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  • The Desert Spear

  • The Demon Cycle, Book 2
  • By: Peter V. Brett
  • Narrated by: Colin Mace
  • Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,147 ratings)

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The Desert Spear cover art

The Desert Spear

By: Peter V. Brett
Narrated by: Colin Mace
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Summary

Continuing the impressive debut fantasy series from author Peter V. Brett, The Desert Spear is book two of the "Demon Cycle", pulling the reader into a world of demons, darkness and heroes.

The Deliverer has returned, but who is he?Arlen Bales, formerly of the small hamlet of Tibbet's Brook, learnt harsh lessons about life as he grew up in a world where hungry demons stalk the night and humanity is trapped by its own fear. He chose a different path; chose to fight inherited apathy and the corelings, and eventually he became the Painted Man, a reluctant saviour.

But the figure emerging from the desert, calling himself the Deliverer, is not Arlen. He is a friend and betrayer, and though he carries the spear from the Deliverer's tomb, he also heads a vast army intent on a holy war against the demon plague - and anyone else who stands in his way.

©2010 Peter V. Brett (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

Praise for The Painted Man:

"I enjoyed The Painted Man immensely. Action and suspense all the way." (Terry Brooks)
"An absolute masterpiece… literally unputdownable, and deserves to be the next Big Thing in dark fantasy." (www.ozhorrorscope.com)
"A very accomplished debut fantasy. Recommended." (www.sfrevu.com)

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What listeners say about The Desert Spear

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic sequel. Cannot wait for the next one.

only issue with the reader is that I can hear him swallowing every now and then

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Decent book

This book was the hardest to listen to. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, it was just a little slow in places. over all its still a great serise.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent sequel.

The first half drags a bit but makes more sense as the book progresses. Really enjoyed it and can't wait to hear the next installation.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING

I’m a couple books in. It’s definitely up there with the best I’ve read. Literally cannot stop thinking about it all day at work. The concept and the balance of the world is perfect so far. It just keeps getting better.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A decent read (listen). The narrator is still excellent.

Not quite as addictive as the initial book but still an interesting read.

A bit on the slow side the 1st half but it does pick up slightly toward the end. I hope with the 3rd instalment it's less background info and more demon guts.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story building

A little bit of a slow start. Power through the first few chapters and once you start revisiting other main characters it is more fun. But do pay attention to the few chapters as it will add to the plot

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A New Dark Fantasy that's worth listening to.

The characters are believable as people and are beautifully woven into a gripping story.
.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Colin Mace is a joy to listen to

Great story, read & listened to it many times. Series captures the imagination. Highly recommended

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Almost stopped reading

The first few chapters are filled with so many Arabic sounding names phrases and actions that at one point I thought about returning the book and dropping the whole series. In this book (and the next) I considered skipping through parts of the story, only to listen about Pug as it was considerably difficult building a bond with the desert-characters..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ay Caramba

This is a good story, and a good series for me, but there is one quite large irritation to get through to the enjoyable parts of this book. I found the over use of the dialect during the Krasian sections becomes really annoying. personally do not understand why there was any great advantage in having a large number of certain words in the story constantly in "Krasian" - why not just say "wife" or "first wife" or "captain" rather than "Jiwah" or "Jiwah Ka" or "Kai Sharum" etc. Just got a bit annoying and confusing.. That aside, it is a really good listen but I think I may take a breather from the series after this book, it is kind of a "hard work" listen due to the above during the Krasian sections but worth the effort I think. The story is good as is the Narration and I will be following up the rest of the series.

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