundreds? Why did Bruna warn Leesha not to harness the power of fire? What did the Arlen's tome on old world technologies offer to defend against corespawn? These are the questions that Brett SHOULD answer. Instead, we get 350 pages of Inevera's backstory, followed by character's stuck in the present, and little advancement of the plot.

In sum: a less-than-average book that disappoints. Pick up a second-hand copy, and read the last third pages of the novel to achieve any real advancement in the plot. Even then, you won't miss much if you skip out and wait for the fourth installment.

What do others think about the treatment of women in this novel? Where should Brett improve in the following works?
-Joshua

The title of the book is Daylight War so I expected there to be some advancement with said war. Apparently I was wrong. The title should have been Inervas point of view of the events covered in the last two books.

It's great to try to flesh out characters. Show us they are not truly good or bad, but should not come at expense of the story. At over 800 pages only 300 or so seemed to move the story forward.

Much like the Desert Spears army the story stalled when it took the Northland City

This is the third book in the Demon Cycle by Brett. The fourth book will be titled, The Skull Throne, and is scheduled for a 2014 release. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the chance to review this book. Like the previous book, this book was incredibly slow moving until the last 100 pages or so. There is a lot that I didn't really enjoy about this book.

The story starts out following Arlen and Renna as they journey back to Cutter's Hollow. Then it flashes back to Inevera's past. From then on we bounce between Inevera's past and present; while occasionally hearing from Arlen or Leesha in the present.

The story about Inevera's past recounts a lot of events we have already been present for, but this time we see them from Inevera's perspective. These parts are lengthy...but still seem rushed...like Brett is trying to give a quick outline of a whole series full of events from Inevera's perspective. The book would have been better without this back story...it just bogged things down so much.

Much of the book is spent basically getting everyone back to Cutter's Hollow. We hear from Arlen and Renna as they travel back. We hear from Leesha and Rojur as they travel back from Jardir's conquered city. Then we spend a ton of time listening as Cutter's Hollow is expanded and fortified.

Additionally we visit Jardir's new capital and listen as he deals with bickering between his sons and people, and as he tries to make plans to conquer the rest of the Northern lands. Mostly it's fairly boring and slow moving stuff.

Having Arlen and Renna proclaim their love for each other was cute in the first couple chapters. Having them repeat "Love you Arlen", "love you Renna" continuously is just silly and obnoxious. Seriously it felt like half of these two characters' dialogue through the entire book was "Love you Arlen" "Love you Renna". Ugh...it got to be too much.

There is also way too much in here about Leesha's love life and her struggle to find men to have sex with. Also I am not impressed with how our chosen few characters keep gaining more and more unbelievable powers (Arlen, Reena, Rojur). Arlen, Reena, and Rojur are gaining seriously crazy powers at a very rapid rate.

Additionally new types of demons pop up randomly with no previous explanation or structure. It's like "Oh look there is lightening...hey let's make that a lightning demon"...it's never even been mentioned before but they must exist!...so whatever.

As with the previous book the last part of this book features a huge epic battle with mind demons and mimics. This part is very engaging. There are a couple of surprises right at the end that will really grab and engage the reader.

Just be warned this story ends on an absolutely horrible cliffhanger. After spending forever wading through this excruciatingly slow story and finally getting to the good part at the end....then to be left how Brett left his readers....well...it really pissed me off. I hate it when authors depend on cliffhangers to engage their readers. They should really just work on making the story tighter and more engaging.

Overall not my favorite installment in this series. I am so sick of unnecessary flashbacks into random characters' pasts. It just drags out the story forever. The characters that were so heartfelt and complex in earlier installments are turning into superpowered caricatures of themselves. The pace is excruciatingly slow...after nearly 700 pages we aren't all that much further along in the story than we were in The Desert Spear. Then there is the horrible cliffhanger that the book ends up. Seriously, I am done with this series. Just absolutely done.

Check out Brandon Sanderson's books, Robert Jordan, Brent Weeks, or Michale J. Sullivan for excellent epic fantasy that is entertaining and actually goes somewhere. I would personally skip this series...it started out pretty good...but has just degraded from the first book on.

I don't understand how anyone on this site can say anything bad about this book. Except the major cliffhanger and the next two years it is going to take Peter V Brett to write the next one. (Let's pray it is not that long.)

You get everything in this book, fun, laughter, intrigue, politics, fantasy abound.

I loved it. And I highly HIGHLY recommend the entire series.

Thanks,

Brandon

I picked up this book immediately after reading the other two. I was so pleased with the first two books of this series and I was expecting the same with this book. However, like many of the other reviews state, this book drones on and on with stupid details of the journey. While it's interesting to get to be more immersed in the world that Brett has created, the novelty wears off and it just gets extremely tedious. Unlike other reviewers I found the more interesting parts of the book to be Inereva's story. It has certainly changed my opinion of her since I have gained insight into her thinking.

The worst part of this book however was the saccharine love story between Renna Tanner and Arlen. Seriously, how many times does there need to be a declaration of love??! It doesn't help that Renna is very two dimensional character; one side devoted to Arlen simpering for his love, and another side with this nonsensical amount of anger and rage. Seriously, I hate that girl. I don't think she will die, but hopefully she becomes corrupted by the corelings somehow and Leesha kills her. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I can continue the series if it continues to degenerate.

The Demon saga is one of my favorite series without reservation. The Characters are compelling, the action is well written, and the stories are well paced. The eponymous demons, while frightening and intimidating under the right circumstances, serve more as setting than actual characters. While the demons are an obvious, easy to spot antagonist, it became apparent quickly in the series that one man's hero is another man's monster.

The Daylight War continues this tradition, spending time in the present with established and enjoyable characters, while once again stepping back in time to tell the story of another pivotal character from her own perspective. As with Jardir in The Desert Spear, the character (Inavera) is one who was previously a simple antagonist. By the end of her backstory, however, it becomes rapidly clear that she is more than a cackling villain.

Better paced and more exciting in general than the Desert Spear, the Daylight War advnaces the overarching narrative more and continues to play with this theme of people who oppose each other despite a common goal. The Demons must be defeated, sure. But my way is better than yours. The author does a spectacular job at portraying this tension both within and between characters, without the reasons for conflict or the characters' behaviors feeling contrived.

If you're like me and wait impatiently for each new book in this series, The Daylight War delivers. If the merely acceptable The Desert Spear soured you by failing to live up to The Warded Man's legacy, The Daylight War may mend the wounds. If you've never read either previous book this book will make no sense whatsoever.

I've been looking forward to this book since I finished the previous one in the series, and Brett did not disappoint! This book did a great job of filling out more of the characters and the action was great!

This took me longer to read than the other two but mainly because it focused more on characters I don't care for as much. I don't understand the other reviews because although there is some romance and sex they don't seem to take away from the story at all. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Look, I am not going to deny that this book has flaws. A lot of people point to the Warded Man as the best book in this series, but personally, I liked the way the backstory for Jardir's character provided in Desert Spear so much that it is my favorite; it made his character more sympathetic and well rounded. Unfortunately, Daylight War does not handle the flashbacks as well, the interspersing of Inevera's flashbacks with the present time wasn't as solid as Desert Spear.

Despite this, I would like to say to anyone that enjoyed Peter Brett's previous works to persevere and read Daylight War. The character of Inevera is given too much "screen time" (I felt she was more effective a character as the shadowy hand controlling things from behind the curtain)and the book may not move the storyline forward as much as some would like, but Brett's captivating writing style doesn't change and, as with his previous entries, it is the richness of his characters that keeps you coming back for more.

I will certainly admit that the ending did not exactly live up to my expectations in terms of a confrontation between Arlen and Jardir, but at the same time, this series is going to continue for several books, so why should I assume it will be the last meeting between the two characters? Also, when you boil it down, Arlen and Jardir are consummate warriors, so why should we expect some sort of soul-baring confession from Jardir to his former brother-in-arms? They solve issues with their fists, not with dialogue, and as usual, the author doesn't disappoint when it comes to the combat scenes.

I kept a lot of this review vague in regards to plot points for a reason, and the reason is that I would prefer that people read and form their own opinion of a book rather than base it upon a review that they read online (and spoilers suck). I have read a lot of fantasy novels and I will say without reservation that Peter Brett has earned his place in my top ten fantasy authors. If you are in the market for a unique, hard-hitting fantasy series, I highly recommend the works of Peter V. Brett.

I used to be a big fan of Peter V Brett's books, but this one left me disappointed. The plot moved slowly if at all and at the end left me feeling - "What was the point?" The book bordered on boring and at times it felt forced.

Some of the characters were turned into brainless characters that just went through the motions of speech for the sake of filling pages. All the character development from the previous books have disappeared and characters now feel flat.

If this was a stand-alone book, I would recommend that you leave it, but seeing as it is part of a series I would suggest that you wait for the next one. You wouldn't miss too much.

I was some what frustrated as this book rehashed many things we read in the first books, just from different perspectives. Maybe the author felt this was needed. I did not. This said, it is a very good story and well told. On to the next book!

I was so disappointed with this book. The first book was fun to read, and I ignored everything I was supposed to do just so I could finish it. The second book wasn't as thrilling, but it was still good. This one was miserable and I skimmed most of it because it was just that tedious. Feels like it was written by someone else.

Tons and tons of backstory that I don't care about at all. Arlen is super powered but seemed wimpy. Renna is an unbalanced nut. They way they talk to each other grates on my nerves. I know there was a type of slang and a different kind of speech in the other books, but it seemed so much more annoying in this one. I liked Leesha before, but she behaved out of character too. In fact, I didn't find anything redeeming about this book.

I won't bother with the next one. What a waste.

Peter V. Brett is now into volume three of the Demon Cycle, and it looks like there may be two more to go - though I think wrapping the series up in the next one would make the most sense. "The Daylight War" (Del Rey, $28, 639 pages) continues the saga of a fight between demons and humans that the humans are losing, and finally reveals more about the origin of the various nasty beings that hunt humans every night. (It is a little unclear about the hunting aspect, as usually the demons just kill people, and don't carry their bodies off to feed other demons who literally live below the surface of the planet.)

Brett began the series as a relatively straightforward struggle between good and evil, but as the world he has built becomes more and more clear, that world has become more and more interesting. Unfortunately, the pace lags a bit, as the book is too long by about 100 pages, and it also ends with absolutely no resolution. That means, of course, you have to read "The Warded Man" and "The Desert Spear" first (even though there was no hint on "The Desert Spear" that it was a volume two) to make this one, and whatever follows, worth the investment.

I thought the performance of the audio book was excellent so my love / hate issues are just with the book. What I love is the author's approach to the "farm kid who goes on a quest and becomes the savior of the world" story line. After I read my third book with that story line I came to the conclusion that a lot of what makes one of these books better than than another is how they handle the magic. Here the author has a well thought out and unique approach to that.

So, my "love" factor applies to all the Demon Cycle books, but my "hate" factor applies to this book in particular. Specifically, I was under the impression this was going to be the final book in the series and it is not. However, the publisher/author commits what I consider to be a cardinal sin- it ends on a cliff hanger. This is not a tv soap opera. This is a book and either you have a complete story or you don't. As far as I'm concerned any book that ends on a cliff hanger is evil. Therefore, while I liked this book overall I feel the author/publisher should not be rewarded for attempting to force you to buy book four so I recommend checking this out from your local library.

Unfortunately the Daylight War was a bit of a disappointment. No real war, and too much back story. Mr. Brett should have released a separate back story novel about Inevera and Jadir and the things that happened to them before the current plot of the Demon Cycle, and THEN released the third official book about an actual war with the Corelings. But nope, Daylight War was just about a lot of feelings/flashbacks and had very little action until the end.

The parts of the plot that DID actually move were done very well and I wish he focused more on those elements. Unfortunately, those elements (mainly Arlen and demons) were near the end of the book and were over quickly. This isn't saying that Brett's writing is bad. This is just saying that he goes off on a George RR Martin-style tangent that never really ends. At this point the demon cycle is going to be a 6-7 book cycle that will have about 30 minutes of action in each book.

I don't write many reviews, so it says something that I am even bothering. I wish I had been warned. The first book is pretty good, I enjoyed it. The second book I started to get some bad feelings. This book makes me ashamed to be seen with it. It is smut with no plot. The characters have fallen flat, the story seems just an excuse to subject the different female characters to various sex acts.
If you don't like women characters in fantasy being written poorly and given power only through their sexual relationships with a man you DO NOT want to read this. I feel dirty for not stopping a few chapters in. It does not improve... And the whole Muslim thing... Too much!
The first book was great. The author should start there and "reboot" this series. If marvel can do it....
Going to go take a shower now to get the residual feeling this book leave off!

1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

2) Genre: Fantasy

3) Synopsis: Book three of the Demon Cycle follows Inervera and her journey in this series. The world is finally starting fight back against the demons. All that is needed now is the deliverer. Inervera is determined to make sure that her husband Ahmann is the deliverer.

4) Feelings: I enjoy these books a lot but the main problem is they don't progress as much as you would like. Each book starts at about the same time and takes a different character through the same beginning story. So you get the same story from a different point of view. Makes the story progress slow but it also doesn't help that I like the point of view person less and less, as the series goes along.

5) Final recommendation: Excellent series. Love the idea of demons coming out at night. Arlen is by far my favorite character and he isn't in books 2 and 3 as much as 1. Still I need to know what happens. Come on book 4.

Ryan James Burt
Husband, Father, and Writer
[...]

Peter Brett keeps on going downhill with his newest novel, Daylight War. Similar to the preceding novel, Brett wastes an inordinate amount of time providing backstory on another character (Inevera) before finally getting back to the regular storyline. While the backstory is interesting, it hurts the pacing of the overall story. Moreover, the love scenes between Arlen and Renna are frankly sickening. If I heard "I love you" between Arlen and Renna one more time, I felt like I was going to light the book on fire. The last half of the book gets better, especially as the fighting picks up. But the editor for Peter Brett needs to do a much better job. For an author who started off with so much promise, this series has been a little disappointing.

If you love Peter V. Brett as an author, and you read his first two books in this amazing five star series, The Warded Man and the Desert Spear, then you'll just love this trird instalment in the Demon Cycle series. I could not put this book down when I first opened it up.

I won't rehash what everyone has so eloquently stated in previous posts, as my thoughts echo theirs, in many ways. The sheer amounts of flashbacks are not doing anything but make this feel as if I am being treated as I am some type of dolt. The author, in his blog goes on to point out how well he thinks hes doing. Its like saying to someone, I deserve a pat on the back. The one thing above all I find disconcerting, is that for amount of money they want for a digital copy - on top of this poor installment, of a 5 book series only has me feeling like I was slapped. Its an insult to injury. The Warded Man was amazing and I looked forward to the forthcoming novels but after this, I won't be finishing the series.

I find it amazing that a book like this can have an average rating of 4, while so many mediocre books have 5 star rating. This book, and the entire series so far, is superbly written. definitely among my top 10 fantasy series. I just can't wait to read the next book, especially after such an abrupt ending.

I'm going to keep this short: Slow, uninspired background story that doesn't advance the story. The title is misleading as there is little war. The characters reverse in their development and is frustrating to hear Arlen speak like a hick. Thia book was such a disappointment. This killed the series for me, I will be moving on to a more entertaining series.

"The Daylight War: Book Three of the Demon Cycle" by Peter V. Brett has been a disappointment to me. Part of the problem was me. For whatever reason I thought that this book was the end of a trilogy instead it is the beginning of a larger vision. When the book was completed the story was not and I was disappointed. However, that is not the reason why I gave this book the rating I did.

For me, I enjoy George RR Martin and Daniel Abraham. Brett's first two books were within the standard set by Martin. Brett seems to get trapped in his own world and can't move the plot forward. Everything was flashbacks while interesting I wanted to see some movement on plot. That being said, I am not giving up on the series yet. Everyone is entitled to an ok outing once in awhile. Hopefully, the next installment will be more lively.

The Daylight War is the third book in this series by Mr. Brett. While I thoroughly enjoyed the Painted Man, which kept me intrigued and turning pages well into the night, this book just fell flat for me. Over 100 pages in, I was wondering when the story was going to pick up and get started. I put the book down several times and couldn't get into it. Towards the middle of the book the constant back-story and fill in became less overwhelming and I could see an actual story in there. While I agree that a solid back-story and character motivation is important for any riveting novel, I think dropping 100 pages from this book would have made it much more solid.
If you're new to Mr. Brett or this series, I'd definitely recommend picking up Painted Man first. The prose, characters and story line are still worthwhile in Daylight War, but if you're not already committed to these characters or the story, this book is a little hard to wade through.

This book is hard to rate, taken on its own it might be a compelling read, but without the previous books this tale wouldn't make any sense.
As such I am torn, looked at in and of itself it is a technically entertaining read, but one wholly lacking in any fulfillment of promises from the first two books in the series.
The Daylight War takes place in a very short amount of time, jumping between POV'S rapidly as the same few days are told from all their different perspectives and with the chapter driving POV characters motivations.
I really like the idea and scope of this fantasy, and I believe that alone motivated me to finish it, which in turn basically obligates you to read the next one in the series lest you feel unfulfilled.
The character's are by far the worst part of this tale, characters we have read since the first book change dramatically and ubruptly into people that are downright unlikable.
Leesha, for example, goes from being a wronged but brilliant and morally dignified woman, to a power hungry, manipulative, arrogant and hypocritical de-facto leader.
Inevera is also not safe from the massive changes, going from the manipulating. .villain? To a woman who had no choice and had to follow fate. It doesn't make her sympathetic exactly, but it does make her more understandable.
Abbon and Tojer are really the only two POV characters that reamain largely true to their previous portrayals, both making decisions that I as a reader may not have agreed with, but ones that made sense for that character.
Which leaves Renna.I hated the character of Renna. Through the course of these books we have seen her go from a relatively happy, albeit provocative child, to a broken and abused husk, to a power crazed and defiant warrior and finally resulting in a wholly arrogant, annoying and completely unlikable and unsecure brat (all of which happens in about a hundred pages,) who defies all good sense and throws herself into one bad decision after another.
But enough about the character's, lets now talk about plot, the majority of this book does little to further the plot of the overall saga, focusing instead on clarification of the first two books plot's, which, while I enjoyed the different angles, left me less than enthusiastic.
And this book is loaded with sex and damn near the flimsiest and pulpiest modern example of out of nowhere, cheesy and unbelievable romance. (If one could call it romance.)
So that is my opinion, I would still recommend reading this if for nothing else than to get more understanding of the world of the Warded man. I can't help but feel that this book is the result of the author stretching his original idea into a five part epic.

Just finished reading "Daylight War" Book Three of The Demon Cycle, by Peter V. Brett. This Push 'ting says give me more, more, more. I am loving this series, and look forward to the next book in this series. Long live Arlen Bales.

More like 3.5 stars

The Daylight War by Peter Brett is the third book in The Demon Cycle series. When The Warded Man first came out, it took a lot of people by surprise. It was the author's debut and I was instantly addicted. I believe many didn't like the second book as much as the first but me personally, I'm having a hard time deciding which one is better. Having finished with the third book, I can sadly say that it will not be joining in on that contest. The Daylight War in my opinion is definitely the weakest of the three so far. The author didn't suffer from writer's fatigue in my opinion but more so a lost of direction. Does that make this book an absolute bore to read? Definitely not. It's just that the story itself did not evolve as I would have liked it to. That is not going to set well for many readers and I don't blame them considering this book is almost 675 pages long.

With the first book, we got introduced to Arlen Bales. With the second, we learned of the trial and tribulations of Ahmann Jardir. Now, with the third, we get a much deeper look into Jardir's first wife, Inevera. While there's nothing wrong with taking this approach, I just expected for the author to really expand on the story rather than spending more time building yet another character. Again, while this is not necessarily bad, I felt the author spent way too much time with Inevera in the beginning. To add salt to the wound, her story isn't that particularly exciting to read. It's your usual "come up from the bottom" type stories where she gets bullied here and there, plots to take control and finally being where she is today. I'm definitely not downplaying Inevera as a character. She plays a very important role and it is here in The Daylight War where we learn of it.

There is no doubt in my mind that some readers will view The Daylight War as some sort of intermission. Better yet, the calm before the storm. I thought that storm was going to be here in this book but I guess I'll just have to wait for the fourth book. From my recollection, the first 50%-60% of the book is of trivial matters. While it wouldn't be good for you to skip them over, you'll just be begging for it to move faster. It is only during the last part of the book that the author does pick up the pace and we actually get to witness some demon killing action! The pacing is obviously a bit off but the action is what readers are so used to with the previous two books. Initially, I've thought that characters such as Jardir, Arlen and Rojer was way to overpowered now that they even better control of their abilities. Fortunately, the author has a sense of mind to not make it easy on them during demon fights.

As this point, I'm sure everyone is filled in on the major characters of the story. Leesha is starting to get on my nerves a bit. She plays a big role earlier but here, she can be an emotional wreck at times and not much fun to read about. Arlen Bales continues to do his thing and so does the other Hollow crew members. What I like most about this series is the story behind both Arlen and Jardir. Although both are the main characters, both of them have their own reasons for doing the things they have done so far and it's up to the readers to decide on how they see things for what it is. At this point though, I find myself much more interested in Jardir then with Arlen just because his side of the story is so much more complicated and intriguing at the same time.

In the end, while I find The Daylight War a bit lacking, it nevertheless brings us one step closer to the end of the series. No doubt the author had every right to expand our knowledge about the Krasian culture for its very important to the story. However, it's time to really get it on in the next book!

In my opinion, nothing in the Demon Cycle can compare to the Warded Man itself for the simple reason that the story of a two-sided conflict cannot compare to the shear terror depicted in the Warded Man, when mankind huddled behind defensive wards with no hope of attacking.

Brett's reputation would be less tarnished if he had left well enough alone after Book 1 and moved on to other things.

But that being said, I found the book entertaining. Despite agreeing with everything the critics complained of, I still enjoyed the story and look forward to Book 4, although you won't see me lining up before the cheaper paperbacks or used versions become available.

You will have a MUCH more enjoyable read if a significantly shorter read if you skip over all chapters that are flashbacks of Inerva. THEY ADD NOTHING TO THE STORY. Now... The current-time parts of this novel are AWESOME. I am completely still all-in for this book series and will continue to promote Peter V. Brett.

I eagerly anticipated the third volume of the Demon Cycle. When I started to read up and about the chapter five I stopped and asked myself. What is happening here? The story was ok, but so far it was a recap of another protagonist. I understood that on the first one the author centers on the story of Arlen Bales a.k.a The Painted Man and his troop of friends; on the Second he focuses on his friend/rival Jardir. But on the third one he takes the story of another of the characters close to Jardir and we have to read almost half of the book to know what happens on the present to the rest of the protagonists.
However, once the story returns to the present, it does not dissapoint, I reached the end in one sitting and then I felt like I had gone through a Roller coaster, although one of those short ones where you only experience a couple of crazy loops and that's all.
I am not sure if the cycle finishes there, the author does tie one strong issue by the end, but if this is the end, he really goes for the open-ended answer. I really do hope there is a book four waiting to resolve all questions.
Four stars out of five.

Arlen Bales is no Deliverer. Well, not according to him anyway, since everyone else seems to think so. Jardir on the other hand believes he is - but doesn't seem to be making many steps in the right direction. Told from their women's perspectives for the most part, this novel is an interesting and involved read that isn't too daunting for the beginning fantasy reader.

I was glad of the prologue, and felt that it set up Inevera's parts of the novel nicely. The storyweaving was strangely compelling, and really drew me into the novel. I also really enjoyed the initial parts told from Renna's perspective, and the learning that Arlen imparted to her. I felt that there could have been more of this learning, and that it would have grounded new readers a little better in the world.

I haven't read the first and second books in this series, and wonder whether I would have felt more compulsion in the plot if I had. As it was, it wasn't clear for quite some time what the aim of Arlen and Jardir was, what they were fighting against. The first two books are on my to-read list now for sure, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the next books in the series.

From the perspectives of the two women, Renna and Inevera, I couldn't decide who I liked more. Renna felt more honest, but Inevera was really crafty and interesting in her own way. Throw in Leesha Paper, and the three women tear things apart! I wouldn't have said the novel was about the men at all - it is the women who have power. Of the two main men though, I definitely preferred Arlen over Jardir. Jardir was just so... calculating and snooty. Arlen seems much more down to earth and likeable, even if he does sometimes have some weird moments.

I was particularly glad of the role of music in this novel. Rojer and his friends are able to craft demon stopping music, which I found fascinating. The uses of demon bone, and the Greatwards were unique to the world building as well. I did wonder why more people didn't think to eat demon flesh though, if it would grant such great powers. Particularly to that huge dog!

There were so many minor plots to keep my interest which was great. The major plot of the Waning Moon and the coming major war against the demons was so slow that it was a good thing there were lots of other things to concentrate on.

Don't be put off by the size of this novel. It's really quite an accessible novel, and as I've said, the changing perspectives are crucial for keeping your interest in the novel going.

I received this novel as part of The Book Depository's new affiliate reviewing program. I'm really chuffed I was chosen to participate, and I hope to see new books out soon for me to love and review.

When I first started this series I thought it had potential but a little slow and lacking in the character development but after finishing the third installment, I find myself very interested in all the complicated relationships that have developed and appreciate the background. Looking forward to the next book.

Night falls on the earth. It does not bring the peace of sleep, the comforting restfulness of quiet to which we are accustomed. Rather, as the sun sets, slipping away beyond the horizon, the Corelings rise. Powerful demons bent on human destruction, the Corelings assault the bastions of mankind. The only way to stay alive is to make it to sunrise by protecting yourself with magical wards. This is the world of THE DAYLIGHT WAR.

Beginning in flashback, taking readers 30 years into the past, THE DAYLIGHT WAR highlights a period in the childhood of Inevera, who will grow into a powerful priestess, wielding the demon bone magic as she supports her husband, Ahmann Jardir. Legend speaks of a Deliverer, the one person who can lead the human race to victory over the demons, and Jardir believes he is that one, going so far as to affix the title to himself while he builds an army of demon killers.

He's not the only possible one, however. Once a friend but now a rival, Arlen Bales has grown into his role as The Warded Man, but even as he continues to deny he is the Deliverer, his tremendous power and ability at slaying the demons he encounters only cause the people to believe in him. At his side is Renna Tanner, a woman nearly consumed by demon magic who desperately tries to keep Arlen on course. There is a love growing between the two, and in this harsh world it is a thing of hope.

THE DAYLIGHT WAR is a leap forward, both in action and tempo, and in the abilities of Peter Brett as an author. Humanity faces dire consequences as Jardir and Arlen war with each other, taking their attentions off of the demonic threat. Inevera is an exquisitely drawn character; her machinations and manipulations weave their way throughout the story, and readers easily see why even Jardir does not wholly trust her. The three principal characters each have their own motives and agendas, and it is these selfish deeds that can damn humanity. Renna also gets more time in this volume, and her character, like the others, continues to grow and deepen.

Peter Brett has been one of the finest new fantasy voices. That his world is not the standard castles and knights backdrop is a breath of fresh air, and the Middle-Eastern-influenced cultures and locales of the world about which he writes are captivating, alluring, deadly, and full of intrigue. Over three books, he has continued to hone his craft and is hitting every mark at full stride now, pouring out beautifully intimate moments and action-packed battle sequences. The twists and turns of the plot will keep readers engaged until the last white-knuckle chapter.

The Demon Cycle is an extraordinary work. The first three volumes of this saga belong in any discussion of the best fantasy literature of the past decade. Yes, it is only April, but THE DAYLIGHT WAR is already sitting atop a long list of novels yet to be released. It won't be easy to unseat this gem.

Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

When I finished reading "The Desert Spear" I was a little wary of where this series was going, but the rousing, and action packed finale to that book, made me eager for the sequel, but over the past couple of years I sort of forgot about it. Then I was given a review copy of "The Daylight War."

The World building basically came to an end with "The Warded Man" and character development died with the end of the Jardir backstory two thirds of the way through Desert Spear. The Mary Sueism that was really getting annoying during the latter parts of Desert Spear has now spread to every single character, and the cutesy rustic dialect has not just become more annoying it has become more pronounced. I think the novelty of the magical system and the new world really made "The Warded Man" seem much more special than its depth really justified, and combined with the shoals writers often face when their characters get too powerful the series has basically wrecked.

Brett is a pleasant enough writer, and I might give any new series he starts a go, but I think I am finished with "The Demon Cycle"

The cycle continues. However, the series is starting to lose the punch that kept things interesting in the first book (The Warded Man: Book One of The Demon Cycle), and instead is becoming more of a Robert Jordan-esque grind into detail and repeat.

Lastly, flashbacks are, as other reviewers have noted, becoming more frequent and less useful in explaining useful backstory (unlike in The Desert Spear: Book Two of The Demon Cycle) where they were critical to learning about Jardin and his past). Hopefully Book 4 in this cycle can get back to the roots of what was originally a good and compelling series.

So I think I liked the 2nd book better but that I liked this book better than the first one. When it started I was disappointed that the author had decided to flashback instead of move forward with the plot. It also seemed strange to "humanize" Enevera after making readers hate her in the 2nd book. I was also disappointed to find out that there was a 4th book. I do like the series but I really thought it was going to be wrapped up in this one.

The ending was extremely abrupt. Especially because I was doing it on audio and there was a preview at the end of another book. So I thought I had another 10 minutes of listening but BAM! it just ended. It gave some closure but definitely didn't finish things.

So that's what I didn't like but there was much more that I did like. Real characters, good writing in a believable (albeit fantasy) world. Every character is distinct and none of them just come off as generic stereotypes. The series is adult but especially this book, there were graphic descriptions of sex but they didn't go on and there weren't too many of them so you never felt like the author was trying to sell books by including a bunch of sex.

So overall this is a solid fantasy series, with a cool setup and some very real characters. It hasn't blown my mind but it's good.

Looking at the covers of Brett's books of The Demon Cycle, a reader will get a good idea of who the protagonists are. Arlen Bales, Ahmann Jardir, and now Inevera. Like the books before it, THE DAYLIGHT WAR retells events from a different point of view. As some events for retold the third time, this installment was repetitive and a little slower than the others. The third time was not the charm. However, despite these shortcomings, there are still plenty of charming, powerful, and astounding moments in this book.

Like the previous books, readers are treated to the cover character's backstory. In this case, we learn about Inevera's childhood and how a young girl became a powerful Dama'ting, and eventually Ahmann's wife and Damaji'ting. Yes, this means we hear about events for the second or even third time. And to make matters worse, if readers got a dollar every time Brett used a lodestone-based simile, they'd get their purchase price back and then some.

Despite all that, Brett excels at transforming, confounding, and refining our understanding of characters. Whereas Inevera previously appeared mysterious, devious, and sinister, Brett humanizes her and makes her sympathetic. Ahmann looks more dependent and less the strong leader. Abban becomes more Machiavellian and spiteful. Rojer becomes a man (for fans of Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, is it me, or does Rojer remind you of Mat?). And the Warded Man remembers what it means to be human, to be just Arlen Bales instead of the Deliverer.

I have heard complaints that nothing happens in THE DAYLIGHT WAR. I disagree. I think a lot of very important things happen during this installment. To use a chess metaphor, I think all the pieces are finally in place for the end game to commence. After this volume, things are going to change dramatically.

And speaking of dramatic moments, I can't remember the last time I read a cliffhanger like THE DAYLIGHT WAR. It left me slack-jawed and wide-eyed. I have some theories, but I want to keep this spoiler-free. Let's just say that Brett sure does know how to keep readers hooked and salivating for the next volume, THE SKULL THRONE.

When Mr. Brett started this series I was completely hooked and loved the characters and magic system. I was also a huge fan of the 2nd book and the new POV of Jadir and the Krasians. The 3rd book in the series is considerably slower and although learning more about Inevera is interesting it doesn't seem to add anything to the story. Plots and development around Leesha also seem to be off and it seems that Mr. Brett may not have known where he wanted this character to go when he started the actual writing of this book. Arlen to me is the worst development of this book and i hate the new hick accent he redevelops. Dour hero has now become The worlds newest hero Super-Hillbilly.

I always try to avoid plot discussions in my reviews although I do feel it necessary to say the title of the book is not justified based on the content. If you have read the first two books then you will be expecting much more based on the title.

Overall I think the series is worth reading still although I feel it is going the way of George Martin and Robert Jordan. Too much story without plot development. Where I would give book 1 and 2 five and four stars respectively I can only give this book three. The new development of this being a quintet to me was a money decision rather than a story needs longer to tell decision. I really feel the author could have started a new trilogy based on the women of Krasia and used much of this book to help it as I do like the culture and environment he created.

Put me in the camp of just not enjoying this book even though I absolutely loved the first book and really like the second. Why do we really need so much time with Inevera POV's? Especially all of the endless back story which added absolutely nothing to the story.

What I also find annoying is there are very few likeable POV characters. There is nothing to like about Leesha (innocent girl who now sleeps with a murderer and rapist as if it's no big deal), Jadir (the murderer and rapist), and Inevera (I don't even need a reason to dislike her). Unfortunately, we have an abundance of POV time spent on these characters.

I would actually give the first half of the book two stars and the second half four stars.

The only reason I am going to continue reading this installment is due to the fact I liked the first two books and am hoping the next in the series goes back to the roots of the story. I am so disappointed as I had such high hopes for this series.

The painted man is my favourite book of the last 15 years the desert spear was good not the masterpiece of its predecessor but this was awful in comparison.

I gobbled the painted man in two days then read it again a month later but this took me a month to read and I actually parked it half way through considering not finishing

The only redeeming factor is the last 30 pages I enjoyed. If you loved painted man you'll buy it no matter what the reviews say but you'll be disappointed

Awesome! Brett continues to amaze! As the forces of Nie prepare to crush humankind, Brett colors Ala's landscape with Heroes' back stories to weave a masterful tapestry of brilliant storytelling! The end is the perfect cliffhanger for the fourth book. 688 pages fly by and leave you breathless!

This is a worthy sequel to the two previous parts of the Demon Cycle series.
I enjoyed the book very much and if not or a few flaws in the character building i would call it a masterpiece.
The world building is not so new and innovative but still very colorful and thorough . The magic system is quite original and i really enjoyed it being something new.
The only thing ,as i mentioned it above ,that didn't went so well by my opinion is the way how the characters developed in the time line.
It just didn't feel right how many of them changed their original nature in so huge amount like they where new persons all of sudden.
The main characters acted and spoke many times as i would never predicted and very much out of there primary role.

And one other thing..i must admit i felt quite cheated when i came to the last page of the book.
Don't know where did i get the notion that this is a trilogy(obviously it is not) ,but i kind of didn't expected this huge and by all means unnecessary cliffhanger.
Knowing that i have to wait for who knows how long for the story to be continued,just didn't get my sympathy for the writer very much up...
There are many good books series out there that sequels finish in a a well rounded manner, so that the readers don't get a hart attack but still look forward for the next part.
Oh Peter ,why are you so cruel? :(

(This review is displayed on my blog [...] and on Goodreads [...])

Echoing the comments by a few others. The series is a good one. but this part made for some tedious reading. Flashbacks and backgrounds often find their way into sequels / prequels but generally they aid in the progression of the story. The background provided regarding Inerva in this part did not appear to have any relation to the storyline. And it is hard to see how the background will aid in the plot / story progression.

Seriously? This is what took Mr. Brett years to turn out? His first book was fantastic. Second book also great if a bit different. This book....totally disappointing. First third of the book re-telling the last book from a different characters perspective. C'mon......shouldn't that be like a companion book or something? Middle third, the main characters all behaving against how they have been written up to now? Last third of the book all about the politics of two different cultures. No real plot progression in over 600 pages. Then a really crappy ending. 3 dimensional great characters turned into flat parodies. secondary characters with entirely too much face time.
Is Mr. Brett taking lessons from Robert Jordan and his editor/publisher?
My recommendation is not to read this one. Wait and see if the 4th book does any better and skip this one. You wont miss anything.
The good news is, using Mr. Brett's writing timeline, by the time his next book comes out I will have entirely forgotten this series.

I enjoyed this installment of the Demon Cycle.

I like the balance in this book, all the characters have obvious weaknesses in addition to their strengths.
Also this book features intelligent demons who get their own perspective chapters.
The characters continue to feel a little wooden to me; I find their emotions and motivations to be little more "tell" than "show" sometimes. BUT I do think this is improving with every book.

I liked the balanced structure of this book as well - the first two books tended to tell one character's story/perspective for a long time, then abruptly switch to another character, so the stories didn't blend.
In The Daylight War, the plot has advanced sufficiently that most of the character's stories are intertwined, so it felt more cohesive.

Watch out though - it has a cliffhanger ending, and book 4 isn't out yet.

I thought that something was wrong with me when I couldn’t find myself as enthusiastic and world-forgotten as I had been with the first two books. It took a long time to get caught by the story. Honestly, it was Inevera’s story that drove me into it, no matter the many repetitions of scenes, now from her point of view than of Jadir’s, and this is something that irritated me a little. It made me feel like I was not open to something new, which I usually am in reading, but maybe this was too many new character traits at once?

The scenes with Arlen and Renna, Arlen now re-developping to being human than nothing but the warded man and so deeply and ridiculously in love that it was beyond sanity, these scenes appeared so strange, and it took a lot of effort not to stop reading or turn to pages with characters that showed a more familiar behaviour. Just, there were little, and I have to say that the only main characters who’s development did not annoy me in a certain way were Rojer and Inevera.

Leesha, who used to be one of my favourite characters in the first two books, is now one step away from becoming the Hollow’s whore, just like her own mother who she hates for it. Renna, who I pitied and adored at the same time in the past, is now an over-selfconfident, blood-hungry demonkiller who does as much as not lie to her husband but neither tells him the truth. Though I’m happy for Arlen to finally return to live as a man, he behaves like a teenager who has his first girlfriend and is now too soft, just as he was too hard in the first two books.

It was a refreshment to read that Inevera, Rojer and Abban have not changed, to have at least some people who act in a familiar way. And I do like Amanvah, her conflict between the loyalty for her husband and that for her tribe is well outlined.

The last scenes with Arlen’s and Jadir’s battle are in my opinion necessary to make peace between the two fractions, and I tend to believe that Jadir is not dead at all. In contrast to many others, I liked the ending. But although I liked the title „Daylight War“, I am not sure if it was appropriate for this book, as there is no war at all beneath the one against the demons, as always. Okay, there’s the battle between the two deliverers at the end, but that’s just one battle, not a war. Or is „daylight war“ meant more metaphorically? In that case: I’m sorry, too metaphorically for me.

It’s not a bad book, and I’m going to buy number four, for sure, but I wonder what it did for the plot of the story as a whole, and I can’t find an answer to that.

I have read a lot of reviews complaining that the story didn't move forward enough in this book and I completely disagree. I personally love how Mr. Brett delves into the past a bit more in this book: allowing us a more in-depth look at the relationships and motives of his characters. This book was well written and I am very happy the series is not complete and look forward to more. To be honest I will be a little sad when the story ends and I never again hear about these well written characters or this interesting storyline. I will say that the ending of this book was shocking and left me flipping pages looking for more- but it did assure that I will be reading the next book! I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading just for the sheer pleasure of it.

I love the way that Peter V Brett is weaving this tale. He is giving us a clear picture of each of the major characters in ways that no other author that I have read has done. As in the first two books of the series, he gives you the back story so as you can better understand the motivations of the present. To me, he does it in such a detailed way, that it just makes the story that much better.

Though I didn't purchase this book through the store, I did check it out at my local library, and am eagerly awaiting the next installment into The Demon Cycle.

I don't generally write reviews... in fact - this is my first. I was that let down. As others have pointed out this book is significantly padded with back story that does nothing to move the actual plot forward. If you didn't read the first two books, don't worry... it gets retold in the dialogue. That's about the *only* thing that seemed to happen between the lengthy chapters of flashback... you get reminded of what's already happened.

In books 1 & 2, I forgave the Dune cliche. I looked past the plot holes. But it took Jordan five books before he had the stones to crank out a book with this little plot substance to back it.

This is book three in the Demon Cycle series. There will be five books so this is the middle book and be warned it ends with a cliffhanger.

Worldbuilding: Brett continues to add to the complex world he started in The Warded Man, the first book in the series. I would not recommend reading this book as a stand along. There is so much that you need to know and can only find out by reading the books in order.

Back-story: There is a lot of back-story in the series. The first book was primarily the back-story of Arlen, Rojer and Leesha, three of the main characters in the books. The Desert Spear moved the story forward but also contained the back-story of Ahmann Jardir. The Daylight War moves forward again but has the back-story of Inevera, Jardir's first wife. The only main character whose back-story we have not had is Abban so maybe in book four.

Character: All of the characters are very well developed. We know the background of most and their motivations are highlighted in their backgrounds.

Plot: This is a character driven story and the plot moves as the characters act or react. Don't expect any resolution in The Daylight War. In spite of the title the daylight war is really just a small part of the plot. The main action is what leads up to the face to face conflict between Arlen and Jardir.

Writing: There is a lot of dialog and a lot of action in the writing. The Daylight War is a long book; over 600 pages and I wondered if it would be a difficult book to read. (I listened to the first two books on CD's so this was the first time for a print copy.) It did take me several days to finish but the writing and action kept me reading whenever I had time. I like Brett's style. He keeps the pace going, includes a lot of information written in separate scenes with jumps between places and times. It did take me awhile to get used to the fact that everything is not laid out in order. I would wonder why a scene was included but later it would be apparent that it contained information I needed.

I am waiting for book four and then for book 5. There are also two novellas with side stories featuring Arlen.

The third in the series of Demon Cycle books. While I am sure that I have missed some of the buildup that led to this book by skipping the first two books, I have not had any problems following the story or getting to know the characters.

The author has crafted a wonderfully complex and complete world with enough of the familiar elements to make the reader grasp for further explanation (which I am sure are to come). The buildup of the characters is fluid, creating a sense of investment that draws the reader into the story.

I will need to seek out the initial two books in this series; this installment has kept me keenly entertained.
P-)

Book three continues in much of the same style as book two. It explores another characters past while pushing current events forward. This book is awesome and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!

Although this series seems to be heavily influenced by Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series - with some aspects being too similar to be explained by simple, common genre themes - these books are still very enjoyable to read. I would recommend them to fans of fantasy fiction.

I think that Peter Brett has developed a great concept of the 'corelings' and the deliverer or deliverers into a great series of books. This book gives us a back story showing Inevera's point of view and also takes us further in the competition between the Painted Man and Jardir. I would recommend this series and look forward to the next two books.

This is a book I borrowed from my local library. Another stellar novel by one of my favorite authors. Brett has two strengths as a novelist- he is a master at character development, creating multidimensional protagonists (and antagonists) that draw the reader into their lives. The second strength is storytelling. It can be difficult to juggle multiple plots and pull them all together for a satisfactory ending. Excellent ending - leaves door open for another book in the series- yet is satisfyingly open to interpretation. Great job!

I read the first two books of the Demon Cycle (awesome!) then read some reviews of the third book, Daylight War, which were largely negative and I almost gave up on the series. SO glad I decided to go ahead and read the next installment! This series is AWESOME. I can only conclude that the negative reviews were written by misogynists as their main complaints seem to have centered around the time spent fleshing out Inevera. She is a character worth getting to know but definitely different from the female norm, as are all of the Krasian characters. READ this book- the time and money are well worth it!

Fascinating continuation of the series, though not quite as powerful as the previous volumes. Still, the author did an excellent job of keeping up the pace, making things unpredictable, and keeping the reader thrown off guard. While the story itself is well thought out, some of the characters feel a little less believable, they come across as one-dimensional in an otherwise immersing story. It's a minor quibble, but one that is just annoying enough to knock off a star on the rating. If one can look past that, there is still a lot of entertainment to be had from start to finish.

After reading Daylight War, which doesn't seem to fit what actually went on in the book. The war was more of a skirmish. When reading the book I felt half of it was just a retelling of past events from a different characters perspective which didn't add anything to the book. It seemed like filler to me, much like the entirety of the book. There wasn't much progress in the story and the ending of the book was a huge disappointment. I don't understand why Mr. Brett spent page after pages retelling old events and gave us a epic end battle of only a dozen pages or so. Very disappointed. Let's hope this was only a bump in the road.

Although very well written. I'm kind of concerned that a lot of the book was kind of a rehash of what has already occurred. Though the characters are given more complexity. I'm concerned that their actions and motives might be inconsistent with their character.

I'm an avid reader of fantasy and The Warded Man was one of my favorite fantasy books, if not my favorite. The Desert Spear wasn't nearly as good but was still a great book. I had a feeling that The Daylight War could and would be disappointing for the simple reason that I knew it was going to focus on Inevera's back story. She isn't nearly as compelling a character as Jardir is. Sadly, Inevera's parts were the best sections of the book.

The worst parts:

Arlen: Arlen has become a joke. He was a compelling character and one of my favorite protagonists in any fantasy series I've read. The Arlen Bales from The Warded Man is nothing like the Arlen Bales in The Daylight War and that's not a good thing. His interactions with Renna are cringe worthy.

The title of the book: Nowhere in the book is there any daylight war that occurs.

Characters: Jardir is hardly in this book at all. Leesha, like Arlen, is nothing like she was in the first two books. Renna is just annoying and there is no good reason given as to why Arlen falls in love with her. Rojer is really the only character in the book who hasn't disappeared or gone completely downhill. Inevera is made into a more sympathetic character, much like Jardir was in the Desert Spear.

Pacing and plot: These don't exist in this book. The plot is talked about and that's about it.

The Waning: This part should have been awesome and it was certainly better than listening to Arlen and Renna act like 12 year old country folk demon slayers in love, but it was too short and made little sense. Jardir kills an elevated mind demon by walking up to it and stabbing it with his spear. I kid you not. Arlen struggles a bit more but still slays his mind demon (who is supposedly the most powerful mind demon) with moderate effort. Immediately after, Arlen suffers a major head injury and is unconscious for two nights. The book never explains how the people he was fighting with survived without his help. The Demons, who were terrifying in the Warded Man, are more akin to flies at a picnic at this point.

The Krasians: I'm so tired of the focus on the Krasians. The culture, the titles, their attitudes.

The end: The ending was so contrived and ridiculous it ruined what little positives there were in the book. It made no sense whatsoever. There was no logical reason for it to happen; there was no buildup, it was just thrown in at the end.

Overall this book just wasn't any good. I didn't even get into all the problems with it (obsessed with graphic sex much?) but in the end, when the only semi-decent parts of the book are the back story of a minor character then we have problems. I hope I'm wrong on this but I think that Peter Brett's capabilities don't live up to his ambition. He may have been a one hit wonder. I'm not sure at this point if I'll be finishing the series.

I have read all three books now, and out of all of them this book disappoints the most. The first half of the book is given to developing the back story of Jadir's wife Inevera. While this is an entertaining story, the amount of the book devoted to her back story leaves little room for plot development later in the novel.

The little amount of plot development ends with the biggest cliffhanger ever. I enjoy a little suspense leading to the next book, but the ending to this book just makes me mad as a reader to have the only entertaining event cut off in the middle...

Overall, the book is a filler piece until the final two can come out. The title makes no sense as you will see when you read the book.

I can no longer recommend this series, I will tell any who ask to just read the first two books and wait on this one until the entire series is published.

I really hated some of the characters in the previous book. In this book, the author dives into those characters and gives us a background on their personality and life history. It really brought them to life for me and made me understand them much better. the trade off for this character development comes at the cost of the action. I was alright with that trade off in this book as I thought it was well written. I think part of the enjoyment of this series comes with the author is very good at changing the pace between action, story background, and character background. Cant wait for the next one.

I will admit that at the beginning of the book i was a little worried at the path the book would take and was worried that this would be a let down after the first two books. This book proved to be a worthy part of the series and I had a very hard time putting down the book once I started reading. Now I have to wait for the next one in the series.

This book isn't as bad as everyone's saying. I almost listened to the reviews and didn't buy it. I have read Jordan and other authors who bog down a series with endless books that seem to go nowhere. Brett's 3rd novel is far from that. We learn even more background story about Ahmann's wife and the story progresses nicely. Don't buy into all the bad reviews. If you are a fan of this series, go ahead and get it. If you are new to the series, start at book 1 and fall in love with Brett's characters as all his fans have. Brett is an amazing storyteller and he doesn't disappoint in this novel.

Daylight War dragged me along and then ended suddenly. It really did not go anywhere but gave depth to the characters. If you like that sort of thing then you will enjoy reading the novel. I was excited to read Daylight War after reading Peter Brett's first two books but I can wait a good long time for the next book in this series.

OK, here’s the thing about The Daylight War, Peter Brett’s third book of the DEMON CYCLE, following The Warded Man and The Desert Spear. I really, really want to say, Don’t Read This Book. Honestly. No sarcasm. No humor. That’s my first thought of the advice I’d give. Because it’s bad? No. Because it disappoints in comparison to the first two, each of which I’ve given 4.5 stars to? No. No, the reason my first instinct is to say don’t read it is simple—because you’re going to want to read Book Four immediately. And at this point, there is no Book Four. The bastard. Now, if you happen to be reading this review a year or so after The Daylight War came out, and there is an existent Book Four, then ignore what I just said. But until that point, don’t read this book. At least, don’t read this book if you don’t want to read a really good book that continues an excellent series at the same high level but ends on a hell of a cliffhanger that makes that makes you slam the book shut and yell “Breeeeeeeeeetttt” like Kirk yells “Kaaaaaaaahhn” in that movie about, well, Kirk and Kahn.

I suppose, however, if you don’t mind cliffhangers, if you’re that kind of sick “hit me again Sir” minded person, if you don’t mind reading a really good book and then twisting painfully, deliciously, sweetly agonizingly, for a year in the wind, oh so deliciously painfully, mmmmmmmm, wait, where was I? Oh yes, if you don’t mind, then by all means, pick this books up. It’ll hurt at the end, but it’s a good hurt.

I’m not going to say much about plot so as not to spoil earlier books. The Daylight War moves the major storyline forward—the continuing war between the Krasnians against the northern lands, which is really the lesser war presaging the much more important one: that between demons and humanity. At the center, or really at the poles, are the two Deliverers: Jardir and Arlen, each waging war against the demons in their own fashion while also preparing their lands to go against each other’s. Circling around and between these two great forces are those closest to them: Renna Tanner, Leesha, Rojer, Inevera, Abban, and others. As the story moves ahead toward a grand confrontation, everything begins to escalate. Jardir plots a major push against one of the most important cities, while the demons bring forth more powerful “princes”—“mind demons” to smarten up the heretofore dumb-animal like demons and increase the effectiveness and destructiveness of their attacks.

Along with focusing on Arlen and Jardir and their attempts to consolidate their positions and learn their burgeoning powers, we watch those around them grow in their own fashion. The novel devotes most of that storyline to Inevera, interrupting the contemporary timeline with flashback chapters that show how she rose to become Jardir’s most powerful wife and advisor. But though she gets the most page time, we also see quite a bit of maturation in each of the others: Roget (newly married to not one but two wives), Renna, Leesha, Jardir’s daughters, and even several of the minor characters.

At 600+ pages, Brett really takes his time for both plotting and characterization and while some might consider it a bit slow, I never felt that way. The book never seemed bloated because everything contributed to either increasing narrative tension or greater depth of characterization (and often both at the same time). It was compelling throughout, whether I was reading battle scenes involving demons or reading tension-filled conversations over tea or, (as was often the case) conversations during relatively graphic “pillow-dancing/Spear-riding” (and yes, that’s what these kids are calling it in these days).

One might call this an “adult” book because it is rife with references to and descriptions of sex and body parts, but in my mind, it’s more an adult book because it is filled with adults who act and talk like adults. I’d noted in a review of the prior books that Brett does an excellent job of showing these characters becoming who they are over time, starting with how they are formed by their childhood events and continue to be shaped by them or fight against them as they become adults. Inevera’s story is no exception; her rise is vividly detailed. Even better is how those characters we might have thought were already fully formed, such as Jardir or Arlen, continue to grow and change, for both better and worse. And still better is how these characters actually have adult conversations about these changes—they notice them in themselves, they notice them in each other and, gasp, they talk about them.

Because of this mature portrayal, you find yourself caring deeply about what happens to them. The relationships are fraught with anxiety, fear, love, trust, mistrust, jealousy, passion, anger, pettiness, shame, guilt. In short, they are real, again, adult, relationships, and thus I find them much more moving than usual. The relationship between Arlen and Renna is especially so, and I have to say I found myself with a lump in my throat on several occasions with their scenes, not because of any cheap authorial manipulation but because they felt real to me. It has to be one of the best relationships I’ve come across in a book in some time, and I’m not limiting that to my genre reading.

Beyond the characters, I really like what Brett does in somewhat mirroring this slow growth and maturation and changing with regard to the two cultures presented, as we watch both take on aspects of the other, a fascinating portrayal. One that is drawn out over time and is much more complex and sophisticated than what we usually see when someone’s army wins a battle or two. The worldbuilding especially of Jardir’s culture is exemplary, but it is far from static. Brett has created an entire world filled with sharp, vivid details, but rather than present it as a completed painting, he gives it to us as an unfinished work and we get to watch it slowly morph and adapt to new ideas thanks to the contact with the north. The same is true of the north, but to a less vivid extent. This is also nicely played out on a microcosmic level via Rojer’s marriage to two Krasnians. Outside the human world, Brett also opens up the Demon world/culture for more exploration via some demon pov chapters and what is revealed is incredibly interesting, leaving me wanting much more.

Brett’s prose, as always, is precise and fluid and vivid. It draws you in easily and keeps you in, never turning pedestrian or clumsy or repetitive. Pacing mostly works well and I enjoyed the interruptive structure of the flashbacks. The two storylines—what’s happening with Jardir and what’s happening with the northerners—are mostly tied together by character and theme rather than by direct plotting, but that didn’t bother me in the least.

There are probably a few niggling issues. As mentioned, some might find it a little slow in the first third or so. The pace picks up greatly at the end and so conversely, some might find the ending a bit rushed or abrupt. I found myself at times wishing for a few slightly different names as their similarities (to each other or to other words) distracted me now and then. Some might with the two storylines were more narratively connected. And then there is that cliffhanger. Which by the way is not far removed from the literal. But really, these were minor issues. I polished off The Daylight War in two sittings and had I not had 40 essays to grade, probably would have tried to do it in one. This is certainly one of my favorite series in fantasy and Book Three, which if you haven’t figured out I enthusiastically recommend, continues the story at its high, high level. I can only assume Book Four will as well based on these first three. Now I just have to wait for it. “Breeeeeeeeeetttt”

(this review originally appeared on fantasyliterature.com)

I've thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this series, and this one is no different, though it was a bit different than what I was expecting. I feel like the overall plot was put on hold while we got better acquainted with the existing characters. While the "flashbacks" did reveal a great deal about each and were expertly told, it did feel a little repetitive when this same type of scenario kept playing out over and over for each character. I would've liked it to be changed up a bit more and have these things revealed as side plots to the main story, rather than all being revealed through these pauses and recollections. Still, I did enjoy it and it has given me new appreciation for the characters, so I can't complain too much. I'm just anxious to get to the next book and see the plot start moving again!

After that literal cliffhanger of an ending, it's hard to focus on anything else!! It's hard to even look back on this book without knowing when the fourth installment will be released! I typically like to wait until a series is complete before beginning it, and this series was originally slated to be a trilogy. After enjoying it so much, I am quite pleased that Brett's contract has been extended for an additional three novels. I just wish that they were already available!! Brett has a real gift for intricate plotting and creating exceptionally real and completely sympathetic characters. I can't wait to find out where the stories will go from here - and which new characters will be magnified.

Like the second installment, Brett shifts the focus to include more characters - Inerva and Abban feature prominently here. Inerva's perspective is fascinating - and by far Brett's most convincing female character. Leesha continues to be a main character, but her unrealistic actions have yet to be rectified... She is by far his weakest character, and Inerva's perspective adds a lot to the storyline. Brett also sheds more light on the Core. These novels are perhaps more character-driven than anything else - the story certainly does not move chronologically, but there is still a lot of excitement within these pages. Though this is a hefty novel to tote, it is remarkable fast-paced and a lot of fun to read! I wish that I wasn't so impatient for the fourth book - but I really am excited that the series has been prolonged - it is definitely on my list of best fantasy series!

When you read reviews, remember most people who dislike something post about it. Far fewer people who like a book ever take the time to review it. They sit it down, and mentally say that it was cool and move on to the next book.... Maybe grumbling along the way that they are required to wait. That said..

Was a good addition to the series. The title might be a bit misleading but overall was a good use of my time. While not a fan of the dark side characters it was still interesting to see some of what went on behind the scenes.

To address some other complaints. Too many people seem to think it was a trilogy. It was called a "cycle" which could mean just about anything from three to ten.

Didn't advance the story enough.... What defines enough...? Seems to subjective.

Too much repeat. Well maybe a little, but a very different perspective.

Finally... Not going to get the next one..... Lol.. Right. Books are by far one of the lowest cost vs time entertainment value. I for one am not feeling cheated.

What happened, Mr. Brett???

First, I must say that I have been counting the days (and weeks, and months) until this release. The other two books, I've read MANY times each. I love the characters, the action, the whole concept of the demons and wards. I was even so starved for the story that I listened intently to the Krasian's stories, rather than just tolerating them as a means to an end (namely, getting back to Cutter's Hollow).

I've sung the praises of these books to anyone who'll listen.

So when I saw that Audible had The Daylight War nearly two weeks early, I thought either Christmas came late, or there was some mistake.

And then I WISHED it'd been a mistake. Thank God they used the same narrator (Pete Bradbury) again, because that's the only thing that got me through the **tedium** of the first half of the audio-version of the book. The interactions between Arlon and Rena were especially painful. Not only did I feel like I was back in junior high, but Mr. Brett made sure I REALLY understood the point he was trying to convey about Arlon's new aww-shucks, Regular-Joe demeanor (another huge disappointment) and Rena's neediness. Even Leesha's parts felt weak. There were many things he glossed over (Leesha and the duke - wth was that??), while belaboring the broader points of Arlon's and Rena's insipid interactions.

Finally, around the half-way mark, we get some action, and things progress. We have battles. Thank the creator. And then, after all that, the book ends with a cliffhanger?! Ugh. It smacks of HEAVY intervention on the part of the publisher. I bet this book wasn't ready, and the publisher told the author to fill up the beginning with crap, and write the end as a fourth book.

In summary: yes, you should get the book. It's got some good content, even if it takes its sweet time getting there. But PLEASE don't judge the series by this book. And, Mr. Brett, PLEASE write the fourth book as well as you wrote the first two.

this book is great, but very different from the first two books in Peter V.Bretts Demon Cycle. These differences might break the book for some readers due to different expectations, so let me sketch them out:

-The first two books were focused on a hero's journey of personal growth, where the protagonists (re-)discovered the world, knowledge and their powers. This book's focus is on the communities and the most important supporters of the two 'Deliverers' (Abban and especially Inerva for Jardir - and Rojer, Leesha and Renna Tanner for Arlen), their developing relationships, politics and empire building. Of course, it's not just that, but more so than in the previous volumes.

-The book introduces a new main character, Inevera, and spends many pages introducing us to her thinking, past and motivations. I found her to be very intriguing and also loved to see a well researched Ottoman/Persian fantasy culture brought to life in her chapters. However, this also means a big part of the book is spent in the past. Jumping back and forth between the current events and Inevera's story makes the latter seem like a distraction (despite her being essential). My recommendation: Read all chapters on Inevera's past first, then go on with reading the current day chapters.

With those differences in mind, what makes the book great?

1) Amazing tactical battles: With all the magic found in the previous books, i feared only mimics and mind demons would count in book 3. But the mind demons used some really impressive tactics (firestorms, 'catapults', anti-human-wards, formation, focus fire, attrition etc) to make their soldiers dangerous again.

2) Deep characterization of the Krasian people and their culture:
I really love to see a good characterization of the Persian/Ottoman court culture in a fantasy novel. Usually, if there is a desert culture in fantasy, it's arab and very much cliché. Also, by moving a larger delegation of them to the Hollowers, as well as a marriage, we get a great way to highlight differences, create culture clashes and ways to find common ground. Jardir, Inevera and Abban also implement some policies to change some of the worst aspects of that culture.

3) Inevera. I was ready to hate her like a Cercei Lannister in book two, but now i think she is actually strong, independent, maybe at times very ruthless but still dedicated woman with the best intentions for her husband and her people. My new favourite character.

4) The development of Rojers arranged marriage from political to respectful to true love.

5) (Few) graphic but tasteful sex scenes. Many US-american authors seem to pretend there is no sex or that its not important enough to show, but whole wars were started over it, it's one of the strongest motivators. And, in a harem culture pillow talk is one of the main ways to exert influence and spin intrigue. So i am glad it wasn't censored in this book.

What i didn't like:
1) Mindreading. Nothing cheapens intrigue like a guy that can simply see the truth.
2) Renna-Arlen-Relationship. I get the appeal of going back to the roots, but they seem like some superpowered village bumpkins madly in love, honest word.
3) Leesha-Thamos-Relationship. Besides the sexual attraction both felt, it seemed somehow empty and meaningless to me.

Conclusion:
The book was a good read! It's very different from the first two books in style and pacing, but i think using the middle of the series (3rd book is 3/5) to increase the depth of the characters and the demon haunted world was great storytelling. And the tactical fights for the Hollow, while few, were absolutely amazing.

4.5/5

Note: I'm no native english speaker, imported the book to Germany, sorry for spelling errors etc.

Actually, I appreciated the large amount of backstory since I haven't read previous books in the series. However, that did become old and I couldn't really feel involved. As others have commented, it doesn't seem that a whole lot happened. And this was a long read. So I doubt very much that I'll try to read earlier volumes or any future books in the series.

First, I want to say I really like Mr. Brett's writing style and I read and enjoyed all of his other books. In saying that I was excited when this book was released and couldn't wait to get into to it however after now just finishing it I am not so sure what to think. As others have commented a large portion of the book seems to be filler albeit interesting filler. It just seems that maybe instead of calling this book "The Daylight War" maybe it should have been called "The Damajah" since a huge focus of the book is about Invevera. Don't get me wrong there is plenty about many of the other characters but very little to do with any daylight war. In fact it should have been called "The Dusk War". Anyway, I am probably being generous with the 4 star rating but as far as a good read goes this book, withstanding all of the filler, is still very good read. Just a little disappointing as the next installment of an ongoing series

When I started I was afraid we were in for another half book of backstory before we got to anyone we cared about. I was very relived that this time we got glimpses of the past, but more concentration on the present than we had in The Desert Spear.

Wow what a precipitous drop in quality from Peter V. Brett's opening salvo in this Demon Cycle saga, THE PAINTED MAN. I don't believe the writing and stage setting was ever Brett's strong suit, I certainly didn't see evidence of textured scenes and environments in THE PAINTED MAN. It was the characterizations - Arlen, Leesha and Rojer - and their journeys which grab you. THE PAINTED MAN's novelty has worn off by this latest installment, THE DAYLIGHT WAR. More and more, I feel like I'm reading a B-grade fantasy soap opera, and less and less, any relevant events which move the story forward. The demons simply aren't menacing anymore, not even the mind demons and their mimics if we go by what Jardir, equipped with the Kaji spear and crown, is able to accomplish. The first two-thirds of the book tell of the same events in THE PAINTED MAN from Jiwah Ka Innerva's perspective, supplemented mostly by inane, insipid banter chafing at the reader's intelligence, let alone the reader's patience. If this pattern holds, my guess is we will see the same events from Abban's perspective next book. I didn't sign up for this, and if the point of all these perspectives is to lend seemingly ruthless characters (Jardir & Innerva) some compassion, I ask so what? Despite all this fleshing out, I still don't care one iota for Jardir and Innerva, and although I appreciate Abban the most out of the three Krasians, I don't want to see the next book showing me the same events from another character's perspective. With our boy Arlen disappearing and flying about at will, even the fantasy elements in this fantasy series try my suspension-of-disbelief factor to new heights (or lows depending on how you look at it) . . .

I increasingly grow tired of the Krasians their Arabic-inspired culture. It appears Brett combined the sounds dal, ka, ting and dam to concoct the Krasian dictionary and if I encounter a Krasian word or saying ever again, it will be too soon. The Krasians are also superior to the Thesans and their medieval european-inspired culture in every way. The Krasians are more organized, they are better fighters (Krasian drillmaster Kaval *easily* defeats Gared & Wanda at a bar for instance), they take the fight to the demons each night while the Thesans cringe behind warded walls, and they have sorceresses (Dama'ting) who roll the bones (good Rush song by the way) to tell them what to do, who to trust, etc. Must be nice to have bones telling you what to do, when to do it, etc. I want to know what's happening at Fort Angiers, Miln and Lakton. Are they so weak they can't do anything about the Krasian invasion or progress in taking the fight to the demons as the Hollowers have started to do?

At end of the second book, THE DESERT SPEAR, we learn that Jardir isn't really that bad of a guy, and that Innerva and her demon bones pull his strings to do things he may otherwise not want to do (i.e., betray Arlen). In this book, we learn that Innerva isn't so bad either! She loves her family dearly, and comes from humble beginnings similar to Jardir. She's also doing what she believes right and genuinely comes to love her beau Jardir. Do you care? I sure don't. In the next book, we will inevitably learn that despite Jardir and Innerva's outward positions of power, the true puppet master of the Krasians is probably Abban. There's a point in the novel where Innerva rolls the bones to learn of Abban's true nature and she discovers that the fates of Abban and the Deliverer are tied together - harm to one means harm to the other. I really need some bones like this! This rolling of the bones to tell futures and peoples' true nature takes all the work out of the storytelling and the lazy product therein lies before our eyes: THE DAYLIGHT WAR. I propose an alternate name fo this book as others have already pointed out, the current title does not do it justice. I propose: ROLL THE BONES.

Having read Mark Lawrence's masterful KING OF THORNS prior to this novel, I can truly see the poor quality material this is. When the best thing the first two-thirds of this book has going for it is rehashed events from a third perspective (Innerva's), then you know this doesn't bode well for the overall reading experience. The rest of the first two-thirds of the book convey endless, inane banter, insipid meetings, and soap-opera like plots (Oh my god she's pregnant?! We need to get her to sleep with someone else so no one finds out who the true father is…). I mean c'mon . . . this is horrible. After Leesha returns to the Hollow and meets with the Count, the main group must meet separately to "talk." Nothing comes of this "talking", Arlen and Renna marry, there's a party, and then Arlen visits Leesha again afterwards to "talk" more about the coming New Moon. They walk in Leesha's garden and here's the convo. Arlen: gee wiz, sorry about how I acted during our last meeting; Leesha: no man, it's cool; Arlen: golly, we're both sorry where do we go from here? Leesha: buddy, remember the New Moon? Arlen: Oh yah, it's cool I got it covered… ?!??!?!?! Do you know what I mean by inane, want-to-kill-myself banter?

The rest of the book ends similar to the second book THE DESERT SPEAR except on a grander scale. Instead of 2 coreling princelings, there's 6 and a Royal Consort. There's a huge fight as 3 of the mind demons go after the Krasians and the other 3 go after the Hollowers. Jardir, equipped with the Kaji crown and spear, simply walks into the demon camp and easily kills one of the mind demons and its mimic, while our boy Arlen has a much harder time of it. Both repel the demon attacks, nobody of significance dies, and we will go on until the next New Moon (or Waning). The finale has Arlen and Jardir squaring off, but because of the cliffhanger ending nothing is really final. We're led to believe that after soundly beating Arlen, Jardir dies in a "bone-shattering crunch." In a world where people are healed with a touch and blind people can suddenly see, I very much doubt the finality of this. This is obviously a feint, but I don't care to find out what will happen next.

Nothing of significance has happened other than Leesha getting pregnant and then hooking up with the Count. The demons' attack is again repelled and we don't know for sure if Jardir is actually dead. The Krasians still hold Fort Rizon (as in the very beginning of THE DESERT SPEAR) and still haven't advanced. Do you see what I mean? Nothing has happened.

A good continuation of the series. I really enjoyed the Inevera backstory, though it seemed fairly odd that he left Arlen's viewpoint for such a long swath of chapters in the middle. Truly in this book Arlen gets a little preachy and that combined with the you-shmoopy-no-you-shmoopy conversations he has with Renna just seem very out of character for him. The ending also left me a little disappointed, though I guess it fits the typical TO BE CONTINUED style of cliffhangers. Despite that, I'm still enjoying the story and look forward to the next book!

I just was expecting to see a war between humans and demans. I thought it would be the end because it said trilogy, but I went to the Peter Brett's website and it said it was always supposed to be a 5 book series, but I don't believe so. I hope the next two books aren't going to be retelling the story over again from different perspectives.

A lot of people complain about there being a lot flashbacks in this 3rd book of the series. I had no problem with it considering the other two books did the same exact thing. I thought it gave the reader a better understanding of the character and that characters choices throughout his/her life. I thought it gave the series a good cliffhanger and started explaining more in depth the magic behind the series of the book.

All in all a great book.

When Arlen and Renna killed the Coreling demon prince in the previous novel they unleashed a war that will threaten everyone in the Hollow. The hollow is growing exponentially as people flee Jadir's conquering advance. Jadir is expanding his empire out of the desert, escaping with the Demons hordes on his heels. The book finishes with an epic battle when the demons attack the humans in the Desert and the Hollow. Large swaths of this book explain Inerva's story and her motivation in turning Jadir into the Deliverer and uniter of the Desert people and Jadir's betrayal of Arlen. So who is the real deliverer? Jadir or Arlen? Can there be only one? The very end of the book is a cliffhanger that will leave you wondering the fate of Jadir and Arlen.

This was a good book but u don't like how Arlin seemed to lose his mystery and become a regular guy every time he talked I wanted to close the book because it was always so mushy. But nun the less still a good read and I can't wait for the next book.

Love the return of the characters. However it seemed to go back in to damjting perspective too much while not paying off in a big enough way. Overall it's a Fun read with a frustrating abrupt ending. I can't wait for the next book.

I want start by saying this book was loaned to me by a friend and i did not pay for it. However i was so disappointed i felt it was necessary to write a review anyway.

Do you remember looking forward to the second book and then being pissed off when you realized that it was just the first book rewritten from a different character's perspective? Well Deja F'in Vue. I mean sure they added a couple of pages of new material at the end to marginally advance the story. But Book three is basicly books one and two condensed and then rewritten from a third character's perspective. Don't get me wrong this book is excelently written and edited. I just read it already. Twice. If you are a die hard fan who has to read this book then go ahead. But be prepared for the same story and no conclusion. Hopefully the next trilogy will actually finish the story.

I couldn't finish this book and so I returned it to the bookstore. As others have stated this book is another retelling of book one but with a focus on Inerva's disgustingly sexually depraved background. I skipped or lightly scanned over reading at least 50 % of the book searching for plot development. There maybe 40 pages that move the plot forward and even with this it gave the reader very little new knowledge.

I was particularly disgusted by the sexualization of pre puberty girls in this book. It was child porn and if it was a movie with real people, the FBI would be arresting the people who graphically used a marble dildoe on an 11-12 year girl and who trained pre-puberty girls to sexually please adult men. I ask Mr. Brett, are you that lacking in creativity that you cannot write something better? You can create a world with any rules you choose. In your world, you don't have to continue to perpetuate the sexist, misogyny, and child porn tropes.

Each book has included more misogyny than the last and book three is chock full of this.
The Desert Spear is riddled with sexually explicit scenes. The only POV characters not engaged in sex or thinking about it are the corelings. I liked Arlen until he hooked up with `stupid as mud' Renna and began their moronic relationship drama. All of the female character regardless of age are screwing both men and women or being raped. Even women only described in one scene get detailed descriptions of their breasts or voluptuous bodies. Women are just pieces of meat in the Demon Cycle.

There are so many excellent fantasy authors out there who do not rely upon gratuitous sex and child porn to sell their books. Authors known to consistently develop interesting complex worlds, realistic characters and gripping plot lines that I do not have to waste my time or money on this particular author. If you want sex, misogyny and child porn then Peter Brett's books will satisfy you.

If you are considering reading this book, most likely you have read the Warded Man and the Desert Spear and wondering if you should continue the series. There is an easy answer to that question, YES you should.

This book wasn't as good as The Warded Man, but that's a high bar. I liked it better than The Desert Spear: Book Two of The Demon Cycle. The book is very readable and pretty fast-paced. One of the things I liked about the book is that it gives the reader of different and sympathetic perspective on Inevera. I didn't like her character much before this book, but this book explains her back-story and her decisions.

The book slowed down for me from about the 75% mark to the 95% mark, but Brett finished the book with a very exciting finish. I'm definitely looking forward to the fourth book.

I'll save any spoiler comments for the end so anyone can read most of this. As others have mentioned this book is simply another retelling of what Brett has already written in book one, however at least in book two, the plot moved forward somewhat with the introduction of mind demons and invasion of the north. Forget about that in book 3. There are maybe 30 pages (and that's being generous) of plot in the entire 650 page novel. Its obvious Peter V Brett is just padding page count to charge for more novels rather than just writing what story he has - it makes one wonder if the author really has any story beyond book one since all he can seemingly do is retell book one over and over again.. But the lack of plot is really only the beginning of the awful that is this book.

In Book one, I was bothered by Peter V Brett's tendency to write female characters whose only important character attribute seemingly is their breast size, and their only emotional/psychological motivation and purpose is to be sex objects for the male characters. But I chalked it up to it being his first novel and being pressured by an editor to appeal to the all-important 14 year-old-boy demographic.

In book two he at least spent about 75% of the book mostly avoiding misogyny. Well in book 3, glorifying misogyny seems to be the entire purpose of the novel. If his female characters are not seducing, screwing or being raped, or pining to be seduced, screwed or raped, then they're not doing much at all. Women who appear in only a single scene and aren't important enough to even get a character name still get detailed descriptions of their breasts/bodies. Leesha now gets headaches that, you guessed it, only a good screw can cure. Even the "non" pretty girl, Wanda Cutter's only psychological drive is that she wants to find a man. Near the end Leesha tells Jardir he doesn't "own" women, which is ironic because the author has spent the entire novel sexualizing and reducing women to objects. Congrats on furthering the misogyny stereotype in fantasy novels Mr. Brett!

And just when you think it can't get any lower, then there's the sexualizing of underage girls - want to read an eroticized account of an underage virgin being ceremonially violated by a piece of marble - well hey, this is the book for you! How about 12-13 year-olds learning how to please men? Yep got that too. Or Rojer's two underage brides whom Brett not only has starring in explicit sex scenes, but spends time vividly describing their bodies in pretty much every scene, after all they can't go outside and sing if they're not wearing their nighties...The author and publisher ought to be ashamed to have this kind of crap in their name.

Now for spoilers about what little plot there is -- for those who have wasted their time on this series and hopefully won't waste any more of it:

In book one, Arlen explored and struggled for each new piece of info that could help people, but now that he's mind-melded with a mind demon, he just knows things whenever the author needs him to know them. Its the worst kind of expository plot device and there's no sense of accomplishment in anything he does. He learns nothing in book 3 until he again fights a mind-demon near the end and shares his thoughts - yes, its the exact same plot point as the end of book 2.

The pressing concern for everyone in this novel is the "epic" battle for Cutter's Hollow looming on the next new moon, so you'd think Arlen's book of ancient technological siege weapons might be important, in a city preparing for a demon-siege but nope, "Ye Old Weapons" book gets one sentence as Arlen gives it to Leesha and then he tells her to ignore it - which makes sense because why bother giving Leesha the ability to do research, make discoveries and participate in driving the plot when instead she can worry about a pregnancy and finding new men to sleep with. And its totally logical that the "terrifying" weapons tech is so terrifying that everyone being killed by demons is a better solution than using the tech - that makes sense.

You'd also think that if Arlen had a hidden cache of, say other weapons he recovered from Anoch Sun, he'd retrieve them and give them to the Hollowers before the battle, especially since Arlen can teleport around the world - but nope, he doesn't even think of them until after the "battle" is over.

Leesha at one point wishes she had more demon bones to enhance weapons for the Hollowers - gee, if only they were, I don't know, killing demons on a nightly basis, and making piles of the bodies....but she never thinks of this because she's too busy screwing the Duke who happened to be the only male character around not already schtupping someone else at the moment.

Late in the book, Arlen sneaks into Jardir's camp... to deliver a letter. I kid you not, talk about climactic... And then finally, in the last 10-20 pages we get the only actual advancement of the plot with a fight between Arlen & Jardir. Except it is weakly written, feels rushed, and just continues to regurgitate the same info we've read for the last two books and concludes with them jumping over a cliff where Arlen Teleports away at the last moment and Jardir crunches into the ground which is the only thing keeping it from literally being a "cliff-hanger".

If all the misogyny were cut out, perhaps this series would still be worth reading because that battle would have happened in the first 25% of the book and the story could have actually advanced from there, but it didn't. I suggest everyone do themselves a favor and stick to people like Sanderson, Rothfuss, Sapkowski, Weeks, Hobb, or some other author who isn't trying to pad page counts to sell more novels, whose novels contain more plot than a fortune cookie, and also don't glorify misogyny and the treatment of women as pieces of meat.

According to prophecy, mankind will be saved by the Deliverer, a figure who will unite all of humanity during the Daylight War before defeating the forces of demonkind in the First War. The demons that rise from the Core at night will be destroyed and peace restored to the world. But there is a problem: two men have arisen, both named as the Deliverer by the people they have saved. From the north comes Arlen, the Painted Man. From the south comes Jardir, the ruler of Krasia, and his armies of well-trained, fanatical warriors. For humanity to survive to fight the First War, only one of them can live.

The Daylight War is the third novel of The Demon Cycle, currently planned to run to five volumes. It follows on from the events of the enjoyable The Painted Man and the less-accomplished Desert Spear and replicates the structure of the latter novel. Whilst the current-day storyline continues to unfold, we are treated to lengthy flashbacks to the past to flesh out the background of a key character, in this case Inevera, Jardir's First Wife.

In this case, these flashbacks are not as extensive as The Desert Spear's, which were important to add to our understanding of the character of Jardir (who, as one of the two major protagonists of the series, needed such fleshing-out to better explain his actions at the end of The Painted Man). Inevera, though an important influence on events, is not a character in the same league and as such her flashbacks are more succinct. This leaves more time for the book to address the modern-day storyline, which has effectively been on hold since the end of The Painted Man: The Desert Spear moved the present-day storyline forwards infinitesimally, due to both the flashbacks taking up an immense amount of the book and an apparent decline in Brett's pacing abilities.

Unfortunately, and for reasons that remain unclear, The Daylight War does not do this. An immense amount of the book is taken up by characters sitting around and talking about the plot, about what has happened (and is redundant, as we've already read it) and what might happen next. Then we switch from the rustic faux-Two Rivers/Shirefolk of Team Arlen to the faux-Muslims of Team Jardir and the exact same thing happens again. Then we get a brief scene in which some demons get killed. Then people discuss the plot a bit more in light of these demons being killed. This happens repeatedly for about 650 pages, whilst the reader wonders what is going on.

Finally, towards the end of the book, we get a couple of big action set-pieces in which lots of demons get killed, there are a few reversals as some minor characters are killed off, and then a painfully contrived final cliffhanger showdown between Jardir and Arlen that comes almost out of nowhere, and seems to be more the result of a dwindling page count then any natural plot development. The book's title also seems misleading: the Daylight War simply does not happen in the this novel (all of the major battles are against demons, not between the two human societies). The conclusion hints that maybe it does not need to happen, with the winner of the duel walking off with all of humanity united, so the title may be deliberately ironic.

The novel is not a complete disaster, despite its flirtation with Crossroads of Twilight levels of pacing. Brett's prose is fairly basic - and if anything has decreased slightly since the first novel - but remains effective at drawing environments, characters and situations. He is good with actions scenes, and his ward-based magic system is well-envisaged. Like Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, Brett has come up with a system that is flexible and imaginative, and allows for it to be reinterpreted and upgraded as the series continues. There's more than a tinge of Dungeons and Dragons to this approach, with Brett's characters 'levelling up' in magical power to face the increasingly powerful monsters they face, but it remains an effective device. We get more information about demons, including more scenes from the demons' POV, which give us a hint about their society (but not their origins which, given that Brett's world is clearly ours millennia hence, remain puzzling).

The book also improves - though moderately - in its treatment of female characters. Previously Brett drastically over-used rape as a device of dramatic change, with both male and female characters suffering some kind of sexual abuse whenever he needed them to undergo some kind of moment of character realisation. In The Daylight War several of these abusers get their just desserts and the institutionalised rape within the Krasian culture is heavily eroded by Jardir's progressive policies (we also see the rise of a Krasian sect of female warriors). Unfortunately this has been replaced by a willingness by the female characters to simply use their bodies as a means to get whatever they want, replacing rape with consensual prostitution. At any rate, though Brett seems aware of the previous books' dubious gender politics and moved to address them, there remains some serious issues in this area which makes for some uncomfortable reading.

The Daylight War (**½) is an extremely badly-paced novel that features a tremendous amount of filler and redundant recapping of the plot. Intermittently, we get good moments of characterisation and a fair few decent action beats, along with some imaginative development of the magic system and the basic premise of the series, which remains interesting. But the book's main storyline crawls forwards at a snail's pace (ending in a contrived cliffhanger) and its treatment of female characters and sexuality remains painfully clumsy, despite minor improvements. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

The Daylight War is the third book in the Demon Cycle series, which is planned at 5 books at this point. So it is very much a middle volume. Relationships are tested, alliances are made, and demons are killed. What more could you ask for? A book you stay up late for because you're lost in it perhaps? Well that's what Brett has given us.

As The Warded Man was Arlen's book and The Desert Spear was Jardir's the latest is Inevera's. While I do feel an important aspect of Brett's style is reveling in the back stories of his focus characters The Desert Spear felt too bloated on Jardir's part. The Daylight War gives Inevera the limelight this go around and it was much more balanced showing more of what other characters were up to. In fact, I wouldn't have minded a few more chapters on her past as some aspects of her personality were not addressed as much as I hoped. My liking of Inevera's part could be due to the fact it was more interspersed throughout the book rather than being dropped in larger chunks as Jardir's portion was.

Inevera's rise to Dama Ting is the mental game compared to the physical game Jardir rose to the top of. They are very much the two sides of the same coin. The female side of the Krasians society is explored in depth from the very bottom up. Brett's nod to his love of dice-throwing is finally showcased as we learn the secrets to Inevera's dice and how much they mean.

Killing demons seems very secondary to most of the book save a couple very large battles. It really comes down to whether Arlen or Jardir will lead humanity or somehow find a way to work together again.

Brett's characterization is at an all time high, giving each and every character nuance and depth. This is also the volume where I actually found myself liking Gared. Rojer begins to truly master his powers while also gaining companions of his own, which injects just the right amount of levity when needed. Renna goes to extremes to keep pace with Arlen while Leesha, having not decided on her options in time, is left with few alternatives. Renna's relationship with Arlen deepens in many unforeseen ways. She is keeping Arlen tethered to his humanity while she tempts losing her own. Yet even with all of this going on it was the trader Abban I kept waiting to hear from again. Abban comes alive showing his side of things. Or at least a partial view of his side as his grand plans are kept close to his chest. Mark my words he's up to big things.

The ending, while fulfilling some promises, did feel very rushed. It was a confrontation that seemed to warrant more page time given the amount spent on lesser entanglements.The abruptness may also throw off some fans, but at this point I trust that Brett can live up to what he has done so far.

The Daylight War keeps the quality to near the same level as previous volumes while turning up the pacing, but if you haven't dug what's happened so far than this isn't the series for you. If you like your Fantasy big, dramatic, and with characters you grow to love the Demon Cycle will be quite memorable. With The Daylight War, Brett reaffirms his high place in modern Epic Fantasy. By the end it seems like the deliverer issue was put to bed so that the true war against the demons can begin. The wait for the fourth volume, The Skull Throne also begins...

I have to say that I skipped a little of book two in this series, but I loved this one. I like that women are starting to stand out in the krasian culture, and reading about evevera, jadir's wife was a treat. Another thing about it that I liked was that not all the characters had a happy ending in relationships.

Third in The Demon Cycle fantasy revolving around Arlen Bales, a man who refuses to allow demons to take any man.

My Take
Sure, it's a lot of pages with plenty of space to tell a story, and there is so much story that Brett tells. This particular one brings us up-to-date on what's happening in Deliverer's Hollow while Leesha is off with Jardir and what Arlen Bales and his Promised are doing, but it's primary concern is in filling us in on Inevera's story and how she brings Jardir into prominence. There's the infighting amongst everyone: Jardir versus his people and Inervera; Leesha and the people who accompany her on her visit with Jardir and the return; Rojer's wedding and its myriad issues that slap up against whose loyalty goes where and the strictures of the Evejah; the clash of rulers in Cutter's Hollow; and, the politics that crash against everyone and everything at every level.

Keep track of the date/time at the start of various chapters. It will help you keep track of when you are in the story as well as act as a countdown to battle.

It's interesting that Brett uses our notions of Middle Eastern culture and Islam to paint the bad guys, and how often their culture is used in this way. It does make me think of how easily it could be turned around the other way, for no culture is without its wrongs. Part of me wants to say that the culture in which I was raised would find them wrong, but in truth, there are aspects of the West and the Middle East that I find wrong and right. You could claim the dama'ting was wrong, and yet likening it to a nunnery with sexual freedom would also be accurate with more honesty existing in the dama'ting.

In many ways, I think of The Daylight War as a bridge. It's filling us in on the characters, tidying up what has occurred in the past two installments, and setting us up for the battle to come.

The Story
A world where none dare the night, but ward any possible entrance to living space, storage shed, barn, field, or business against the demons which attack nightly. The people of this world have lost so much, but Arlen Bales has learned spells of protection, of attack, and he is spreading his knowledge to all he can reach.

Inevera is called by the dice into the Dama'ting, possibly to be their next leader. If she can survive the wrath of those Betrothed and Brides who see her as inferior. She will grow to become a manipulative little bitch, relying upon the dice for her every move.

The Characters
Inevera is the youngest child of Manvah, the basketweaver, and her drunken husband, Kasaad. She undergoes the Hannu Pash in the prologue. Soli is her older brother who has just achieved the black robes of a full dal'Sharum. He is also push'ting, gay.

Ahmann Jardir is the leader of the Krasian people, holding the Spear of Kaji. He was Arlen's best friend before he betrayed him in Desert Spear. Inevera is his First Wife, Jiwah Ka, and Damajah, but he has asked Leesha to marry him. Kajivah is his rather stupid mother.

Jayan, physically strong, and Asome, mentally strong, are Jardir's first sons. His heirs. Amanvah is the first daughter and Inevera's heir.

The Brides of Everam, the Dama'ting
The dama'tings' initial purpose is to heal, to poison, and to use hora magic. Girls new to the Dama'ting are called Betrothed; as they move up in skill, they become nie'dama'ting, and then Brides. Kenevah is the Damaji'ting, the First Bride, the head of the Dama'ting when Inevera first joins. Qeva is her daughter; Melan is Qeva's daughter; Asavi is Melan's pillow friend. Enkido was a great warrior, but now he is a eunuch in the service of the dama'ting.

Abban is khaffit and crippled after his mishap in the Maze back in Desert Spear, but he is still a valued friend to Jardir. He has done well for himself as a merchant. Shamavah is Abban's First Wife. Master Qeran is a brilliant drillmaster, but since he lost his leg, he loses himself in drink. And he hates all khaffit. Fahki and Shusten are Abban's disrespectful sons. Jamere is his nephew and totally corrupt.

Hasik Ahmann is now bodyguard to the Skarum Ka, a vicious, sadistic sociopath who destroys or rapes anyone he can catch. Dama Khevat is in charge of a boy's potential for the Sharum. Dama Baden is a push'ting dama, a lord. Cashiv is Dama Baden's kai'Sharum and Soli's ajin'pal, the warrior tethered to him, who fought by his side his first night in the Maze. Dama Ashan is personal dama to Jardir, and his heir is Asukaji, who is pillow friends with Asome, his cousin, who marries Askukaji's sister, Ashia, so that the men may have children. Highly respected by Jardir, Dama Aleverak's heir is Maji. Krisha is a rival basketmaker whose goods are shoddy.

Arlen Bales has been called the Deliverer; he is the Painted Man, the Warded Man, known as Par'chin among the Krasians, tattooed with wards of protection against the demons he battles. Renna Tanner is the girl he fled all those years ago; he went back to Tibbet's Brook to claim her. Twilight Dancer is his demon-fighting horse; Promise is the untrainable horse Renna chooses for her own from Jon Stallion's stock, the man who raises and trains the wild Angierian mustangs that fight so well. Nik is his son; Glyn is his wife.

Deliverer's Hollow
Darsy Cutter is an Herb Gatherer minding Leesha's house while she's gone. The town is known for its cutters, lumbermen, who harvest the trees. Those who fought that first battle include Jow, Evin, Linder, and Ande Cutter; Yon Gray and his kin; Tomm Wedge and his sons; Samm Saw; and, Dug and Merrem Butcher, who were real butchers before the battle. Smitt is the innkeeper and Town Speaker; his wife Stefny is a preachy thing until Renna finds the key.

With Count Thamos sent by his brother Duke Rhinebeck of Angiers (their mother, Araine, the Duchess Mum is the real power) with his Wooden Soldiers and supplies, they've gone back to being Cutter's Hollow (see Desert Spear for the battle that occurred there). Lord Arther is Thamos' servant. Squire Gamon is captain of the count's guard. Lord Jasin Goldentone is the "duke's Herald and nephew to Lord Janson, first minister of Angiers". Tender Hayes is the High Inquisitor taking Tender Jona's place. Vika is Jona's worried wife. Child Franq is Hayes' self-righteous little aide.

Kendall is a fiddler who can charm demons with her music. Hary Roller is teaching a number of fiddlers how to charm the demons.

Leesha Paper's return to the Hollow
Leesha Paper is the Herb Gatherer who went off with Jardir. She's also Arlen's friend. Her price of acceptance is becoming the duchess' Royal Gatherer or see someone put above her. Erny and that slut Elona are her parents. Gared Cutter was to have been Leesha's intended; now he's Baron of Cutter's Hollow and General of the Cutters (hollow, since he is already the leader of the Cutters). Wonda is her protector and becomes a bow-woman for the duchy.

Rojer Inn is a master fiddler, a Jongleur, easily able to charm demons and kill them with his playing, and he's gone off with Leesha Paper. Amanvah and Sikvah---daughter and niece of Jardir---marry him; he's willing for the particular power they bring.

Kaval is the Sharum who leads the Krasian guard that accompanies Leesha back to the Hollow. He and Coliv were two of the men who tried to murder Arlen.

Krasian culture
Everam is the god of the Krasians. The Maze is a deadly game to hone warriors' skills. A khaffit is the lowest of the Krasian people. Sharusahk is a type of hand-to-hand self defense; sharukin is a position. Sharik Hora is a temple of heroes' bones where boys with the greatest potential go for training. Hannu Pash is an event when Krasian children learn what their future holds: the nine-year-old girls have one chance while the boys have several years to learn. The Evejah and the Evejah'ting are the bibles of the Krasians. The first is the general version while the second is written especially for the Dama'ting. Hora magic uses demon bones. The Sharum Ka is the leader of the Krasians. Sharum are Krasian warriors; soon there will be Sharum'ting , women warriors. Sharak Ka is the great battle to come; the Shar'Dama Ka is Jirdar, the Deliverer. The first one was Kaji, their greatest leader. Alagai are demons. Jiwah Sen are sister-wives. "Waxing" and "waning" are phases of the moon the Krasians use to count time. Dama are lords (and clerics??); they are higher in the hierarchy than dama'ting. The Andrah is something like a minister; I think he's second "heir". Chin are what the Krasians call the Thesans. A zahven could be a brother or rival.

Thesan culture
The Creator is their name for God, and the Canon is their bible. Gatherers are healers who use herbs and well respected. A hedge warder is one who is self-taught in creating protective wards against the demons. A Tender is their version of a priest.

The Demons
Corelings are one name for the demons who rise up from the Core of the world to feed on humans. Field, stone, rock, flame, mind, mimic, and wood are only a few of the demon types who attack. The Royal Consort is the current demon mated to the Queen; he holds his position through guile and trickery.

The Cover
The cover is RED. In a swirl of silks edged in gold, Amanvah comes to a stop, kneeling on the floor, bejeweled, veiled, in her pillow dancing silks, and holding her hora dice, for this is merely the beginning of true war.

I'm guessing that the title actually refers to The Daylight War being waged between the Krasians and the Thesans. All humans, and more interested in power and territory than actual protection.

In short, I think this is a must read for those that enjoyed the first two books.

Many people are complaining that the overall story arc doesn't progress significantly..they're not wrong. But while I usually hate "character studies", I was enthralled by Brett's retelling of much of the story to date through alternate eyes...and there is plenty of new material to keep it interesting.

Some people feel the need to compare Arlen's story to Rothfuss' Kvothe. I love both of these series, but I actually prefer Arlen's story. It seems like many people disagree with me, but imho this series is faster paced and more interesting. I don't understand how someone can complain about lack of story progression here while at the same time claim that 'Wise Man's Fear' *did* progress Kvothe's arc. No way...Wise Man's was much slower - and went nowhere. I enjoyed Daylight War much more than Rothfuss' second installment.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration is top notch. If you're considering the audiobook..go for it.

I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and was quite happy to see when this one was finished. However in my opinion this book lacked some of the charm of the others. Still worth reading but just found it to spend too much time on some plots that seemed to drag while repeating certain phases too often. A decent book however.

I waited for this book and was not disappointed! It was thrilling and a great ride. It was intriguing to learn about the back grounds of Inerva and and some of the other characters. The fight scenese were better but still need work and more detail.

The book opened up even more threads that I am very excited to see develop in the next book. If you have not read this series, start with the Warded Man and you will not be disappointed.

Mr. Brett has maintained the high standard of writing that he first showed in The Warded Man: Book One of The Demon Cyclen. This is one of, if not the best, fantasy series running. Characters are fully realized, there's plenty of action and the plot moves along at a good pace. Note that this is a continuation of a series and is not the book to be read out of sequence. I look forward to the next installment.

The plots numerous, the intrigue ever changing, the characters complex but most enjoyable. Throughout the series always thought provoking. On the surface, fantasy, always asking the reader to question their own beliefs and loyalties. Doing the right actions, for the right reasons can only produce the right results. All other is false!

Another excellent read that builds the characters, relationships and forwards the broader plot of the war to regain freedom for humanity. The prevalence of sex - both acts and orientation - seems to have taken a greater role within this book.

I've been reading Peter V. Brett since not long after his debut novel, The Warded Man, hit the shelves. I've enjoyed his novels and following his career, and recommend the novels often. I've even participated in and even managed to be a winner in a contest he ran. But while I really liked both The Warded Man and its follow up, The Desert Spear, I've never been overly comfortable with the way many reviewers instantly put him in the league of the heavy hitters of the genre. I felt that there were a few missteps in The Desert Spear and I could never shake the feeling that I hadn't seen the full depth of Brett's writing and that while The Demon Cycle was full of fantastic things that touched the quivering heart of my high school D&D in ways I'd though mere memory that there was something missing. Well, friends and neighbors, whatever it was, The Daylight War has it. Brett's writing has leveled up with his newest outing and all of that big league praise he's been receiving since the start has finally found comfortable shoulders to rest upon.

Here's the blurb from the publisher:

On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.

Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more--the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen's path threatens to lead him to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.

The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.

Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.

But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera's motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.

Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity's enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all--those lurking in the human heart.
As in the last volume, Brett chooses to flesh out a secondary character from the last novel by delving into their back story. This time around, we're treated to an unflinching look into the early days of Jardir's wife, the manipulative puppet mistress, Inevera. But Brett takes a different tack with The Daylight War. Jardir's history was so massive that it took away from my enjoyment of The Desert Spear, if only because it kept me away from the cast of characters I'd grown attached to choosing to focus almost exclusively on a character I knew far too little about. Brett wisely doesn't make the same mistake twice, choosing to spread out the back story with events in the present, allowing readers to keep up with all of their favorite characters while learning more about Inevera. And she is worthy of hundreds of pages in a way that I never felt her husband was.

With Inevera story spanning almost her entire lifespan, the 'main' plot line seems sparse in comparison at least in the amount of time elapsed. Some readers may even feel that this middle volume of the series suffers from the same sort of drag in the plot that plagued several of the more maligned volumes of Wheel of Time series. I strongly disagree with such notions. Even though much of the page count of the book takes place in the past, it's all important to the tale Brett is spinning. Even if the forward movement of the many pieces Brett has assembled on the board is limited in this middle volume, I never felt like the story dragged along in the least. The muddle in the middle was deftly dodged here.

Even revisiting key events from the previous novels for sometimes the third time, didn't slow the pace for me. Understanding the character of Inevera and the changing face of the Krasian culture had a profound effect on my enjoyment of the series. Seeing events I'd already read about from a new perspective adds a layer of understanding and depth to them that one could hardly achieve in the more traditional way.

Much like he showed with his treatment of Jardir's rise to power, Brett quickly proves that even a seeming villain is the hero or heroine of their own story. Inevera is far from a one dimensional power behind the throne that one might be tempted to dismiss her as. Her resourcefulness in her struggles to shepherd the rise of the Deliverer are compelling and give her just as much depth as any of the great manipulators in fantasy fiction. She'd make short work of even the most Machiavellian of schemers. And beyond her formidable magic and cunning political maneuvering we are shown the strength of her love for family and country and her willingness to go against the antiquated traditions that have held her people in a state of stagnation and weakened them against the war against the demons. The more Brett shows of Inevera, the more the reader is drawn in. She may not be likeable or even sympathetic, but her motives are understandable and often laudable, no matter what you might think of her methods.

I think the real strength of The Daylight War is the way that Brett handles his female characters. They are competent, engaging and just a full of flaws as their male counterparts. They aren't window dressing and are relevant to the main plot not just as romantic interests or foils of the men. Some may take umbrage with the way sex is often used as a weapon by many of the characters, but there is a ring of truth to that depiction that is unmistakable. Almost without exception the women that populate The Demon Cycle are so far from flat and stereotypical that they often steal the show from the macho types around them. And Brett never bothers to try to avoid criticism about what constitutes a strong female character. He just writes them like he would any other character, and in doing so infuses the entirety of the story with an consistent authenticity that makes the cast spring to life in every single scene.

We see more growth from all of the principle cast as well as most of the significant secondary ones. The only character who seems to suffer from not enough attention is Jardir, and I think that is more due to the fact that his story is so closely tied to Inevera's and she is the breakout star of this volume. Rojer and Leesha continue to shine, while Arlen and Renna's romance develops at a clip. Many readers may not be fond of this pairing and of others in the series, but I think Brett does a fantastic job of selling them all. Even relationships that seem like poor pairings at the onset, develop naturally with all of the real world hiccups and speed bumps of the real world. Leesha's predicament is particularly thorny and Brett's treatment of it touches on many hot button issues for modern readers with a level of blunt frankness that is far from comfortable. Love is a messy business, and Brett is never shy with the mess.

The action is as always frenetic and full of the kind of cinematic moments Brett always delivers in spades. His understanding of a clean fight sequence and inventive use of the world's magic system are on full display here. The stakes are more dire and the characters have come into their varying abilities with a level of competency and power that makes me wonder how much more powerful they can become before they simply are too capable for the threat of the demons to even seem real. But I have faith, Brett hints at far more powerful adversaries to come. With two more volumes before the series' projected end, I shudder to think of the Cthulhu level of demon that must await these almost superhuman heroes.

And the finale, what can I say about it without ruining Brett's maddening surprise? Needless to say that fans of the series will be foaming at the mouth for the tentatively titled, The Skull Throne, after reading the conclusion of the inevitable conflict between the Warded Man and Jardir. Brett has turned in a tale that fires on all cylinders, eclipsing his already stellar accomplishments. Even though it is only March, I feel certain that The Daylight War will top many a genre reader's 'best of' lists when the year finally comes to a close.

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An improvement on the first two instalments in almost every way, The Daylight War sees Peter V. Brett successfully pull all the elements together and really hit his stride. Don't get me wrong, The Warded Man and The Desert Spear were both solid reads, but the technique was a bit rough around the edges, especially in the transition between the two, where it almost seemed if the story had gotten away from him.

Much as he did with the second instalment, Brett casts us back in time to open up the novel, introducing us to the back story of Inevera. It's a truly fascinating tale, perhaps more so than her husband's, which truly serves to flesh out her character and better definer her edges. Rather than transform her from villain to hero, as the opening of The Desert Spear did for Jaridr, it lays the ground for a more sympathetic understanding of her motives, and establishes her as a much more cunning and dangerous foe. Most interesting of all, we get to see the 'truth' behind her die casting, the unvarnished facts as she reads them, not as she interprets them for others.

In terms of technique, Brett does a far better job of weaving in her history while keeping the story moving forward, although I suspect that may be a deliberate move on Brett's part. It's only in seeing how he treats Inevera's story that we truly recognize how Jardir, like Arlen, had so much uninterrupted space to dedicated to his back story. That dedication, especially when contrasted to Inevera's more traditional telling, puts the two on an even footing, so to speak, further clouding the question as to which (if either) is the Deliverer.

In terms of the other characters, Renna proves that her heroics in the closing chapters of the second book were not just an anomaly, while also developing her relationship with Arlen in some rather intriguing ways. There's a desperate sort of happiness there that is entirely unexpected, humanizing Arlen even as he demonstrates just how close he's come to the Core. I wasn't sure about her role after the last book, and I still have a nagging fear that there's either a fall or a betrayal in her future, but Brett succeeds in making her a partner worthy of The Warded Man himself. More importantly, he doesn't allow questions of love and duty to blind Arlen to the truth, resulting in some surprising (but welcome) revelations late in the story.

Already a favourite of mine, Rojer really outdoes himself in this volume, earning himself a place at the forefront of the battle. He grows and matures as the mantle of responsibility settles a little more comfortably upon his shoulders; he makes an awkward, politically arranged, suspicion-laden marriage not only work, but become a high point of the story; and he even comes to terms with his past, as he's forced to publicly confront Arrick's misdeads . . . and lingering legacy. He's not the flashy, attention-demanding hero that Arlen is, but neither is he the meek, content to linger in the shadows, sidekick that he seemed set up to be in the first two volumes.

If there were to be a weak spot for me in the characterization, though, it would definitely be with Leesha. The drama, the romantic entanglements, and the teenager-like angst were just too much for me. The power and the strength that she showed in the first two volumes really seemed to be leached away here, as she began feeling sorry for herself and almost insisting that she be defined by the men in her life. It's a shame, because she clearly has a significant role to play in future instalments, but perhaps Brett is taking her down a few notches to that he can make her resolution more powerful.

The story progression follows a weird arc once again, with some early developments, a lot of waiting, and a premature climax. Fortunately, there's a lot of story between developments, with the evolution of the Hollow, the new application of wards, and the rather stunning theft (and subsequent enhancement) of tactics by the demons more than enough to keep things compelling. It's an even darker tale than the first two volumes, with stakes both grim and dire, yet there's a sense of hope that's entirely refreshing. Once again, though, there's an oddly impatient transition to the true climax of the story, with an abbreviated major confrontation, and a cliffhanger ending that is as brilliant as it is excruciatingly painful.

Compelling, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining, The Daylight War is certain to please fans of the first two books. Even if it doesn't quite tell the story I expected, and denies us the fight we most desire until the very end, it's still a beautiful piece of storytelling.

First things first: Peter V Brett is fraking sadist! No other way to describe the massive cliffhanger at the end of the book... couldn't the author have mercy on us poor readers and tell me conclusive with a couple more lines how the last fight in the book ended?!?
Having said that I realize the reason I felt so enraged about this plot device at the ending is that the book is soo freaking good! The words page-tuner and thrill ride are simply meant for this kind of fantastic storytelling!
We got consistent characterization of everyone in the book explaining motives, intents, and more, which let us really connect to this story and it's people. The book grows and grows has the plotline advance and you can feel the tension rising has the new moon approaches, with the battles described being simply "spetecular" and very well thought. Word of warning thought, this book is POV centric which means battle are told on the point of view of the main characters, which is awesome to make you care about them and their actions, so don't expect big panoramic views of the battles fought, just the awesomeness of the characters puching throught hordes of demons in battles over mankind's survival.
I could go on and on about the book but let's keep it simple: If you like a well thought and immersive fantasy just read it!
PS: Not native speaker or accustomed to write a lot in english, so terrible sorry for the bad english. Let the grammar's nazis rejoice with a new victim!

As The Daylight War begins we are reintroduced to Inevera, the first wife of Jardir. We gain a lot of background on her upbringing and rise to power. She started to become a bigger character in the second book, but here she takes center stage and her story is compelling. I can't say that she was all that interesting in The Desert Spear, but in this book she plays an important role and one that I really enjoyed reading about.

We also have Renna Tanner, Arlen Bales's promised (fiancee), she is a little bit wild and coming to terms with both Arlen's past as well as her newfound abilities. It was nice to have yet another strong and powerful female character in the novel and while there are times where her actions and dialogue make me shake my head and wonder why she hasn't overcome her issues, I still found her interesting and growing as the novel continued to wind its way to completion.

Leesha continues to be a bit of an issue with me. In the first novel, The Warded/Painted Man, I had a problem of how quickly she overcame her issue of being physically assaulted. In The Desert Spear, it was how she was able to do just about anything she put her mind to simply by watching others perform the task. Her continued ability to be the "Mary Sue" in the series is a real drag on the whole story. I also have a bit of an issue with her promiscuity, while I have no problem with a woman getting what she wants, he actions border on absurdity. While I still like the character, it seems like Brett has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to this character.

I still enjoy Rojer and his antics in this novel are quite good and his predicament is one that left me in stitches. To tell you what happens would be to ruin his story, which would be a crime.

My favorite character Arlen is more powerful than ever and to see him deal with his power is a real treat. Jardir takes more of a backseat in The Daylight War and has only a few memorable scenes as other characters take his thunder. Of course the confrontation that we have been waiting for finally comes to a head and we are left with quite the cliffhanger, which begs to be resolved. It will be very hard for people to turn to the last page of the novel and realize that they will have to wait for the forth book in the series to get any resolution.

There has been some controversy regarding the cover of the book. Some people like it, other people loathe it. I actually really like it. Especially when you finally start to read the book. It makes quite a bit of sense as Inevera is featured front and center.

The Daylight War was a book that I devoured. It is the best in the series so far. However; that said it did feel as if there was a lot of filler. There was a lot of character development, but not much story development. The Demon Cycle is building up to something even bigger and I for one am holding my breath to see where Brett takes us next in the forthcoming novel (tentatively named) The Forest Fortress. Highly Recommended.

I don't have much time to read, but I couldn't put this book down. Was sad everytime I had to. I highly recommend this book/series.

The ending made me sad, because now I have to wait a long time for book four. As usual with this series, you're kind of left with a half resolution half cliff hanger.

$17 for the book??? wanted to start with the series but am dropping it seeing these ridiculous prices. It is even higher than the hardcover. How can kindle version be more expensive than the hardcover prices!!!! This is looting

ANALYSIS: Peter V. Brett's The Daylight War is a book that most fans have been clamoring for since the release of The Desert Spear back in 2010. This book focuses on Inevera's character as the past books have done for Arlen, Leesha, Rojer and Jardir. This book would also serve to show the conflict brewing between Jardir and Arlen and so easily marked itself as the most anticipated title for 2013 IMO. A warning though, with this book being the third of a series, there might be points discussed below that serve as minor spoilers for the preceding titles.

The story begins with Inevera nearly 33 years before the start of current events (as mentioned in the book) and we get to see her as a child and with a family of her own. Her father Kasaad is a veteran warrior with a disability and drinking issues. Her mother Manvah is a basket weaver and supports the family and lastly is her elder brother Soli who has just become a new Sharum warrior. Life however has other plans as Inevera as Hannu Pash beckons and we have read in the earlier book what happens next and in this book, Peter Brett shows her remarkable journey all the way. The focus is also on Arlen and Renna who are a couple now and share more wards than any normal couple would. Renna is aggressively following Arlen in his ways and walk even though he might not want her to continue on the same path. Leesha continues to straddle her various roles and is now trying to figure out the best way to extradite herself from the wiles of Jardir and his Krasian contingents. Rojer finds himself with an altered connubial status of sorts, is learning more about womanly wiles and especially Krasian womanly wiles. He's striving to become a good partner to Sikwah and Amanwah whilst trying to explore his own skill with warded magic via his music.

Then there's Abban who is slowly becoming my favorite character with his grey-shaded actions and tenebrous interactions with everyone as he helps Jardir fortify his new found lands. However Jardir and Inevera both struggle to determine his true intentions and are constantly wary of him. Jardir also plays a significant role in the happenings of this book and especially towards the climax. But in this volume his role is smaller among all the main POV characters aforementioned. This is not to say he doesn't make his presence felt but this story truly belongs to Inevera, as we find out more about her thoughts, her past and her intentions towards the upcoming Sharak Ka.

After finishing this book, all I can is WOW! Peter V. Brett really knows how to change character perceptions and showcase different facets even after two preceding books. Let's begin with the part that beguiled me so much, namely characterization. The author fleshes out all characters vividly and makes each of them distinct, beginning from the POV characters all the way down to the minor characters, each of them feels distinctly unique and this is the best part of the story. Beginning from Arlen as he aggressively pursues his own route and now is becoming a darker character and a bit unhinged as well. Renna Tanner is brought into the spotlight due to her own actions and Arlen's gestures however as a character, I couldn't connect with her as she seemed off with her thoughts and her actions cause further discord between the people around her.

Rojer who had a reduced role in the preceding title gets a bigger draw and we see what he can accomplish. Leesha also learns about the new headaches of leadership and I felt the author manages to portray her situation a bit better in this volume. Inevera, Jardir and Abban further confound the readers with their machinations and so it is this facet that makes this book bloody terrific. Secondly the author further fleshes out the Krasian culture whilst distinctly drawing some characteristic ties to Islam. Previously the Krasian world was explored from a masculine lens and in this book the same is done from a feminine viewpoint. However the Krasian culture is shown to be no less ruthless or bloodthirsty as we learn about the Dama'tings and their objectives. It's not shocking to find out the Dama'tings and their underlings have their own games to play and they regard the Krasian men with even more of a rigid mindset than they view their fellow females.

The book slightly alters the pattern by having the current events run entirely parallel to Inevera's background story. So in chapter I we get to see Arlen going about the Thesan world reclaiming his spot not as the Deliverer but as Arlen Bales the Warded Man, this was a good thing as we directly see past and present events occurring in synchronicity. The magic system is further expanded and this time we get a deeper look in to the Demons and what seems to be taking place at the Core. I liked how the author paralleled the Demon's culture with those of the humans above. People who have been waiting to know more about the prophecies, the Alagai hora and demon culture will definitely love this book as the author finally gives us a wider look in to all the aforementioned things and much more. Then there's the fantastic cover art with both the US and UK editions, which I must say the author is really lucky to have such gorgeous cover art on both sides of the pond.

The pace and action sequences of this book are exponentially increased as the title suggests and once any reader starts this book, they'll be hard-pressed to stop reading. This is where PVB managed to combine the plus points from the earlier books to make the third the best one so far. Lastly I want to emphasize what a terrific ending this book has, its right up there with that of say Changes by Jim Butcher or A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin. Not a cliffhanger in the literal sense but a thematic one as the action ends on a edge of a cliff and fans will probably hate the author for ending the book the way it is shown. The worrisome part being that now readers will have to wait another 2-3 years (minimally) to find out what happens next. As an author this is what you strive for and perhaps PVB will have fans clamoring for the fourth book (The Skull Throne) in the same vociferous way as those of GRRM and Patrick Rothfuss. For those fans who are jonesing for the next epic fantasy series after the conclusion to Wheel Of Time, they might want to give this one a try as its not bloated (so far) and promises much more in the remaining two volumes.

I couldn't find any drawbacks to this book however this is entirely a subjective opinion. If one didn't enjoy the author's earlier books and style of writing then this book won't change your opinion but you would be missing out on a terrific series. For all the fans, Peter V. Brett hits it out of the park with this third volume and only makes it harder to not bang on his door pleading for the next volume.

CONCLUSION: An out and out thrilling storyline that mixes action, intrigue and amazing characters, Peter V. Brett's The Daylight War is his best work so far and rather upends the bar steeply for this series. I would simply like to conclude by saying that with this book, Peter confirms his place among epic fantasy's pantheon of greats amid the likes of George R.R. Martin, Steven Erikson, and Robert Jordan.

Just noticed a bunch of 1 and 2 star reviews when going to put mine in, I don't know what book they were reading, but it wasn't this. So far each book has been better than the last, well done Peter. Now I have to nothing better to do than read Prince of Thorns and others while I wait for your next book. You rock sir!

Daylight War was amazing! I love The Warded Man as well as The desert Spear and the third book was equally as good. Peter V. Brett has become one of my top 3 authors. If you haven't read these books, you should.

* Please read this only if you've read the first two books in the Demon Cycle series -- The Warded Man and The Desert Spear. Do not deprive yourself of the pleasure of discovering every twist and turn of this splendid tale in the proper order. Further, I'm purposely shying away from providing details to avoid even unintended spoilers.*

A RECAP: The Warded Man introduced us to Arlen of Tibbett's Brook, a boy whose simple village life was upended by a tragic demon attack. His ensuing restlessness led him to leave his village to give vent to his consuming desire for revenge. Leesha and Rojer are also introduced here, two other major characters whose lives, by virtue of circumstances, will intersect with Arlen's.

Ahmann Jardir enters the story landscape in 'The Desert Spear', detailing his rise to the leadership of Krasia, a land where warriors battle demons every night. The Krasian way fed Arlen's desire to resist and retaliate. He fought alongside the Krasians and became spear brothers with Jardir, finding a new home only to later be betrayed and left for dead.

THE STORY: 'Tis the season of reckoning in Thesa. Sides will be chosen, beliefs and loyalties constantly probed. Accounts must be settled for lies, omissions, betrayals, recklessness, oversight. The consequences of choices, old and new, shall be faced. The level of preparedness -- of human and demon alike -- will be tested. Ultimately, all exercise of power comes with some price.

Old legends speak of a Deliverer who shall lead mankind to victory against the corelings. Both Arlen and Jardir have shown uncommon courage and demonstrated newfound powers that leave people awestruck. The Krasians put their faith in Jardir, a warrior like no other who has led them to great heights. The villagers say Arlen is the Deliverer -- the warded man who saved countless lives and taught villages to defend themselves. Arlen does not believe in an anointed Deliverer. He posits that every person must stand up and fight, collectively delivering themselves from the demon blight.

Meanwhile, the corelings have not been idle and their point of view is given equal emphasis. For a long time, the corelings terrorized villages at will but no longer. The hitherto timid and cowering townsfolk have learned to fight back. The rediscovery of magical wards of old threaten their dominance. The corelings realize the need to now mount a concerted and strategic attack before the prey gets any stronger. The coreling elite will take a leadership role and be closer to the frontlines. Viciousness is now enhanced by cunning and purpose.

The battles are joined. There can only be one Deliverer so Arlen and Jardir are destined for a showdown unless they can unite against their common foe and abandon the idea of a Deliverer. United or separate, ready or not, the people of the surface will soon face the full might of the Core. Arlen, Jardir and the other folks have enhanced strength in varying degress and are more oriented to ways of the demons, but so too have the demons studied their prey and elevated their assault. No employment of an easy plot device here. The opposing sides will be well matched and the outcome is far from certain.

The Daylight War spans great distances-- from the Core, to Cutter's Hollow to Krasia and places in between. The tale also has such scope and breadth -- everyone has come a long way. Everything will culminate in a jaw-dropping ending that is ultimately sublime.

THE WOMEN: Aaahh the women! Peter V. Brett pens such fascinating women -- conflicted and resolute, vulnerable but strong, vain yet wise. Flawed and utterly complex, interesting for not being caricatures or stereotypes. They are no saints or whores, not Xena or Wonder Woman, just credible and compelling people-- products of their unique history and experience. They are swayed by prejudices, desires, fears. Mr. Brett painstakingly leads us through seminal moments of these women's lives. No need to take anything on faith, fill in the blanks or suspend disbelief.

If 'The Warded Man' is Arlen's tale and 'The Desert Spear' is Jardir's, the Thesan women are at the forefront of 'The Daylight War' -- Inevera, Renna, Leesha, and other women as well albeit on a smaller scale. The men in this tale are marked by these women who have influenced -- indeed at times controlled -- their decisions consciously or inadvertently, directly or indirectly, rightly or wrongly.

THE ENSEMBLE: Many were introduced in the previous books and, while they may not have top billing, they come fully alive in 'The Daylight War' and assert their integral part in this tale. This is truly an ensemble cast. With just a few lines or even a turn of phrase, Mr. Brett reveals much about them, always painting them with a multi-dimensional brush. Nobody seems superfluous, gratuitous or extraneous. They are not mere chess pieces moved around to further the cause of the leads. The tale would suffer for the omission of any of them.

The only ones I did not find as vibrant are some Krasians such as Jardir's sons. Their appearance are sparse and I still don't have as much of a grasp of their characters as I do the others. But it's entirely possible that Jardir and Inevera are just so vivid that they dull everyone else around them.

THE ACTION: Once again, I am struck by Mr. Brett's deft hand in giving accounts of skirmishes. I found myself grimacing from or parrying imaginary blows leaping out at me from the written page. The action is dynamic, fluid, organic. I can feel the pace quickening, adrenaline spiking, strategic moves, lulls between tussles, ensuing chaos. Best of all is the window to the combatants' emotions before the first strike, during the battles and in the aftermath. While the battles are stark and arresting, focus is always brought back to the people who are truly at the helm of this tale.

THE BRETT LEFT TURN: 'The Daylight War' continues Mr. Brett's tradition of moving in an unexpected direction by providing in-depth views of more characters other than the obvious protagonist. The first book may be called 'The Warded Man' but the series is much more than Arlen's story. The tale is as many-sided as the alagai hora, each critical and even symbiotic, with potential for infinite combinations depending on eventual interactions.

By orienting us with multiple characters, Mr. Brett engenders a level of understanding that makes it difficult to fit them in traditional protagonist-antagonist boxes. He takes time to show us the hows and whys behind the scenes. Caprice or irrationality do not intrigue me. It is characters who engage in painstaking decision-making that I find engrossing, whether or not I agree with their decisions. The wisdom or folly of a character's decision largely depends on the vantage point. One's hero may be another's villain. I think Mr. Brett takes it further, suggesting that perhaps everyone is both or need not be either.

THE VERDICT: What 'The Daylight War' has done is give me an unbridled appreciation and love for each and every character. I must confess that while they fascinated me, I didn't feel any particular emotional attachment to Arlen, Leesha and Renna previously. This book changed all that for me. It has engendered equal affection for them and all the others. The only thing I'm not particularly fond of are certain syrupy moments that were too frequent and gratuitous for my taste. But this is likely a personal preference. I'm sure others will greatly appreciate such sweet, romantic moments.

If I haven't made it obvious yet, I think 'The Daylight War' is absolutely fantastic. With every book, Mr. Brett creates a new apex. By consistently eclipsing himself, Mr. Brett has raised all of my expectations. But if the first three (3) books are any indication, he will fully meet those expectations and likely swiftly surpass them. I consider this among the best there is in speculative fiction -- enriching, entertaining, heartwarming, gratifying. Indeed, epic.

Now the agonizing wait for Book Four (4) begins.

I'm really fond of this series, the Demon Cycle. Peter V Brett has a really immersive and fresh writing style and has invented a world, plot and characters that match it to a tee. A highly recommended read, although if you're new to the series I advise you to start with book one (the Painted Man) and read the books in order to get the full effect!

More of the same from Peter Brett! Keep it coming, friend. Don't change a thing. The warded man has grown up and developed along with an epic story that has matured like a fine wine. Read this series!