The Core

Book Five of The Demon Cycle

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Peter V. Brett: The Core (2018, Del Rey)

mass market paperback, 816 pages

Published July 31, 2018 by Del Rey.

ISBN:
978-0-345-53151-3
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3 stars (23 reviews)

"New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett brings one of the most imaginative fantasy sagas of the twenty-first century to an epic close. For time out of mind, bloodthirsty demons have stalked the night, culling the human race to scattered remnants dependent on half-forgotten magics to protect them. Then two heroes arose--men as close as brothers, yet divided by bitter betrayal. Arlen Bales became known as the Warded Man, tattooed head to toe with powerful magic symbols that enable him to fight demons in hand-to-hand combat--and emerge victorious. Jardir, armed with magically warded weapons, called himself the Deliverer, a figure prophesied to unite humanity and lead them to triumph in Sharak Ka--the final war against demonkind. But in their efforts to bring the war to the demons, Arlen and Jardir have set something in motion that may prove the end of everything they hold dear--a swarm. Now the war …

4 editions

A Morally Bankrupt Novel in a Childish Setting

1 star

I did it. I hate read a novel purely to criticize, but also to see Arlen Bales reach the end of his story. It's a testament to how amazing The Warded Man was, and how much I personally detest the author's values. As the series ends, I feel confident in my critiques, as there's no future plot line that might address these flaws. There are two major problems:

  1. Moral Bankrupcy
  2. Worldbuilding through Video Game Logic

Of these two, the former is horrifying and is why I'll never read anything by this author again. The latter highlights how vapid and stupid this fantasy setting actually is.

Moral Bankrupcy

I realized in The Skull Throne that Peter Brett actually believes the Krasians are the protagonists, and nothing in The Core changes this. We are presented with rape, slavery, woman as property, homophobia, might as right, warrior-culture masturbatory wank that is sold as …

Review of 'The Core' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Over the course of the previous four books, Mr. Brett has introduced a cast of dozens of characters. Some have come and gone, their role in the greater story seemingly done. In The Core, they all come back. While it's good to get caught up and see them back in action, I feel that with the cast so dramatically increased, the detail that marked the previous books was lost in The Core. There are at least seven plot lines going on here, and bouncing back and forth between them left me wondering exactly what was happening when.

Still, I don't want to say this book didn't bring the saga to a satisfying conclusion. It was great seeing mighty heroes rise from humble beginnings. A farmer's son. A daughter living in the shadow of her imposing, abusive mother. The daughter of a basket weaver. An orphan raised by a drunken bard. …

Review of 'The Core' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The culmination of a long and arderous journey. It took me a few chapters to get back into the skin of things as it were. Then we were off to the races. There is a lot of enlightenment that goes on through this tale. Some of it I really enjoyed, other parts I just wanted to delve deeper but the characters kept moving and with motive that didn't always make sense.

This book has a lot of moving pieces and to that extent I can only say that the characters you love continue to deepen in the respects that they do. We have many to lose in a culminating book of besiged battles but it is what it is. I enjoyed the continued understanding of the past and wish we'd see a novella or two that dig deeper into the thousands of glyph history that exists--I'd love to see that …