The Desert Prince

Written by Peter V. Brett

Narrated by Michael Crouch and Saskia Maarleveld

An epic fantasy adventure set in the beloved world of the Demon Cycle, following a new generation of heroes, from New York Times bestselling author Peter V. Brett

“Heart-wrenching, smart, and modern . . . The Desert Prince has set a new standard for fantasy.”—Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War Arts Saga

Fifteen years have passed since the end of the war with demons, creatures of darkness who have hunted the night and plagued humanity since time out of mind. The heroes of humanity’s hour of need have become legend, and those who remain struggle to escape their shadows.

Olive Paper and Darin Bales have grown up in this new peaceful world. Demons have been all but destroyed, but dangers still lurk for the children of heroes.

Olive, princess of Hollow, has her entire life planned out by her mother, Duchess Leesha Paper: a steady march on a checklist to prepare her for succession. The more her mother writes the script, the more Olive rails against playing the parts she is assigned.

Darin faces challenges of a different kind. Though free to choose his own path, the weight of legacy hangs heavy around his shoulders. It isn’t easy being 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.

When Olive and Darin step across the wards one night, they learn the demons are not all gone, and those that remain hunger for revenge. Events are set in motion that only prophecy can foresee as Olive and Darin seek to find their own places in the world in time to save it again.

Don’t miss any of Peter V. Brett's riveting Nightfall Saga:
THE DESERT PRINCE • THE HIDDEN QUEEN • THE DEMON KING (Coming April 2026!)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9780593560525

Peter V. Brett

Peter V. Brett is the international bestselling author of THE PAINTED MAN and THE DESERT SPEAR. Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books and Dungeons & Dragons, Brett has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, and then spent more than a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in New York City.

Reviews for The Desert Prince

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very rich and well-built fantasy world with some unique aspects that make it stand out in the genre.

[neurodrew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A teenage hermaphrodite princess/warrior and her friends come of age after she is kidnapped by desert raiders
In this world, demons are everywhere, but currently suppressed by prior war.  Olive Paper is a 15 year old Princess, but born with anomalous genitalia because of some failure of magic at her birth.  Her mother, her ward, her friends parents, are all veterans of the prior war.  Olive is headstrong, ventures outside magic wards that keep demons away, and learns she is a target of the demons.  She is then kidnapped by the desert warriors, who take her as a boy, and assign her to brutal warrior training. She rises as a warrior to become a hero in the desert city Krasia.   The writing is adult, the details and pseudo-Arabic names and terms are convincing, there are believable social organizations, and a whirlwind, shifting plot.