Customer Reviews

Daggerspell

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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 righted 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.

Katherine Kerr's writing takes a bit of getting used to, but it's worth the effort. She approaches her stories with a Celtic storytelling mindset, which means she conveys events according to their significance to the story, as opposed to chronologically. Consequently, while the stories begin in the "present" (which is an elastic concept, anyway, in a fantasy setting), the events unfold, chapter wise, both in the "present" and in the distant past. This can be frustrating, at first, but Kerr's writing is heavily steeped in Pagan and Western Mystery tradition, and the Celtic setting (and mindset) of her characters means that time, or chronological time, is not essentially relevant. To be honest, I found the first half of this book infuriating, as I spent a lot of time trying to adjust to the writing style. However, I found the story engrossing enough that I persevered, and by the second half was so hooked I've read all ten in her three series.

Kerr's story evolves around the concept of reincarnation, and unfinished business, and "karma", and fate. The same souls recur again and again, just in new bodies, over the course of the centuries over which the story unfolds.

Kerr's world is one of High Fantasy, populated by Elves, Men, and Dwarves, as well as faeries/elementals, which she terms the "Wildfolk". However, hers is a slightly more dark, dangerous and less clear cut world than the works of other High Fantasy authors, not the least due to the fact that someone who was your friend in a former life can re-emerge in the story centuries later as a foe, and vice versa. There is a tremendous amount of magic, but it's the magic of the Western Mystery tradition (quite a bit of Golden Dawn and even Enochiana), and that of R.J. Stewarts Faery tradition. There are dragons, and giant beast men.

The Elves are a fallen race, driven out of their magnificent and palatial cities centuries before by invaders, and who now roam the plains as primitives. They possess the potential to be superlative magicians, but the knowledge was lost in the fall of their civilization. Humans, though warlike and shorter lived, have preserved this knowledge, but guard it jealously. The Wildfolk, basically magic incarnate, are unhinged from the effects of "karma", but lack permanence of personality, and cannot grow or develop, cursed to stagnation. The Dwarves are a secretive mystery, entrenched within the earth. Each has something to offer the other, and the story that unfolds is the story of this "technology" exchange, of sorts, between them.

Fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley, who clearly influenced Kerr, will be enraptured by this series, as will fans of Kate Eliott, who Kerr, herself, clearly influenced. It's phenomenal! Devotees of the New Age, Esoteric or Occult will find themselves nodding and smiling as they read, and sincerely hoping Kerr's writing will do for the Western Mystery and Faery traditions what Bradley's has done for Wicca.

Daggerspell is the first of a series of -thus far- 13 books. If you start, start with the first one. In some series it doesn't really matter which one you start with, but here it does. It's a complicated story, not really one story, but a bunch of stories bundles in to one, starring the same main "characters" in different lives. Their fates or karma are woven together throughout their different lives and they keep getting reborn until they can live in peace with eachother.

I love they way Katharine Kerr use the different timelines. In each different time you get a new set of characters who are different, but also the same - except for Neven, the sorcerer, who lives through all these different times and centuries. It's because of a mistake he made when he was youg that he binds his soul with those of the peoples that died because of him. He vows not to rest until the dammage he did will be undone - little did he know it would take him severel centuries !!!

If you don't like to read a lot, or don't like long, complicated stories, don't start with this one, because there are 12 more that follow !

It's quite hard in nowadays to write something fresh new in field of fantasy - but Kerr seems to pass all borders of imagination without notion of their existence. I try to start 'Daggerspell'... and next time I became aware of surrounding world about 4 days/5 books later. Not much, sleep at that time, as well.

Everything is fresh and amazing in that series. Language is alternative form of Celtic (or Gaulish?) language what is so beautiful - you can read the books only for joy of such speech. There are no usual heroes - but small stories about incarnation of same souls fulfilling their Wyrd are joined in tapestry of all books. Unlimited numbers of small details of medieval life make books look painfully real. Well, it's simpler try to find what is similar to other fantasy books in that masterpiece, then to list all what is different....

Because Amazon doesn't have that obvious feature - here is titles of all series in order of reading: Daggerspell, Darkspell, The Bristling Wood, The Dragon Revenant, Time of Exile, Time of Omens, Days of Blood and Fire, Days of Air and Darkness, The Red Wyvern.

Kerr does several things very well. She does a particularly good job of working the big story around the little ones - something that brings a lot of epic fantasists to grief: you want to have compelling episodes, but not at the expense of something larger making the whole thing cohere and have a sense of movement. By book 3 George R.R. Martin's Ice and Fire series has virtually bloated to soap opera and lost much of the majesty of the frame; in contrast, Eddings' Belgariad was largely just going through the motions for the last few books with the inevitable conclusion ponderously played out. I suppose I should be careful here - a lot of series start well (A Game of Thrones was fantastic) before losing direction, and Kerr may slip over time - but that being said this individual volume has a really pleasing mix of internal resolution and enticing future scope.

Much of the cohesion works around her whole reincarnation thing - she can tell several different stories along the way, but we all know they're the same characters experiencing and creating karma. Kudos to her for not only having the originality to apply this notion to fantasy, but the skills to realise it successfully.

Moreover the general mythos of the Deverry world is intriguing and consistent, and not the usual vaguely Tolkienesque facade. She doesn't just throw the magic out there utterly randomly, but tries to build something in her etheric planes and give at least some explanation of dweomer and tie it into the history and action of her world.

With the exception of us being supposed to wryly smile at `honourable' Rhodry's sewing of his wild oats (just his elven blood at work) - as if in a time before contraception he wasn't being any less than callously irresponsible - there is a refreshing goodness to much of the morality running behind the book. Not nearly as much of your Hollywood virtue equals being able to WIN: cleverly dispatching your enemy may here be presented as culpable vice. Nevyn actually comes across as a pretty wise and compassionate sage by what he says, does, and even learns - rather than us just having to assume he's got some insight because he's a sorcerer. We actually feel sword master Cullyn's greatest victory has nothing to do with his skills, but is his final mature triumph over his fearsome incestuous potential. This unusually non-violent event is something of a climax, as it's also where Nevyn manages to love and respect a previously great foe. As I say, it's a nice change from the standard black and white pap you get, without simply becoming postmodern and confused.

Much of the action is in a Shakespearian context. We've got court plottings, fatal tragic personality flaws, inter-royal family revenge, banishment, star-crossed lovers - though thankfully no fools jumping about. I suppose if I had to go for some weaknesses I'd say the dialogue rarely soars - there's no great wit or incisive interplay. The words follow along with the characters and action but are not a feature of their own.

Still, a very pleasing page turner and, thank goodness, something (a bit) innovative in the fantasy genre.

Katherine Kerr has drawn a spectacularly rich world with history, mythology, varied races and languages far outstripping most other fantasy writers. She has also produced a fascinating heroine in the character of Jill. While this rather plain anglo-saxon name continues to bug me as I read the series, Jill is a great example of a woman in a man's world--a woman attempting to overcome the conventions demanding that she put on a skirt and have babies. Another good character is the wizard Nevyn, doomed to live until he repairs the damage he has caused multiple souls. While he's a bit too all-powerful at times, Nevyn's striving to put things right pushes the series forward. I heartily recommend the books to anyone tired of Valdemar's italics or Midkemia's flatness.

This book caught my interest, despite the author's uneven and at times weak writing skills. Kerr has created a wonderful celtic world and culture in Deverrey, with strong if unfully realized characters, and certainly has a story to tell. I simply wish she had taken more time to flesh out her plot and characters. Also, the transitions between time periods that occur are more often awkward than smoothly segued. Nonetheless, there is enough here that is original and captivating that I will continue on with the second book of the series. Furthermore, the author appeared to be reaching her stride by the second half of the work, offering hope that the sketchy storyline and sparse detail that detracts at the start will resolve itself into fuller expression as the tale continues. It's definately worth a read, and I suspect will improve with the telling.

Finally, I must say that many of the reviews I find herein, both for this work as well as others, seem to ignore any proportioned approach or critical evaluation, burdened by an emotional bias that refutes credibility. It beggars belief that every book written deserves either 5 stars or an opposing trashing. It would be nice to see a bit more balance in these reviews, as well as evidence of thoughtful and comparative approach.

Another review prompted by the very well-taken comments of "A Reader in Albequerque." I actually would have rated this one as a "3.5" or "3.75" if there was such a possibility. All in all, a very enjoyable read. Best points: the well-realized medieval, pseudo-Celtic world, for those who enjoy such (myself included!), and the fact that (1) reincarnation is an interesting and integral part of the plot and (2) the resulting complexities are handled well. As for what I didn't like, the book is too long. I actually had to put it down about 3/4 of the way through, wait a couple of weeks, and pick it up again once I'd regained my interest. Not that the plot was boring, just that the writing is so dense that I found it a bit slow-moving at times. (On the flipside, the dense writing *does* make for a richly-drawn tale.) The other thing I could have done without was the overuse of certain phrases . . . "cursed" this and "cursed" that, "Here, and . . ." "suchlike," etc. Done with a lighter touch, this would have had a better flavor. All things considered, though, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, although I'm not going to rush out and buy it tomorrow.

Once upon a time there was a selfish prince. He thought he was in love with a beautiful lady, but then he discovered the dweomer - that's magic, kiddies - and he decided to run away from home and become a penniless, scruffy magician instead. But when he abandons the pretty lady, her brother swoops in and gets all Flowers in the Attic with her. Her brother's best friend, who's also in love with her, gets mad at him. Brother kills friend, friend's little brother kills brother, and pretty lady kills herself. Then the selfish prince finds out that what he was supposed to do was marry the pretty lady so they could both learn dweomer together. By leaving her, he failed all three of them - the lady Brangwen, her brother Gerraent, and his friend Blaen. The prince, now named Nevyn, or "no one," vows to right his wrong. And so he lives, not very happily, ever after. And ever, and ever....

Four hundred years later, poor Nevyn is still kicking around. And now, all the players in the old drama have been reborn into the land of Deverry. Reincarnation is pretty much the backbone of this entire series. Kerr has created an incredibly complex web of past lives, with dozens of characters meeting in varying combinations over the course of centuries to work out their fate, or Wyrd. Moreover, her tale is not sequential. Timelines weave in and around each other - Kerr has used the metaphor of a Celtic knot to describe the pattern - so that the reader can immediately see the causes and effects of various actions taken over the years. While this could get complicated, Kerr provides two aids to the reader. One is the table of incarnations found in (almost) every book, which grows with new columns and rows each time a new character or event is added. Second, Kerr is masterful at making (most) of her characters completely recognizable from one incarnation to the next. This is especially true of secondary characters, who could, admittedly, clog the gears a bit. But Kerr makes it clear that they always serve a purpose - they are, indeed, part of the larger pattern.

In Daggerspell, the first book in a series that looks like it's going to stretch to 15, things remain relatively simple, with only three timelines and a handful of characters to worry about. These include Nevyn, of course, who's a delightful mainstay of pretty much the entire series. Yes, he's a powerful, seemingly immortal wizard. He's also avuncular without being condescending, smart, has a sense of humor, and is refreshingly practical. He's still trying to bring Brangwen to the dweomer, so of course he's thrilled to meet the tomboyish Jill and her father Cullyn, a notorious mercenary. Then the dashing young lord Rhodry Maelwaedd gets involved, and Nevyn realizes that once again, these three will have to work out their Major Issues before Jill can fulfill her Wyrd.

Along the way, Jill, Rhodry, and Cullyn get involved in a battle that seems straightforward but soon reveals itself as a part of a larger dweomer war. They also meet the Westfolk, as refreshing a take on elves as Nevyn is on wizards. The Westfolk will play a huge role in the story to follow, so pay attention.

Then again, in the long run, nearly everything that happens will have significance later - or earlier, given the twisted timeline. That's one of the great things about this series, that no matter how many times you reread it (and for me, that's a lot) there will always be a new connection to draw. Something in Book 2 will suddenly make sense given what we learn in book 10, and vice versa. I realize for many people, the vast and nonlinear storyline will simply be too byzantine to be enjoyable, or even understandable. (Kerr admits she gets a lot of complaints from confused readers.) Still, if you love well-written, well-researched, intelligent, and complex fantasy, you can't do much better, in my opinion, than the Deverry series.

The Deverry saga is a long fantasy saga, but the great thing is that the it is organized in cycles, the first one being the first 4 books ("The Deverry cycle"). And at the end of a cycle, you get a real ending.
So if you hesitate to buy this book, thinking that you'll have to wait too long to know the end, don't. You'll have a real ending at the end of book 4.

The story is set in an alternative 11th century, Kerr imagining a celtic culture having survived and evolved into the Middle Ages thanks to a group of Gaulish-like people having settled long ago in a new territory.

Our heroes are Jill, Rhodry, Cullyn and Nevyn. Rhodry is a young lord threatened with death by another lord and his army, for an unknown reason. Jill, orphan of mother since she was 7 but now a young adult, follows her father Cullyn on "the long road". He is a silver dagger, a mercenary, a dishonoured man kicked out from his warband and compelled to sell his service here and there. She too now is a silver dagger, probably the only girl having ever done that, but she has never known anything else. Nevyn is a very smart and old herbman. Or rather, this is how everyone sees him. He is actually a four-century year old sorcerer, or more precisely "dweomermaster".
The dweomer is at the center of The Deverry Cycle. This is the name given to magic. A magic common folk is afraid of or don't believe in, but that is truly known only by long trained dweomermasters. The dweomer is a very spiritual magic: it gives you the possibility to use telepathy with another trained mind, to meditate, to see omens, etc. A dweomermaster is also able to see and communicate with the Wildfolk (gnomes, sprites, undines or salamanders), elemental spirits.
Spirits that Jill is also able to see, an ability denoting her predisposition for dweomer. And Nevyn mission, among others, is precisely to bring her to the dweomer and to train her, but he cannot force her. He can drop hints, but the choice must entirely come from her. A difficult task, that unfortunately he has failed to accomplish several times in the past, when Jill's soul lived in other bodies... And he will have no rest until he accomplishes it.

The great originality of course of this saga is to make the readers discover in long flashbacks the past lives of our heroes. This creates a very deep psychology of characters and is just fascinating. The depiction of both the system of magic and the spiritual world, and the fictional 11th celtic culture are enthralling. Kerr has obviously done quite an amount of research on both these subjects before beginning her saga. I've always liked it when you can relate fantasy or fantastic works to history, and this is definitely the case here. I admire the blending of historical references and pure imagination.

The thing I also completely dig is Kerr's writing, and I definitely don't understand why some reviewers here criticized it. One thing for sure: her sytle is literary, and I guess some people find it tedious because they're only used to read books with very basic styles. However, it is not difficult at all to follow her writing, which is very visual, direct and lively. No overlong boring passages, every sentence hits its target.

I saw some people here complained about sexual scenes. It's true that Kerr doesn't hesitate in taking risks with her story and she explores new territories. And this is really enjoyable. You read something new, something daring. Anyway Kerr's writing is always classy and careful, and the books remain material suitable for teens, there's nothing "sordid" here. The "sexual scenes" (not yet in Book 1) are necessary because a dark character is involved in ritual sex, and later a protagonist is sexually abused. Kerr is not showing our heroes making out. Those few "sex scenes" are here to serve as key points in the story, and are not described in visual details.

To finish, I really recommend this book to everyone!! I lent the first book to my best friend and to one of my teen student, and they both loved it!! They bought all the others! :D

As a fan of fantasy novels, it's hard to find a book that doesn't sound like it was contrived from a dozen others. This book is not only refreshing but original in it's threads of lifetimes and characters. Katherine Kerr bravely explores the idea of karma and one person's actions echoing throughout several generations, and she handles it with thought provoking storytelling.

The characters are full and realistic, and I was so relieved to at least find a female lead who was neither manipulative and whiny, as seems to be the standard woman in fantasy novels, nor was she Xena warrior princess. Jill is intelligent, strong, and yet distinctly feminine.

For once the good guys are the interesting, likable characters instead of falling into the oh-so-common fantasy trap of giving all the personality to the villian.

I would recommend this book and all the others in the series to anyone.