It is a profession that is taken by very, very few individuals. Instead, he trains as a messenger, travelling between villages to deliver messages and organise trade. He realises that his dad’s cowardliness is what has made the world what it is today and decides he is not going to be anything like him. Arlen’s mother is attacked at the same time and he watches his father do literally nothing to help her. During one of these attacks, he finds the courage to fight back against one and although he has little success, he realises that they are not invincible.

Arlen, who I would call the main character, is from a village that is frequently attacked by demons. Each has been greatly affected by the Corelings in their own way and each has found a way to rise above the general trend of farming for 12 hours and sleeping for 12 hours. The book is set across a number of years and follows the lives of Arlen, Leesha and Rojer. If they make it, they repeat the cycle, day after day. They have accepted that the extent of their life is simply to spend 12 hours working their ass off and building protection in order to survive the next 12 hours. The majority of buildings and towns have a good amount of warding around them that stops demons from killing the inhabitants, however because these wards tend to be in the ground or in wood or brick, they easily corrode if not regularly serviced. In fact, the only means of protection humans have are wards: symbols that can be linked together in order to form protection around a perimeter. If they come across buildings, animals or humans they won’t stop until they have killed or destroyed them all. Ranging from the size of a small dog, to ones as big as a tree – all are dangerous and have a thirst for blood. There are thousands of them that walk the planet and multiple different species. As soon as the sun sets, demons rise from ‘the core’ and begin to cause havoc. The Painted Man ( The Warded Man in the US) is set in a world where demons rule the nights. If you enjoy modern fantasy, you will enjoy The Painted Man. I want to declare this book ‘The single best novel I have ever read.’ There is a series that I would rate higher as a collective than this (see my Night Angel Trilogy review), but in terms of a single novel – this is untouchable.

Firstly, let me say that The Painted Man is a special, special book.

The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett