681 pages

English language

Published Sept. 6, 2015

ISBN:
978-0-345-53148-3
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OCLC Number:
898433292

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4 stars (23 reviews)

"The Skull Throne of Krasia stands empty. Built from the skulls of fallen generals and demon princes, it is a seat of honor and ancient, powerful magic, keeping the demon corelings at bay. From atop the throne, Ahmann Jardir was meant to conquer the known world, forging its isolated peoples into a unified army to rise up and end the demon war once and for all. But Arlen Bales, the Warded Man, stood against this course, challenging Jardir to a duel he could not in honor refuse"--Dust jacket flap.

3 editions

A Frightening Look at the Author's Deepest Desires

1 star

I have no idea how I managed to finish The Skull Throne. I detested The Daylight War and I decided to skim the opening chapter to resolve just the cliffhanger. But I found myself more than halfway through, as the author managed to dangle enough Deliverer chapters early, AND I ruthlessly skipped all content from yet another new Krasian POV flashback. Yes, that's right, Peter Brett actually upgraded yet another side character, gave her a narrative, and then used flashback mechanics so that you can enjoy events all over again from someone else's viewpoint. I'm not making this shit up.

The Skull Throne actually kicks off the human on human conflict that is the definition of The Daylight War. That's the good part... this novel is better than the bomb that was the previous. The deep dive into Rhinebeck's court is welcome, but it should have been …

Review of 'The Skull Throne' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The Skull Throne was certainly a significant improvement over the tedious Daylight War (#3), however the book still suffers from some serious flaws in storytelling and plot development.

Minor Spoilers

Other reviews on Goodreads have slighted Peter V. Brett because he has overemphasized the Krasian culture. That is, the pseudo-Islamic culture hell-bent on fulfilling a religious prophecy through divine war with the series' primary antagonists: the Corelings (or Alagai). Personally, I've found that Brett has done a poor job constructing the Krasian culture in general and depicts these Middle Easterners as racist stock types—fanatical, bent on violent expansion, extremely misogynistic, greedy thugs, and concerned only with converting non-believers with the sword and enslaving those who balk at their religious overtures. The way in which Brett has conceived the Krasian culture is the equivalent of someone assuming every person who "looks" Muslim is a Muslim and therefore a member of ISIL. …

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Subjects

  • Magic
  • Demonology
  • Fiction