The Core – the final novel in Peter V. Brett’s Demon Cycle saga and the place where the final confrontation between humanity and the demons takes place is here. In other words, everything has led up to this, from Arlen Bales first standing his ground and fighting a demon, to his friendship with and betrayal by Ahmann Jardir, to their uneasy alliance, they have both been fated to hold humanity’s hopes in their hands. Along the way, both men have married, had significant impact on the world as they’ve both divided and eventually united humanity against the demons. There’s a lot riding on the final novel in any series, how does The Core deliver on its story of Deliverers and Demons?
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 is at hand, and humanity cannot hope to win it unless Arlen and Jardir, with the help of Arlen’s wife, Renna, can bend a captured demon prince to their will and force the devious creature to lead them to the Core, where the Mother of Demons breeds an inexhaustible army.
Trusting their closest confidantes, Leesha, Inevera, Ragen, and Elissa, to rally the fractious people of the Free Cities and lead them against the swarm, Arlen, Renna, and Jardir set out on a desperate quest into the darkest depths of evil—from which none of them expects to return alive.
Rather than focus on Arlen, Renna, and Jardir’s struggles in the Core, the better part of the novel’s first half focuses on those characters left behind to mind the proverbial store. Three main point-of-views are given: Leesha Paper, Inevera, and Abban, three characters inextricably linked to Ahmann and to a lesser extent Arlen. I like the characters, especially Leesha, and thought a lot of the story surrounding her, which felt genuine and well told. As one of the wives of Jardir, she is also pregnant with his child. A child whose birth is a momentous occasion that will have ramifications beyond the ending of this novel. Leesha is a woman of two worlds, with loyalties to Jardir’s people and her own. More than many characters, she (and her child) epitomize what has been coming together in the time leading up to the supposed final conflict between demons and humanity.
Leesha isn’t the only expecting mother. Renna Bales, Arlen’s wife, is pregnant with his child, which makes the situation at the Core even more stressful for Arlen. He wants to protect his wife and unborn child, but he also must confront the Demon Queen. Renna is not one to be shrinking violet.
Arlen’s continued alliance with Ahmann Jardir also increases an already stressful situation. Brett has done a very good job of portraying a relationship between two strong-minded, strong-willed Alphas with differing ideologies who form an alliance throughout the series. That great depiction continues in The Core, I just would have liked to see more scenes involving these two characters.
Here we arrive at one of my issues with the novel. For all the build-up to a final confrontation over the latter half of the series and the title of the book bearing the locale of this conflict, much of the novel felt more like set up for the next series Brett is going to write. I get it that a lot of what occurred in the scenes with Leesha outside of the Core are necessary, but some of the scenes focusing on Abban didn’t feel as tethered to the overall plot of the novel and outcome of the series. For example, when the one-time friend of Jardir was relentlessly tortured and beaten, the scenes felt gratuitous and almost unnecessary.
On the other hand, it completely makes sense, from a storytelling perspective, to give almost equal time to what happens away from the grand final conflict, because the world doesn’t end here, which I doubt is a spoiler. I’m torn the more I think of this, because with Leesha getting to her people, some of the younger folk being prepared for the demons and in the creation of the hope of life after demons, important stories are being told, some good character arcs are being shown, introduced, and closed off. I appreciate that Brett is thinking ahead and not considering the final conflict in this novel ‘The Final Conflict’. I also appreciated that this novel contained no flashbacks as the previous novels did – this is all “in the now” which lends even more urgency to the unfolding events. However, as I said, I was hoping more focus would be on the events in The Core, with more “screen time” for Arlen, Renna, and Jardir.
The journey’s end; however, was rewarding. Brett delivered a conclusion (once the novel arrived there) that was satisfying in a lot of ways and felt earned for each of the main characters. A war concluded, a peace delivered, and a saga ended…for now.
I should also remark on how lovely the book is. The cover style retains the photo-realistic imagery of books two through 4, but what’s under the dust jacket is just as striking. Del Rey and Harper Voyager went the extra mile and basically gave this book two covers: the dust jacket has the Leesha art you see above and the cover on the book boards that of a Demon, specifically Alagai Ka, the Father of Lies. Those images are reversed on the UK version of the book.
I’ve enjoyed the Demon Cycle series throughout the five novels (and related shorter tales) and even if The Core may not have been the strongest of the books in the series for me, it was still a just ending that for the series that pulled a lot together very effectively . Congratulations to Peter Brett on completing a fantastic series, which seems to be just the start for him.
© 2017 Rob H. Bedford
Demon Cycle Book 5
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Del Rey Books
Published October 2017 | Hardcover, 800 pages
http://www.petervbrett.com
First 50 Pages: http://www.unboundworlds.com/2017/08/50-page-friday-core
Rojer and Arlen. No fair.
Ok, I’m not reading your full review, but that’s only because I hadn’t realized The Core was out…I must now try and find the time to read.
*constrained excitement*