[SVC]∎ Read Free Daggerspell Deverry Series Book One Katharine Kerr 9780553565218 Books

Daggerspell Deverry Series Book One Katharine Kerr 9780553565218 Books

Download As PDF : Daggerspell Deverry Series Book One Katharine Kerr 9780553565218 Books

Daggerspell Deverry Series Book One Katharine Kerr 9780553565218 Books

Couldn't finish it. Clearly the author is a Theosophist (or perhaps a follower of one of its offshoots, like Anthroposophy or (neo) Rosicrucianism) who decided to build a fantasy series around theosophical themes of Karma (Wyrd), reincarnation, etc. The terminology is clearly borrowed from those teachings: we have "Lords of Wyrd" instead of "Lords of Karma", the "silver cord" connecting the subtle body to the physical body, the hierarchy of worlds - physical, etheric, astral, fiery - all good stuff. What kills this book is the abominable quality of writing. Cardboard characters, recycled plotlines, no tension whatsoever, boring exposition interlaced with poorly-written dialogue. It was such a drag to try and finish it, and ultimately I couldn't. Two stars for a good idea but terrible execution.


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Daggerspell Deverry Series Book One Katharine Kerr 9780553565218 Books Reviews

This is a well-written book with complex characters and motivations. The only downside to the version is that there are typographical errors. Also, non-linear narrative is generally easier, IMHO, to follow if you've post-it notes and can flip readily between sections.

(Note Science fantasy is usually defined as fantasy where magic/supernatural stuff follows such very clear and precise rules that it is an alternative universe science.)
It is by all means an enjoyable book with a fascinating magic and afterlife system. Its strong Celtic (perhaps somewhat Germanic?) flair lends it some great charm as well. On the other hand, it takes a good while for the story to really warm up and suffers from some really flat dialogue. It's hard to feel strongly about this book either way as it's neither that good nor that bad.
Katherine Kerr's Deverry series is one of the most innovative fantasy series I have read. It can be difficult to follow at first since the characters change identities and jump backwards and forwards in time as they live their various incarnations. People can redeem themselves in this world by not repeating past mistakes. Some of those mistakes are terrible. As some reviewers have stated, there is incest in the beginning. There is violence towards women. These are mistakes the characters later try to rectify, to become better people, to not continue to make these mistakes. It is disheartening (and as a woman frustrating) to see this portrayal. However, the author writes strong females. Unlike George R R Martin (whose ASOIAF/Game of Thrones series I love) she does not continue to perpetuate the violence.

So if you were put off by negative reviews that mentioned the first bit of the book, please give it a try. (You can probably find it in a library if you don't want to risk your money. However, the series is engrossing. I highly recommend the purchase.)
This is a review for the entire series. Note that I am only on book 6, so I have a ways to go to form an opinion on Ms. Kerr's full body of work. It took some time to get comfortable with the Deverry series. For me, I trudged through Daggerspell (which I think I read about 30 years ago...) then picked up Darkspell to see if I bonded with the storyline. The reason is that Daggerspell was meant to be the set up book for the series, so not a whole lot happens in the book. In fact, entire chunks are taken up with re-introducing the previous incarnations of the main characters. As a result, you end up meeting characters that you will never see again in the series (which isn't true, but you need to read the books to know what I mean). However, once you get to Darkspell, then the holistic story starts to reveal itself and the character development pays off.

I'm a fan of Kurtz, Brooks, Eddings, Herbert, and other "epic" storytellers, and Kerr is just as good (in her unique way) as them all.
This book came highly recommended, so I'm sorry to say that despite its strengths, it has not inspired me to seek out the 15 sequels.

For a fantasy novel first written in the 80s, this has aged reasonably well, though not so well as another recent find of mine, the wonderful The Ladies of Mandrigyn. Daggerspell is listed as epic fantasy, though there's no more than a hint of an Enemy--as opposed to a mere antagonist--in this volume. While Kerr incorporates some old-fashioned elements (I can't remember when I last read a fantasy book that actually included elves and dwarves), the plot is an unusual one, with the first half following the same group of main characters through multiple incarnations over the span of four hundred years. The second half focuses in on the "modern-day" plotline, involving the rebellion of a minor lord against his prince.

But if the plot is innovative, the characters are standard fantasy creations Jill, the Exceptional Girl; Rhodry, the Noble Prince; Nevyn, the Wise Old Man; Cullyn, the Swordmaster with a Dark Past. They aren't flat, but they never did much to grab my attention, and while seeing the variations in their love rectangle through their several incarnations was a novelty, I didn't find said love rectangle nearly interesting enough the first time to want to see it repeated twice more. And the "star-crossed lovers" rationale is used to shortcut through actual relationship development, making it hard for me to care about these supposedly life-altering passions. The rebellion in the latter half of the book interested me more here the story moves at a brisk pace, with enough political complications to please those who prefer intrigue to fighting in their fantasy. It is also nice to see characters who are reasonably quick on the uptake when there's a "no man can kill him" prophecy about an opponent, I worried they'd be lost for half the book, but it only takes a few pages for the guys to appeal to Jill.

The story takes place in an alternate version of medieval Wales, and Kerr's worldbuilding deserves the praise it's been consistently given; much fantasy takes place in "quasi-medieval" worlds, but this one feels like an authentic medieval setting, as well-researched and thought through as historical fiction. The physical and political details of the world ring true initially I was surprised, for instance, at the small size of the warbands, but for local chieftains with limited resources at their disposal, the numbers make sense. The dialogue is somewhat stylized, but in a consistent way that gives appropriate flavor to the characters' speech, and the writing style is adequate.

In the end, a competent fantasy with textured worldbuilding, but rather staid character roles and personalities that left me uninspired. While this book has an independent plot arc, it's clearly the first in a series, with many loose ends and a story that, standing alone, has little resonance. I wouldn't discourage others from picking this up, particularly those who love long fantasy series, but as for me, I'm unlikely to continue.
Couldn't finish it. Clearly the author is a Theosophist (or perhaps a follower of one of its offshoots, like Anthroposophy or (neo) Rosicrucianism) who decided to build a fantasy series around theosophical themes of Karma (Wyrd), reincarnation, etc. The terminology is clearly borrowed from those teachings we have "Lords of Wyrd" instead of "Lords of Karma", the "silver cord" connecting the subtle body to the physical body, the hierarchy of worlds - physical, etheric, astral, fiery - all good stuff. What kills this book is the abominable quality of writing. Cardboard characters, recycled plotlines, no tension whatsoever, boring exposition interlaced with poorly-written dialogue. It was such a drag to try and finish it, and ultimately I couldn't. Two stars for a good idea but terrible execution.