The Dragon Revenant: Deverry Act One: Book 4 (Review)

By Katharine Kerr

Genre: Sword & Sorcery, 16+
ISBN: 0553289098
Publisher: Spectra (March 1, 1991)
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher's Blurb:

For years the provinces of Deverry have been in turmoil; now the conflict escalates with the kidnapping of Rhodry Maelwaedd, heir to the throne of Aberwyn. Intent on rescuing him, his beloved Jill and the elven wizard Salamander infiltrate the distant land of Bardex, where Rhodry is held captive. Tied to Deverry by obligation and circumstance, the immortal wizard Nevyn begins to see that all the kingdom's problems can be traced to a single source: a master of dark magics, backed by a network of evil that stretches across the sea. Now Nevyn understands that he too is being lured away to Bardek--and into a subtle, deadly trap designed especially for him.

Katharine Kerr's novels of the Kingdom of Deverry unfold in a world of stunning richness and depth. Her vivid portrayal of characters caught in a complex web of fate and magic captures the imagination with a realism that few can match. Now she returns to this enchanted kingdom, where the wheels of destiny are turning anew.

Layer upon layers upon layers of intrigue, mystery, love, and loss, in true Katharine Kerr style; fill the pages of the fourth installment of the Deverry cycle. Jill and Salamander embark on an epic journey in search of Rhodry. Rhodry has plenty of problems of his own while at home Nevyn hopes to prevent a civil war. Oh and did I mention an unknown master of evil who has plots of his own in the works? Can it get any better then this?

Page-turner would be an apt description of this book. With everything that is going on, no sooner is one question answered then another replaces it. Throw in a surprise ending (atleast it was for me) and you have everything you need to be truly entertained long into the night.

I did have one very minor gripe about this book. So minor it is barely worth mentioning but I am going to anyway. Jill and Salamander develop a unique and sometimes touching relationship during their travels. For the most part, it was a joy to read as they balance each other beautifully. However, Salamander has this annoying habit of calling Jill by a huge variety of pet names. Moreover, he never uses the same one twice. At first, it was cute but by the time they parted ways I was hardily sick of it. Yeah, I know, not a big deal and was definitely not a story killer but it did annoy me a bit.

The main storyline reaches a bittersweet conclusion. Several of the subplots are neatly wrapped up while there are enough unresolved subplots to make you look forward to the next 4 book saga. I have to admit that the mix of Sword and Sorcery with a reincarnation twist and Celtic theme has made for an exciting ride and I highly recommend it to all High Fantasy fans!

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The Bristling Wood: Dawnspell: Deverry Act One: Book 3 (Review)

By Katharine Kerr

Genre: Sword & Sorcery, 16+
ISBN: 0553285815
Publisher: Spectra (April 1, 1990)
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

The World of Annwn Blurb:

Over a thousand years ago the People of Deverry were driven from their splendid kingdom by their enemy, the Hordes, and forced to find sanctuary in the remote forests in the east of their lands where they eventually settled. Succeeding generations remembered these terrible events as the Burning - and they never forgot the cities, towns and marvels of the far, far west.

Dawnspell, the third compelling volume in Katharine Kerr's epic Deverry series, continues the bold saga of Nevyn, Rhodry and Jill as they battle with the evil forces threatening the world of Deverry in the decades that follow the Burning. Rooted in celtic mythology, this dazzling novel offers a vision of an extraordinary universe of magicians, kings, elves and prophets, of a world where love is triumphant - even over death

It is easy to see why this is such an enduring and much loved series. It just keeps getting better the more you read it. The story tightens up in this third installment of act one. This is due in large part to the reduction in past incarnations of the main characters. This go round only two are covered. There is the present reincarnation featuring Jill and Rhodry and a previous incarnation that takes place when the Kingdom of Deverry - as Jill and Rhodry know it - is being formed. By default, with the focus tightened, the character development is also more focused, making this my favorite book so far.

Of course, it helps that by now I am used to Katharine Kerr's writing style. I have seen it described as Celtic storytelling; meaning the story is told in segments according to importance to the main storyline. This explains the jumps in timeline and the seemingly random bits of back-story. Only they are not random; each jump has some bearing on the present events and is inserted into the book in order of relevance, even though you might not pick up on the exact relevance at the time. Once you get used to this, you learn to file away certain events in the old brain filing cabinet, because trust me, at some point later you will have an "Ah ha!" moment. It is actually alot of fun, kind of like putting a puzzle together without seeing the picture on the box first.

There is another fun component to the whole reincarnation factor. You never know who is going to show up in what role, although you can be sure that at some point in the story they will all cross paths. However, once they do, will they be the best of friends or deadly enemies? It makes the whole saga a joy to experience.

So is there anything I do not like about this book? Well, not really. It has all of the elements I love most about High or Sword and Sorcery Fantasy. It has elves, dwarves, elementals, tons of magic, a kick butt strong female lead, back-stabbing politics, high adventure, true love, more twists then a slinky, interfering gods and forces of evil. In this tale, Jill is truly coming into her own, playing both heroine and victim to perfection. Nevyn remains a fascinating character as he begins to show just how far he will go to save his beloved kingdom and Rhodry, both as himself and as his past incarnation, Maddyn, manages to surprise me with his depth of character. Equally as interesting is Perryn, though we are not sure exactly what he is. He plays a complicated role as both a truly evil individual and a purely innocent one. The balancing act that Katharine Kerr plays with this character is simply amazing. You hate him with a passion only to turn right around and feel sorry for the poor guy. By the time it is all said and done, you are not sure what to think.

Content is not as harsh as in book two. There is rape of a sort, cannot elaborate without giving away an important plot detail. There are love scenes but nothing terribly graphic. There is slavery and torture, which is never pretty but again, most of the details are left to your imagination. And, of course, it is a violent world at times but I do not think I have ever read a fantasy that did not contain violence. As with most good fantasies though, all of the bad elements are balanced by the good. Love, trust, and loyalty in the face of impossible odds, and in this case, lasting 100s of years, more then make up for the harsher elements.

There is one more book in Act 1 and I am off to savor it now. It will be interesting to see how Katharine Kerr wraps things up. (It has been so long since I read these I honestly do not remember.) Once this Act is concluded, the story is continued in two more acts consisting of four books each, followed by an epilogue, which has not been written yet. All of this just insures that those of us who love the world of Deverry will have plenty to enjoy for years to come.

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Darkspell: Deverry Act One: Book 2 (Review)

By Katharine Kerr

Genre: Sword & Sorcery, 16+
ISBN: 0553568884
Publisher: Spectra Revised edition (November 10, 1994)
Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher's Blurb:

On the long roads of Deverry ride two mercenaries whose fates like hidden deep in that of their own land. But Lord Rhodry, exiled from the dragon court of Aberwyn, has yet to discover his true parentage, and his swordmaster-lover, Jill, has barely glimpsed her awesome powers. Meanwhile, the ancient sorcerer Nevyn, held back by his vows from boldly intervening in their lives, can only watch and wait as Rhodry and Jill move ever closer to danger. For as the two struggle to recover the Great Stone, the mystic jewel that guides the conscience of the kingship of Deverry, malevolent dark masters are weaving terrifying spells against them--and displacing messengers of death.

Katharine Kerr has extensively rewritten Darkspell, incorporating major changes in the text, making this her definitive edition. Here the epic saga that began with the Daggerspell continues--a tale of might and magic, lust and glory, dark danger and poignant desires that echo from Deverry's sapphire waters to its secret mountain caverns. It's a spellbinding story destined to please fantasy lovers everywhere.

The second book of Act 1 is, if possible, even better then the first book. This time around we get to delve deeper into the personalities of the main characters while the back story (previous incarnations) continues to build. We also go much deeper into the "dark" side of dweomer magic.

Since I have already mentioned the dark arts, I am going to go ahead and give you a content warning. If you are at all bothered by rape, specifically the repeated rape of a male character, then certain aspects of the aforementioned dark arts will trouble you. It is not terribly graphic but close and you are left with no doubt about what is occurring. This is the type of thing that crosses age barriers. I know folks my age that would shy away from this subject while I know High School kids who know this type of thing goes on and would not be bothered by it in the slightest. Atleast not past feeling a certain amount of sympathy for the victim. It is also an important part of the story so you cannot just skip over it and still understand the result. I do want to note that it does not occur for shock value, it plays a vital role in character development and as a component of the magic system.

OK, now that we have that aspect covered, on with the good stuff!

I am not much of a plot person, being way too much of a character lover but as far as plots go, I prefer one that is complicated and multilayered. Well you do not get any more layered then this story. You have the present storyline that revolves around Jill, Rhodry, and Nevyn fighting against the forces of evil. You have the previous incarnations with their storylines covering the extensive back-story and you have the ever-present question, will Nevyn be able to help Jill fulfill her destiny in this lifetime or will he have to wait, once again, for her to be reborn. Whenever I read a book like this, I think of a tapestry. You start out with a bunch of individual threads of various colors, and then you weave them together, creating an intricate picture. It is really pretty amazing if you think about it, and this story gives me that very same feeling.

There is another aspect of this story that blows me away and that is how well it flows. You would think that a story that jumps timelines as much as this one does would be really confusing. And, ever so often, due to no fault of the author, I will miss a switch in timelines and be caught off guard, but as a rule, I have no problem with the change in focus. When you consider that these are not just simple changes of PoV, these are complete changes in characters, settings, story, and time, with Nevyn as the only common denominator, this is an amazing feat. It is also, as I mentioned in my review of Daggerspell, kind of fun. With each reincarnation, once you (or Nevyn) have figured out who is who this time; you look forward to seeing which traits remain the same and which ones change for better or for worse. The whole concept is very enjoyable.

Well, that is enough about book two. I am off to read book three. Meanwhile I hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane and if you have not read this series yet, I hope you give it a try. It remains one of my favorites and one I reread atleast once every few years.

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Daggerspell: Deverry Act One: Book 1 (Review)

By Katharine Kerr

Genre: Sword & Sorcery, 16+
ISBN: 0553565214
Publisher: Spectra (November 1, 1993)
Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages

Publisher's Blurb:

Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years-and many lifetimes-ago, one selfish young lord caused the death of two innocent lovers. Then and there he vowed never to rest until he'd rightened that wrong-and laid the foundation for the lives of Jill and all those whom she would hold dear: her father, the mercenary soldier Cullyn; the exiled berserker Rhodry Maelwaedd; and the ancient and powerful herbman Nevyn, all bound in a struggle against darkness. . . and a quest to fulfill the destinies determined centuries ago.

This series is not only a beloved classic; it is an example of Sword & Sorcery at its best. The story is so unique that you will remember it years after you have forgotten the name of the series and the characters. I know this to be fact because I have seen many questions like this on forums over the years.

"What is the name of those books about a wizard who can not die until he finds his reincarnated fiancé and makes amends for causing her untimely death?"

Which is an accurate description of this series, though it is a bit more complicated then that.

Inside the covers of this book, you will find plenty of familiar Fantasy tropes. You have the disgraced Prince in exile, outcast mercenaries, the ancient wizard posing as a simple herbman, elusive, misunderstood (and thus feared) elves, evil sorcerers plying the Dark Arts, gnomes and fae type creatures that only magic wielders can see, and the list goes on... However, it is how Katharine Kerr handles these tropes that gives this book, and series, its charm.

The worldbuilding is incredible. The setting is rich in Celtic overtones, as is the language used. The magic system is well thought out, with limitations in place as to its use. (I love magic with rules) The method of story telling itself is different and may take a bit of getting used to but let us see if I can explain further, without making you scratch your head in confusion.

There are four storylines and each is told in small chunks. First, we have poor Nevyn who has lived for 400 years and is in search of the current reincarnation of the five souls whose destiny he must set right. Then we have the original fiasco where a set of unfortunate choices results in the destruction those five lives, interfering in their predestined Wyrds. The story then switches between several other reincarnations that have taken place between the time of original events and Nevyn's current search. Confused yet? Well it does take some quick thinking at times but if you stick with it, it will all begin to make sense. Not only will it make sense but you will find yourself addicted to the story and losing whole chunks of your own life in the process. You will even find yourself trying to guess which person in each reincarnation matches one of the original five, or atleast I did. Trying to figure it out before Nevyn is half the fun!

Once you get used to the storytelling style, you will discover a tale that keeps you fully engaged in the unfolding events. Boring is not a word I could imagine using in conjunction with this book. It twists, it turns, it has action pouring off the pages and there is constant underlying question, will Nevyn ever find a way to make things right? Meanwhile you have plenty of entertaining characters, desperate wars, evil sorcerers, human tragedies and heart wrenching love stories, all designed to keep you glued to the pages until you look up and wonder where the time went.

As far as content goes, this book has definite adult overtones, which should be taken into account. There is incest, moderate profanity, plenty of violence and a few mildly descriptive love scenes but nothing overly graphic. I am comfortable with saying it is readable by 16+ but that will depend on the maturity of the reader. As always, this is only my opinion and should be taken as such.

There is a reason why this series remains in print and I for one am grateful for this fact. Over the years, I have worn out or loaned out, and never gotten back, multiple copies of the books in this wonderful classic. Highly, highly recommended!

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