Peter V. Brett's The Great Bazaar & Brayan's Gold will be published by Tachyon Publications in July 2015. (This collection was originally published in 2011.)
Information about Peter V. Brett:
Peter V. Brett is the bestselling author of The Demon Cycle, which includes The Warded Man (first published as The Painted Man in the U.K. by Del Rey Books), The Desert Spear, The Daylight War and The Skull Throne. The final book in the series, The Core, is expected in 2017. In addition to the quintet, he has published three novellas, The Great Bazaar, Brayan's Gold, and Messenger's Legacy, as well as Red Sonja: Unchained and Red Sonja: Blue for Dynamite Comics. Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons, Brett has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, then worked for a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in Manhattan.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about The Great Bazaar & Brayan's Gold:
From the dangerous world of the Demon Cycle comes the early adventures of Arlen, Peter V. Brett's quintessential fantasy hero. These exciting origin tales follow Arlen as he learns to navigate a world where the elemental forces of evil conjure themselves from the earth each night.
Humanity has barely survived a demonic onslaught by using magical wards that protect their cities and homes. Only a handful of mercenaries and explorers risk traveling after the sun sets. Arlen, seeking adventure and fortune, is barely protected by the warded armor upon which he has inscribed intricate defensive runes. From a journey ferrying a wagonload of dynamite to a mountain stronghold, to a dangerous mission to recover desert treasures, Arlen faces friends and enemies with a strong arm and a cunning wit.
A REVIEW OF PETER V. BRETT'S THE GREAT BAZAAR & BRAYAN'S GOLD
This Tachyon Publications edition of The Great Bazaar & Brayan's Gold is an excellent collection for fans of Peter V. Brett (this edition will be published in July 2015). It's a collection of two novellas, both of which are set in the world of The Demon Cycle. They offer an interesting glimpse into the author's rich fantasy world in which humanity has survived a demonic onslaught and where being outdoors after the sun has set is dangerous and deadly because of the demons.
I consider Peter V. Brett to be one of the best new fantasy authors, because he writes good and fluent entertainment for adult readers (I've enjoyed reading his Demon Cycle novels).This collection offers interesting entertainment to his fans and also to new readers who haven't read any of his novels yet, because the stories tell about Arlen's adventures.
Here's a bit of information about the stories:
Brayan's Gold:
- This is a story about Arlen's first major mission as a Messenger. In this story Arlen is sent on the mission to the mountains where he encounters bandits and a snow demon.
- This is quite an insightful and intriguing glimpse into Arlen's life.
The Great Bazaar:
- This story is set in Krasia. In this story Arlen visits the Krasians and finds a map of the village of Anoch Sun.
- According to the author's introduction to this story, it's chapter 16.5 of The Warded Man, taking place during the three-year gap between chapters 16 and 17, when Arlen is working as a Messenger traveling throughout the Free Cities.
- This is an important and interesting story, because it fills in the big gap in Arlen's life that wasn't explained in the first novel.
This collection also contains two deleted scenes ("Arlen" and "Brianne Beaten"). Both of these scenes will be of interest to fans of The Demon Cycle.
Peter V. Brett is one of those talented authors who have a natural ability to hook readers with their stories. Although these novellas are shorter than novels, they easily hook and thrill many readers, because the author has created them well and writes fluently about the characters, happenings, magic and action scenes. (What more could you possibly ask for in an entertaining epic fantasy?)
"The Great Bazaar" and "Brayan's Gold" are welcome additions to the world of The Demon Cycle, because they add depth to the world and also to the characters. They're stories about Arlen, and they reveal what has happened to him on his journeys. They shed some light on a few interesting things.
Peter V. Brett has created a fascinating fantasy world, because he writes convicingly about people, cultures and different places. I admire his ability to write believably about the world without getting stuck on too many details. There are plenty of details in the author's novels and also in his novellas, but everything works well, because the author concentrates on moving the story forward and doesn't bore his readers with unnecessary happenings.
The author writes fascinatingly about the demons - wind demons, wood demons, clay demons, rock demons etc - and what they can do and how they try to harm people. It's great that he writes about how demons can have personal grudges against humans (the One Arm rock demon in "Brayan's Gold" doesn't like Arlen, because Arlen crippled it).
I enjoyed reading about how Arlen encountered a new kind of a demon (a snow demon) in "Brayan's Gold", because it was a well written and thrilling scene. It's one of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in fantasy novellas. I'm sure that fans of Peter V. Brett will enjoy reading about Arlen's encounter with a snow demon.
I also enjoyed reading about Abban the khaffit in "The Great Bazaar", because he's a well-created character (khaffit is the lowest caste in Krasian society; khaffit are men who fail warrior training and have to take a craft). It's great that the author writes about Abban from his own point of view, because it adds depth to the story. Another reason why I like this story is that the author writes believably about a different culture and its customs.
Characterisation and character interaction works nicely in both novellas. In my opinion, Peter V. Brett writes surprisingly well about Arlen and Abban and pays attention to their characteristics and traits. Both of them are fascinating characters and it's enjoyable to read about their deeds.
This collection has Krasian Dictionary, which is useful to readers, because it allows readers to check words and terms. The Ward Grimoire is also useful to many readers, because it contains information about the different kind of wards.
If you've never read anything by Peter V. Brett, reading these novellas is an excellent way to test whether you like his writing style and stories or not. I think that most new readers will find these stories intriguing, because they're good and entertaining stories for fantasy readers. (If you happen to find these stories interesting, you shoud take a look at the author's novels, because they're good fantasy novels.)
I give this collection strong 4.5 stars on the scale from 1 to 5 stars for its entertainment values, because I enjoyed reading the stories and the deleted scenes.
Peter V. Brett's The Great Bazaar & Brayan's Gold is an entertaining collection of two novellas. It's a must-read collection for fans of Peter V. Brett because of its thrilling blend of traditional fantasy elements, action, magic and originality, but it'll also please newcomers who haven't read any of the author's novels. If you're looking for entertaining fantasy stories to read, you can't go wrong by reading this collection, because it offers fantasy, demons, good characterisation, action and originality in one package.
Good and well written fantasy entertainment for adults!