Yeah It's Here. Today we start discussing The Warded Man by Peter Brett

[Heather]

I asked Brynweir to start the discussion for this month. She has been raving about it so I thought it only fair to that she would lead off our discussion. Please post your thoughts and questions below and I will send it off to Peter on May 12th. So let's begin

From Brynweir

The Warded Man by Peter Brett

Imagine a world where demons rule the night. Humans live in constant fear, rushing through their days so they can be safely behind magical wards by dusk, hoping...praying that the wards will not fail. Though humans still survive in this hostile world, there are many that would not call it living. Among those are three children, Arlen, Leesha and Rojer. They refuse to live the lives that their elders lay out for them. They refuse to stand aside and watch as demons destroy what they love. They refuse to give in to fear.

I absolutely love this book! I enjoyed the story from start to end and the story moved so well that I read it straight through the same day I got it. I can't think of a single moment where the story dragged. Though the story jumped around between three main characters, Brett made the transitions so smoothly that I didn't even notice. I really got to know the characters and I liked them all, even the ones I wanted to see die. Arlen is bright and strong and so determined that you can't help liking him. Leesha is smart and good-hearted, but she's no pushover. And Rojer, though he isn't very world wise or brave in the beginning, really comes through in the end. All three characters grow and change as the story unfolds, and I'm glad to see a male author who can write strong women characters without making them seem like men in skirts.

I was immediately attached to Arlen. When he left the porch to save his mother, and the way he just became so disappointed in his father over his choices, made me identify with him. I could honestly feel his pain and I wanted him to defy his father and continue on the road to save his mother. I think I was just as angry and hurt as Arlen when she died. Then later, to rub salt in the wound, he finds that she could have easily been saved by a common root. I really like Arlen as he grows up and chooses to try to save humanity and make everyone's lives better, rather than just making his own life easy. I like and respect him the entire journey. The part where Arlen started to dissolve with the demon and go to the Core really set me on edge and I can't wait to find out what's going to happen with that.

I also like Leesha. She's one tough girl. I'm glad that she found it in her to stand up to her mother and the village and that her father did too. I hate it when good people get walked on and they LET people take advantage of them. I also like the way Brett pointed out all the hypocracies in society... it just makes me smile. I did find it a bit odd that right after she gets gan raped, Leesha almost immediately wanted to have sex with Arlen. That just didn't sit right with me. Brett did a good job of explaining her reasoning, and having never gone through that I can't argue it, it just felt wrong.

As for Rojer, well, I'm hoping that he continues to grow and become the man that he's trying to be. He didn't have very much going for him in the beginning and he's had a lot go against him. I'm kind of hoping that he finds himself a nice girl in one of those hamlets and they go off and kill demons together.

I enjoyed the story and the characters so much that I can't wait to read the sequel. Brett has given us so much knowledge of the characters and the world that I can't wait to see if my predictions come true.

A few questions:
First, will Ragen be in the sequel? I really liked him and I hope he does more than make a guest appearance.
Second, did you use people in your own life as inspirations for the characters? Some of them seem so real, like you are describing people you know.
Third, where did you get the inspiration for the story? I mean, some of the stuff seems like vampire legends, but it's far enough removed to be unique. Just curious about what sparked the idea.
Fourth, as for Arlen becoming more like the demons.... nah - I'm not going to ask what might be a spoiler :-D

[Crimson]

that sounds like quite a rough schedule. it is tough to find peaceful moments so it's good that you have a phone like that so you can take advantage of them when you find them.

i will put my faith in you that the forgotten ideas are not worth remembering. ;)

thanks for answering. :)

[Miluiel]

I know I've been asking quite a lot of questions, but I have one more:

Are book covers important to you, or do you not really care?

Thank you, once more, for your time :)

[Peter V. Brett]

Covers are very important to me, but authors need to keep a certain level of emotional distance from them, because at the end of the day, the publisher's marketing department (most of whom have never read the book) has far more say in the cover than the author does. Sometimes you get lucky and your cover is awesome, and other times, you have to bite your tongue. It's just the nature of the business.

[Sethanel]

They really dropped the ball on the N.A. cover in my opinion. I saw the UK version online (as well as the title) and really wanted it. When i ran into the bookstore to buy it, I couldn't find it but randomly picked up the Warded Man instead. Lucky me.

[Miluiel]

That is really unfair - I would've thought that authors had some say in what their books would look like? I mean, you have put all the hours into writing it, and getting it pulished is not an easy ordeal, and then you can't chose... That's rather surprising!

But, I do agree, covers are important to me too - that's the first thing I look at, even though I know I shouldn't :D

[Peter V. Brett]

The old adage "You can't judge a book by it's cover" may be true enough, but it does nothing to change the fact that covers are one of the most powerful tools at the publisher's disposal to market a book. I used to pick fantasy novels based on cover awesomeness all the time when I was young and haunting bookstores (this was back in olden times, before they invented the internet).

Publishers know this, and justifiably want the last word on cover design, because it can directly affect how they will recoup their investment. Some publishers will involve authors in the process from the very beginning, and others don't say a word until they send you your sample copies or you see a .jpg of it on their website. It varies, and can even be different depending on your editor, as some are open with authors and want them happy, and others aren't. Regardless, just about every publisher is going to go with what they think will sell over what will please the author, and that is their right.

That said, there is no way for the people in the art and/or marketing department of a major publisher to read every book they are selling, and I'll admit it makes me nuts to think that people who have read a short synopsis (if that) of a book have more say in the design than authors do.

Personally, I miss the old style of fantasy covers, which takes a scene from the story and brings it to life. Sadly, that style has all but vanished in the English markets in favor of iconic portraits of single characters (ala the Night Angel books or my UK cover) or the kind of spartan design & avatar look (ala George RR Martin or my US cover), which is meant to try and appeal to people who might not normally read fantasy novels.

I just saw early art yesterday for the cover of my French translation (L'Homme Rune), though, and it is AWESOME. They took the scene when Arlen first confronts One Arm and brought it to life. I can't wait until I get permission to show it on my blog.

[Brynweir]

I think this is one of the reasons Michael Whelan is my favorite cover artist. He actually reads the material he's supposed to be creating art for.... Well, back when he used to do that sort of work all the time.

[dornz32]

Well i finished it yesterday d..and ya brill book.Cant wait for next one aaaa..
i liked all tre charicters. ilike P.O.V.s all comeing togeather at the end on the road after leesha gets raped
cos by then you know its arlen comeing out of the night and even the rapers know he,s hard. ha and then he and
rojer leave um for the night. ha the right job for um........(SPOILERS HERE) SO DONT READ IF YA ANT READ YET)

[Peter V. Brett]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for the comments!

[Kensei]

Hello again Peter,

It may be too late to ask anything further at this point but I thought I would just go ahead on the chance you were still around. First off, I just finished the book last night and loved it----made great late night reading after putting the new baby down to sleep. I was really impressed and cannot wait for the next book. In my view, you and Brent are the most exciting thing going on in the genre right now and you both have really re-invigorated my love of fantasy.

Your action scenes kicked-ass and I particularly really liked the development of Arlen and Leesha, and their somewhat parallel progression. I thought it great these two characters, with such similar challenges and scars, have joined up together.

My question relates to the development of Arlen/TPM. There is a time gap where we leave Arlen in the Krasian desert and when he emerges as TPM. I was somewhat bummed to not see more of what happens to him during that time but I understand why you wrote it the way you did. Arlen seemed to fully plan to share the ancient attack wards he found asap but we learn that seemingly in the years that followed he did not, and basically took on a personal war against the demons alone. This goes very much against his earlier motivations of wanting humanity to unite and to share their knowledge to fight. I assumed that the horrible experience and betrayal with the Krasians caused Arlen to doubt humanity, the goodness of humanity, and led to him turning his back on everyone? At the same time, this turning away seemed to also have stemmed from some self-loathing on his part? Arlen is such a fascinating character---I was wondering if you could elaborate on this a bit and if my interpretations are accurate.

Thanks again for a great read!

[Peter V. Brett]

Hi Kensei,

Thanks for all the praise. I know how precious spare time is when you have a new baby in the house, and I really appreciate you using it to take a chance on my book.

In The Painted Man, I wanted to show the formative moment in the lives of the characters, which show how they become powerful in a world where everyone is helpless, and why they make the decisions they do at the climax of the story. Rather than tell these things as backstory, I thought it would be more visceral to put the readers right in the middle of those moments. You're interpretations of Arlen's motivations, which are right on the money, show that I managed to do a fairly good job of showing the essential elements.

This storytelling method required me to leave some significant gaps in the lives of the characters in order to maintain a tight story-arc, but that doesn't mean that nothing interesting happened in those years. Quite the contrary, I look at those "lost years" as a fertile ground to tell future stories, particularly for Arlen, as it lets me tell adventure-packed tales of him before he becomes the Painted Man. I also have some thoughts for stories of Leesha during her Angierian apprenticeship, and Rojer while he was wandering the hamlets after Arrick's death.

I've already written two short stories about Arlen during his Messenger years which will be appearing in the UK deluxe editions of the book. One is called The Great Bazaar, and tells of how he found the map to the lost city of Anoch Sun, and the other is tentatively titled The Duke's Mines, which tells of Arlen's first solo Messenger run while he was still technically an apprentice living in Miln.

I have stories in mind for the early tattoo years as well, before he becomes so covered that he is no longer welcome in general society. Whether these tales will take place in LOST-style flashbacks during future books or in dedicated short stories still remains to be seen.

[Kensei]

Thanks Peter!

Sounds great....looks like I will be picking up these UK deluxe editions down the road!