I haven’t read much from the modern batch of fantasy authors. Part of the reason is that I’m hesitant to start new series until they’re finished–or at least nearly finished. I don’t have the patience or the memory to remember what happens when there’s a year (or 10!) between books. But sometimes I make the effort. Peter V. Brett was on my radar; his Demon Cycle sounded like it had real potential. So when I had the chance to read this collection of two short stories, I jumped. What did I think? Let’s check out today’s review: The Great Bazaar & Brayan’s Gold.
I’d read a few things about this being a great introduction to Brett’s books, but I’m not sure that’s true. Neither story seems necessary. Nothing profound or important seems to happen. You could argue that it just fleshes out the larger story of the other books and characters, but then, it’s not a very good introduction to that world, is it?
“Brayan’s Gold” had me at the introduction: snow demons! That sounds interesting! Let’s see wha– done. The encounter is over so quickly. Like a snowflake on a spring day. As for the rest of the story, there’s no room for any character development.
“The Great Bazaar” told the story of a map that I’m guessing becomes more important in the main series, but here we just see a sneaky merchant being a sneaky merchant. But I’m guessing people who have read the books already knew he was a sneaky merchant. So what was gained, other than the map? I dunno.
Here’s something that drove me to distraction: Brett insisted on his characters saying “ent” rather than “ain’t.” As far as I can tell, this is the only word he’s chosen to change, so rather than make the world seem more alive, it’s just distracting. Why that one word? Why bother? Is it a weird homage to The Lord of the Rings? Impossible. Just annoying.
Both stories were just okay–the sort of thing you’d see as a side quest in an RPG. But maybe that’s all fantasy ever is: RPG quests. At any rate, it wasn’t awful, and the idea of demons and wards was intriguing enough for me to put The Warded Man on my to-read list. So mission accomplished, I suppose.
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