The Daylight War

The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The corelings will rise en masse under the new moon and Arlen and company only have a month to prepare for it. Can they survive the month and the Krasians that draw near Deliverer's Hollow?

After three years of waiting, the third book in the Demon Cycle is upon us. Was it worth the wait?

Meh. I don't know if it's because I've just devoured five George R.R. Martin books in record time or because three years have passed since I read the Desert Spear but The Daylight War didn't blow my doors off the way I thought it would. It wasn't bad but I guess was expecting a whole lot more. Maybe it's just that the newness has worn off but it felt like cotton candy compared to A Song of Ice and Fire.

Much like the Desert Spear, about half of the book is a long flashback involving a secondary character, in this case, Jardir's first wife, Inevera. Inevera's tale is an interesting one of scheming and betrayal. Unfortunately, it is by far the most interesting part of the book, way more engaging than the main story in my opinion. The way things are going, I'm expecting the next book to have an extended sequence from a demon's point of view.

Worse, both Arlen and Leesha were really getting on my nerves for most of the book. Arlen is now ridiculously powerful and also kind of annoying with his inspirational speeches and modesty. Arlen's relationship with Renna doesn't seem even slightly real to me and feels like a stalling tactic until he inevitably ends up with Leesha. And Leesha is just a mess. She's 28 years old and a healer so she likely knows how babies are made and therefore shouldn't be the least bit surprised when it turns out she's pregnant with Jardir's baby after they've spent quite a bit of time going at it like particularly randy rabbits on a Spring Break field trip to the Viagra factory. Rojer is about the only character I still really like. In fact, his relationship with his two wives is my favorite part of the book with all the maneuvering by various Krasians a close second.

For most of the book, there's too much talking and preparing and not enough payoff. The fights with corelings were good but nothing revolutionary. The last fifty or so pages seemed rushed, however, and end in a cliffhanger. We've been waiting a long time for Arlen and Jardir to square off and we're denied any sort resolution. What we got was good but making us wait untold years before we find out how the fight ends is kind of a cheap shot.

I guess this all sounds kind of harsh. I did like the book overall. Three stars and I'll likely be picking up the next one.

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