The Desert Prince

by Peter V. Brett

4 out of 5

Synopsis

Peter V. Brett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Demon Cycle, begins a brand new epic fantasy adventure set in his beloved world, following a new generation of heroes.

Fifteen years have passed since the demons were destroyed. Heroes have become legend, and those that remain live in their shadows.

Olive, Princess of Hollow, has her entire life planned out—a steady march toward succession. But the more her mother writes the script, the more Olive rails against playing the parts she is assigned.

Darin is the son of the man people say saved the world. Everyone expects greatness from Darin, but the only thing he’s ever been great at is hiding.

But now it’s time to fight the darkness.

When Olive and Darin step across the wards one night, they learn that the demons are not all gone, and those that remain hunger for revenge.

Are Darin and Olive ready to be heroes?

Review

An old enemy is lurking beneath their peaceful land. Fate binds Olive, Selen and Darin to step up, out of the shadow of their parent's legends.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a new series set in the author's established Demon Cycle world, with some of the same characters etc. I have not read the Demon Cycle books - I don't think it's necessary to have read them first, as The Desert Prince builds the world nicely; but I think I would have appreciated some of the characters more if I had.

The narrative is split between Princess Olive and Darin, but I thought that this was 100% Olive's story.

Olive is intersex, but has been raised as a princess by her somewhat overbearing mother, Leesha.

Growing up in a palace, she never feels like she fits in anywhere, and only her aunt/sister-figure Selen really understands her.

She has little to do with her father Ahmann Jardir - the ruler of the desert people, who have antiquated views on the roles of women. But Olive's skin is naturally darker than those around her, and it's just one more thing to make her feel different and separate.

When she turns fifteen, she goes on a tour of the wilderness, to escape her carefully-controlled life. There's demons, and chaos, and Olive starts to learn about the secrets of those around her.

Darin is the only son of the famous Jongleur whose magic was so strong, he rid the land of all demons, at the expense of his own life.

Darin has lived in his shadow - everyone thinks they are being kind to him, but Darin can smell their thoughts and feelings. No matter what they say, everyone is waiting for him to be a hero like his dad.

His magic isn't the stuff of legendary warriors, it's quiet and simple. He's fast and 'slippery'; his senses are heightened, and he's affected by the sun.

When his home is attacked by demons, his mum decides it's time to put aside her conflict with Leesha, and return to the palace.

I thought the first quarter was very slow and wandering. It felt like the book didn't know what direction it wanted to go in.

I only started to connect once Olive gets kidnapped by the Majah and dragged into their battle against the remaining demons.

I thought it was interesting to see her journey; the freedom she feels in being seen as a man for the first time in her life. She's surrounded by enemies, but tentatively starts to make friends with the other Sharum-in-training.

I enjoyed the exploration of relationships in this world.

Hollow is LGBTQ-friendly; whereas the Majah are much more old-fashioned. They accept that young men that train together might sleep together, but they're expected to marry and have kids.

The not-so-good.

As previously stated, it was slow to get going, and felt like a very long book.

Darin's chapters helped to build the world, but I didn't connect to his character as much. It felt like his sole purpose was to follow and rescue Olive, and to provide more details on the larger world.

I was also not sure about some of the decisions made by our main characters.

Darin and Selen find evidence that their families are gone - either killed or captured by demons - but instead of trying to do something in the Hollow, they decide to traipse across the desert to find Olive instead.

The fact that the parent figures of so many characters might be dead is skimmed over emotionally; ignoring that threat, to deal with the current big bad.

I was hooked in the end, to find out what choices Olive would take, and I'm keen to see where the series will take them.

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