This was a book I wanted to like. I had picked up the series expecting The Painted Man (the first in the series) to be among many new fantasy titles that fail to impress. But impress it did and as a result, I was waiting for the sequel. Unfortunately, Brett seems to have suffered from 2nd book syndrome. He has added 3 new characters in an attempt to flesh out the storyline but has managed to get muddled in the process. His handling of the 2 main characters, Paul Maud'Dib (the Painted Man) and the Shar'Dama was laboured and failed to get a coherent story out. Despite this however, the book is still an interesting one with a unique environment. He still managed to keep everything simple and his usage of Sha'Dama's first wife was well executed. A worthy read, even if it's just to tide you over to the finale of the series.
Reviewed by Fungai
gardens on Mon, 30/08/2010 - 21:38This was a book I wanted to like. I had picked up the series expecting The Painted Man (the first in the series) to be among many new fantasy titles that fail to impress. But impress it did and as a result, I was waiting for the sequel. Unfortunately, Brett seems to have suffered from 2nd book syndrome. He has added 3 new characters in an attempt to flesh out the storyline but has managed to get muddled in the process. His handling of the 2 main characters, Paul Maud'Dib (the Painted Man) and the Shar'Dama was laboured and failed to get a coherent story out. Despite this however, the book is still an interesting one with a unique environment. He still managed to keep everything simple and his usage of Sha'Dama's first wife was well executed. A worthy read, even if it's just to tide you over to the finale of the series.