REVIEW: The Vagrant by Peter Newman

The Vagrant by Peter Newman
Publishing information: Hardback; 400 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; 23 April 2015
ISBN: 9780007593071
Standalone
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson

Book Depository

Synopsis: "The Vagrant is his name. He has no other. Years have passed since humanity's destruction emerged from the Breach. Friendless and alone he walks across a desolate, war-torn landscape. As each day passes the world tumbles further into depravity, bent and twisted by the new order, corrupted by the Usurper, the enemy, and his infernal horde. His purpose is to reach the Shining City, last bastion of the human race, and deliver the only weapon that may make a difference in the ongoing war. What little hope remains is dying. Abandoned by its leader, The Seven, and its heroes, The Seraph Knights, the last defences of a once great civilisation are crumbling into dust. But the Shining City is far away and the world is a very dangerous place."

Every since the cover was revealed for Newman's The Vagrant, I have wanted to read the book. As I was looking at my list of wants I noticed that I had still yet to pick up a copy and since the book is hard to come by in the states, I ordered it on Book Depository and finally got around to reading it.

The premise of The Vagrant is that a silent warrior is travelling with a newborn child that is unaffected by the taint that has encompassed the land. Demons have sprung from the earth and with their arrival is a taint that mutates everything it touches. It is up to the warrior to bring the babe to safety and bring hope to the desolate world.

The silent warrior isn't anything new to the genre and Newman does a pretty good job of making him come to life, even though he doesn't speak. The issue I had with the book was that it wasn't all that exciting. The first part of the book is just a walking cliche as he adventures from settlement to settlement gathering supplies and meeting nefarious individuals. As you meet this ruffians you can already see that they will double cross him and how it sets up the situation he finds himself in.

Every other chapter in the novel also gives you the backstory of how the demons arrived and what their motivation is. I enjoyed these interludes and would have preferred the book just be about the battle between the warriors and the demons and how the warriors/saints ended up losing and how the demons got their foothold on the earth. It was an interesting backstory that left me wanting more.

The Vagrant didn't live up to the hype for me. There were a few shining moments but in the end it just didn't pass muster.

Overall 6.5/10