Review: The Painted Man

The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Demon Cycle series has caught my attention on countless occasions, and I’ve told myself numerous times to grab The Painted Man and dive into the Peter V. Brett world fantasy lovers seem to adore. In the end, it was a trip to the library which had me grabbing The Painted Man. It was sitting before me, so I took it as a sign it was time to dive in.

If I’m being completely honest, my feelings towards The Painted Man are extremely mixed. At first, a part of me feared I would be giving up on this book. I wasn’t sucked into the story and it was slow going. However, I stuck with it and things did improve. There was a point when I was really interested in the story – the characters, the world, and where everything was going – and this had me more than happy to continue working my way through the book. Towards the end, however, I feel as though things weren’t quite all they could be. Aspects came together well, but the big action section I’d been hoping for felt rather weak.

Hence, my emotions were all over the place.

There were points when the book was a two-star rating, points where the book was a three-star rating, and points where the book was a four-star rating. My enjoyment was up and down, and in the end I went with the three-star rating. I liked it, but it did not wow me in the way I had hoped it would. I liked it, but I did not love it. I liked it, but I’m unsure as to whether I’ll be continuing the series.

The ending certainly left me curious for more, yet I wasn’t as invested in things as I had hoped to be. Due to this, book two is very far from the top of my to-read list. I fear this is going to be one of those situations whereby if I do not dive into book two soon, I will find myself forgetting details. Therefore, my reading of book two is an uncertain thing.

I can certainly see why so many fantasy fans love this one, but I had been hoping for more than I was given.

View all my reviews