Customer Reviews

Devlin's Honor (Sword of Change, Book 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Following the death of his wife and child, Devlin of Duncaer was named Kinslayer and became Kinbereft. He sought death so he asked to be considered the Jorskian Empire's Chosen One. Found worthy, a magical geas was placed on him forcing him to put the empire's needs before his own even if it meant his death.

Devlin's accomplishments quickly made him a favorite of the king and the people and the monarchy names him General of the Royal Army. Devlin worries that war is inevitable but fails to persuade the nobles and the king that a crisis is coming. Meanwhile they want Devlin to own the Sword of Light, which he recognizes from a palace picture as being in Duncaer. He hates returning home as everyone scorns him, but the geas forces him to obtain the sword. On his way to Aluaran to pick up the sword, a wizard places him under a dangerous spell that interferes with his mission. If he fails to gain the sword, the empire could collapse at a time when war is imminent.

Devlin is the key to this action-packed fantasy as readers will reach out to him with empathy while he seeks to die until he obtains a reason to live. Once Devlin becomes the Chosen One, protecting those most vulnerable as well as the empire, the audience will switch emotions and end up rooting for him as a hero and feel his angst when he goes back to his home as a most hated conqueror. This protagonist turns a well-written epic fantasy into a powerful action and adventure tale loaded with a deep cast led by this champion.

Harriet Klausner

The first book in this series is a traditional sword-and-sorcery style epic fantasy. Devlin knows of no problem that can't be solved by his axe ... or later, his sword. But this book takes his battles to a whole new level. He's not fighting the monsters outside, he's fighting the monsters within. In book #1, he blamed Haakon, the god of death, for taking his family but leaving him alive. In this book, he gets up close and personal with Haakon. He still wants to die ... but now he may very well take those he cares about most with him.

Devlin is still my favorite "reluctant" hero, as he was in DEVLIN'S LUCK; however, I must subtract a star because the book dragged all the way through. The entire book was Devlin's journey back to his hometown to find the Sword of Light, which should by rights be in the possession of the Chosen One. I hope Ms. Bray picks up the pace in the third novel due out next year.

Slooooooow reading. Lingers on and on. Extremely predictable. Big let down compared to the first book. Seems to be a trend with author's to continue a series without a true storyline in order to sell more books. Shame on you Patricia.

Devlin of Duncaer has established himself as Chosen One, and is slowly building the political base he needs to fight what is obviously an on-coming invasion of Jorsk, when his fitness to be Chosen One is questioned because he does not carry the legendary Sword of Light which his predecessors wielded in pursuit of both justice and as the general of the Jorsk army. For the last 50 years the sword has been lost to knowledge when it vanished during the invasion of Duncaer and finding it now is seen as a fools quest.

When Devlin finally sees a painting of the sword he is stunned, because he knows this sword and has held in his hands as an apprentice metal smith, and he is in despair at the games the gods have played with his life and the knowledge that the Geas will force him to seek the sword out.

The pacing of this book is different from the first instalment in this series. A large section is devoted to the journey to Duncaer (a month's travel by horse) and the troubles that Devlin discovers when he reaches his old home.

We finally get to meet Devlin's old friends as he confronts his past and we learn about the complex family and justice traditions and laws of his homeland. I really enjoyed this book and we continue to see growth in both Devlin and the people he knows. I'm very much looking forward to the final instalment of this series "Devlin's Justice" when it comes out next year. It's just a shame we have to wait so long for it.

If you like traditional fantasy heroes (and I do), this book is a lot of fun. Book One of the Sword of Change established Devlin as the Champion and a hero. In this book, he quickly finds out that yesterday's heroes are, well, old news. The King, tired of making uncomfortable decisions, is no longer listening to him. The opposition starts a campaign to force him to find the Champion's sword, lost in Devlin's homeland for the last 50 years.
Once Devlin realizes that he has actually seen the lost sword in his master's workshop, his geas kicks in and forces him to find it. Along with his two boon companions, he returns to his homeland to find the sword as well as pieces of himself that he had long thought lost forever.
Devlin's Honor is written with a style that invites a quick read (it took me about 2.5 hours). Although the plot is pretty much a standard for the fantasy genre, the characterization is well done, and I found myself interested in the secondary characters as well as the protagonist. There were fewer fight scenes in this book than in the last, and some of the minor characters needed their personalities and motivations fleshed out a bit, but I would absolutely recommend this book for an afternoon of light reading.

Devlin's Honor follows on from the first book called Devlin's luck. In this book, Devlin (or the Chosen One) is tasked with finding a special sword that was lost during the invasion of his country by the empire he now serves. This means that Devlin, who is an outcast among his people and called kinless, must confront those he once knew as friends.

I gave this four stars on the strength of the first book, which is very good indeed. This one is less good, but still satisfying. It's obvious from what happens in this book that Devlin's adventures are far from over. I'm looking forward to the third book in this series.

Mark E. Cooper

I was hoping for more. The first book in the series, "Devlin's Luck", was quite good and showed a lot of promise. Unfortunately the author gave less in this second novel than she did in the first. Very simplistic plotting and superficial characterizations, combined with a large font make this book a quick read. Albeit an enjoyable one. Save this one for reading on an airplane and if you want something with more meat to it, go check out Michelle West's latest book. Ms. Bray has some good ideas and a very pleasant writing style, but her follow through is a bit weak.

DEVLIN'S HONOR is the middle entry in the Sword of Change trilogy and, yes, it does feel like a bridging novel. It's a decent read, although I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first book DEVLIN'S LUCK. Frankly DEVLIN'S HONOR and DEVLIN'S JUSTICE don't live up to the promise of DEVLIN'S LUCK.

It's been nearly four months since the king of Jorsk had elevated the peasant Devlin Stonehand, the current Chosen One, to General of the Royal Army. But it's proven to be four months of futility as Devlin's efforts to strengthen the kingdom are stymied time and again by incessant court politics and the king's passiveness. And, lately, uneasy murmurs have surfaced which question Devlin's posting of the Chosen One. It's a dismal time to go adventuring and yet, to prove credibility, Devlin finds himself embarking on a quest to unearth the long vanished Sword of Light, the possession of which constitutes definitive proof that Devlin is indeed anointed by the gods and a worthy Chosen One. Horribly, his only lead returns him to his conquered homeland, conquered and occupied by the very empire he now champions. And the homeland from where he'd been exiled.

Two years ago Devlin fled the Duncaer province, haunted by memories of his slain family and avidly seeking death ('s why he sought the Chosen One appointment, to die quickly). He's over his death wish now, but he still dreads his homecoming. As expected, he finds no welcome in Duncaer, the Caerfolk regarding him as a sellout and a traitor. And even more troubling than the various attempts on his life, Devlin sniffs out a seething conspiracy seeking to overthrow the Jorsk kingdom's rule over Duncaer. The magical geas cast on each Chosen One compels Devlin to always put the interests of Jorsk before anything else, but it's only natural that he feels torn between allegiances.

As things fall out, it's not Devlin Stonehand's role as Chosen One which sees him thru the muddle.

The best thing about this sequel is that we get to learn more about Devlin's native land and its rugged people. We learn that Devlin's steely, uncompromising nature is part and parcel of the Caerfolk's identity and also that kinship plays an integral part in the culture. Patricia Bray does a terrific bit of world-building here, fleshing out this little corner of the vast Jorsk empire.

This novel is actually tightly plotted. But in electing to veer away from action set pieces (I remember only two fighty fights in this one) the story becomes this ongoing series of uneasy verbal encounters with dangerous undertones. Devlin and his tiny band press on with their search for the sword but meet obstacle after obstacle, mostly in the form of the hostile Duncaer populace. I kept waiting for the pace to pick up, and it finally, finally does in the last fifty pages or so. But there's a lot of dead spots.

This time out Patricia Bray More focuses more on developing Devlin's companions, the sensible City Guard lieutenant Didrik and the naive minstrel Stephen. What sucks is that Devlin spends much of the time being haunted by Haakon the Death God, whose insidious whisperings render Devlin inert and hesitant, something I don't like my protagonists to be. This keeps him more or less sidelined, leaving it up to Didrik and Stephen to carry the story. Luckily the Chosen One gets his act together in time to sort things out, not only in the matter of the missing sword but also with his past. Despite the flaws, DEVLIN'S HONOR turns out to be a decent if plodding read. But I'm still in the dark about why this series is titled the "Sword of Change." I'm assuming the Sword of Change is the same weapon as the Sword of Light, although the writer doesn't really confirm this at any time in the trilogy. Still, in light of the sweeping events in the third and final novel, it's an easy reach.

Patricia Bray, Devlin's Honor (Bantam, 2003)

NOTE: This review contains spoilers for Devlin's Luck, the first book in the series. If you haven't read that yet, don't read this review.

The second book in Bray's Sword of Change series picks up where the first left off, and is one of the few books that actually does something I've often wanted to see--shows that what looked like a happy ending can go horribly, horribly wrong. Devlin of Duncaer, the Chosen One, narrowly defeated the corrupt General of the Army in single combat at the end of the last book and was named his replacement. All well and good, except that Devlin doesn't really do diplomacy too well, and the job is a lot more shuffling papers than going out and saving people, which is his specialty. As well, there's a growing feeling in Jorsk, for people will always find something to complain about, that if Devlin were really the Chosen One, the gods would have delivered the Sword of Light to him. Problem is, it was lost by the last Chosen One during the conquest of Duncaer, Devlin's homeland. The Caerfolk have never taken all too kindly to people from Jorsk, but they really hate Devlin, who's an outcast for reasons that were never fully explained in the first book.

Don't worry, it gets explained here in great detail. In fact, just about everything in the book gets explained in great detail, and some readers, judging by the reviews of the book I've read, have a problem with that. I actually found that made the book a better experience for me than the first was; there's more depth to these characters, more justification for their actions, and thus the actions themselves are more meaningful. It's not just "wow, here's a quest, let's do it." That's a good thing. This one also has a less episodic feel to it; there's a reason everything's happening, which is also a good thing.

Good stuff, this. I'll definitely be reading the conclusion to this trilogy. *** ½