The Desert Prince (The Nightfall Saga, Book 1)

By: Peter V. Brett

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Saskia Maarleveld

Peter V. Brett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Demon Cycle, begins a brand new epic fantasy adventure set in his beloved world, following a new generation of heroes.

Fifteen years have passed since the demons were destroyed. Heroes have become legend, and those that remain live in their shadows.

Olive, Princess of Hollow, has her entire life planned out—a steady march toward succession. But the more her mother writes the script, the more Olive rails against playing the parts she is assigned.

Darin is the son of the man people say saved the world. Everyone expects greatness from Darin, but the only thing he’s ever been great at is hiding.

But now it’s time to fight the darkness.

When Olive and Darin step across the wards one night, they learn that the demons are not all gone, and those that remain hunger for revenge.

Are Darin and Olive ready to be heroes?

Critic reviews

‘Epic in scale and emotionally intimate, it delivers immaculate world-building, complex politics – both sexual and social, and propulsive, edge-of-the-seat plotting. Settle down for a feast of turns, twists, [and] magic’

DAILY MAIL

‘Peter Brett takes the reader with him and his characters on an electric and unrelenting charge through the demon-haunted depths of the Warded universe, full of love and death’

Naomi Novik, Sunday Times bestselling author of UPROOTED

‘An intricately crafted tale of intrigue and courage where one’s station and lineage determines everything, good and bad. An exciting read. Peter Brett has outdone himself with this first book in a new series.’

#1 New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks

‘The Desert Prince is a class act. Wonderful storytelling, flawed and believable characters and a ratcheting of tension that has you reading well into the dark hours. This is a must read’

John Gwynne, author of Malice

‘The Desert Prince is a deeply intimate, yet epic adventure. Heart-wrenching, smart, and modern, this book kept me wide-eyed and wide awake for many-a-nights as I struggled step-for-step alongside Olive and Darin from the green lands to the desert pits to the darkest recesses of the demon minds. The Desert Prince has set a new standard for fantasy.’

Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the War Arts Saga

‘THE DESERT PRINCE is the work of a master at the top of his game. The new cast of would-be heroes instantly draw you into a world full of old dangers as Brett cranks up the tension to unbearable levels. If you’re going to read this book, cancel all your plans because there’s no way you’ll be able to put it down once you start. This is the best Peter V Brett book so far.’

Mike Shackle, author of WE ARE THE DEAD

An entertaining return to Peter Brett's world...

I enjoyed The Desert Prince overall — it was an entertaining return to Peter Brett's world — but it never quite reached the depth or intensity of The Demon Cycle series for me. Something about the tone felt a bit more geared toward a younger audience, especially with the focus on the next generation of characters.

I’ll admit, the “Olive's got stones” joke from The Core lingered in my mind and made me hesitant to start this one — it originally felt a like juvenile and strange tangent. To my surprise, Olive’s identity as an intersex character actually added real complexity and depth to the story.

That said, there’s still plenty of action, magic, and character development to keep longtime fans engaged. Just don’t expect the same weight or grit as the earlier books.

enjoyable sequel to the original series

I enjoyed the continuation of the original series following new characters. Intersex Olive and insecure Darin trying to make it in the shadows of their famous parents is an interesting dynamic.

The first few chapters were a bit of a drag but it picks up around the time demons come back into play and the adventures in the desert brought me right back to the feeling of the original series with new perspectives.

One thing in the audiobook version, however, incredibly annoyed me. There are new speakers which is fine and actually a good idea to have two with two main character view points. But they could have spent an hour or so listening to the original recordings to have consistent pronunciations of names, places and Kraisan words. Nearly all of them are pronounced differently, so much so that I struggled to understand who or what they are talking about even though I just listened to the previous books.

Overall a great book though and I am looking forward to the next.