Book Review: "The Daylight War" by Peter V. Brett

With The Warded Man and The Desert Spear, Peter V. Brett surged to the front rank of contemporary fantasy, standing alongside giants in the field such as George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, and Terry Brooks. The Daylight War, the eagerly anticipated third volume in Brett’s internationally bestselling Demon Cycle, continues the epic tale of humanity’s last stand against an army of demons that rise each night to prey on mankind.
 
On the night of the new moon, the demons rise in force, seeking the deaths of two men, both of whom have the potential to become the fabled Deliverer, the man prophesied to reunite the scattered remnants of humanity in a final push to destroy the demon corelings once and for all.
 
Arlen Bales was once an ordinary man, but now he has become something more—the Warded Man, tattooed with eldritch wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. Arlen denies he is the Deliverer at every turn, but the more he tries to be one with the common folk, the more fervently they believe. Many would follow him, but Arlen’s path threatens to lead to a dark place he alone can travel to, and from which there may be no returning.
 
The only one with hope of keeping Arlen in the world of men, or joining him in his descent into the world of demons, is Renna Tanner, a fierce young woman in danger of losing herself to the power of demon magic.
 
Ahmann Jardir has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army and proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer. He carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim, and already vast swaths of the green lands bow to his control.
 
But Jardir did not come to power on his own. His rise was engineered by his First Wife, Inevera, a cunning and powerful priestess whose formidable demon bone magic gives her the ability to glimpse the future. Inevera’s motives and past are shrouded in mystery, and even Jardir does not entirely trust her.
 
Once Arlen and Jardir were as close as brothers. Now they are the bitterest of rivals. As humanity’s enemies rise, the only two men capable of defeating them are divided against each other by the most deadly demons of all—those lurking in the human heart. - from Amazon.com

I was a bit miffed at Brett's third book of the Demon War series. I had read quickly through the first two, and even the additional short stories. This one made me feel a bit daunted. Or maybe it was the material content.

The story continues the ongoing war of humans versus the demons that rise at night. Whereas the first book brought us Arlen Bales, the changed (and warded) man, and book two gave us Jardir's background more in-depth. Book three seemed a bit of a waste as it spent much of the time backtracking about Inerva, Jardir's first wife. I never cared how she came to be his wife, and still don't see the relevancy to the whole story line of why we need to know this.

Also, Arlen hooks up with Renna, and they get Promised (married). This gal is a brat! Defies all warnings, suggestions to the good, and does whatever she wants. And the dialogue she has with anyone is like a third-grade kid. Yes, I know she is supposed to be 'backwoods' and thus uneducated, but it's cheesy stuff. 

I did like the advancement of the current story line, though I am a bit miffed at the ending. Obviously there is a fourth book to come, as it would suck for Brett to end the series this way. I do hope the next book will stick more to the current story, instead of going back over every character's life up to the point where they enter the story.