The Gold Falcon

With this book Katharine Kerr is starting a new phase in the Deverry story. We move on fifty years or so from the climactic ending of The Fire Dragon, and times have changed. The Horsekin have started marauding the Deverry border, killing the men and enslaving the women. There is a fragile alliance between the Deverry folk, the Rhiddaer and the West Folk (Kerr's version of elves). And Alshandra's repute as a goddess is growing, Raena now considered a martyr to the cause.

Our main dweomer workers that hold the book together here are Dallandra and Salamander, who has fought hard to retrieve his sanity. The latter rescues two young lads from the slaughter of their village by Horsekin, and takes them to the sanctuary of Tieryn Cadryc's dun. show more Neb, the older of the two, is a very familiar soul to Salamander - finally the soul of Nevyn has been reborn. In the same Dun he discovers the reborn soul of Cullyn (now called Gerran) and Jill (now called Branna), and realises that important times are coming.

This book fits well into the overall sequence of Deverry novels, but on its own is not *that* entertaining, since it is mostly setting up future events. It was interesting enough seeing Neb and Branna be drawn to each other, and to discover their potential dweomer power. It was also frustrating and heartbreaking to hear about Rhodry's current plight (as the dragon Rori). Mostly we are being given hints as the extent of the doom that awaits if the Horsekin cannot be stopped.

Kerr writes fantastically well about the medieval life of Deverry. Every little detail reinforces the fact that she has enormous skill at world building, such as hearing about each gwerbret's hall having an honour side (for the nobles) and a riders side (for the common born). We hear about the women having to make marriages for the sake of bloodlines and needing to be above reproach so that no one can doubt the parentage of the heirs to come.

Equally, she gives us a completely different culture when we ride with the West Folk on the plainlands - here, the women have much more freedom and there is a casual approach to leadership. The marked difference between the two people is emphasised well by Kerr.

I did enjoy this book, but it took a good fifty pages before I relaxed into the new characters - especially with Nevyn and Jill carrying different names and essentially being fresh to the story. In some respects it is great having familiar characters turn up again in the Deverry novel - it lends the books a feeling of comfort - but in other respects it can be hard to invest in the new character as much as you did in the old. I like Neb, but I liked Nevyn more; on the other hand I far prefer Branna to Jill, so I guess it runs both ways!

To recap, a decent enough entry into the Deverry sequence, but certainly not a standalone novel and mostly set up future events. Slightly disappointing after the brilliance of The Fire Dragon. show less

9/10

This book truly feels like the set-up for a huge climax to the series, and while there are important developments, much of the action felt like arranging pieces on the game board. This is the first book in the Deverry Cycle that takes place entirely in one time period. I thought the reincarnations of Nevyn as Neb and Brangwen/Jill as Branna were a little heavy-handed, but I suppose there was no other way to do it.

I enjoyed the book and love the interweaving of various races and cultures, the mix of battle, dweomer, romance, and religion. Arzosah continues to be one of my favorite characters ever.

While I'd long heard of Kerr, I hadn't yet read any of her titles. Now that I know what I'm missing I've got some catching up to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world of Deverry that Kerr has created and her storytelling ability draws Ethe reader into this world she has created. even though I hadn't yet read any of the preceding works, it didn't stop me from losing myself in the story.

This was a First-Reads giveaway. Thank you so very much Ms. Kerr both for the autographed copy and for introducing me to your world.

I never really liked Salamander and Dallashadra (still don't) so I am surprised that I like this one as much as I did.

Still going strong

I am enjoying reading about these characters and their myriad lives. The author has a way of keeping your interest no matter what happens.

Enjoyable. Actually the first in the third sequence, so I want to go back and read from the beginning.

No problems with info-dumping backstory. Interesting premise , good story development.

The Gold Falcon is a wonderful book. Although the story of Nevyn and Jill has come full circle at the end of The Fire Dragon, this book gives a glimpse of what is in store for Rhodry. Long time fans of the Deverry series will definitely love this book.