The Painted Man
by
Peter V. Brett
Before I get to the review though, here is the basic summary of the book for those poor souls that missed out on it:
Basically the story is told through three primary point-of-view (POV) characters over the course of their growing years, i.e, from children to young adults and taking on more mature roles.
The setting of the tale is a fictional land/world that is has been besieged for a long time by dark demonic entities that come out with the dark and are unbeatable but can be kept away and protected against, provided one has a proper enclosed perimeter (of any size or shape) marked out by certain runic symbols or “wards” as they are known in this world. These symbols, if properly made and strong enough, can protect anything or anyone within from pretty much any demon.
The few settlements that exist are isolated and disconnected – it truly is a world under siege and this comes across very well from the text. It is never explained however how exactly this world came to be as it is, merely vague allusion to a technological era that once was but is now gone ever since the dark age of the ‘Corelings’ – as the demons are called – began; progressively since, humanity has struggled and floundered more and more.
Our tale concerns the three main characters and what can be described as their journey of growth, learning and self-discovery – a heroes journey if you will.
Truly one of the most unique concepts I had come across from a new author in AGES and I was attached inseparably to the book from the moment I first started reading it. Found it at an airport without ever having heard of it and almost instantly Peter Brett has become my favourite current author and this first book alone earns him a place among some of the most creative writers of fantasy I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
(As a review bonus, this high-res image of the titular character, I found it ages ago and it is one of the most bad-ass looking images. Really stayed with me.)
The book itself is skillfully crafted and the narrative flows very easily and constantly from the start and the principle characters really go through a solid and large character development process within just this book – no mean feat to achieve while not making the book monstrously large and/or literary overkill or some such. The two principal characters are the boy Arlen Bales, who has very much a quintessential but skillfully portrayed heroes journey that feels harsh and almost savage but interesting, and Leesha Paper the herbalist who has a comfortable life and has to learn and grow in very different ways than Arlen. They both have parallel but very different journeys that are at the core of the engagement you feel with the story.
There are other characters like Rojer and all of them being younger/young-adult could give the impression this is a YA novel, but it really isn’t – the focus is on the narrative, the world-building, the politics and mythology and there is no notably excess focus on melodrama or emotional angst and such any more than is reasonable for the sake of the story and characters in a given moment.
The concepts of the story themselves – the demons, the wards, the way of life and the simple yet intricate and vibrant little world that Brett has wrought here is just the kind of writing that fiction does not have enough of anymore in my humble view. Filled with images that almost literally seared themselves onto my brain and imagination and has had me going crazy with anticipation for the second book in the series which I picked up mere days ago and knew instantly and had to buy then and there – this despite having read this first book over two years prior.
I would recommend this to any and every single fantasy fan out there to read – you will most definitely not regret it!
OTHERS BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
Book 5: The Core (COMING SOON!)
One Happy Monk 
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