[Iskaral Pust]

I've been looking for a new series to read and her books have caught my eye a couple of times. Is she worth picking up and which is her best series?

[ezchaos]

I'd say definitely check out her Deverry series, at least the first four books. The series is comprised of 3 sets of 4 books. I think the very last book in the series is coming out soon. The first four books are:
-Daggerspell
-Darkspell
-The Bristling Wood
-The Dragon Revenant

The setting is another world, one to which some Celts from our world flee to to escape from the Romans. Several hundred years later, their descendants have created a medieval style country in the new world. The story follows a group of characters through several lifetimes as they try to right a wrong. The switching back and forth between the different liftimes can get confusing, but you get used to it. The one constant through all of the lifetimes is a wizard named Nevyn. Nevyn is one of my all-time favorite fantasy characters. One thing that I loved about these books was the magic system. Think astral projection.

I think I read the second quartet of books, but couldn't really get into them. Kerr introduces elf and dwarf analogues, among other races. The feel of these books was completely different from the first four.

[Quagmire]

I'd like to find out more about this. Do you have to read the sets in order? Do they have the same characters throughout?

What's her status now regarding publishing? I heard she moved publishing houses. Will they reissue new editions with new covers? Just wondering in case I pick these up as I'd like them to be consistent.

Thanks!

[ezchaos]

Quagmire:
You should probably read the series in order. Also, the series focuses mainly on two characters, but there's many others to be had.

Go here: Deverry (http://www.deverry.com/deverry.html) to learn more.

[Julian]

Originally posted by ezchaos
The first four books are:
-Daggerspell
-Darkspell
-The Bristling Wood
-The Dragon Revenant



Well, now. I'm no Kerr expert, but that's not really how I remember things. At least, not quite.

As far as I recall, Kerr's Deverry series consists of a number of consecutive quartets.

The first of these is the "Deverry" quartet, which comprises the following books:

1. Daggerspell
2. Darkspell
2. Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood
3. Dragonspell: The Southern Sea

No "Dragon Revenant" here, as far as I recall. However, that might well be the result of different titles in different (US and UK) countries)

After that, there's the "Westlands" sequence, which consists of:

1. A Time Of Exile
2. A Time Of Omens
3. A Time Of War: Days Of Blood And Fire
4. A Time Of Justice: Days Of Air And Darkness

I have to admit I sort of lost track after that (or, to put it more bluntly, interest). I know that Kerr went on to write Red Wyvern, The Black Raven and (presumably) two sequels, but I'm afraid I can't give you further details. Check out the website ezchaos mentions; I assume it'll give you more information.

With regards to quality: I agree with ezchaos that you might well wish to check out the first quartet. I don't believe it to be exceptional, but it's certainly not bad. In hindsight, I enjoyed those books, but found - overall - Kerr to be be a little insubstantive. Lots of ostensibly high (epic) fantasy elements, but rather lean on the real meat. Frankly, if you're the sort of fellow that drools when reading Erikson, I don't think you're going to be impresssed.

[ezchaos]

Julian said:

Well, now. I'm no Kerr expert, but that's not really how I remember things. At least, not quite.

As far as I recall, Kerr's Deverry series consists of a number of consecutive quartets.

The first of these is the "Deverry" quartet, which comprises the following books:

1. Daggerspell
2. Darkspell
2. Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood
3. Dragonspell: The Southern Sea

No "Dragon Revenant" here, as far as I recall. However, that might well be the result of different titles in different (US and UK) countries)

I think you're right about the book title differences by country. On her website, Kerr list's books three and four as The Bristling Wood (Dawnspell) and The Dragon Revenant (Dragonspell). I don't know why her or her publishers couldn't have kept the titles just as Dawnspell and Dragonspell only.

[JohnH]

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[Dallandra]

I think you really should read them. I read them maybe a year ago and I loved them! Or atleast some of them, some of the last books were a bit boring...

So does anyone know when the next book is being released?

[Khallandra]

Fire Dragon was her last one after Black Raven - it had me crying like a baby. As for the next one I think sometime next year - I haunt her website from time to time but I think she was having troubles writing it

[Nevyn]

Easily one of my favourite series ! I loved every book from Daggerspell through to Fire Dragon and am eagerly waiting for the next installment to be released .
As ezchaos points out , after book four the feel to the books change . I believe that can be attributed to the scope of the story expanding to encompass an even larger world where we see how all the incarnations have been interwoven to come to a head . Kerr cleverly ties up loose ends over the course of her books instead of trying to explain away subplots with the big bang at the end of the story , while at the same time introducing new characters to both balance and steer the story in a new direction .

Well worth your time and yes Nevyn is pretty cool too

:D