This is my first Peter V Brett. Therefore i hadn't read or listened to the previous series which was set 15years before this book. I didn't feel i was missing anything as the book is following the teenagers and it being about them and their story.

I enjoyed the world building but also the character development. There was two PoV in this book. We have princess/prince olive who is struggling with their identity even more so as Olive is neither male or female but both. Then we have Darin who wants to be out his fathers shadow and not have his fathers legacy handover him. I think Bret had wrote both the main characters stories, feeling struggles so well, and respectfully also.

The POVS friends and close family also help build character but also likeable and seeing them developed along with Olive and Darin along their journeys also make this an enjoyable listen.

I really enjoyed the narration, it was easy to follow, and also picture and image the town/cities they visited. I also liked the sound effects.

The way this book ends leaves the door wide open for the next book. But also gives enough closer than your not going I NEED TO KNOW.

I might give the earlier series a read (but not sure as i heard mixed reviews) but i certainly want to read/listen to the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with the audiobook in return for an honest review.

Audio review: I gelled with Kit Griffith's narration immediately. I thought she captured Princess/ Prince Olive perfectly and I liked the subtle shifts in pitch she used when Olive was being more masculine or feminine. It was a very accomplished performance. Jack Tivey took a little longer for me to tune into his portrayal of Darin. I initially found he read a little slow for my taste, even at 1.5x speed. However by the mid point I was just as engrossed in his sections as in Kit's. Overall and excellent audio book production.



Book review: I have not read the Demon Cycle. It's on my TBR. I even have the first three books. I just haven't got to it yet. While many characters from that series pop up here - this is the start of a sequel series as much as a spin off imo - it did not stop me enjoying <i>The Desert Prince</i>. If you're new to Brett's writing, you won't be lost if you just dive in with this book.



In many ways, this is a quieter story than most classic sword and sorcery type fare generally is. Yes, there's battles and magic and demons enough to satisfy the most adventurous heart's cravings, but the focus is on Olive's and Darin's internal journey. They are both teenagers, both children of the heroes of the original series, and both have a lot to live up having inherited their parents' legacy. Olive is intersex. She is raised as a girl but she has both male and female genitalia and could theoretically both father a child with a woman or give birth to one. Nor is this a bit of throwaway representation. Brett uses Olive's quest for who she truly is to examine the ways in which men and women are treated differently by society. How woman are restricted in what they can do but conversely treated more gently even as they are ignored and hemmed in. Whereas men are given more freedoms but are treated more harshly and even regarded as more disposable. Olive is both male and female. She feels both male and female drives, is acutely aware of where they intersect and differ. In some ways she suffers the disadvantages of both and conversely the privileges of both biological sexes. There are times during the story when she lives as male and refers to herself as he and brother as opposed to she and sister. Olive comes to realise that she is not just one sex, or even one gender, she is both simultaneously and always, and needs to stop trying to fit herself into boxes to make it easier for other people to understand. While the reason Olive is biologically intersex is magical in origin in this book, this is one of the most astute observations of biological sex characterization and conditioned gender specific behaviour I have ever read. It's not delivered as critique either, merely something to consider. As someone who is not intersex but did spend her childhood, teens and twenties with the constant background hum of 'you are not girling correctly' because I was more interested in pursuits society considered 'for boys', this book meant a lot to me. I wish I could have read it as a teenager.



Dari story is less complicated but no less relatable. He is following in the footsteps of someone who looms large in imagination and finding that the shoes are doubly hard to fill because that person is dead and has become a legend. He is constantly aware of how different and other he is, the fact that he just isn't living up to the family legacy at all. That his family don't even really understand him or his unique skillset.



Events conspire to force both Olive and Darin to discover who they really are as a demonic threat rises once more to threaten Desert Spear. I don't want to add any spoilers. Suffice to say that the world building was fantastic and the characterisation is rich and nuanced. There were many side characters I loved too - Michah, Selin, Chadam and many others. There are plenty of battles and training scenes to provide the action - a treat for a long term martial artist like myself. The magic system is intriguing too.



Overall this was an excellent book. I can't wait for the next instalment and I'll be going back to read the original series.

Author Peter V. Brett created a very rich world in his Demon Cycle series. He thankfully chose not to let it fade away by revisiting it in his newest series, Nightfall Saga. “Desert Prince” tells the tale of the now teenaged children of the heroes from the Demon Cycle. To those for whom it matters, this is an LGBTQ+ story.

Brett again does a good job of bringing his characters to life. They are fully formed and we have the privilege of seeing how circumstances help to develop them further. Like many children of the famous, they struggle with finding their own identity amidst the pressure of living up to the legendary status of their parents. As if being a teenager isn’t enough of a struggle…

It is within this framework that the author attempts to explore the difficulties of people who deal with gender dysphoria. The title character is placed in circumstances that highlight the differences experienced by each gender and required to live out the roles expected of them. The moral of this story is that there are more than two roles from which to choose. The relationships amongst the characters help illuminate the author’s views on the matter.

This was a 4 star read. What detracts from the story, for me, is the preachiness. This story could have been told just as well without it. I do look forward to book 2, though I hope it doesn’t continue to beat the same drum with near the same intensity. The story won’t benefit and neither will the reader.

My thanks to Del Rey books and Random House Audio via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.