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Fantasy. Fiction. Mythology. HTML:On the long roads of Deverry ride two mercenaries whose fates like hidden deep in that of their own land. But Lord Rhodry, exiled from the dragon court of Aberwyn, has yet to discover his true parentage, and his swordmaster-lover, Jill, has barely glimpsed her awesome powers. Meanwhile, the ancient sorcerer Nevyn, held back by his vows from boldly intervening in their lives, can only watch and wait as Rhodry and Jill move ever closer to danger. For show more as the two struggle to recover the Great Stone, the mystic jewel that guides the conscience of the kingship of Deverry, malevolent dark masters are weaving terrifying spells against them—and displacing messengers of death.Katharine Kerr has extensively rewritten Darkspell, incorporating major changes in the text, making this her definitive edition. Here the epic saga that began with the Daggerspell continues—a tale of might and magic, lust and glory, dark danger and... show less
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A brilliant flashback introducing the Civil Wars and exploring new exciting ways a soul can complicate their Wyrd; another eruption of dweomer into Jill and Rhodry’s lives as they face their first summer on the long road; and Rhodry’s Elvish connection has a gift that may shed light on his mysterious destiny... one day.
Darkspell features more excellent world building and a solid adventure, but in 2020 it’s impossible to give it a pass for its homophobia and fat shaming so I’m docking a star.
Note: I read the original edition, not the revised edition, but from what I understand that doesn’t necessarily address the things that bother me the most. Honestly, sometimes no rep is better than bad rep.
Full review
Darkspell features more excellent world building and a solid adventure, but in 2020 it’s impossible to give it a pass for its homophobia and fat shaming so I’m docking a star.
Note: I read the original edition, not the revised edition, but from what I understand that doesn’t necessarily address the things that bother me the most. Honestly, sometimes no rep is better than bad rep.
Full review
The story is interesting, the world is too. Even if it's very low fantasy and I am more of a high fantasy type, I liked it. But the thing that weakens the books alot is the throwback to past lives with all those names to remember, and when you come back to "present" you pretty much forgot again what was going on and who did what.
Gritty world, that's for sure.(but based on our own past, which is what makes it even grittier)
Gritty world, that's for sure.(but based on our own past, which is what makes it even grittier)
This is the second Deverry book and proves to be just as gripping as the first. Here we are dealing with a present time storyline of Jill and Rhodry's life on the road as silver daggers, and the danger they face from masters of dark dweomer. Jill discovers from Nevyn more about dweomer as he tries to gently encourage her to fulfil her Wyrd (destiny).
We also go back in time to a previous incarnation of Jill and Rhodry and Cullyn (Jill's father). The three souls (and others) have been twisted together because of vengeance, a miscarriage of destiny and incestuous love. Here Jill is Gweniver - a lady who pledges herself to the Moon Goddess, and therefore will be unable to take to a life of dweomer. Nevyn resigns himself to watching her die show more in the service of the Goddess and going back to waiting for her soul to be reborn. There is also a quick backstory to the start of the Maelwaedd clan (Rhodry's people).
I adored the whole story of Jill and Rhodry, and everything that happens in modern times. I found the masters of dark dweomer genuinely creepy, especially hearing what takes place during their rituals. It is lovely to see more of dweomer at work, including an entertaining piece of jewelry. I particularly like the way that Kerr ensures that there is always a downside to working dweomer.
One of my favourite characters right now is highly peripheral - Jill's grey gnome (one of the Wildfolk) is extremely cute and Kerr does well to lend him so much character since he is unable to speak properly. I also like Ebany a great deal, and suspect we shall see much more of him.
However, the success of these books depends greatly on how enjoyable the tale set in the past is, since it encompasses a large part of the novel. And I didn't get on with Gweniver - I found her naive and arrogant in turn. Very different from other past incarnations such as Brangwen (the first incarnation) and Lyssa (a gentle bard's wife). This is why I drop it half a star from the first book in the series.
The strong Celtic feel again embued the book with a sense of almost historical fiction - the language and the lifestyle is a fantastic part of each novel. Once again, I would recommend highly. show less
We also go back in time to a previous incarnation of Jill and Rhodry and Cullyn (Jill's father). The three souls (and others) have been twisted together because of vengeance, a miscarriage of destiny and incestuous love. Here Jill is Gweniver - a lady who pledges herself to the Moon Goddess, and therefore will be unable to take to a life of dweomer. Nevyn resigns himself to watching her die show more in the service of the Goddess and going back to waiting for her soul to be reborn. There is also a quick backstory to the start of the Maelwaedd clan (Rhodry's people).
I adored the whole story of Jill and Rhodry, and everything that happens in modern times. I found the masters of dark dweomer genuinely creepy, especially hearing what takes place during their rituals. It is lovely to see more of dweomer at work, including an entertaining piece of jewelry. I particularly like the way that Kerr ensures that there is always a downside to working dweomer.
One of my favourite characters right now is highly peripheral - Jill's grey gnome (one of the Wildfolk) is extremely cute and Kerr does well to lend him so much character since he is unable to speak properly. I also like Ebany a great deal, and suspect we shall see much more of him.
However, the success of these books depends greatly on how enjoyable the tale set in the past is, since it encompasses a large part of the novel. And I didn't get on with Gweniver - I found her naive and arrogant in turn. Very different from other past incarnations such as Brangwen (the first incarnation) and Lyssa (a gentle bard's wife). This is why I drop it half a star from the first book in the series.
The strong Celtic feel again embued the book with a sense of almost historical fiction - the language and the lifestyle is a fantastic part of each novel. Once again, I would recommend highly. show less
7/10
While the tale of Rhodry, Jill (I prefer her more formal name of Gilyan), and Nevyn grows in depth and complexity, the "flashback" to Gweniver's story with Ricyn and Dannyn was less compelling.
I appreciated learning a bit more about the dark dweomer and those who practice it, and a bit more about the elves.
Very interested to see where the tale goes next.
While the tale of Rhodry, Jill (I prefer her more formal name of Gilyan), and Nevyn grows in depth and complexity, the "flashback" to Gweniver's story with Ricyn and Dannyn was less compelling.
I appreciated learning a bit more about the dark dweomer and those who practice it, and a bit more about the elves.
Very interested to see where the tale goes next.
Iniziato quando ero ancora poco più che adolescente il Ciclo di Deverry mi ha appassionato tantissimo, ampliando e modificando le mie idee del fantasy all'epoca ancorate ad un classico (ed amatissimo) Tolkeniano.
In Italiano non si vede ancora la fine del ciclo con gli ultimi tre libri ancora non tradotti, ma il tutto, malgrado la lunghezza infinita di 14 libri (dei quali appunto solo 11 per adesso tradotti) è di una tale epicità che la lettura ne è altamente consigliata agli amanti del genere.
In Italiano non si vede ancora la fine del ciclo con gli ultimi tre libri ancora non tradotti, ma il tutto, malgrado la lunghezza infinita di 14 libri (dei quali appunto solo 11 per adesso tradotti) è di una tale epicità che la lettura ne è altamente consigliata agli amanti del genere.
I am not much of a plot person, being way too much of a character lover but as far as plots go, I prefer one that is complicated and multilayered. Well you do not get any more layered then this story. You have the present storyline that revolves around Jill, Rhodry, and Nevyn fighting against the forces of evil. You have the previous incarnations with their storylines covering the extensive back-story and you have the ever-present question, will Nevyn be able to help Jill fulfill her destiny in this lifetime or will he have to wait, once again, for her to be reborn. Whenever I read a book like this, I think of a tapestry. You start out with a bunch of individual threads of various colors, and then you weave them together, creating an show more intricate picture. It is really pretty amazing if you think about it, and this story gives me that very same feeling.
Full Review Here: Dragons, Heroes and Wizards: Fantasy Series Book Reviews show less
Full Review Here: Dragons, Heroes and Wizards: Fantasy Series Book Reviews show less
This was a good fantasy with magic, battles and an old herbman named Nevyn who watches as the souls of those he loved are reincarnated again and again. I liked both storylines - one featuring Gweniver, Dannyn and Ricyn and the other, Jill, Rhodry and Cullyn. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, The Bristling Wood.
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Author Information
61+ Works 21,130 Members
Katharine Kerr was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1944. Her maiden name was Katharine Nancy Brahtin. After dropping out of Stanford University in the mid-1960s, Kerr worked in a number of low-paying jobs, including a stint at the U.S. Post Office. In 1976, a friend gave Kerr her first fantasy role-playing game and she became so intrigued with both show more gaming and the fantasy field that she began writing articles for gaming magazines. After working as a contributing editor for Dragon Magazine, as well as contributing to gaming modules for both TSR, Inc., and Chaos, Inc., Kerr turned her attention exclusively to fiction writing. Kerr is best known for her historical fantasy Deverry Series novels, published by Bantam and HarperCollins. Titles include Daggerspell, Darkspell, Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood, and Dragonspell: The Southern Sea. Kerr also developed The Westlands Cycle series for HarperCollins. Among the titles of some of those novels are A Time to Exile, A Time of Omens, and Days of Blood and Fire. Some of Kerr's other science fiction novels include Polar City Blues, Palace, and Freeze Frames and she has also edited three short-story anthologies. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Knaur Excalibur (70122)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Darkspell
- Original title
- Darkspell
- Original publication date
- 1987
- People/Characters
- Nevyn; Rhodry Maelwaedd; Jill; Rhys
- Important places
- Deverry (fictional)
- Epigraph
- Every light casts a shadow. So does the dweomer. Some men choose to stand in the light; others, in the darkness. Be ye always aware that where you stand is a matter of choice, and let not the shadow creep over you unawares...... (show all)
-The Secret Book of Cadwallon the Druid - Dedication
- For my father, Sergeant John Carl Brahtin, 1918-44, who died fighting to free Europe from a worse evil than anything a novelist can invent.
- First words
- Back in the eleventh century, when the far-flung kingdom of Deverry lay sparse and tentative across the lands men claimed in the king's name, Eldidd province was one of the most sparsely settled areas of all.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Oh, yes," he said aloud. "The Master of the Aethyr must die."
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