The Desert Spear - Book Summary, Info & Review

The Desert Spear
Peter V. Brett
The Demon Cycle #2

The Desert Spear Summary

Helpful Page: https://thedemoncycle.fandom.com/wiki/Krasian_Dictionary

Ahmann Jardir, now called the Shar’Dama Ka, or The Deliverer, is taking his army north, but is watched on the new moon by two coreling princes, or mind demons. They have the ability to control lesser demons, called drones, and travel with a shapeshifting, powerful demon bodyguard called a mimic.

Jardir captures Fort Rizon, killing any who fight back and taking over their grain stores. He is using the merchant, Abban Haman, as an advisor as well as his wife Inevera.

Then we get the backstory of how Jardir rose to become the warleader he is today (333 AR) starting in 305 AR. Both him and Abban are fatherless members of the Kaji tribe, and get brought to Hanupash to train to be warriors. This is a rite of passage in Krasian culture where boys become men who will battle demons at night, and if they fail they become Khaffit, the bottom of society.

They form a bond on their first day since they get bullied by Hasik, an older boy. After this they begin working together, using Abban’s size (fat kid) and Jardir’s cunning and competitiveness to find success. They are both gaining skill and respect, when one day Abban falls from the walls of the maze surrounding the city (The Desert Spear) and hurts his leg. It never heals correctly and he is eventually forced to leave Hanupash and become a Khaffit merchant, which he prefers anyway. Jardir is on track to become on of the youngest Dal’Sharum (The Krasian warrior caste) in memory. However after being tested by battling demons in the night, Hasik takes him to a corner of the maze and rapes him, leaving him crying and alone.

A dama’ting (women priests) finds him and tells him he is to train to be a dama (male priest). She cast her demon bone dice to read the future and tells him this is best for him. Jardir trains to become a dama for another 6 years or so, mastering the art of sharusahk, or hand to hand combat. At the end of this training he has become a very good warrior, and is finally given his black robes meaning he is a Dal’Sharum warrior.

He rises quickly through the ranks, and by killing many demons and challenging those above him eventually becomes Sharum Ka, or the first warrior. This makes him the second most powerful person in all Krasia. He also marries his first wife, Inevera, the dama’ting who found him and the maze years ago. She is his Jiwah Ka, or first wife. She frequently casts her demon bone dice (Sharik Hora) to predict the future and help guide Jardir. Around this time he also meets the Par’Chin (Arlen Bales) and they become great friends. We hear about some of the events from the first book from Jardir’s POV. Then Arlen returns with the warded spear of Kaji, and Jardir (On Inevera’s command) betrays Arlen to take the spear and declare himself Shar’Dama Ka, the deliverer.

He unifies the tribes by marrying all of the Damaji’Ting, the various tribal female spiritual leaders. He then kills the Andrah (Leader of Krasia) and gathers his people to lead an army north. A big change he makes is creating a new caste of warriors for Khaffit to fill so they have more soldiers. After raiding the ruins of Anoch Sun (Where Arlen got the spear), he continues north to take Rizon and we are caught up to the present.

We now spend most of our time following a mix of Arlen, Leesha, and Renna (The girl Arlen was promised to early in the last book in Tibbet’s Brook). Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer have transformed Cutter’s Hollow (now deliverer’s hollow) into a huge ward and safe space, where people easily kill demons and harness their magic. Then a bunch of refugees show up from Krasian forces capturing Rizon and surrounding hamlets, making Arlen, Leesha, Rojer (as well as Wanda and Gared, the man Leesha was promised to in the last book) head to Fort Angiers to seek the Duke’s aid.

Rojer gets the Jongleur’s guild to send people out to the Hollow to try to teach others to control demons with music the way he can. Arlen also stops to pick up some warded weapons and his grimoire’s of wards to share with Leesha and the local warders. They approach the duke and have an audience, but Leesha meets with the dukes mother who actually holds power and they agree on terms to send aid to help the refugees. Arlen then heads to Miln to request aid from Duke Euchor to help battle Krasia, while Leesha and Rojer return to the hollow.

Arlen arrives in Miln and plans to give his wards to his old master Cob, but Cob is dead and Regan, basically his adoptive father, is now head of the warders guild. He spends some time with Regan and Elissa and they make him feel a bit more normal and happy. He also goes to see Mery and discovers her and his best friend Jake are married now, and both are angry with him for returning. He spreads the wards around town but then also “sells” them to the duke in exchange for him sending soldiers to help fight Krasia. The head librarian also gives him a book about how to make a lot of simple war weapons from past ages.

Renna Tanner is still living, unmarried, in Tibbet’s Brook with her father Harl Tanner. Her eldest sister (Elayn?) ran off to marry Jeph Bales after Arlen’s mom died due to Harl repeatedly forcing himself on her. The middle sister (Benny?) married a man and they have kids but have stayed on the farm helping, however Benny’s father-in-law dies and her family needs to go take over the business, leaving Renna alone with Harl. She is worried he will rape her like he did Elayn but for a while nothing happens, until Cobie Fisher comes by and Renna tries to seduce him so he will marry her and take her away. Harl catches them and scares Cobie off, then rapes Renna in retribution, as well as trapping her in the “outhouse” with no food or water while demons attack it.

She runs to town and finds Cobie, desperate to make him marry her to get away from home, But Cobie is terrified of Harl and his own father and refuses, but Harl finds them both and attacks Renna, and when Cobie tries to help Harl stabs and kills him. Renna goes into a rage and uses the same knife to kill Harl, then goes into shock and flees to Jeph and Elayn’s home. The following day the town council, led by Celia Barren, shows up and demands to see Renna for a trial. The Fisher’s (led by Raddock Lowry) are enraged and think she killed Cobie. Renna is unresponsive with shock and is kept prisoner for a few days while the council gathers and votes on her fate. It is eventually decided she should be staked outside at night and left for the demons.

Arlen decides to stop at the brook on his way back to the Hollow, and finds this scene right as night falls and Renna is trapped there. He saves her and curses the people of Tibbet’s Brook as monsters. He refuses to give them the wards until Jeph is made a council member since Renna tells him Jeph showed bravery against the coreling’s finally. Renna leaves with Arlen.

Jardir is curious about who the northern deliverer is (People referring to Arlen), and set out to Deliverer’s Hollow with some men to investigate the warded man. He arrives and is shocked to see northerners fighting demons, and helps them in the fight. This allows them to talk peacefully, and Jardir is enthralled with Leesha. His men get along decently well with the locals and they stay for a few days. Jardir eventually asks Leesha to marry him, and she does not agree but does decide to travel to Fort Rizon (Renamed Everam’s Bounty by Jardir), hoping to convince him to stop his attacks. Rojer, Wanda, and Gared travel with them.

Inevera hates Leesha and works against her while she is here. Rojer is given two women to be his wives, one being Jardir and Inevera’s daughter, hoping to spread his fiddle magic. One of them attempts to poison Leesha, but she catches it because she is a herb gatherer, and even helps her would-be assassin get over the sickness caused by the poison. Wanda and Gared impress the Krasian warriors, and they seem to be having a positive impact. Eventually Leesha decides to just sleep with Jardir because she wants to, enraging Inevera even more.

Inevera eventually has Leesha kidnapped and brought before her, and tries to scare her into leaving but they fight and are about to kill each other, when one of the mind demons who has been tracking Jardir takes control of them using mind magic. He then uses them to lure Jardir to a secluded place and him and his mimic try to kill all three. The mind demons (one is following Arlen) are afraid of the “unifiers” (deliverer’s) and want them dead, however Leesha copies the ward on Kaji’s crown (which Jardir wears) on Inevera’s forehead, allowing her to break the mind demons control. Inevera returns the favor and together they kill the mind demon prince, and Jardir kills the mimic.

Arlen teaches Renna about the combat wards as they travel, and she paints some on herself with semi-permanent paint. Arlen does not want her to tattoo herself like he is because he still fears he is not fully human. Renna does become a savage demon killer, but finds it hard to control her emotions with other people. When they pass through a town she cuts the hand off a man who tried to touch her. Arlen learned that Leesha was “kidnapped” by Jardir and brought to Fort Rizon, and he and Leesha rush back to the Hollow to learn more.

On the way the second mind demon attacks them, making its mimic a perfect copy of Renna and controlling her mind. Arlen is forced to leave Renna to fend for herself and try to kill the mind demon. In the process he gets dragged far into the core and learns there are millions or billions of demon drones waiting down below they will have to fight. He despairs but Renna calls to him and pulls him back to the surface. Arlen (who has become more normal and less warded man edgy due to Renna) promises himself to her, meaning they will be married. THE END.