by John C. Adams
The Desert Spear by Peter V Brett is the sequel to The Painted Man, his debut novel. Both lie clearly within the dark fantasy subgenre courtesy of the night demons terrorising villagers and city-dwellers alike. There are also aspects of epic fantasy and quest, and a certain amount of the novel is also devoted to the development of romantic relationships.
The action begins in Krasia, with the first third of the novel devoted to the childhood and young adulthood of Ahmann Jardir. He rises from abject poverty to leadership as Shar’Dama Ka. Via his country’s rigorous military system, he passes through a series of challenges and stages of training that involve fighting off the night demons and learning the discipline necessary to stay true to the spiritual identity of the Krasians, which can broadly be described as a Middle Eastern heritage and culture.
Both Ahmann and the northern man he calls Par’chin claim to be the Deliverer, a pseudo-religious figure destined by prophecy and folklore to lead the world in the fightback against the night demons that attack all over the world as soon as darkness falls. The ability of mankind to keep them at bay, and even kill some of them, depends upon the accuracy of painted wards. Jardir’s ability to tackle them is improved once he acquires the Spear of Kaji. Par’chin, who is known in the north as the Painted Man because of the wards tattooed onto his skin, has other legendary abilities that lead the people of the north to claim him as the Deliverer instead.
In a system where a man’s merit is judged on physical strength, personal discipline, courage in the face of night demons’ deadly attacks, and his ability to earn the respect and loyalty of other men, Jardir has certainly proven himself. This makes him a character more than worthy of respect, but until the later sections of the novel (the last third, which is dominated by Jardir’s falling in love for the first time even though his children are now old enough to marry) he is quite a distant character, and I longed to see more of the man within.
Although the women from the greenlands (the Krasian name for the Northlands) are feisty and empowered, such as Leesha, Wonda and Renna, the few women from Krasia who do feature are seen through Jardir’s eyes rather than through their own points of view. He has absolute respect for his mother and sisters but has really quite a hostile relationship with his head wife. There are barely any scenes with his secondary wives. I hope to see more point-of-view narrative from Jardir’s wives in subsequent books because I’d like them to have more of a voice. There is a hint that is will happen in the next book, the opening chapter of which is offered as a taster at the end of this novel.
The world-building that had gone into this novel was immensely impressive, and it worked hard to provide a grittily honest portrait of a vibrant Arab-inspired culture. The spiritual heritage of the fictional universe was very vivid, and considerable effort had gone into historical research to make this credible and detailed. In addition, the action scenes when the night demons materialise and attack towns, villages, and even well-defended cities were compelling.
Dark fantasy offers a refreshing of traditional swords-and-sorcery stories, bringing in elements of horror and folklore to vary the narrative style. This series is one of the most inventive and ambitious examples I’ve seen in recent years of this approach.
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Enjoy!
©April 2020, John C. Adams
John C. Adams is a Contributing Editor with Albedo One Magazine and a Reviewer with the British Fantasy Society and Schlock! Magazine. Their fantasy novel Dagmar of the Northlands is out on Kindle and Smashwords. They have published short fiction in many small press anthologies and magazines, including The Horror Zine and previously in Swords & Sorcery.