Mass Market Paperback, 454 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 1993 by Spectra.

ISBN:
978-0-553-56521-8
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4 stars (10 reviews)

Even as a young girl, Jill was a favorite of the magical, mysterious Wildfolk, who appeared to her from their invisible realm. Little did she know her extraordinary friends represented but a glimpse of a forgotten past and a fateful future. Four hundred years-and many lifetimes-ago, one selfish young lord caused the death of two innocent lovers. Then and there he vowed never to rest until he'd righted that wrong-and laid the foundation for the lives of Jill and all those whom she would hold dear: her father, the mercenary soldier Cullyn; the exiled berserker Rhodry Maelwaedd; and the ancient and powerful herbman Nevyn, all bound in a struggle against darkness. . . and a quest to fulfill the destinies determined centuries ago. Here in this newly revised edition comes the incredible novel that began one of the best-loved fantasy series in recent years--a tale of bold adventure and timeless …

7 editions

Traditional sword and sorcery, with enough twists to keep me interested

4 stars

I think it is fair to say the setting is inspired both by Tolkien and the Celtic (e.g. Mary Stewart take) on the King Arthur/Merlin myth.

There are some interesting plot twists that also serve as character development.

As someone who grew up around the time the book was written, I found the "New-agey" take on magic a bit jarring. Reincarnation plays a big role, as do things like "the astral plane" and "auras". It might be just me, but it feels like that terminology ties the book to the 1980s a bit.

Full credit to Kerr for giving her female protagonists agency and complexity in a way that works in a traditionally patriarchal setting.

reviewed Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr

Terrific gritty Celtic fantasy

5 stars

Kerr is among the best at fantasy storytelling and world-building. This book is the first of her Deverry cycle, in which she follows a group of souls through various incarnations in an early Celtic-type world. The story centers around a group of mercenaries called "silver daggers" for a distinctive weapon each fighter carries, obtainable only after being sworn to the band.

Other characters include a wizard, Nevyn; Jill, the young daughter of one of the silver daggers; and elves, dwarves, and wyrmkind. Adventure, magic, politics, good and evil, war, and love...they're all here in abundance and well-told. Highest recommendation!

Review of 'Daggerspell (Deverry Series, Book One)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It took just about one week for me to read this book, which is a short time for a quite long book.

I enjoyed this story. The dating is a little odd to me. 400 years may have passed, but it seemed like all the past lives that were brought up were very early on. I think they either should have been more spread out or more past life stories should have been included. I find it a little sad that because of Nevyn's vow, he will never be romantically involved with the woman he loved and vowed to help her find her Wyrd.

I did find some aspects of this Wyrd stuff confusing: such as while Rhodry has Blaen's Wyrd where the Brangwen/Gerrowen/Blaen issue is concerned, he also seems to have another Wyrd not associated at all with Blaen.

I am moving right along onto the next book, Darkspell.

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Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Fiction - Fantasy
  • Fantasy
  • Fantasy - Epic
  • Fantasy - Historical
  • Fiction / Fantasy / General
  • Fantasy - General

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