The warded man
2009
- fiction
- imaginary wars and battles
- demonology
- fantasy
- fiction, fantasy, general
- fiction, thrillers, suspense
The story
The time has come to stand against the night.As darkness falls each night, the corelings rise--demons who well up from the ground like hellish steam, taking on fearsome form and substance. Sand demons. Wood demons. Wind demons. Flame demons. And gigantic rock demons, the deadliest of all. They possess supernatural strength and powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards--symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and mystery, and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile.It was not always this way. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms. Once, under the leadership of the legendary Deliverer, and armed with powerful wards that were not merely shields but weapons, they took the battle to the demons . . . and stopped their advance.But those days are gone. The fighting wards are lost. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault.Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Arlen will pay any price, embrace any sacrifice, for freedom. His grim journey will take him beyond the bounds of human power.Crippled by the demons that killed his parents, Rojer seeks solace in music--only to discover that music can be a weapon as well as a refuge. Beautiful Leesha, who has suffered at the hands of men as well as demons, becomes an expert healer. But what cures can also harm. . . . Together, they will stand against the night.From the Hardcover edition.
What it’s like
Dusk-to-dark dread in a world of sun-bleached villages, dust-choked roads and ash-grey nights, with the sense of a lamp guttering behind wards scratched in chalk and glyph. The prose is brisk and visceral, moving between close third-person viewpoints with a steady, unfussy voice that lingers on textures: sweat, sand, the wet heat of a fire, the hush of a shelter holding its breath while something scrapes against the walls outside. Sound matters here, from the hum of a stone shield to the strum of a lute held against the dark. The tone is grim but not hopeless, a survival fantasy of scarcity and grit, with the mood tightening as night falls and loosening by morning light. Violence is frequent and sometimes graphic, with demon attacks that are bloody and sudden, and there is some sexual violence and cruelty toward women and children that lands heavily; it is not gentle reading. Three damaged young people, each carrying loss and tested by what they must do, slowly learn to trust one another. It suits readers who want a dark, propulsive fantasy for long nights alone, fans of gritty quest-driven worldbuilding and tense, creature-haunted atmosphere.
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