Customer Reviews

Red Wyvern (Deverry Dragon Mage 1)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As may seem slightly redundant to one who has read other K.K. fans' enthusiastic reviews, picking up "Daggerspell" on an impulse has become one of my 'favorite mistakes'. I ate them up, and in no time at all was completely smitten... I am practically addicted to these novels, and I am sorry to have finally caught up to Katherine's current writings... It means I have to wait years, wondering at the elusive conclusions (not that there ever are any) of her inevitable cliffhangers! I cringe at the thought. No more indulgence for my built-up cravings. Contrary to other reader's opinions, I think the series is getting increasingly wonderful book by book. The tale is being spun in a way that leaves more and more of the complex and beautiful tapestry revealed. The introduction of the Gaurdians adds so much dimension to the story. I am in love with the elves-Ebany!-(the People), and Rhodry, Jill, Nevyn, Evandar, Dallandra... And am thrilled that the novels stay faithful to them throughout the series. With Angmar & Rhodry's children, the three peoples of Deverry are united in blood, as the girls contain elven, dwarven, and human heritage. I have a feeling that K.K.'s master plot will come together in the final novels beautifully...

I'm a little confused as to why this book is being called "Book One of the Dragon Mage," as though Kerr has begun a new series. The story takes up right where the last book, "Days of Air and Darkness," left off. In addition, Kerr spends much of the book returning to an earlier thread of her story that was left unfully told several volumes back. This book therefore seems a direct descendent to her first eight. But why quibble?: This is a worthy successor to her earlier work.

As mentioned above, I was pleased to find her finally completing her tale of the Civil Wars, begun so many books back and left dangling for so long. I had begun to despair ever finding out in full about the conquest of Deverry by the High King and his supporters, so many of whom have played successive roles as Kerr's series unfolds. And, I gather, this part of her story is not yet fully over. In a similar vein, I was also heartened by hints that Ebany will once again be appearing, after being rather unceremoniously dumped back in "A Time of Omens." A complete jettisoning of these plot and character elements would have done much to diminish my opinion of this series. As I have thus far enjoyed it greatly, I was pleased that my faith in Kerr's writing had been rewarded.

Much more episodic than the current and, apparently, more popular works by Martin and Jordan, this work is nonetheless their equal, and deserving of more attention. While I believe this series overall is deserving of five stars, I gave this particular entry four, as I found Part 3 somewhat weaker in plot than the rest of the book. I realize this may be due to demands placed upon the author for setting up the next book, but nonetheless found this chapter unbalancing to the book's overall structure. This doesn't, however, lessen my anticipation for the publication of the next book. And for those fans already missing the passing of Jill and Nevyn, I suspect Jill in other guise is already back, and Kerr has indicated that Nevyn will shortly follow; Take heart!

One of the best things I've ever done was to buy Daggerspell several years ago. Since then, I've sweated blood trying to put together the rest of the series, and finally I've succeeded - until the Black Raven comes out, that is. I also agree completely with the fact that this series is deserving of more attention compared to Jordan, Goodkind, etc.

For those of you who are waiting for the Black Raven with bated breath, I would suggest visiting www.voyager-books.com - where, oh joy, the first chapter is online to read. For people interested in the Deverry series in general, Katharine Kerr has a website that you can link to off of tor.com. And as to what is coming after the Black Raven, there will be either 2 or 3 more books - I've got conflicting information on that.

Supposedly, at the end of this series, things will all link up into one big Celtic knot, and we will finally see the whole story line. Also, all the characters are supposed to come back in the end for a grand finale. Personally, I can't wait till this happens - and I have plenty of speculations about WHAT will happen. Is Jill Rhodry's daughter in this incarnation? Will Haen Marn ever get back to Deverry? Will Nevyn be incarnated as Domnall Breich's son? Will Evandar and his people all be born into the world of men? Will I ever quit asking all these questions? No. Well, I have one final question, which is certainly one that EVERYONE will want to know. WILL THIS SERIES HAVE A HAPPY ENDING?!?

I just happened to stumble over the first book in the Deverry series. I have to say, it is one of the most satisfying fantasy epics I've ever read. After completing the series two years ago, my only complaint was that it was over. I've hoped and prayed for another visit to Deverry since. I was absolutely thrilled with Kerr's "The Red Wyvern". As she's done so many times before,I was draw to the story of "present time charactors", only to be thrust into the past to be reacquainted with charactors I was teased with in previous books. Katherine Kerr has done what every epic writer needs to do...She left me chopping at the bit for the next book.

This book was a great book! This is the continuation of the Deverry/Westand series. This particualar book doesn't really include Jill, Rhodry, and the other main characters. It does one of the re-incarnation things and takes us back to when Nevyn was still alive, and when Maryn was going to be crowned King. If you liked the Deverry and Westland Series, you will be sure to like the Dragon Mage Series, this is the first in the series, and the second book doesn't come out until December '99

If you're into Celtic history and mythology, read this! It puts Celtic beliefs into a fascinating story and is easy to follow - you don't have to have read all the previous books. (If there are any who follow the Wiccan Way reading this, I'm sure you'll find the whole series interesting.) For the best understanding, start from scratch; the first to read is DAGGERSPELL. The Red Wyvern is a wonderful tale, winding it's path amongst intrigue, honour, malevolence and pure fantasy. Please read this book, I swear you'll enjoy it!

An OK book, though if not a bit too interconnected with the prior books in the series. Having read all the books in the Deverry series, it was not hard to follow. However, if anyone should want to read this book, it would probably be better if they start with either the 'xxxxspell' books or the 'Time of xxxx' books. Nevertheless, it is good in that it is not complete fantasy - i.e. that it is not completely impossible to believe. If you read all the books you end up following the history of Deverry almost as if it had actually occurred. Also, it tells of the lives of people (both the elves, men, dwarves and Horsekin) entwined. A good book overall.

In Cengarn, Rhodry of the silver daggers - half-elven, half-human - is beset by strange dreams. A dark-haired enchantress, the Raven Woman, is haunting his sleep, and he can find no release, even in the arms of Dallandra, his lover.
Little does he know that his feud with the Raven Woman goes back over three hundred years, to a time when the throne of Deverry stood under threat of civil war. In those days, the young king's counsin, Lilli, was forced by her scheming mother to scry for omens, and she saw terrible visions: great red wyverns sweeping down from the mountains to plunge like hawks upon a herd opf feeding swine....

The fancies of an idle mind? Or omens foretelling bloodshed and disaster for the clan of the Boar?

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.

Wow, this book sure was hard to follow, I had to refer back to my copies of the first four books to recall who all those people were and what their part in the story was. It goes right back to the 100-year civil war.

Actually, it might just be a good read for someone who hasn't read any of the previous books, so scratch the subject above<g>.

A new reader will just think it's a good fantasy novel, and then learn that many of the characters are part of a MUCH larger tapestry. How I envy readers who are new to the world of Deverry!

The dragon mage series are a part of a much larger project - the epic or the kingdom of Deverry.
We follow charachters in their several different lives all at once. We meet a charachter in his "present" life and in his past and future one. It is hard at first and you can get a little lost, but when you get it it is a delightfull story to read. It enchants you and then you spend almost a year cursing the author for not writing the last book of the series yet.
The storry is complex and the charachters develop nicely, although sometimes they lack some depth.
It is overall a good book to read for a more demanding mind.