Together, they will stand against the night. It was first published by HarperCollins's Voyager imprint in the United Kingdom on 1 September 2008, and was published in the United States under the title of The Warded Man in March 2009. His grim journey will take him beyond the bounds of human power.Ĭrippled by the demons that killed his parents, Rojer seeks solace in music-only to discover that music can be a weapon as well as a refuge.īeautiful Leesha, who has suffered at the hands of men as well as demons, becomes an expert healer. Ive often said that employing the usual fantasy tropes in a novel isnt an automatic sign of poor writing its what you. The Painted Man (titled The Warded Man in the US) is a fantasy novel written by American writer Peter V. The Warded Man (in the US also known as 'The Painted Man' in the UK) is the first book in The Demon Cycle. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past.Īrlen will pay any price, embrace any sacrifice, for freedom. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. and stopped their advance.īut those days are gone. Once, under the leadership of the legendary Deliverer, and armed with powerful wards that were not merely shields but weapons, they took the battle to the demons. Once, men and women battled the corelings on equal terms. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards-symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and mystery, and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile. They possess supernatural strength and powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. And gigantic rock demons, the deadliest of all. The time has come to stand against the night.Īs darkness falls each night, the corelings rise-demons who well up from the ground like hellish steam, taking on fearsome form and substance.

The warded man