Katharine Kerr

Deverry — (1986-2009) Publisher: 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. Here in this newly  revised edition comes the incredible novel that  began one of the best-loved fantasy seers in recent  years — a tale of bold adventure and timeless  love, perilous battle and pure magic.

Act one: Deverry — In the UK, the third book is Dawnspell: The
Bristling Wood, and the fourth book is Dragonspell: The Southern Sea.
 
Act two: The Westlands — in the UK, the third book is
A Time of War and the fourth book is A Time of Justice.

Act three: The Dragon Mage

Act four: The Silver Wyrm — in the UK, these are continuations of Act Three: The Dragon Mage.

Daggerspell

As a young man, Nevyn’s inability to choose starts a series of events that leads to the death of his betrothed, her brother, and another man. At his beloved’s grave he swears to never rest until he has righted the wrongs he caused. The gods accept his vow, and he is gifted with immortality until he has fulfilled his promise. Daggerspell follows Nevyn’s attempts to pay the debts he owes as the spirits of the three people to whom he is spiritually tied are born and reborn.

Set in a pseudo-Celtic world, this first book in the Deverry series is an intriguing tale of love and redemption. The characters are interesting, and the central role of reincarnation provides an innovative variation on what would otherwise be a standard fantasy novel, complete with magical elves and dwarven blacksmiths. The system of magic, called dweomer, is well-detailed and complex, complete with restrictions and consequences for actions.

Daggerspell has a somewhat slow start, exacerbated by the need to keep track of characters with fairly similar names who appear repeatedly in different timelines with different names which are also similar to previous names of other characters. This made it difficult to follow who was reincarnated into whom. Daggerspell would have been greatly aided by a quasi-genealogy chart that showed who was whom throughout the different time periods.

Also problematic was an overreliance on archaic sounding dialect, which felt clunky and overworked. However, once the jumping between timelines settles down into the main action, the characters are deep and absorbing, and I felt myself emotionally connecting to their lives. Daggerspell comes to a satisfying conclusion while still serving as the start of a new series. Kerr writes with a beautifully dense prose and displays innovative world building and sympathetic characterization.

Though the thought of embarking on a storyline that already has ten books in it is a bit overwhelming, Katharine Kerr‘s talent definitely induces me to pick up the next book in the Deverry saga. —Ruth Arnell

Daggerspell

Daggerspell is the first book in Katharine Kerr's long-running series about Deverry and the Westlands. It introduces the three linked characters of Jill, Rhodry and Nevyn. Daggerspell — and indeed the Deverry series — is set up in such a way that it will jump from future to past and back again. It can make for complicated reading and an issue with pacing, but it genuinely brings the events to life.

The idea is that in the year 643 Galrion (who is to become Nevyn) makes a series of decisions that causes his lady love Brangwen to turn away from a life of dweomer (the name for magic) and become embroiled in an incestuous relationship with her own brother. Nevyn makes a vow that he will never rest until he has put things right. Consequently, he is unable to die and experiences the characters being reborn again and again while he tries to bring Brangwen to a life of dweomer. Jill is the latest woman that has the soul of Brangwen.

The strength of Kerr's writing is not so much in the story itself, but in the characters who inhabit it, and in the way she is able to tell each of the short stories about one of the lives that Brangwen lives. Her ability to get the reader invested in what is essentially a short story is exceptionally good.

There are some tired clichés — the Elves for instance. Here called the Westfolk, or the Elcyion Lacar, they are nomads with pointed ears and cat-pupil eyes. They are foreign to the humans and are able to see the Wildfolk — the denizens of the etheric plane.

I also got frustrated with two recurring descriptors; Many of the characters — especially the women — toss their heads. Constantly. Many of the characters keen in mourning. Frequently. A number of the character names are similar and Kerr does not bring on the second-string characters frequently enough for you to distinguish between your Pedyr's and your Daumur's.

But generally, the writing flows well and I enjoyed the heavy Celt flavouring to Deverry; It was tied richly into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of the series and will read onwards eagerly.
—Amanda Rutter

Darkspell

Darkspell is the second Deverry book and it proves to be just as gripping as the first. Here we are dealing with a present time storyline of Jill and Rhodry's life on the road as silver daggers, and the danger they face from masters of dark dweomer. Jill discovers more about dweomer from Nevyn as he tries to gently encourage her to fulfill her Wyrd (destiny).

We also go back in time to a previous incarnation of Jill and Rhodry and Cullyn (Jill's father). The three souls (and others) have been twisted together because of vengeance, a miscarriage of destiny, and incestuous love. Here Jill is Gweniver — a lady who pledges herself to the Moon Goddess, and therefore will be unable to take to a life of dweomer. Nevyn resigns himself to watching her die in the service of the Goddess and going back to waiting for her soul to be reborn. There is also a quick backstory to the start of the Maelwaedd clan (Rhodry's people).

I adored the whole story of Jill and Rhodry, and everything that happens in modern times. I found the masters of dark dweomer genuinely creepy, especially hearing what takes place during their rituals. It is lovely to see more of dweomer at work, particularly the part that includes an entertaining piece of jewelry. And I like the way that Kerr ensures that there is always a downside to working dweomer.

One of my favourite characters right now is highly peripheral: Jill's grey gnome (one of the Wildfolk) is extremely cute and Kerr does well to lend him so much character since he is unable to speak properly. I also like Ebany a great deal and suspect that we shall see much more of him.

However, the success of these books depends greatly on how enjoyable the tale set in the past is because it encompasses a large part of the novel. And I didn't get on with Gweniver — I found her naïve and arrogant in turn. Very different from other past incarnations such as Brangwen (the first incarnation) and Lyssa (a gentle bard's wife).

The strong Celtic feel again imbued the book with a sense of almost historical fiction — the language and the lifestyle is a fantastic part of each novel. Once again, I would highly recommend this series so far.
—Amanda Rutter

Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood

Note: In the UK, this book is titled Dawnspell. In the US it is The Bristling Wood.

Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood is my favourite of the series so far! In this book the modern day plot follows Jill and Rhodry as they are forced apart by circumstance, and ends on a real cliffhanger where Rhodry vanishes, and it is up to Jill and Salamander to try and find him. In the past we meet another incarnation of Jill and Rhodry, at a time when the silver daggers are brought into being and Rhodry fights to bring the one true king of Deverry to power. In the process, we learn a great deal more about the politics affecting Deverry.

As I said in a previous review, because the flashbacks tend to be the bulk of the book, it is necessary to find them entertaining if the novel as a whole is to be considered a success. Fortunately, in Dawnspell I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Jill and Rhodry's previous life, especially the novelty of Jill being reborn into a man's body this time around.

Again, Kerr’s characters are a major strength. Lovyan stepped onto centre stage in this installment, and Kerr added in some strong females. As usual, the Wildfolk are very amusing. But one character I was genuinely curious about, and repelled by, was Perryn. His treatment of Jill, and the way he was able to entice women, was presented as extremely disturbing, especially because it was so involuntary.

All in all, Dawnspell is a great book. Because of the cliffhanger ending and the introduction of Taliesyn, readers will be desperate to read the fourth Deverry book as soon as they’re finished with Dawnspell, so have that ready! Katharine Kerr is doing a fabulous job bringing the world of Deverry alive.
—Amanda Rutter

Dragonspell: The Southern Sea (UK) or The Dragon Revenant (US)

For the first time in the Deverry series, all the action takes place in the present day rather than flitting back to fill gaps in the past, and the plot and pacing are all the tighter for it.

Rhodry has been sold as a slave on the Bardek islands, and one storyline follows his new life, intersected with information about Salamander and Jill chasing him down. Behind all this we discover more about the politics and machinations within the Hawks, the Brotherhood, and, behind them all, the Old One — desperate enemy of Nevyn.

I really enjoyed the slow build and Jill's gradual realization that the dweomer would be her future, no matter how much she wished otherwise. The climax to the Old One storyline was very much D&D in nature (no real surprise considering Katharine Kerr's background in role-playing games) and fairly perfunctory. No one was in any great danger, and everyone survived to live another day. More interesting were the final few chapters, where Jill makes the decision that releases Nevyn from his reckless vow and changes her life.

The four-book sequence of Deverry: Act I is fairly generic fantasy, and certainly more groundbreaking fantasy has been produced since these. However, the Deverry books should not be dismissed lightly. Kerr's style is warm and welcoming. The characters are well-written, and readers will care deeply about what happens to them. Kerr has told a fabulously rich story, which was improved immeasurably by the nonlinear storyline.

I think that readers of any epic fantasy would gain a great deal of enjoyment from the Deverry series. Although I wish to all the Gods that the characters would stop tossing their heads to make a point!
—Amanda Rutter

A Time of Exile

A Time of Exile, the first book in the second Deverry quartet, opens a number of years after the events in Daggerspell. Rhodry is getting older, but his Westfolk genes have given him long life and people are starting to mutter dweomer when they look at him. He stages his own death so that he is able to slip away from his life in Aberwyn. He meets Jill again when he heads into the lands of the Westfolk, the first time he has seen her since she left him for the dweomer. She is now a master, and refuses to consider the idea of a relationship between them.

The rest of the novel takes place in the past with the Westfolk and Aderyn taking centre stage. I like the way that in each of the Deverry books you never know how much time you will spend in the present or past.

In general, A Time of Exile is disappointing in comparison to the first four Deverry books — mainly because of pacing and characterization issues. The Guardians are extremely fey, and I didn't particularly like either Elassario or Evandar. The periods of time that Dallandra spent with the Guardians was of necessity very dreamlike, and that negatively affected the pacing of the plot.

I also found the blue sprite that has hounded Rhodry through all of his many lives extremely tiresome, although it did amuse me that Jill became jealous about the sprite! Altogether, I liked Jill a great deal more when she was a lively, merry silver dagger following her love. As she has grown in dweomer, she has become hard and lacking in forgiveness and compassion. It’s a shame when one of your favourite characters becomes someone you don't really care for anymore.

However, I love Aderyn — he is so calm and wise, and yet so very human. His relationship with Dallandra was both sweet and heart breaking in turn. And the final paragraph of A Time of Exile was extremely intriguing and will guarantee that I read further!

All in all, the poorer elements of A Time of Exile are not enough to discourage me from reading on, and I look forward to the next Deverry novel. —Amanda Rutter

A Time of Omens

A Time of Omens, the second book of the second Deverry quartet, is no more than a competent entry. Despite the easy reading, it took me days to get through and I really struggled at times to muster much interest in the doings of Rhodry.

Rhodry spends a number of years wandering in the Westlands, integrating himself into the lives of the Elcyion Lacar. Jill has gone seeking the remnant of the Elven race that fled south when the Hordes destroyed their homelands. We spend a lot of time in Evandar's dreamlike world, but because he doesn’t feel compassion or understand human emotions, I don’t find him endearing and can’t enjoy his storyline. We get the obligatory visit to a past incarnation of Rhodry (this time a continuation of the timeline where Maryn is become High King of all Deverry), and the book finishes off with a quick canter to a few years down the line (approx 1100, when most of the 'present' storyline has been 1090's up until now).

So, we are essentially reading a number of different short stories in our path to understanding the overall tapestry. I love all the interwoven threads, but this makes the pace slow. Just when you are enjoying the stories of one set of characters, you pick up with another set and have to learn affection for them. It helps that Kerr is dealing with reborn souls, so they are essentially the same character, but they have enough differing characteristics for them to jar slightly until you begin to pick up and follow their particular storyline. Katharine Kerr never forgets a character once they've proved useful and been introduced, so we see, for example, Perryn still hovering in the background and stepping into the story here and there.

The ending of A Time of Omens is abrupt and, up to that point, not a great deal really happens! As the title suggests, this novel is about omens and bad tidings coming together. I'm sure they are a huge foretelling for the next couple of novels, but we seem to be treading water while Kerr puts everything in place.

So, A Time of Omens is a disappointing entry into the Deverry series, but a necessary one. Big warning here: new readers should not step into the Deverry series at this point! Go all the way back to Daggerspell! —Amanda Rutter

A Time of War (UK) or Days of Blood and Fire (US)

A Time of War (Days of Blood and Fire in the US) is the third book in the second Deverry quartet. Here all the action takes place in the present — we meet the Rhiddaer folk and the Gel Da'Thae (in the form of Jahdo and Meer) who quest to Deverry in search of Meer's brother. When they find him, they discover he is part of a major plot dreamt up by Alshandra in order to regain her daughter. At the same time Jill charges Rhodry to find the only weapon that will help the Deverrians in their war against the Horsekin and Alshandra's evil followers.

I was disappointed in A Time of War — I feel as though Kerr has lost her way a little. One of the high points of her first quartet is the fact that the storyline flits back and forth in time, deepening your affection for various characters in the different lives they have lived. Here, when she moves to a more linear storyline, I find myself less entranced.

Part of the problem is that I'm finding it hard now to care about any of the characters. In a previous review, I noted that Jill is far less likeable as a dweomermaster than as a silver dagger. The last character that I held deep regard for was Rhodry and in A Time of War he seemed to descend into a unique kind of madness. He speaks often of courting his Lady Death and Kerr overuses the beserker howl of laughter that had, up to now, been used effectively to build Rhodry's character.

I already didn't care for either Evandar or Dallandra, and here they crop up time and again in a very tedious storyline about Dallandra being kidnapped by Evandar's brother. All the time spent in Evandar's dreamlike homeland is slow and plodding and doesn't seem to advance the plot at all.

I would also like to complain that there were a number of scenes where Jill did etheric scrying, or changed into her falcon, which seemed lifted in their entirety from earlier books. There are only so many times I can read that without becoming bored.

I did like a number of aspects of A Time of War. These included the touching scenes between Jill and Rhodry as they reached out in friendship and found a sort of reconciliation. Also, Kerr is extremely able at drawing distinctions between each of the different locations — in previous books Bardek has been richly imagined; here we delve more into the homeland of the dwarves, which is given a very different feel. Her world-building is on a more cosy scale than, say, the GRRM's of the world, but very effective nonetheless.

Despite the fact that the idea of a dragon is brought into the story in an abrupt manner (barring one brief paragraph two books ago), the introduction of Arzosah adds at least half a star to my rating. If you are as fond of decently-written dragon characters as I am, you will love Arzosah, who is both beautiful and slyly clever. The dialogue between her and Rhodry lends real vigour to the last part of A Time of War.

This is a real lapse in form compared to the previous books, but I have high hopes of the last book in this quartet — a number of plot points should be resolved satisfactorily. —Amanda Rutter

Days of Air and Darkness (A Time of Justice)

With Days of Air and Darkness / A Time of Justice, Katharine Kerr wraps up The Westlands Cycle. It is a fairly decent final book, bringing a number of ongoing stories together and finishing things decently. With that said, it felt a little soulless to me — with her first four books, Kerr made the characters come alive and I had a lot of interest in their doings. Gradually I am losing interest in Rhodry and co.

In this novel we head back in time for a while, and that section was by far the most gripping. We meet a previous incarnation of Raena, the raven-woman, known in those times as Lady Mallona. It is no accident that my favourite part of the book coincides with us reading about Jill and Rhodry while they rode the long road as silver daggers. I far preferred those two characters back then.

I also enjoyed Arsozah; The dragon seems to be the only character at this point that Kerr seems to have fun writing about.

So an almost anti-climatic end to The Westlands Cycle. Kerr has continued writing about Rhodry (or Rori Dragon-friend, as he should also be known as now) but I find myself losing interest in the Deverry world. —Amanda Rutter

The Red Wyvern

The Red Wyvern is the first book in a new cycle of novels set in Deverry by Katharine Kerr, and as such new readers can start out at this point. I would recommend vehemently, though, that they do not since a number of storylines from prior novels come together or are referenced in this novel.

For the first time we drift in time forwards rather than backwards, albeit for a short time, when we discover that Haen Marn is adrift in time as well as space. A soldier from a more modern Scotland is cast into the mythical isle for a night, showing us that Angmar is pregnant with Rhodry's child.

The majority of the novel takes place in the past though, continuing the tale of the civil war that tore Deverry in two — where Maryn becomes the High King under Nevyn's tutelage. The story is concentrated on Lillorigga (who we know in the current times as Niffa, the ratter's daughter) and her mother Lady Merodda — the person who becomes Raena, the Black Raven, and causes Rhodry such heartache. Here we discover why Raena and Rhodry's Wyrds are so tangled.

The Red Wyvern is a great return to form for Kerr. I was somewhat disappointed in the last few Deverry novels — Kerr seemed very much to be writing by the numbers. Here her writing comes alive again — with intrigue, scheming, battle, fair maidens, dweomer mysteries, and high adventure. I loved the character of Lillorigga, who came blessed with good sense and honour.

I was somewhat annoyed with Kerr's descriptive passages that seem lifted from previous books. On the one hand you could say that it reinforces the effect she wishes to create, but I find the copy and paste technique a little lazy.

Once again I sighed and slowed down my reading during each portion of the book that dealt with Evandar and his brother Shaetano, who has now taken over where Alshandra left off. I can understand that the Fae — as these Guardians seem based on — live in a dreamlike Otherland, and I accept that Kerr might well be writing about them in a capable manner, but it slows down the plot and I am bored of their antics. I am particularly frustrated with Evandar's endless scheming that (as Dallandra says) brings naught but hurt to the people they affect.

In fact, all of the book that has dweomer in it directly, I find fairly tiresome. Kerr's strongest ability is to bring to very vivid life the Celtic medieval world. She writes extremely capably about life in a dun; her battle scenes are fascinating and realistically chaotic; and her strong female characters are countered heavily by the responsibilities they hold in earlier times (e.g. never being part of councils, doing all the sewing for the people of the dun, always being above reproach in terms of producing an heir for their lord).

That element of Kerr's writing was heavily present and hence I award it four stars, and look forward again to the next in the Deverry cycle. —Amanda Rutter

The Black Raven

The Black Raven is the second book in the Dragon Mage sequence of Deverry from Katharine Kerr. Once again, we spend the majority of the book in the past, exploring Lillorigga's burgeoning dweomer power and her relationship to the various souls she is destined to encounter again when she becomes Niffa in the future. At the moment, it is fairly confusing trying to keep straight who is who in both the past and the current incarnations. The only person who I can really keep straight is Maddyn the bard (in the past) becoming Rhodry Maelwaedd (in the present), and this is due to the silver rose ring.

Once again, I would urge anyone interested in this book to start at the beginning of the series (starting with Daggerspell). Kerr has explained that her books should be seen almost as three acts in a play, or as a Celtic knot, whereby the complicated pattern will only become clear once you have seen the whole.

Although I adore spending time in the past — particularly with Lillorigga, who I believe to be one of Kerr's strongest characters — I became frustrated with the fact that Rhodry's story has not progressed AT ALL in two books. He is still sitting in Cengarn, waiting for the longest winter in the world to end so that his plot can move forward. The only times we ever visit Rhodry is when he figures in storylines from the past, such as the history of his enmity with Raena.

That said, The Black Raven is still worthy of four stars in my opinion, because Kerr writes the past so beautifully. In fact, barring the few outright mentions of dweomer or Wildfolk, this could be a strong historical novel about Celtic times. Kerr brings to life the politics, the in-fighting, the heraldry, the weaponry. It is very easy to enjoy all of the little details that she adds. One I would mention is the fact that the characters’ knowledge of medicine and surgery is limited to what was actually known at that time. So, when the princess Bellyra is suffering from postnatal depression, Nevyn talks about her humours being out of balance. I also love how he ponders why some wounds fester, while others don't, and why blood can be different colours depending on where the body is cut in battle. These are all matters that would frustrate the chirurgeons of the time.

Nevyn’s return is deeply welcome, both in this novel and the previous. During the Westlands cycle he was absent, and I found Jill unable to fill his shoes. Despite his massive dweomer power, he is wise and compassionate and enjoys the details of people's lives. He takes apprentices willingly and with patience. He is one of the strongest parts of the Deverry series, and it is a joy to read more of him.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Black Raven and cantered through the rather slight volume (in comparison to prior books in the series). I’m looking forward to the next. —Amanda Rutter

The Fire Dragon

In The Fire Dragon we spend about half of our time in the past, concluding the storyline concerning Lillorigga, princess Bellyra, Maddyn the bard, and the prince Maryn. The second half of the book shifts the plot forwards concerning Rhodry, Dallandra, Niffa, Raena, and the dragon Arzosah.

In my opinion The Fire Dragon is by far the best book in the whole Deverry series. I was gripped throughout. Of necessity (considering the curse of the dweomer tablet), the first half of the story was bleak and heartbreaking. A number of my very favourite characters from this particular timeline came to fairly dire ends, which left me close to tears. Each of the various characters was treated with respect, except for Maryn and Oggyn — by the end of this section, it became very easy to hate both of them.

I was mightily relieved that Rhodry's story advanced, but the ending also left me near weeping with how sad, and yet how appropriate, it was. Rhodry truly stepped forward to save the people he both cared for and had grown apart from. He and Arzosah became true soul mates in terms of how they viewed each other.

The other character that came into her own in The Fire Dragon was Dallandra. I made no secret in my reviews of the previous Deverry books that I held a great dislike for this Elven dweomer master. Her treatment of Aderyn and the way she pandered to Evandar's every whim annoyed me intensely, and every part of her journey seemed particularly boring in comparison to the other threads of the story. However, here she became a compassionate and wise teacher, someone who put others before herself and sought to do what is right.

The Fire Dragon had a very powerful impact, and I sense that Katharine Kerr is starting to unwind the real crux of the Deverry tale. I eagerly look forward to more. —Amanda Rutter

The Gold Falcon

With The Gold Falcon, Katharine Kerr is starting a new phase in the Deverry series. We move on fifty years or so from the climactic ending of The Fire Dragon, and times have changed. The Horsekin have started marauding the Deverry border, killing the men and enslaving the women. There is a fragile alliance between the Deverry folk, the Rhiddaer, and the West Folk (Kerr's version of elves). And Alshandra's repute as a goddess is growing, Raena now considered a martyr to the cause.

Our main dweomer workers who hold the book together here are Dallandra and Salamander, who has fought hard to retrieve his sanity. The latter rescues two young lads from the slaughter of their village by Horsekin, and takes them to the sanctuary of Tieryn Cadryc's dun. Neb, the older of the two, is a very familiar soul to Salamander — finally the soul of Nevyn has been reborn. In the same Dun he discovers the reborn soul of Cullyn (now called Gerran) and Jill (now called Branna), and realizes that fateful times are coming.

The Gold Falcon fits well into the overall sequence of Deverry novels, but on its own is not that entertaining, since it is mostly setting up future events and giving us hints of the doom that waits if the Horsekin cannot be stopped. It was interesting, though, to see Neb and Branna being drawn to each other and discovering their potential dweomer power. And it’s frustrating and heartbreaking to read about Rhodry's current plight (as the dragon Rori).

Kerr writes fantastically well about the medieval life of Deverry. Every little detail reinforces the fact that she has enormous skill at world building, such as hearing about each gwerbret's hall having an honour side (for the nobles) and a riders side (for the common born). We hear about the women having to make marriages for the sake of bloodlines and needing to be above reproach so that no one can doubt the parentage of the heirs to come.

Kerr gives us a completely different and equally realized culture when we ride with the West Folk on the plainlands. Here the women have much more freedom and there is a casual approach to leadership. The marked difference between the two people is emphasized well.

I did enjoy The Gold Falcon, but it took a good fifty pages before I relaxed into the new characters — especially with Nevyn and Jill carrying different names and essentially being fresh to the story. In some respects it is great having familiar characters turn up again in the Deverry novels — it lends the books a feeling of comfort — but in other respects it can be hard to invest in the new character as much as you did in the old. I like Neb, but I liked Nevyn more. On the other hand, I far prefer Branna to Jill, so I guess it runs both ways!

The Gold Falcon is a decent enough entry into the Deverry sequence, but certainly not a standalone novel, and slightly disappointing after the brilliance of The Fire Dragon. —Amanda Rutter

The Spirit Stone

The Spirit Stone is the fifth book in the Dragon Mage sequence by Katharine Kerr. The events in this book follow on directly from those in The Gold Falcon. The joint armies of Westfolk, Deverry men, and Mountain Folk are mustering in order to put Zakh Gral (the Horsekin fortress) to the sword. This time round we leave the stories of Branna and Neb, who remain behind at the dun. Instead Salamander and Dallandra come to the fore — dealing with a group of Gel da Thae who have been banished for using dweomer by those who follow Alshandra; finding and trying to discover the secrets of the black pyramid and the white; and trying to cure Rori's wounds.

I enjoyed The Spirit Stone, finding a number of new story strands to enjoy and seeing how Kerr is filling some of the gaps from previous stories. For instance, we go back in time here to when Salamander was merely Evan (in his mother's language) and Ebany (in his father's), a child of only a few years. It was a time when Dallandra had already gone to the Guardians and her son Loddlaen was growing up, when Nevyn realizes that Loddlaen has suffered through being in Dalla's womb when she first traveled with Evandar and went to different worlds. It was interesting seeing how Loddlaen turned from an odd young man who struggled with dweomer to someone who was prepared to commit murder (eventually becoming the deranged mage we met at the time that Jill and Rhodry first came together).

Speaking of that, Branna and Rori also experience a heartbreaking scene in which Branna only remembers that Jill was once friends with Rhodry before he turned dragon, and nothing more than that, while Rori knows what truly passed between them. Another powerful scene was when Dalla tries to explain to Gerran the nature of war and the fact that no side will truly win since both commit atrocities in the name of what they believe in.

In fact, there were only a few bits to The Spirit Stone that I found wearisome. One was actually the "war" against the Horsekin in Zakh Gral. It has been built up over the last book and a half to be something huge and menacing, yet is over extremely quickly and with very little loss of life or danger to the Westfolk/Deverry men. I understand the war is not yet over, but I did expect more tension.

So, onto the next book in Kerr's never-ending cycle — although I do see the finish line now! In the next book I anticipate more of Rori and the rediscovery of Haen Marn!

P.S. I've no doubt that to anyone who has not read the previous books in the Deverry sequence this review is a garbled mess of characters and storylines that don't make much sense. For this reason I would urge people strongly to start with Daggerspell and move forward in written order. I cannot recommend this series highly enough. The Deverry novels are rich with details — realistic characters, political viewpoints, magic, adventure, romance, the Seelie, Elves, Dwarves, and Dragons — and truly deserves the description "epic." Katharine Kerr is enormously underrated and has quietly put out one of the most accomplished long-running series in the field. Please don't miss out! —Amanda Rutter

The Shadow Isle

We're finally reaching the end of the Deverry saga with The Shadow Isle, the penultimate book in the series. There is a sense of Katharine Kerr pulling together all those strands to finish off the series effectively, but some mysteries are still to be resolved. One thing I am glad of is that I don't actually know what Kerr will do to finish the story — although the Horsekin are currently 'evil', there has been enough switching sides and distinctions made between Horsekin and Gel da Thae for us to realize that no one is outright evil and everybody can be redeemed. In fact, this has been a theme running through the whole Deverry sequence — the idea that all beings (whether human, dwarf, Elcyion Lacar, Horsekin) have the ability to turn to good.

The Shadow Isle picks up where the previous left off — this is another feature of this last 'Act'. Each of the books drives forward the plot and we rarely have any sequences now that take place in the past. We see Branna and Neb as part of the plot showing the Deverrians gear up for war and discover that the Horsekin are once again on the move. As part of this section, there is a subplot that deals with Neb and his fierce desire to become Nevyn once more. At times I felt like shaking Neb for his stupidity, but I found the resolution to be both sound and moving — the idea that Salamander has finally grown into a true dweomermaster and Wise One is very touching.

The main bulk of The Shadow Isle deals with the return of Haen Marn, and the introduction to the story of Rhodry's daughters Marnmara and Berwynna. Neither of these characters starts out as being someone I want to read more of — Marnmara is spoilt and Berwynna is envious and headstrong. As usual though, I do find myself warming to them over time! This is one of Kerr's greatest strengths — she’s not afraid to give her characters real motivations and reactions, even knowing that it may cause them to read in an unpleasant manner.

The last thread of the plot is concerning Rori and his mixed thoughts on whether he wants to remain a dragon. The book that may or may not hold the key to turning him back is currently lost, just one of the many plot points that Kerr will have to resolve in the final book. The others would include solving who or what Avain truly is, and uncovering the mystery of the otter shapeshifters that have stolen Kov.

Once again, a solid addition to the Deverry series. In my opinion Kerr has never reached the heights of her first quartet (starting with Daggerspell). The characters and events of those four books seemed to complete the series very effectively, and everything that has come after is just adding for the sake of it. Having said that, all the Deverry books are very readable. Still filled with details of medieval life, still characters that bring the events to life, still epic events. I impatiently look forward to reading the final book. —Amanda Rutter

The Silver Mage

In The Silver Mage, the fifteenth book in the very long-running Deverry series, Katharine Kerr seeks to wrap up those last few plot points and bring the sequence to a resounding end.

Oh dear. I've followed this series faithfully, to the extent of doing a full re-read in preparation of the release of this final book, and I am more than disappointed with the way Kerr has finished things off.

This series has been limping along for a while, but every now and again Kerr would produce a book that sparkled. This compelled me to keep on reading, but sadly it was rare that Kerr would produce two great books in a row and none of her later books have lived up to the promise of those first four novels.

In this book we deal mainly with Rhodry's storyline. The other plot points are dealt with summarily and all too briefly. Kerr has been building the renewed threat of the Horsekin, but this is resolved with no drama and almost slips past without the reader noticing. In fact, the whole novel suffers from a lack of drama or incidence. There is no gripping final battle. No beloved character comes anywhere near to dying. The series ends with a whimper and not a bang.

To be fair, the Rhodry plotline is emotional enough — especially in the moment where he realizes that his time as a dragon has reduced Arzosah to something less than she should be. I was glad that his resolution helped to also resolve the situation with Avain, who has been hovering around in the background for a long while.

There is zero resolution to the shape-shifting otter people — I'm left unsure as to exactly why Kerr even introduced them in the first place! I disliked the way that everyone needed to be married off or partnered up in the end. And I believe Laz was treated unfairly by Kerr, considering that he had started to feel remorse for his actions in prior lives.

To be perfectly honest, I feel extremely dissatisfied and short-changed by this effort — especially after the long wait for the series to end. I can only hope that all of those other authors stringing out long series take note and learn how NOT to finish their own stories. —Amanda Rutter