Okay, so I'm writing this review a little under three months after I actually finished reading it. But looking over my status updates, I can easily remember what I was going to say... 
 Basically, The Warded Man is a dark, unflinching tale of the human race--not only at the mercy of the demons they fear--but of their own dark natures. It's pretty simple. Basically, each night, demons come up from the Core, which is the equivalent of Hell. Humans once had a way to kill them using wards drawn onto weapons, but this magic was lost to them, leaving them only with meager defenses. So basically, being able to draw wards was extremely important, because it was the only thing to help keep you from getting killed. In the story, people don't travel because of the demons, leaving cities and villages feeling isolated. 
 We meet our three protagonists, Arlen, Leesha, and Rojer, as children. 
 Arlen, from a young age, displayed great courage, and grew to hate cowardice after he saw his father allow his mother to die at the hands of demons. Running away, he sought the life of a Messenger--one of the only professions that allowed a man to travel freely between the cities, carrying messages. Leesha was an ordinary girl looking to take up her father's trade of paper making. She was engaged to a big brute of a boy, but after a demon attack on her village, she found herself on the path to becoming a Healer. Rojer lost his family to a demon attack, and was raised by a Jongleur. Though lacking three fingers, he too, sought to be a Jongleur. Each have a vital skill that is later used to fight back the demons, using magic that had once been long lost. 
 A great deal of the book sees these stories unfolding independent of each other. It isn't until adulthood that these three characters all come together, and not before many trials. If you look at my status updates, I was rather frustrated with the beginning, because a great deal of time was devoted to dysfunctional backwater hickery involving abuse, rape, and gossip. Thankfully, the story moves away from that, and becomes so much more towards the end. 
 The action is great and unflinching. Unlike some authors who are afraid to bring any permanent harm to their protagonists, Peter Brett is merciless, and you really get a sense of suspense as you read the dangerous twists and turns. The writing is superb in that Brett does an excellent job painting out the characters in such complex detail. 
 My only issue was the setting. It isn't that it didn't work. It worked fine as a world. It's more a matter of personal preference, I suppose, when I say that I have no interest in country bumpkin drama...and in this story? There's plenty of it. Plus, the views held by the society at large was just too frustrating for me. Too much ass-covering, chauvinism, and cruelty. I realize this is a dark fantasy, but I've read dark fantasy before, and never has auxiliary characters made me want to kill someone as much as this book has. Keep me on the edge of my seat. Don't make me want to throw the book out the window! It's a fine line, but you have to walk it. 
 So, in summary...if you're into unforgiving settings and monstrous creatures, great suspense and possibly even horror...if you're into the drama you might see on Law and Order: SVU, or the redneck shenanigans of COPS...then maybe this book is for you. Again, the writing is superb, and the characters really grow on you. Personally, for me, this book was a love/hate relationship, so don't let that stop you from giving it a try! Who knows? You may just love it.