Book 4), The Skull Throne (The Demon Cycle

Very entertaining but the past few have at least resolved a few parts of the storyline before builing up an arc for the next in series. Some filler could have been removed and this would have fit nicely in the beginning of book 4.

Looking forward to the next book .. Writing was descriptive and easy to follow the storyline .. Even tho it backed up on characters it did not become repetitive as there seemed to be just that little bit more in the retelling.

A whole lot of fighting. Brett seems to have lost focus. It was good, but I don't know if I can take another volume of infighting like this. The story barely moved forward. We didn't learn anything new, other than that all of the characters are frustrated with each other, friend or foe. Points for well paced action; but the imaginative charm of the first two novels of the series is gone. This felt like what happens when a book is adapted into too many films. Lots of filler with little story impetus.

The writing is solid and the content is good. This book does a good job of holding to the character of the author's previous works and is certainly an enjoyable read. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I frankly did not like the way this book ended, but that is my personal opinion and should not be taken as a critique.

So, this is tricky because I really like the series and respect the author, but this one...literally the main storyline DOES NOT PROGRESS during the course of the book more than a couple of pages. Instead, we spend hundreds of pages with the side characters and subplots. I can respect what he's trying to do with the whole magic main story being overshadowed by the practical applications of the opposing political theories...but still...this book spent several hundred pages to advance the story almost exactly nowhere. I am just as knowledgeable about what's going on as when I finished book 3. In none of the other books are the subplots so prominent and they felt appropriate. This one, though, felt like he was padding out the story so that we'd buy more volumes.

While the Skull Throne is still good, it's noticeably messier than the previous two books. This book feels a lot like connecting materials, that it's simply moving events along instead of getting to the point. It's still exciting and interesting but not quite as gripping as the previous two books. And this book feels balanced against the Krasians more than the last two as well, turning them more into villains than enemies, which I have to admit is part of what I loved about the prior two books, that they made the Krasians multi-dimensional. This book felt like a step backwards in that regard.

With all that said, this isn't a book you can skip, even though it feels a bit on the long side. Especially in the final rush there is a lot of upheaval in the world, which you'll need to know for book 5.

I was a little disappointed that this book seemed to side step the main story line of Arlen and Ahmann Jardir, but once I got over that it was good. The story is getting more complex and entwined as the series goes along. I couldn't wait for this book to be released and it didn't disappoint, I'm already excited for the next installment!

I need some more motivation from you Peter if you want me to believe some of the choices your characters do throughout this book, both from a moral and pragmatic point of view. And the final battle scene just comes across as being hastily written with no feel of fluidity to the events leading to its conclusion.

Still entertaining although the fight scenes appear to be getting longer and more detailed which gives the impression that fill is required due to lack of storey. Both hero,s and villains seam to be disappearing in equal numbers so the storey is taking a twist. I am looking foreword to the next instalment but hoping it may be the conclusion.

This is (quite obviously I suppose) the fourth in the series. In my opinion, Peter Brett's writing has continued to evolve and improve with each book; this one was quite an enjoyable read and caused much lost sleep as I finished it. The story moves forward significantly with things starting to fall apart. There is still a lot of tension in the plot as we await the next and final installment.

I liked the warded man immensely -- so much so that I have purchased each of this author's works since. However this will be the last one I purchase. The last two books have been nothing more than masturbatory world building indulgence. It is clear that Brett has fallen in love with his asiatic-arab fantasy race and lost sight of what really drives books forward: story and character. It is rare that NOTHING happens in over 700 pages, but I left the end of this book (and book 3, frankly) feeling like I had wasted my time. The author dangles a hasty cliff hanger that promises that the NEXT book will have some development, but I am no longer fooled. I have better things to do than read robert-jordan fan-fiction.

This series is progressively geting worse. He went from a great first book, to a good second, a decent third, and now this. Frankly i dont give a crap about 90% of this book. Its was a big waste of time, it took me three times ad long to read it because i found myself not caring to pick it up. Another example pf an author who took a trilogy and added filler to make more money. Very dissapointing, i was a huge fan. Ill still finish the series but i hope he can do infinitely better writing #5 if he expects me to ever pick up another book by him.

ARGH! NOOOOOOOO! I thought this was the last book! I savored each and every word thinking that I would finally read the conclusion of the story. My fault for not keeping up with the demon cycle series news. I guess that joke is on me!

Also, what is going on? Am I the only one to think that this felt like a filler book? The book is too long and felt like NOTHING HAPPENED. The most important characters were barely in the book. Enough with the politics already, isn't this series about demons?

I really love the Warded Man and the Desert Spear, but the last 2 books were kind of disappointing. Which makes me sad, because Peter V. Brett is one of my favorite authors.

This was an eagerly awaited book, however, I find the story evolving to be more like the Wheel of Time series with multiple storylines evolving. Worth the read, but i expect it will be a while before the next one comes out.

After the literal cliffhanger ending of book three, Brett essentially leaves his main character out of the next book. Disappointing. Yes he tells a good story as he develops other side stories, but I wanted more Arlen Bales!

I've been reading The Demon Cycle since the first book came out and while I was a little slow on picking up the latest book, I'm glad I did.

The story is a good one, focusing on the turmoil left at the disappearance of Ahmann and the head butting of the Krasians and the people of Thesa. There are twists and turns along the way to the climax of the story, some of the biggest and most surprising towards the latter third of the book that had me mad (Mad in a good way. A book that can get me emotionally involved in the characters is a good thing).

I wish there was more Arlen and Ahmann sections to the story. The fight against the demons is secondary to the fight for the Krasian throne and a bit of the overall story suffers from it.

Definitely worth the read if you enjoy Brett's writing (I really like his progression as a writer and it's showcased here) and I will be picking up the next installment upon its release

Unfortunately this book did nothing to advance the main story. Felt like Mr.Brett is just trying to extend the series but not really adding anything of substance. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is that the writing is much better with a faster pace closer to that of book one, at least once you get past chapter 7. Also the story he tells in this book is fairly entertaining but should not have been a whole book. The main characters and plot barely make an appearance. Seems like he Is trying to be George R.R. Martin without success. I was very patient with trudging through the last two books, really looking forward to this one. As a fan I'm fading fast with this series.

Overall interesting plot, moving action towards conclusion in 5th book, however I was expecting action more focused on Arlen and Jardir, while 80% of the book is focused on other characters, going more into 'Game of Thrones' type of action painting.

This could have been a great book, but unfortunately the author descended into clumsy execution and a chase of shock value.

I felt like he was chasing Game of Thrones, except if we had was going to, he should have started with the fist book.

A large portion of this book is spent on character development of minor characters in order to sacrifice them at the very end.

Meanwhile Jardir and Arlen make an appearance at the beginning and the end of the book. Just to keep the story alive.

He gets rid of one major character, but that without proper ceremony again only creating a shallow plot line in this book.

Very disappointing. I almost feel it's better if he rewrites from book 2 onwards.

I continue to love this series. The events can still surprise, even as I guess others. I find many ways in which the story lends itself to drawing parallels with real life situations, which I appreciate.
With so many different storylines, and principal characters, it is becoming a little harder to keep track, and less time is spent on individual character development. But these are the same characters we've already come to know intimately in previous volumes.
I look forward to reaching the resolution of this story, but I am beginning to suspect that I may not find it as fulfilling as I have been hoping for.

I consider the demon cycle as a compilation of game of thrones and the way of kings. The painted Man was closer to that second one, but since the author started butchering his characters it resembles got more. It is a good book though some ov previous were better

Limited progression of the story, pretty slow middle, exciting ending. As with all of these types of series, hard to tell if at this stage the Author is focused on progressing the story or milking the series