The only way to survive the night is to keep the Demons out by creating a Warded area around you, this could be warding the walls and entries of a home or by a portable warded circle carved into wood that can be set up.
Due to the constant Demon attacks and travel being hard to do the world has remained in a semi medieval setting unable to advance.
The Demons seem to come from nature, Rock Demons being made of rock, wood Demons made of wood, etc, and range in sizes from small to bigger than a human. The Human race after years or terror just hide behind the wards and hope to survive one more night.
Almost all Humans that is. Not everyone.
Arlen is the main character. As a boy he sees first hand the tragedy that the Demon’s cause and he sets out to prove that you don’t need to live in fear of them. He becomes a master Warder, someone whose job it is to go round and design and maintain the wards that protect homes and villages and towns and then he begins looking for ways to fight back.
What I love about this book is the World Building. The Plot allows the characters to move from one place to another and this allows Brett to build a large world with plenty of history. We do briefly meet different cultures from the main one where the three characters we follow are, and I do hope that in subsequent stories these different cultures and different ways of dealing with the Demons are explored more.
The three characters themselves are well fleshed out and the backstory to each one is told in vivid detail that allows you to relate and care for the Characters.
Surprisingly the character I struggled with most was Arlen, the main character. The beginning of the book is his back story and while it shows what led him on the path he is on, by the time he shows up later as an adult he is so far removed from that person that it makes it seem a little pointless learning so much of his history. Arlen’s backstory was also where I felt the story slowed down a little too much, I understand Brett wanted to give plenty of information about the world and show the trials and hardships they endure but I do thing there was probably a better way of doing it.
Once the three main characters meet up however, the plot really takes off and I couldn't put the story down.
Most of the supporting characters are also very interesting, in particular those in Leesha’s storyline, Bruna and her Father are particularly well done. Some of the other characters, especially those just used to move the plot or are only in the story for a short period can feel a little one-dimensional but in a story with this much history and world building, fleshing out every side character fully would leave a pretty chonky book.
This story is great for those wanting an interesting take on the Demon trope, who enjoy good world building and fast paced action heavy plot (after the first few chapters). I am very keen to continue the series and can't wait to see where Peter V Brett takes this world.
