Hi all! I’m back with the second book in The Demon Cycle for my Audiobook review this week. It’s time to run across the dunes with The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett!
Plot Synopsis: The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of power. Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not. Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer and he carries ancient weapons-a spear and a crown-that give credence to his claim. But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure. Once, the Shar’Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries.
Plot: The plot picks up with Jardir sacking the southernmost Free City after leaving the desert. It also gives us some insight into his actions in the previous book as we see him grow up. The plot is still incredibly dark and filled with lots of drama, but it’s still as thrilling and gripping to listen to it. I had planned on taking my time listening to this book to savor it, but the plot was so good I ended up finishing it in three days. We also get to see what happens with The Warded Man after the events of the last book as well. It was a very satisfying plot and I can’t wait to start on the next entry in this series.
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Characters: I actually understand Jardir after reading the book, and I like the parts with some other characters from the first book, although I won’t spoil the fun by naming them. Needless to say a lot of things are resolved character development wise, while leaving plenty of new threads to weave in later books. I have to say I like Abban a lot, and he may be my favorite character we get a new PoV from in this book, although Rojer is also good as always.
Voicework: The cast of the previous book reprises most of their roles from the prequel and I have to say it was very satisfying to hear.
Sound Effects: Again this series makes me really hope for the day that The Kingkiller Chronicle will be picked up by Graphic Audio, as they do an amazing job with all the sound effects, especially the music. There was one part where I was listening to the book where there is a character sweeping a porch and I happened to be walking and I was looking around for the sound of the person sweeping, only to realize that it was the sound effects from the team of Graphic Audio.
Overall: This is an excellent sequel and well worth the money to listen to if you have it to spare.