Daggerspell (Deverry Series, Book One) |  | Author: Katharine Kerr
Publisher: Spectra
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Seller: Books Squared
Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 334303
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Edition: revised
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0553565214
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553565218
ASIN: 0553565214
Publication Date: November 1, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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 rightened 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 seers in recent years--a tale of bold adventure and timeless love, perilous battle and pure magic. For long-standing fans of Deverry and those who have yet to experience this exciting series, Daggerspell is a rare and special treat.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
 Can't review what you never receive April 17, 2010
Emily M. Thomas (Frisco, TX)
0 out of 8 found this review helpful
I looked at this seller's reviews before I bought my book, and they were mostly positive, so I went ahead and purchased. I never got my book! Looking at the more recent reviews since I purchased it apparently there was a problem with the post office. I get that mistakes are sometimes made. But at least answer your email! I emailed the seller twice and never got any kind of response, and still, no book. BUYERS BEWARE!!!
 Brilliant! January 23, 2009
Dasque
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a fan of fantasy novels, it's hard to find a book that doesn't sound like it was contrived from a dozen others. This book is not only refreshing but original in it's threads of lifetimes and characters. Katherine Kerr bravely explores the idea of karma and one person's actions echoing throughout several generations, and she handles it with thought provoking storytelling.
The characters are full and realistic, and I was so relieved to at least find a female lead who was neither manipulative and whiny, as seems to be the standard woman in fantasy novels, nor was she Xena warrior princess. Jill is intelligent, strong, and yet distinctly feminine.
For once the good guys are the interesting, likable characters instead of falling into the oh-so-common fantasy trap of giving all the personality to the villian.
I would recommend this book and all the others in the series to anyone.
epic of epics October 4, 2007
Jason L. Reimers (alta loma CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The epic story of love lost and wrongs righted.Nevyn ,as a young man loses his true love by an act of jealosy and pledges to the gods never to rest until he rights the wrong he has done. The gods hear his vow and hold to it. He spends centuries of life waiting for all the players to reborn in the same time for him to accomplish this.Over the centuries he becomes a great dweomer master and uses his powers to save the kingdom again and again.
Before I read this series I felt the genre was becoming stale. This author has renewed my love of fantasy adventure.
 way too many cliches October 1, 2007
a fantasy fan (Indianapolis, IN USA)
0 out of 9 found this review helpful
I got this book out of the library after hearing the series highly recommended by a friend of mine. I was severly disappointed! While the plot is sort of interesting (if you take away the excessively cheesy romance parts), this book is so full of fantasy cliches and poor writing that it was difficult to make myself finish it. Even with a good plot, it's hard to focus on it when characters are saying "Ye Gods!" every five sentences. The glossary and language references are completely unnecessary and make it look like the author was trying too hard. Why bother making up words (like "Wyrd") when perfectly reasonable ones exist for the concept? Why use a word like "dweomer" which is completely unpronounceable, in addition to looking ridiculous?
Honestly the writing reminded me of fantasy stories I wrote myself when I was 14 or so. I can imagine if you are around that age, this would probably be a pretty enjoyable and interesting book. But if your literary tastes are more refined, it's hard to get past the writing style.
If you don't read this series in this life, it will haunt you in the next! September 11, 2007
Ashley Megan (Vernon, CT United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Once upon a time there was a selfish prince. He thought he was in love with a beautiful lady, but then he discovered the dweomer - that's magic, kiddies - and he decided to run away from home and become a penniless, scruffy magician instead. But when he abandons the pretty lady, her brother swoops in and gets all Flowers in the Attic with her. Her brother's best friend, who's also in love with her, gets mad at him. Brother kills friend, friend's little brother kills brother, and pretty lady kills herself. Then the selfish prince finds out that what he was supposed to do was marry the pretty lady so they could both learn dweomer together. By leaving her, he failed all three of them - the lady Brangwen, her brother Gerraent, and his friend Blaen. The prince, now named Nevyn, or "no one," vows to right his wrong. And so he lives, not very happily, ever after. And ever, and ever....
Four hundred years later, poor Nevyn is still kicking around. And now, all the players in the old drama have been reborn into the land of Deverry. Reincarnation is pretty much the backbone of this entire series. Kerr has created an incredibly complex web of past lives, with dozens of characters meeting in varying combinations over the course of centuries to work out their fate, or Wyrd. Moreover, her tale is not sequential. Timelines weave in and around each other - Kerr has used the metaphor of a Celtic knot to describe the pattern - so that the reader can immediately see the causes and effects of various actions taken over the years. While this could get complicated, Kerr provides two aids to the reader. One is the table of incarnations found in (almost) every book, which grows with new columns and rows each time a new character or event is added. Second, Kerr is masterful at making (most) of her characters completely recognizable from one incarnation to the next. This is especially true of secondary characters, who could, admittedly, clog the gears a bit. But Kerr makes it clear that they always serve a purpose - they are, indeed, part of the larger pattern.
In Daggerspell, the first book in a series that looks like it's going to stretch to 15, things remain relatively simple, with only three timelines and a handful of characters to worry about. These include Nevyn, of course, who's a delightful mainstay of pretty much the entire series. Yes, he's a powerful, seemingly immortal wizard. He's also avuncular without being condescending, smart, has a sense of humor, and is refreshingly practical. He's still trying to bring Brangwen to the dweomer, so of course he's thrilled to meet the tomboyish Jill and her father Cullyn, a notorious mercenary. Then the dashing young lord Rhodry Maelwaedd gets involved, and Nevyn realizes that once again, these three will have to work out their Major Issues before Jill can fulfill her Wyrd.
Along the way, Jill, Rhodry, and Cullyn get involved in a battle that seems straightforward but soon reveals itself as a part of a larger dweomer war. They also meet the Westfolk, as refreshing a take on elves as Nevyn is on wizards. The Westfolk will play a huge role in the story to follow, so pay attention.
Then again, in the long run, nearly everything that happens will have significance later - or earlier, given the twisted timeline. That's one of the great things about this series, that no matter how many times you reread it (and for me, that's a lot) there will always be a new connection to draw. Something in Book 2 will suddenly make sense given what we learn in book 10, and vice versa. I realize for many people, the vast and nonlinear storyline will simply be too byzantine to be enjoyable, or even understandable. (Kerr admits she gets a lot of complaints from confused readers.) Still, if you love well-written, well-researched, intelligent, and complex fantasy, you can't do much better, in my opinion, than the Deverry series.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
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