Rate: 4/5

Medium: Kindle

Overview (No Spoilers):

One of the first books I’d read in 2017 was The Warded Man, whereupon I binged on the Demon Cycle series until in short order I’d caught up and was left waiting for the final installment of The Core, which was set to be released later that fall. After thoroughly enjoying the series, especially the action packed roller coaster finale, Brett and I collaborated on a post, filled with spoilers that addressed some of the lingering questions that remained. During our conversation, when questioning Brett regarding fate of Arlen’s hometown he had alluded to his upcoming novella, Barren holding the answers to many of my remaining queries. Needless to say, I was itching to pick up Barren, as I’d suspected, based on the title of the novella, that the main POV was going to likely be one of the most intriguing characters from Tibbet’s Brook. Throughout Barren, I really enjoyed the perspective of a small town resisting the corelings with minimal magic or powerful weapons while simultaneously battling their own inner politics and history. The high stress dynamic of the upcoming Waning parried well with the flashbacks of Selia, Jeorje, and Raddock when they were young. This novella served to add significant depth to key characters in Tibbet’s Brook, ultimately providing rhyme or reason behind many of their decisions and actions throughout the Demon Cycle series. Barren as a whole felt as though fit right in as a continuation to The Core. Overall, Barren sheds the light on mystery surrounding the fate of isolated Tibbet’s Brook while simultaneously adding depth to characters that have been present from the very onset of The Demon Cycle series.

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

I’ve made the decision to postpone publishing my additional insight section until the release date. The spoilers are far too juicy! Please see back on September 20, 2018 for my spoiler laden thoughts!