The Warded Man by Peter Brett

I’m stepping off of a cloud to try and write a summary of my thoughts from The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. I’ve been on a cloud because I haven’t read a book like this in a long time and I feel like I’m coming out of a “book high.” And I say I’m writing a summary of my thoughts because the whole of my feelings are too much to try and share in this brief review.

From my introduction you know that this book deserves my highest rating, but please allow me to explain why it is worthy of such praise. The Warded Man is a character driven story that focuses on three main characters that eventually come together for some greater purpose. Rather than these events pulling the characters towards each other, the subtle choices each person makes flows so easily that the whole story progresses without any hint of a stitch or seam.

The driving force for each main character is completely independent of the other in such a way that I was surprised to find a common thread between them. The characters are so well developed I would have been happy to read a separate story about each of them. The weight of all three story lines gave this book a depth that most stories only hope to achieve through complex plots and confusing twists of narration.

The Warded Man is a simple yet driving theme of fear and fate. I’m thrilled that this is only the first of a series of books. There were several hints at deeper complexities that will be visited in future novels. It’s obvious that there was a lot of planning to this series and I’m looking forward to more from this very talented author.

Rating: 10 out of 10