From publicity material: In The Warded Man, as darkness falls each night, the corelings rise--demons who well up from the ground like hellish steam, taking on fearsome form. Sand demons. Wood demons. Wind demons. Flame demons. ANd gigantic rock demons. They possess supernatural strength and powers and burn with a consuming hatred of humanity. For hundreds of years the demons have terrorized the night, slowly culling the human herd that shelters behind magical wards--symbols of power whose origins are lost in myth and mystery, and whose protection is terrifyingly fragile.

In was not always this way. Once men and women battled the corelings on equal terms. But those days are gone. The fighting wards are lost. Night by night the demons grow stronger, while human numbers dwindle under their relentless assault. Now, with hope for the future fading, three young survivors of vicious demon attacks will dare the impossible, stepping beyond the crumbling safety of the wards to risk everything in a desperate quest to regain the secrets of the past. Together, they will stand against the night.

(Source: Del Rey)