Thoroughly loved this book. It has a understated mythic quality about it, not least because it revolves around the legendary and mysterious figure of The Warded Man, who some claim to be the prophesied Deliverer. Brett succeeds in making the strange familiar and effortlessly endows the commonplace with a renewed sense of wonder and colour.

In a world where people cower in fear behind their wards, dreading the fall of night and the rising of demons, emergence of one with the indefatigable spirit to retaliate sees him reject the overtures of a life of fear, and strike a blow in the emerging war against demonkind. Blending tragedy, visceral violence and stunning catharsis, the transformation into the Warded man is terrifying in it's triumph, and one can't help but feel for the protagonists, all three of them, as they grapple with the fate that they have been assigned to, defining, accepting or eschewing it to forge their own place in a frighteningly intruiging world where Brett affects a nuanced twist on the rpimal dread of the night that has haunted Man since their existence.

The concept is an interesting and innovative one and the evolution of the eponymous Warded Man from humble origins is unfolded beautifully as three narratives each indicated by a personalised symbol above each chapter. I look forward with great eagerness to escape into the world of the next installment of the trilogy 'The Desert Spear', which I have in my possession My deepest thanks to Brett for confirming that fantasy is not just a tired old hollow where cliches and stereotypes live.