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

[Miluiel]

I found this book really enthralling! It was a great read! I was drawn in by the diverse characters, who all suffered under the same threat. I simply could not stop reading it. It's an original idea, with fascinating characters and problems. I was quite surprised by Peter V. Brett's ideas, and how he created this world. I would call it one of my favourite books to date (it ranks amongst such books as The Nigh Angel Trilogy, Tales of the Otori, The Black Magician Trilogy.) and I cannot wait until the next one!

Leesha is probably my favourite character. Really strong and intelligent, but her beauty sets her apart from other women, and she is no stranger to harassment. And the twist at the end, where she becomes involved with The Painted Man, as he is called in the U.K. version, was great. I found that part really interesting!

I liked Arlen as both characters, though as the Painted Man, I envy his strength and I admire his bravery greatly. He is a true hero, in the sense that he has risked his humanity to defend humanity. But he is also human, as he is flawed and has his quirks. I found that a really trivial point, and I cannot wait to see how it evolves!

Now to the questions:
- Why did you/they decide to change the name from The Warded Man, to The Painted Man, in the U.K. version? Was there a reason in particular, or was it just the publishers?
- As previously asked, what made you think of this idea?
- What made you decide to through Arlen together with Leesha, when they are two extremely different characters?
- Rojer is not really as 'developed' as the others; why have you chosen a third party, and in this case, a third wheel?

Really great book. Thank you.
Amelia

[Miluiel]

must have been tired when I wrote this...
in one of the questions, I mean to write 'throw', not through... silly silly me :D

[dornz32]

Hi i just skipped down to the reply cos im reading that book now,,(so no spoilers)..anyway the painted man..what its called here in ireland. Half way trought it now. and ya good book mister brett keep um comeing.
D.....(ps),,just fin godspeaker books 1 to 3 karin miller...read um people....

[Brynweir]

I thought of another comment - I really liked how you got Arlen motivated there towards the end by tying it back to his beginnings when he promised to never give anything to the demons and then Leesha accuses him of giving those men to them. I could really feel his anguish and see the way he totally changed how he was looking at things. It was a great piece of character development.

[Sethanel]

First off, amazing book! I enjoyed Arlen's character development and essentually killing him near the end to create the Warded Man.
I also want to point out how much I loved the way you have written the human experience. Essentually, what we fear shackles us (Arlen's Father), our pride destroys us (Rojer's home town), act before another can take it away from you (Leesha) and also hope.

What I would like to ask is this:
there is obviously a heirarchy of Demons with Rock Demons being the strongest (so far), although not many of the demons are described, would it be accurate to say that the more Human shaped demons are the strongest? This, I have found to be a particular trend in many books.
Also, will we be seeing different types of demons in future books?

[Brent Weeks]

Peter,
First, thanks for dropping by. I just want you to know that this whole thing was a ploy--to answer questions here, I knew you had to register, so now I can say, "Peter Brett is a member of MY fanclub!" Followed by some very mature sticking out of my tongue and a "so there". Ahem, on to the questions:
1) Have you ever lied to an interviewer? Because I heard this great whopper of a story that you typed this whole book on a cell phone, and if you need to get something off your chest, we're here for you, man. (If not, what kind of phone do you have?)
2) The Warded Man doesn't have a Big Bad in any traditional sense--and I think you made it work great. Why'd you go that way? When did you come up with the basic premise for the Warded Man?
3) There's a rape scene in the book that you almost skip. (I meant to go back and double check this, but I loaned the book to someone, and they haven't given it back.) At least (if I remember correctly), you completely change narrative style rather than just walking through what happens. Why? Were you trying to maintain a PG-13 rating, if you will? (As a writer, I'm well aware of the difficulties of writing about the gruesome and unwholesome, but this is about your thoughts on the matter, not mine.)
4) What are the most exciting kinds of scenes for you to write?
5) Which title do you like better, your US or UK one? (Heheh.)
6) When can we hope to see the sequel, and will the US get this one at the same time the UK does, or have to wait?

[Brynweir]

I'm sorry, I keep coming back to that rape scene. It bothers me for many reasons, not only because of how Leesha dealt with it or didn't, but also because it seemed so pointless in the story. I don't mean to sound harsh, but more and more authors are using rape as a sort of... forging moment for female characters. Leesha had her forging moment long before that when she decided to defy her mother and the others and choose her own path. I am really curious now why you even had the rape scene. The only reason I see is that it was a push for Rojer, who still hadn't really figured out who he was. I guess my question is, what was your intent/purpose for having the rape in the story at all?

::scratches head:: Except without the rape then Rojer wouldn't have gone with Arlen to take the portable wards and "give" those men to the demons and you'd have had to come up with another reason to make Arlen escort them and help that village... Was that your purpose?

Wow. I everytime I think of something to ask, it makes me think more. Is the book really a commentary on the human condition or am I just thinking too much? lol

I am curious about the relationship between humans and the demons, because not only do the demons seem to be elemental, but they seem to be human-like. I also really want to know if Arlen completes the road. It seems to me that he would use the idea from the sidewalk and just make it on a grand scale and connect the cities....

Another question that was sparked from Brent's questions... He said that there is no Bid Bad. Is there? Do the demons have a leader? I mean they were gone for - what was it? - 3,000 years. They bided their time and then came back in mass to destroy all that man had created. That sounds like something organized... Also, there seems to be a hierarchy among the demons, based on power, but this also implies that there is someone at the top of the food chain. So, was/ is there a leader?

[Peter V. Brett]

Sorry for taking so long on this reply. It’s been a busy week, and this wasn't a response I wanted to fire off quick.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that rape is an overused plot device in fantasy, and they are tiring of it. I find that kind of curious, because rape was NEVER a part of the fantasy books I grew up reading, or really even of many of those I read now as an adult. There is no rape in Tolkien, CS Lewis, Terry Brooks, or Robert Jordan. Maybe there was a slight perviness to Piers Anthony, but nothing on the scale of actual rape, and there was nothing sexual whatsoever in the dozens of Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels I used to read, or in Hardy, Eddings, Feist, Rowling, Novik, Friedman, Salvatore, Pullman, etc.

I don’t know, maybe I come from a more innocent time, or maybe I was just reading the wrong (or the right) books. Who are all these authors overusing rape? I can only think of a couple of books I’ve read where it happens at all to a character who is more than just a nameless bit of background.

I admit, however, that I haven’t read a lot of the new bumper crop of fantasy authors from the last decade or so. My free reading time has dropped steadily as I’ve grown older. I wonder if the phenomenon is just writers of my generation rebelling against a lot of that censored YA fantasy writing we grew up reading by wanting to confront more serious topics and throw a dash of gritty reality into fantasy without losing the roots we love.

But I digress. Why did I include the scene?

I didn’t include the rape as a motivation for Rojer at all. It was always about Leesha, and had been a part of her story arc from its very beginning. This is one of those things that is crystal clear in my head, but I don’t know if I’ve ever tried to explain it before, so bear with me if I ramble:

All of my protagonists are products of abuse and childhood trauma, not just with regards to corelings, but from the people they put their trust in, as well. It is the thing that unifies them, and it is in many ways why they are able to do the special things they do. The story is about running from fear, and how fear can only be overcome when one stops running and faces it.

Sexuality is a huge part of what makes people who they are, and I think everyone is motivated as much in their life by that as anything else. So when I created the characters, I considered how their sexuality would be affected by the defining moments of their lives. Arlen finds himself in a kind of forced celibacy as a way to keep his freedom. Rojer is the opposite, having learned from Arrick how to womanize, but having no idea what a real intimate relationship is like.

Leesha’s earliest real experiences with sexuality are ones in which it is used to hurt people. Klarissa ostracized and banished for getting pregnant out of wedlock. He mother cuckolding her father practically right in front of him. Her night with Gared and his subsequent betrayal. Bruna’s revelation about the rampant hypocrisy amongst the women of the town.

In her head, Leesha knows these things for what they are, but in her heart, she’s less sure, and she is terrified of her own sexuality, fearing that it will only bring hurt. Throughout the story, she ignores her peers, her mentors, and even the needs of her own heart and body in order to control that part of herself. It is only when her virginity is taken from her that she realizes that it’s been controlling her, and not the other way around. Once this happens, she begins to take control of her life, and thus is ready to take responsibility for others as Herb Gatherer to Cutter’s Hollow.

Leesha is only beginning on this new path, of course, and will continue to wrestle with these problems and learn to live with what happened to her in future books. It definitely comes up in The Desert Spear.

The relationship between the demons and humanity, as well as their hierarchy, is also something that will be explored as the books progress. I assure you, I already have it worked out in EXHAUSTIVE detail. How much of it makes it into the text will depend on the story. I don’t want to bore anyone with a 50 page dissertation on coreling lore in the middle of an otherwise exciting plot.

Speaking of boring, it’s interesting that you note the idea of using the sidewalk stones outside Cob’s shop as a template for a warded road. That was actually the driving plot of the first draft of the book: Arlen’s quest to build a warded road. What I didn’t realize until too late was that it was a road to dullsville.

[Heather]

Mr. Brett,

I just need to ask the really important questions.

1) Do you listen to music when writing? If so, then what.
2) How do you come up with names?
3) Do any of the names have a bigger significance than we know?
4) Some authors write with a theme or themes in mind and that is how the story begins...my question for you is did you feel propelled to write this story to explain the themes or did these characters take own their own life?
5) Are there any significant difference between the UK and US version?
6) What did you first think when you saw that Goodkind gave your story a great review?
7) Do like characters that are more grey than black or white?
8) If stranded on an island who are the authors you have to have?
9) What is your caffinated fix?
10) Who did you vote for regarding the Gemmel awards? just kidding
11) What influences you?
12) How hard was it to write the rape scene?
13) What is your stand on flashback scenes?
14) Are you working on anything new?
15) What was your journey like? The journey of getting published that is
16) Do you have tattoos?

[Heather]

Sorry on questions six I meant Brooks---I always flip those two

[Peter V. Brett]

It’s not technically Saturday yet, but I’m getting a head start on questions because quiet moments when the baby is asleep are few and far between these days. I’ll be checking in regularly, so don’t anyone fret if they haven’t asked their questions yet. I’ll try and address them in order, starting with Brynweir’s.

First of all, thanks for the great review! I’m really glad you enjoyed the book. It’s always a tremendous compliment when someone tells you they couldn’t stop turning pages and were compelled to read the whole book in a giant binge. The formula to make everyone do that is the Holy Grail of writing.

1. Will Ragen be in the sequel? I really liked him and I hope he does more than make a guest appearance.

Arlen does return to Fort Miln in The Desert Spear, and finds that all is not as he remembers. Ragen and Elissa make appearances for what I think are some very powerful scenes, but they are not major characters in the book.

2. 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.

No. I used to do that a lot, when I was first learning to write. I would take real people I knew, dress them up in my head, and use them as templates for characters. It’s a good practice tool, but ultimately limiting. Most authors will make up dozens of characters in the average book, far more people than they likely know in real life, and if everyone except your main characters is hollow, it will show.

This is not to say that an author should not draw from real life experiences and relationships. I think they should, and then pick and choose specific traits and experiences from real life to flavor unique characters and give them motivation. Once an author understands and empathizes with what motivates a character, be they the story’s lead protagonist or the lowliest one-line barmaid, that character begins to define itself in many ways.

I nattered on about this topic on my blog once. Here’s the URL, if you’re interested:

http://www.petervbrett.com/2008/05/19/voices/

3. 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.

I always wanted to write about demons, especially after growing up reading books like The Elfstones of Shannara, The Crystal Shard, or Master of the Five Magics, and playing endless hours of Dungeons & Dragons. Old school D&D demons were so terrifyingly bad ass. Demons are integral to the mythology of almost every culture in the world, and so I thought they would be a concept that would really resonate with people. Circles of protection and symbol magic are a common part of demon lore, so I wanted to explore those concepts further, as well.

I also wanted to write a book about fear, and how it affects people and keeps humanity from achieving our full potential. We are our own worst enemies.

Those themes, one a metaphor for the other, formed the basis of The Warded Man, but the story floundered until September 11, 2001, when I realized I was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. On that day, as I watched the smoke clouds and people on the streets, I realized that the first thing people did after the attack was help one another. Blood banks and cleanup/search crews overflowed with volunteers. Complete strangers helped support and comfort one another as they stumbled terrified through the rain of ash. Firefighters ran into a building any sensible person would have been running away from. All this, in a city famous for it’s apathetic and unfriendly populace.

There was strength and unity in the crisis. It was only afterward, with a nameless, faceless enemy that we couldn’t effectively fight back against that fear began to make us… crazy.

This is why the book opens not with a demon attack, but its aftermath. I wanted to show humanity’s strength first, before delving into its weaknesses. Once I had that level of empathy with Arlen’s world, it began to define itself in many ways, and the rest of the story started to fall into place.

4. Fourth, as for Arlen becoming more like the demons.... nah - I'm not going to ask what might be a spoiler :-D

Yeah, you might be right about that. 8o)

[Brynweir]

I read your blog and, not to sound arrogant, but I know exactly what you mean about the voices in your head. I've made the remark several times that my characters are causing me problems because they won' t make up their minds or they won't do what I want them to do. I have one, my favorite, that I never know what she will do until she actually does it. People who do not understand say things like, "You are the writer. You control the character." They don't understand that I really don't. I'm glad to hear that others understand and that we are not schizophrenic... at least not all of us :-D.