Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.
Rules:
Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.
Today the book on display is:
by Peter V. Brett
Synopsis:
The sun is setting on
humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that prey upon a
dwindling population forced to cower behind half-forgotten symbols of
power.
Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not.
Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim.
But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure.
Once, the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.
Legends tell of a Deliverer: a general who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. But is the return of the Deliverer just another myth? Perhaps not.
Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the desert tribes into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons--a spear and a crown--that give credence to his claim.
But the Northerners claim their own Deliverer: the Warded Man, a dark, forbidding figure.
Once, the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends. Now they are fierce adversaries. Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.
Book beginning:
It was the night before new moon, during the darkest hours when even that bare silver had set.
Now this is a very unoriginal, generic beginning that the author can get away with only because this is the second book in the series. Partly it is forgivable, because he's already put something down on the table, but it still strikes me as lazy, not to try to hook the reader all over again with something more striking in the first line.
The Friday 56:
Neither boy had ever been so close to a demon, and while the sight filled Abban with obvious terror, Jardir felt only rage.
I like this line, because it reflects the oh so obvious differences between these two. Their story is one of the most interesting plotlines in this novel.
Read my review of the first book in the series, The Painted Man, by clicking on the image below!
Did you like these excerpts? What are you reading at the moment? Please leave your comments and links below.
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