The Soul Weaver (The Bridge of D'arnath, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Carol Berg (Author) "Ce'na davonet, Gire D'Arnath! You'll dance at my daughter's naming day..." (more)
Key Phrases: tappa root, soul weaving, flogging post, Blue Tower, Lords of Zhev'Na, Soul Weaver (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
In book 3 of the Bridge of D'Arnath, the sorcerer Karon, his wife, Seri, and their son, Gerick, continue resisting the dread lords of Zhev'na. Immolated in his own land, Karon is now in a sorcerous realm, embodied as the prince of the D'Arnath. Still adjusting to not being widowed after all, Seri is in hiding with Gerick. The queen of her land begs Seri's aid, for the king who had Karon burned has been ensorcelled, and the crown princess has vanished. As the lords' former captive, Gerick so fears harming friends that he will do nothing, even when danger threatens; he'll be blamed if anything misfires. After an important D'Arnath inexplicably dies, however, Gerick must flee to a land of outcasts--and the missing princess--who deem him their king. With three kingdoms in turmoil and Zhev'na's attack imminent, personal demons must be suppressed to fight with all their powers. Very good, but read Son of Avonar [BKL F 15 04] and Guardians of the Keep [BKL S 1 04] first. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Carol Berg has mastered the balance between mystery and storytelling. -- David Enterprise

Intelligent entertainment. -- Booklist

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Roc (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451460170
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460172
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Bridge of D'Arnath Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What happened!?, March 20, 2005

By	Eon (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

I'm stunned. Completely and totally stunned. I love Carol Berg's work, but this book let me down so much. Her work up until now has been intriguing in plot and flawless in execution, so what happened here?

The first two books tied into one another nicely. Small bits and peices that are only hinted at in the first book become the central focus of the second. I had assumed that this would be the same, but far from it. With her previous triology, all the peices felt connected. The realities of the conclusion were hinted at in the first two books of her first, the Rai-Kirah trilogy, and came to fruition in the third. Here, the events of the conclusion came as a complete shock. And not in a good way.

What is the Bounded? How come there is absolutely no indication of it whatsoever in the first two books? There is not so much of a hint of it being created, although the book claims the creation of this new work at the end of the second book. How? Well, that's never explained. Supposedly it's connected to Gerick's talent as the titular Soul Weaver, another peice that wasn't hinted at in the other two books. And, aside from the Bounded's godlike "Source" revealing to Gerick what's really going on, it serves no purpose. The reader doesn't actually see the conversation where the Source explains. The Bounded doesn't help him to defeat the lords of Zhev'na, who have somehow faded into the background, presenting much less of a threat than they should have.

The grand betrayal at the end should have been a revelation. Instead it was a rude jolt. Who is this guy? What's his motivation? Why have we not heard of him AT ALL before now? Instead of being woven perfectly in with the rest of the characters, he appears out of nowhere for the third book and is suddenly the traitorous villain. And while Berg's traitors usually pull the wool over even my eyes, I can't see how this guy fooled any of the characters. It was obvious from the beginning that he was up to no good.

With all the time Berg's spends on explaining what happened before, this book would have actually stood better on its own than as part of this trilogy. If the first two books were a smooth transition from first gear to second, this was a shocking jolt as the engine stalls moving into third.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Conclusion to a Great Series, February 6, 2005

By	Jessica G. "lilac_jive" - See all my reviews

It's been four years since the last book, and with it Gerick and his relationship with his mother, Seri, has blossomed. But his father's work in Avonar has kept him away from his son, so Karon decides to take Gerick over the Bridge and risk the eyes of the Lords of Zhev'Na so he can bond with his son for a night. Yet right after they return, the problems start coming.

Gerick is accused of being a traitor, people all over Leire are disappearing, and the mysterious people responsible are haunting Gerick's dreams. There is another world, the Bounded, and its people are convinced Gerick will rule them.

As with the last book, the point of view changes between characters, although a bulk of it will go to Gerick. He has stopped his incessant whining and temper tantrums and is acting more like an adult. Karon is losing himself to the more violent D'Natheil, the Prince's personality overwhelming Karon's in his rage. Seri must decide whether she believes her husband or her son, and must play mediator between the two. The character's changes as well as the fast-paced plot make this book come to life.

I absolutely loved this book. It outshone the previous two, and thats saying something. Berg plays with the reader's emotions and uses them to make an intense story that you can't put down. Definetly one of the best fantasy series I've ever read, and this book concludes it impeccably. I highly recommend it.

quick edit* Apparantly this is not the last book of the series. Apparantly Carol Berg decided to put one more book in so she could work with Gerick's issues. Sounds exciting, details are on her site. Its called "Daughter of Ancients" and should be out sometime in September.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wasn't what I expected, March 21, 2005

By	Neker (Duson, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews

The novel was great. I enjoy all of Berg's work. I think her characterization is beyond comparison. I'm not sure what happened in this novel. The story starts off like usual. Karon is off leading a fight. Seri is at home trying to raise their son, Gerik. Then suddenly, Karon want's to kill Gerik. Gerik flees to a new world, the Bounded. Which is a really interesting place. Nearly 1/2 of the book is spent in this new world, with Gerik trying to solve its problems. Eventually he leaves the Bounded to solve his family problems as well as the problems of the other two worlds.

The only problems I had with this book is that the world of the Bounded and the actual bad guy in the end of the story was never introduced. I don't understand how these people could just pop up out of no where.

Would this stop me from reading any other books from Berg? Of course not. Berg is still a very talented writer and will always be on my number one list of reads.