The Daylight War

The Demon Cycle, Book 3

By: Peter V. Brett

Narrated by: Pete Bradbury

Length: 26 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Peter V. Brett has won rave reviews for his internationally best-selling novels, including his stunning debut, The Warded Man.

A continuation of his epic Demon Cycle series, The Daylight War features Inevera, the wife of Jadir, who took center stage in Book 2, The Desert Spear. In this heart-stopping installment, humanity continues to struggle against the demon plague - even as survivors hold out hope that the Deliverer will save them all. 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.

©2013 Peter V. Brett (P)2013 Recorded Books

What in The Core happened?

Any additional comments?

What happened, Mr. Brett???
First, I must say that I have been counting the days (and weeks, and months) until this release. The other two books, I’ve read and listened to MANY times each. I love the characters, the action, the whole concept of the demons and wards. I was even so starved for the story that I listened intently to the Krasian’s stories, rather than just tolerating them as a means to an end (namely, getting back to Cutter’s Hollow).

I’ve sung the praises of these books to anyone who’ll listen.

So when I saw that Audible had The Daylight War nearly two weeks early, I thought either Christmas came late, or there was some mistake.

And then I WISHED it’d been a mistake. Thank God they used Pete Bradbury again, because that’s the only thing that got me through the **tedium** of the first half of the book. The interactions between Arlon and Rena were especially painful. Not only did I feel like I was back in junior high, but Mr. Brett made sure I REALLY understood the point he was trying to convey about Arlon’s new aww shucks, Regular Joe demeanor (another huge disappointment) and Rena’s neediness. Even Leesha’s parts felt weak. There were many things he glossed over (Leesha and the duke), while belaboring the broader points of Arlon’s and Rena’s insipid interactions.

Finally, around the half-way mark, we get some action, and things progress. We have battles, thank the creator. And then, after all that, the book ends with a cliffhanger?! Ugh.

In summary: yes, you should get the book. It’s got some good content, even if it takes its sweet time getting there. But PLEASE don’t judge the series by this book. And, Mr. Brett, PLEASE write the fourth book as well as you wrote the first two.

Too much filler. The story could have been shorter

The world is captivating and quite unique, but the consistent sexual overtone was wearing as it didn't add to the story, but was more a filler. I started skipping through certain characters chapters as they once again appear to be filler (since they're secondary characters)

The Daylight War without a daylight war

I'm not sure why this book is titled the Daylight War. Don't want to spoil anything, but the plot that this title refers to doesn't really go anywhere in this book. This was disappointing. And lots of backstory was rehashed. This, too, was disappointing. It would have been more true to the story being told if this volume had been titled: The Daylight Porn, but I'm getting off track...

Despite my complaints, I still enjoyed most of the hours spent listening to this book. No, the overall plot doesn't advance much. It didn't in book 2 either. I'm not sure why Brett is writing this series this way, but I'll reserve my judgement whether this is a good idea or not until the end of the Demon Cycle. If you're a fan, yes, buy this. If you're new to the series, I'd say wait until the fifth and final volume is released. You'll deal with a lot less frustration if you take my advice.

Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger. In fact, the ending almost jumps up and down with its own "clever" cliffhangeriness. I found it annoying. It seemed the story would have been better served with another hour or two to close this portion of the tale. Oh well. Authors have their artistic freedoms.

I liked it. I hated it. Which feeling will prevail in the end? I don't know. Give me a few weeks to think about it. Faults and all, you can't deny that Brett is a talented writer, and his characters are truly interesting. Just please, please, Mr. Brett and co, take this story somewhere in book 4.

Good, but not really great

First off, I will start by saying that I will read the next book in the series. However, this book did not give the same satisfaction as the first book in the series.

In the previous books, as in most books, the author builds towards a goal - you keep trying to figure out what that goal will be, how it will turn out, and you expect what you are reading to be contributions towards that goal; everything leads you to that goal and the story hangs together.

I felt that If I had only listened to the last hour of this book, I would not have missed very much. Maybe all the things discussed in this book will gain more meaning in future books of the series. In this book, they seem to be non-contributary to the outcome of the book. The only parts that really seem to matter are those parts where the warded man himself is talked about, or where his opposite number is discussed. My hope is that groundwork is being laid in this book. It is impossible to know if that is really the case. If I had it to do over, I truly would have listened to only the last half of the book now that I know all what I was reading added little to the altimate conclusion.

It feels like the overall body of the story and the conclusion are two different stories that have little relation to each other; they are only tied together loosely by a thin thread. If you decide to read this book, you will understand better what I mean (and you'd have been forewarned).

It is not a waste of a credit. But don't expect the same satisfaction you got from the first book-

Mostly Very Enjoyable; a few hangups

Who can't get behind a novel based around wholesale demon killing? Like its predecessors, this novel carries on the tradition of bumping off monsters at a good clip in new and creative ways. Plenty of action for those who seek it and that carries the book fairly well. As before, the danger level of the demons has increased raising the stakes and the suspense. All good things.

The characters are well-developed and deep. Brett's iterative process of doing a full exploration of the principals' backstories over the course of the series ensures that whether you are rooting for or against them, you still see where they're coming from. The downside of this is that sometimes you have to wait to see how the main story arc progresses, but for the most part the backstory is worth it.

I liked this book. I did. However, I liked it in spite of some serious hangups that may be a turn-off to other readers. It is not as good as its predecessors and the 4 stars are a soft 4.

I am not puritanical; I like sex as much as the next audiobook listener, but this book is a bit much. Sex surrounds every facet of life. Sex for social advancement. Sex for alliance. Sex for love. Sex for procreation. Sex as a duty. Sex for educational purposes. Sex for relaxation. Gay sex. Multiple-partner sex. Sex for mind control (evidently, some women are just that good). Sex brought on by demon power fueled lust. Complete rejection and concurrent acceptance of homosexuality within a culture. Sex is Peter Brett's multitool. He uses it in every situation. Even more problematic is that his characters seem to want to treat sex as if it is something with a desirable mystique about it, but it falls flat because the author uses it with such mundane regularity that it is hard to get interested in it. You want to take Brett aside and say, "Pete, Baby, less is more; sell the sizzle." Unfortunately, he's serving it up graphic and ad nauseam.

While I generally enjoy Bradbury's telling of these novels, with this book his accents appear to have strayed. Arlen has now become full-on hillbilly. Renna pretty much speaks with the same voice as Arlen.

This book was a step down from the previous two. Now, that still rates it pretty high, but a bit disappointing. The characters, well developed through backstory, begin to lose their depth in the main story arc. This wasn't a problem with the first two books. Arlen is starting to become just a country boy. Renna is essentially a feral dog with daddy issues. Jardir is becoming an empty suit that believes he's a god. Leesha is starting to tend toward feckless mediocrity (what's that about? She was awesome when she was slinging fire balls and kicking butt.) It just feels like the characters development has hit its high water mark and has begun to retreat.

One last knock on this book is that because of all the backstory the main arc is not very far removed from the end of the last book. You certainly get action, but you don't get much progress.

Can't Believe Audible Didn't Announce The Release.

Any additional comments?

WTF Audible? What's up with not letting me know that this was out? With all the recommendation from you for books I've already listened to, I am SHOCKED that not once did you recommend this to me. I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!!!

awesome! left me wanting more, more, more!

Any additional comments?

wow! i thoroughly enjoyed the 1st book, getting thrilled as arlen became the warded man and rescuing leesha and rodjer. the 2nd book took me a while getting into b/c the beginning was focused on jardir, and i was still pissed at him for stealing the spear from arlen, but i ended up enjoying jardir's story b/c the krasians reminded me of the freeman in dune. jardir's story added more depth to the story and world. so, i wondered what would be in book 3, the daylight war.

this time, we get enevera's story. her story, from being called by the dice to enter the dama tiq to her harrowing experiences being surrounded by rivals to her finally rising to damania is interesting and adds to her complexity.

add tp that, there are a few scenes b/ween her and jardir are retold from her perspective. all in all, i enjoyed being caught up by enevera's story. it helps you to understand why she schemes and tells half truths to jardir.

ok...i know i'm butchering the spelling. LOL

arlen grows out of his dark side, no longer scared of his powers. speaking of powers, he gained some new abilities from his struggle with the mind demon, and they are awesome. he shows them off in the battles.

speaking of the battles, they come later in the story, but they are epic. 100s of demons under the control of mind demons ruthlessly attack the hollow, where arlen is, and rizon, where jardir is. we get a little peak into hierarchy of the core through the mind demons’ interactions with each other.

when arlen gets back to the hollow, there are big changes as the duke has sent count thamos to oversee the protection and the building up of the hollow. and what they've managed to build is cool so i won't spoil it. but the demons, under the direction of the mind demons, know how to build too!

down in rizon, aben, is helping jardir plot and plan his strategies through aben's prophecy of profit, which aids jardir as much as enevera's dice. under everybody's noses, aben continues to build his empire and his own private army. aben even finds something of great interest to jardir and enevera. aben is finally able to get revenge on somebody who has been a real thorn in his side since his days as a young boy.

there's just the right amount of politics thrown in- between the krasian clans and between the hollowers and count thamos. there's even good old family infighting. all this adds to the overall tension in the story. peter brett does a great job mixing the different layers of tension throughout the story.

just as arlen's powers have grown so has jardir's thanls to the spear and crown he wears. his powers even surprise enevera. Both use their powers in unique ways, which add depth to the storytelling.

renna tanner, arlen's sidekick, is as crazy amd unpredictable as ever. she keeps trying to keep up with arlen, causing her to at times lose touch with reality. will this obsession be her white whale?

leesha, wanda, rodjer, and garret finally leave jardir's conquered territories. however, leesha and rodjer are not leaving alone. that's my way of hinting at things. LOL

this is a long listen but well worth it. all of the characters get the right amount of time. this allows peter brett to add depth to each character.

i'm trying to not say too much. this is a worthy follow-up. i'm just sad that i'll have to wait so long for the next book b/c this book ends with a massive cliffhanger in the fight b/ween jardir and arlen. "the end" are now my most hated 2 words! LOL yes, they finally do get to confront each other, and i've listened to the last 45 minutes a couple of time already!

if you've liked the story so far, you'll love this book! A worthy addition!

I AM NOT THE DELIVERER!!!

IN MY LAND THOSE WHO MEAN NO DISRESPECT, REMEMBER TO SPEAK WITH RESPECT.
A great beginning, with lots of action and setting of mood. As the story continue there were a few moments of excitement and intelligence, but for the most part I needed to drink Cozie to get through it. Lots of talk, with lots of planning and strategy. Brett needs to take his own advice, GREAT THINGS CAN BE FOUND IN SMALL WORDS. I lost patience and interest in what was happening, The demons are no longer scary or unique, there is very little to hold my attention and certainly not for 26 hours. Just as Paul in Dune got boring when he became a worm, The Warded Man is boring as the invincible. The first book gets an A, the second a B+ and this a C. If you like the second book better then the first, then you might like this, if you liked the first book best, this is not going to excite you.

A difficult third entry...

The author chooses to take a hard 90 degree turn with the three main characters and it's pretty infuriating.

Leesha....ugh. She became her mother while still retaining her moral piety and superiority. I didn't realize how much I was going to end up hating her character by the end of this book. Now I don't care if she dies at some point. In fact, a part of me will actually be a little happy. All of this time and effort put into her character about finding the right one and struggling with opening herself up to men now is suddenly completely gone and she's using men to her political and economic advantages. Hate you, Leesha Paper.

I found adult Arlen Bales to be less interesting than his alter ego: The Warded Man. The years of hardness and exile making him strong, forging the man he needed to be: the Deliverer, only to be traded in for this "Ahh shucks...I reckon" country bumpkin we get in this book who has been shackled by an obnoxious, forced love interest. Alren makes a principled decision not to pursue Leesha in the first book, for character consistent reasons, only to promise himself to Renna a few weeks later. Hate you, Arlen Bales. Love you, Warded Man.

Anything interesting about Rojer is just gone. He's honestly given very little to do other than plays a new song that gets people to do things and is apparently the most amazing song anyone has ever played. It feels lazy and unearned, in my opinion. He didn't have to sacrifice anything or overcome something about himself to achieve it. He was just given this song by the Krasians and now it's a thing he can do because the book still needs him to be relevant. Completely bored of you, Rojer Inn.

With only 2 books left, I really hope the story picks up and the characters begin to redeem themselves and go back to being consistent, established people again. The Leesha, Arlen and Rojer from the first book are gone but not in an organic way. I never got the sense that they had grown in their dramatic character changes. They were just suddenly different people in a single chapter.

Inconsistent Characters make poor decisions

I really enjoyed the first book. The second book was good, but the cracks started to show. In this book: The main character's transformation from educated traveler back into farm yokel is complete. Leesha Paper suddenly develops migraines to show the readers that it's incredibly stressful to have Dissociative identity disorder. Don't worry, her crippling disability won't stop her from making poor decisions and judging other people while ignoring her own flaws.

*Spoilers* If you read the last book you know Leesha Paper decided to sleep with the man responsible for the invasion of her people (which lead to the rape and enslavement of it's people). Multiple times she's written to have admired Jadir's looks or charms. She then has the gall to tell Rojer that he's thinking with his dick when he legitimately falls in love with the two brides he's promised. When Rojer implies she was with Jadir for selfish reasons, she full on says it was a calculated decision. If it were a competent writer, I'd say that was an intentional way to show Leesha's fault. But in reality the writer of this book can't write women at all. In fact, he's quoted as saying that Leesha's strength is proven by how she handled the violent gangrape. (having sex with the next man she saw)