The Daylight War, by Peter V. Brett (1/5)

1. THE PAINTED MAN (4/5)
2. THE DESERT SPEAR (2/5)
3. THE DAYLIGHT WAR (1/5) 


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.