Daughter of Ancients (The Bridge of D'Arnath, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Carol Berg (Author) "In spring of the fifth year after the defeat of the Lords of Zhev'Na, our fifth year at Windham, Karon lost his appetite..." (more)
Key Phrases: disrupt containment, slave collar, Lady D'Sanya, Prince Ven'Dar, Lady Seriana (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"Heed my last word, Destroyer. You will never be free of us. No matter in what realm we exist at the end of this day, you will not escape the destiny we designed for you. You are our instrument. Our Fourth. Every human soul - mundane or Dar’Nethi - will curse the day you first drew breath."

Fear of the Lords’ curse was only one reason Gerick never intended to return to Avonar. Five years after the end of the war, the Dar’Nethi still revile the young Fourth Lord and are happy to believe him dead. And in his own realm of the Bounded, he can forget the past and refuse the unsavory temptations of sorcery. But when tragic family business takes Gerick back to his father’s world, he is asked to investigate a woman from the desert – the charismatic D’Sanya, D’Arnath’s own daughter so she claims, held captive for a thousand years. Tangled in bonds of love, family, memory, and guilt, Gerick sets out to unravel the mysteries of ancient kings, ancient evil, and the dreadful truth of his own destiny.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Roc; First edition. edition (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451460421
• ISBN-13: 978-0451460424
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The Bridge of D'Arnath Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Now That's More Like It, September 18, 2005

By	Eon (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

The Soul Weaver was something of a bump in the road that is the story of Carol Berg's The Bridge of D'Arnath. Full of strange, ambiguous explanations and betrayals that were unbelievably contrived, it will always be the weak link in the chain.

But a bump in the road is only a small hinderance when it leads to a destination the likes of Daughter of Ancients. Weaving nearly every aspect of the former books into its tapestry, Daughter of Ancients is a great triumph for Berg...not to mention a wonder for those of us fortunate enough to have stumbled upon her work. Her plots are always fascinating, far above and beyond the plethora of magic sword-wielding farm boys that seem to clog the shelves even now.

My only complaints would be, of course, the pieces of the puzzle that don't quite fit into place. Or the peice, that being again The Soul Weaver. The Bounded has no connection to the why and how of the story, aside from being a contrivance to turn Gerick into the man he needed to be, and thus Daughter of Ancients into the book it is. Which is perfectly acceptable in the long run. The problem is that no explanation cropped up in this book to justify the great betrayal at the end of The Soul Weaver. It feels like a clumsy attempt to get the Lords of Zhev'Na out of the way, so that Daughter of Ancients could take place.

All other peices fall smoothly into place, though. Those moments of dawning comprehension and wonder that make Berg's work some of my favorites were there in force. She provides her readers with just enough details that an always ticking mind, that can twist logic and imagine possibilities, will see the answers to the riddles mere babysteps ahead of the characters in the books. Like a mystery novel, that sense that you've connection with what the author wished to convey is always satisfying.
This is by no means an indication that Berg's work is predictable. On the contrary, her writing is the sort that sends the mind racing after the most absurd, unpredictable of conclusions. "Expect the unexpected" is a perfect term for her books.

The final problem with The Soul Weaver was the characters she introduced. Some were weak and some were strong, but the one that needed more than any other to be a strength ended up a weakness. In Daughter of Ancients, her new characters not only have prior connections to the story, but are brought to life so vividly that they leap off the pages.

Carol Berg is a woman with extraordinary talent and it's truly a shame that she wallows in near obscurity, while overinflated men like Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind weigh down the shelves with volume upon bloated volume. If you haven't read her work, do yourself a favor, and start.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy at its best, September 18, 2005

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

After reading this, I really agreed with Carol Berg that "Soul Weaver" was not going to cut it as the end of the "Bridge D'Arnath" series. Saying that Gerick had too many issues to just leave it at and working with them turned this series from great to incredible.

For those who have come to love Berg's world-building, excellent plot twists, and outstanding characters, this book will not disappoint. D'Sanya is quite the enigmatic character, and watching her story unfold is absolutely relishing. Expect some heartbreak for some characters (but fans of Berg know that it doesn't always have to have a happy ending). And finally, Gerick has truly come full circle as a character, miles ahead from the snotty introverted brat he was when we first met him.

For any fantasy fan, this series is a must-have. I promise that you can really go out and buy them all, knowing that these books end just as well as they start. Carol Berg is a superb author, and I am eagerly looking forward to her next series.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly satisfying conclusion, January 28, 2006

By	A Reader (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

It's hard to discuss the story without giving away more of it than I would want to read in a review and, anyway, those who've read the first three books won't think of not reading this one, and those who haven't should go back to the beginning because this is NOT a stand-alone story.

Suffice to say that I finished this on a long train journey and by the end of it tears were streaming down my face in full view of the carriage, so utterly mindblown was I by the grandeur and breadth of Miss Berg's imagination, and the sheer BEAUTY of this novel. Truly, I felt privileged to have read it.

I always feel as if I've learned something about life on finishing one of Carol Berg's books and I think this is because of her extraordinary gift for characterisation, which is second to none in the genre. Closing the book to go off and do mundane things like eat and work and sleep is like coming up for air, it's so hard to believe (and really quite heartbreaking) that these people and places don't actually exist.

Ah! I could extol her talents forever. Enough to say that whatever you do you should read the Bridge of D'Arnath quartet. It's by far the best of her works and, unlike the Rai-Kira trilogy (beautifully conceived, imperfectly executed), never EVER disappoints.