The Painted Man - Peter V. Brett

by Harbinger

It's good to be back, you don't know how hard it has been to keep from posting things. Going cold chicken is not easy. However, all my work is finished and my brother set me up with something that lets me talk to my computer. (It is faster than I ever was). The one downside is that it confuses the dog no end. She keeps thinking I am talking to her. Then when she realises I am not she looks confused and disappointed all at the same time, in just the manner calculated to make me give her a treat. Anyhow on with business. The book I am reviewing is one that Hagelrat has already reviewed on here, but I have received the necessary permissions. Besides I view the Book slightly differently to her.

This is link if you want to read her review.

http://hagelrat.blogspot.com/search/label/Peter%20V%20Brett

Brett has created a very interesting world, one that is under siege by creatures known as corelings. At night time seemingly invincible monsters leap from the ground and wreak havoc across the world. The only things that seem to stop them are magical wards painted on people's houses or on the ground. In many ways the style of The Painted Man, is rather similar to one of my favorite books Desolation Road by Ian McDonald. It involves following a group of characters from their youth onwards and showing how they all in their own way contend with problems caused by the Corelings.

Arlen a young boy from farming village loses his mother and grows to hate his father all in a short period of time. He leaves his tiny village and becomes an expert ward maker. However, the adventurous soul that he is he is determined to take on the dangerous job of being a messenger in the hope of finding some way of killing the corelings.

Leesha, a young girl who is the product of a loveless marriage, becomes a healer after realising the boy whom she was being asked to marry was not quite the knight in shining armour she had imagined him to be. The village healer and oldest woman in the village, Bruna, takes Leesha under her wing. She is soon in high demand and is called away to one of the big cities.

Rojer the youngest of the three characters, is rescued by a jongleur (a travelling entertainer) after his family are killed by demons. As he grows up he becomes a very talented performer himself, particularly with the fiddle despite the loss of two of his fingers, in the demon attack.

There is absolutely no doubt, that in a lot of ways the story is well written. The plot is fantastic with enough turns to ensure you remain interested in the story. It reads, very easily in a concise and colourful manner. However, I do have some concerns. Unfortunately I think the main characters are rather unsatisfying. From my point of view, they don't seem to develop particularly as the story progresses and frankly their motivations are far too similar. They are all, in their own way, attempting to achieve the same thing and for the same or similar reasons. It makes them all seem a little unreal and found myself waiting for the inevitable moment when their parallel lives would come together. The most interesting characters were the secondary ones, as they had more significant differences in what they were doing and why. The main characters were unfortunately rather flat and one-dimensional.

It still a very readable book, but not as satisfying as it could have been. I worry about its re-read value. However, there was enough in it to make me contemplate trying his next book when it comes out (though it may be out already). So in short my verdict is.... room for improvement.

Great to be back TTFN!