Customer Reviews

Dawnspell

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Against the passionate sweep of Deverrian history, the powerful wizard Nevyn has lived for centuries, atoning for the sins he committed in his youth. Now, with so much of his work at stake, Nevyn discovers that the Dark Council has been quietly interfering with the already tangled politics of war-torn Eldidd. Their evil webs are nearly spun before Nevyn, with all the power at his command, even realizes there's a war of magic destroying his world.

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 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 book 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.

This saga has many books, but it's composed of several parts. Book 1 to 4 are the Deverry Cycle. At the end of Book 4 (note that Bristling Wood is the US title and Dawnspell the UK title, but they are the same novel), you get a real ending. So din't hesitate to buy this book or the previous ones thinking it will be too long before you the end.

I gave a detailed comment about Kerr's writing (strong, visual but with also an elevated style), the story and the big plus of the saga on my comment of the first book: Daggerspell (Deverry Series, Book One)

This 3rd book is as good as the precedent (writing, atmosphere, plot, dialogues...). The story doesn't get redundant at all, and personnally I still enjoyed deeply the hours spent in the Deverry kingdom.

We still have flashbacks of the characters' previous lives. This time they grip you immediately, because the flashback begins in such a way you're directly thrown into the action, searching who is who. You'll have surprises there. The story set in the present becomes more intense and suspenseful and will also suprise you in mainy ways. Be prepared for unexpected and excellent turns. You'll definitely be more surpised here than in Book 2. The novel ends on an enormous cliffhanger. I suggest you buy Book 4 at the same time that Book 3 in order to avoid waiting to know what happens next.

Still nothing wrong, although I'm not relishing it as much as earlier in the series. While the structure is still enjoyable, particularly where you see the threads of past and future, an epic series only works for me if it is steadily building to a stunning climax (as in the slowest of burns in Dumas' fabulous Count of Monte Cristo), or if it meanders a bit but each episode is good enough to stand alone (hard to think of any that keep up this standard - perhaps Saberhagen's Swords series, although at times there isn't really a uniting plot over some of the episodes, they just happen to be inhabiting the same world) - or if it manages to do both (which is why there's still daylight between Tolkien and everyone else).

There's some fairly tenuous things going on here as Kerr pushes Rhodry off to Bardek. Sure, it could be an interesting change of scene, but I found it a bit hard to swallow that a couple of bribes and lucky conversations managed to overcome the efforts of the entire kingdom of Deverry, backed up by close friends, the good wife, and various and sundry dweomer masters. The sub-plot around Jill's tragic seduction/ensorcelment was the only part of the book that made me forget I was reading for a while, and while potent in itself, not enough to bring me to recommend this volume except as part of the series. Maybe I need to leave it a year or two before I pick up Volume 4 (like I do with Rowling and Pratchett to maximise pleasure), which is a shame because clearly the intent is to lock me in. Hey, I want to be locked in, but this is a low security facility with day release (yes, I freely admit that this is an appalling metaphor).

It sounds from the synopsis as if this book was the one originally titles "The Bristling Wood".

She's been re-writing her series from the beginning. I thing her original names for the first few books were terrible (almost kept me from reading them), but changing them is confusing!

Katharin Kerr has created another classic celtic fantasy with her book, Dawnspell. Once again, Rhodry, Nevyn, and Jill battle to save Deverry from the forces of evil. The best part of this book, however, is the lenthy reincarnation flashback, dealing with the formation of the Silver Daggers. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy, because it is a wonderful book! (Make sure you read Daggerspell and Darkspell first.)