Customer Reviews

The Gold Falcon: Book One of The Silver Wyrm

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Well, I guess I'll be the first to say that this is a wonderful book--though I'm not sure how well-received it might be by someone who hasn't read the rest of the eleven books leading up to The Gold Falcon. Truth be told, I made the same mistake myself when I first discovered this series; I randomly selected The Red Wyvern (book nine), and found myself completely and thoroughly confused by the time I'd reached the second chapter.
It's well-worth the confusion, though--and really, if you start with the first book, Daggerspell, you'll get the hang of Kerr's writing style quickly enough.

These books aren't written in a linear progression (which, as afore mentioned, can create some confusion) she describes her method as being like a celtic knot in novel form: parts of the tale weave in and out of each other, with story-arcs that feature different incarnations of a core set of characters. The reader is left with a very eloquent and intriguing impression of the kinds of decisions and drama that affect us all, and the ramifications that echo through multiple lifetimes.
I understand that Kerr is an avid Dungeons&Dragons player, and it's pretty obvious in her use of Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, etc. I occasionally wish she'd get away from some of the more "cartoonish" aspects of these different magical races and stick with the riveting and more historically based medieval storylines in her books.
She's created a fascinating and well-fleshed out world in which people interact in a deeply compelling way. Over the course of eleven books, the reader has had the chance to walk a mile in the footsteps of every echelon of her society, from bondsman to Gwerbret or even King. I usually find it hard to put these books down, and I think I gobbled The Gold Falcon up in one gluttonous sitting.
Basically, if you've loved the series so far, you'll be buying this book no matter what, and I doubt you'll be disappointed. (I wasn't.) And if you haven't read any of Kerr's other books, I think I'd recommend that you start at the beginning. One gets the impression that Kerr has a very distinct destination in mind, and you don't want to miss one step of the journey.

"Katharine Kerr returns with her eager readers back to Deverry. Ms. Kerr also addresses her readers, in the Author's Note, that her novels are meant to be read as "part of one long story, divided into four 'acts,' as it were."

In The Gold Falcon the novel begins with sadness. We learn that two brothers, an adolescent Neb and much younger Clae, are both orphans sent to their uncle's decaying farm. One night they go out into the woods to look for more berries and manage to escape and hide from the ruthless Horsekin invaders that attack the village.

Fortuitously, they run into a kind stranger by the name of Salamander, who immediately recognizes Neb as Nevyn from his past life and takes him into Tieryn Cadryc's dun with his younger brother. It is here at the Dun that Neb meets his former past life soulmate Branna, though at the time they have no idea why they are so compelled to one another. In fact, once they realize that both of them can see the Wildfolk (small fairies and gnomes that only appear to people with dweomer or elves) they are instantly drawn to one another as well as confused and frightened.

Eventually, both are introduced to the Westfolk (elves) and a very powerful and beautiful dweomermaster Dallandra. In time both learn that their strange dreams are actually flashbacks into their past lives, their "dweomer masters" souls are struggling to recall old powerful memories buried away in their new bodies.

We also learn that Rhodry is still roaming Deverry as a dragon, Rori, with his mate Arzorah. Both dragons are integral pieces in the war against the Horsekin. However we also discover many secrets about Rori. Yet despite enjoying the power of flight he still longs to be turned back into a man.

What I enjoy the most about this series is the aspect of reincarnation. There are certain traits that souls have which are continuously carried over into the next life. Certainly this is not new this idea of bettering oneself in life to come back better or stronger in the next. But the way that Kerr weaves her story and characters continuously meeting, losing, and then making enemies, befriending enemies is really a work of art. She captures the whole essence of Celtic story-telling. It takes multiple incarnations of the characters to "make things right" with one another based on the vows they have made and how all of their destinies are linked because of the dweomer magic. I enjoy this idea that debts they owe to one another will never die until they are fulfilled. Only then can they begin on a clean slate, or achieve enlightenment or nirvana, and their soul can make the decision whether or not to be reborn on the astral plane.

I strongly recommend this series for any fantasy lovers. First begin with Daggerspell, it can be immensely confusing picking out all the character's past lives without reading their prior history. Kerr also includes an incarnation table in the back of her novels which help greatly to keep track of reincarnations."