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The Desert Spear (Demon Cycle, #2)

Peter V. Brett

Start date: September 6, 2025

Finish date: September 27, 2025

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What Members Thought

Jun 02, 2012 Mel rated it it was ok

the book seems well written and engaging, but I keep having this unsatisfied feeling for many reasons, some of them irrelevant to the book.

1. Fantasy writers need to find other sources of inspiration than desert tribes. I am getting seriously weary of the fact.
2. I need another universe where women play a more prominent role. I don't mean the individual characters (eg. Inevera), most of which need to overcome their gender, or be part of a specific cast and still try to impose their authority t ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Becky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

I absolutely love this series, and I actually enjoyed the second book more than the first. The first took its time to establish the world with which, as I mentioned in the other review, I’ entranced. The world and magic system are so entirely consistent, comprehensive, and logically laid out that it’s worth the wait for the second book where the action totally takes off.

I love the expansion of Jardir and Inevera, as characters. The air of mystery surrounding that culture in the first book is dec ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Veronica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I wasn't sure I was going to bother reading this book. I liked the first book well enough as it introduced some interesting characters and set them in a world that was very apart from our own in some ways and yet also achingly familiar in others. But there was an event in the last third, or rather a response to an event, that set my teeth on edge and I mentioned it in my review of that book (spoiler tagged, of course). For that reason alone I was debating whether or not I would move forward with I wasn't sure I was going to bother reading this book. I liked the first book well enough as it introduced some interesting characters and set them in a world that was very apart from our own in some ways and yet also achingly familiar in others. But there was an event in the last third, or rather a response to an event, that set my teeth on edge and I mentioned it in my review of that book (spoiler tagged, of course). For that reason alone I was debating whether or not I would move forward with the series but curiosity prevailed and here I am. One of the benefits of multiple POVs in a story is that it gives us readers insight into those characters. We're not hampered by unreliable narrators because for the duration of those passages we are those characters, experiencing their victories and defeats right along with them. It may not make us like them any better but it helps us understand them better. And so it is with this book, which gave some insight into why Leesha chose to respond the way she did immediately following her trauma in the first book. It made sense for her and now I can move on.

This book continued with the excellent world building, layering the world with more history and texture. It also added two additional POVs, bringing the grand total for the series to five (so far). This was a longer book but it felt like a fast read. I was pretty much absorbed from start to finish. When a POV would shift I would often rebel at first, not wanting to leave the POV in which I'd been immersed but it wouldn't take long at all for me to become just as immersed in the new POV. I didn't love all the characters all the time. In fact I often swung wildly between actively rooting for a character one minute to wanting to throttle him/her the next, from feeling sympathy for characters on one page and wishing fervently that someone would knock them down a peg or two just a few pages later. That, to me, is the mark of some good writing.

There is a lot of good stuff here. While the first book introduced the world and gave readers a very vivid sense of the danger presented by the Corelings, this book swings the camera around and shows that a new danger, a very human one, is coming from a different direction altogether. The Corelings, while still a very present danger, seemed to be relegated to the sidelines this time around while the focus temporarily shifted to the human schisms that are forming but what we do see of them gives strong evidence that we've only touched the tip of the iceberg.

If I have one complaint with the book it's the characterization of Leesha. She is a total Mary Sue, perfectly perfect in every way. Not only can she learn any new skill in no time flat, but she'll be doing it better than those who have been trained in that skill all their lives. And now she can add language acquisition to her skill set. Give her a few weeks and she's practically fluent. She's one of the good guys and I know I'm supposed to root for her but frankly, I keep hoping she gets cored. I was actually rooting for Inevera a couple of times and I spent the first half of the book hating her! That just shows how much I've come to dislike Leesha.

Wow, it's easy to get a rant going about Leesha, lol. But to end on a positive note...there is great world building here, (mostly)fascinating and complex characters, great action sequences, and realistic human aspirations and machinations. ...more

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Jan 13, 2016 Karen ⚜Mess⚜ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Peter V Brett has an exceptional story to tell you.

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Apr 13, 2016 Veronika rated it really liked it

Great book! I loved the development of the characters. I have some minor issues about the story being a little bit too brutal etc. but otherwise it was a great story.

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