The Bristling Wood (Deverry Series, Book Three)

In the third book of the Deverry series, Kerr once again continues the pattern of introducing characters in the present by exploring their lives in the past. "The Bristling Wood," in fact, brings us to the second major arc in the series, a timeline set about two hundred years before the events occurring in the "present" - that is, the time when Jill and Rhodry are riding the long road in and out of danger. In the past, the civil wars over the kingship of Deverry are dragging on, with disastrous consequences for the kingdom. A frustrated Nevyn finally decides, after some inspiration from a disgraced bard named Maddyn (Rhodry), to take a hand in things and just pick a king and place him on the throne, already. Using dweomer, he'll find a candidate - any candidate - and build him up with omens and glamours until everyone accepts him as the obvious true king of all Deverry. Maddyn, meanwhile, falls in with a band of mercenaries who will one day form the basis for the silver daggers, and whose ranks include the reincarnated forms of Gerraent/Cullyn and Brangwen/Jill - although in some cases, those forms are completely unexpected ones. In the present, a bizarre set of circumstances manage to separate Rhodry and Jill, just as the dark dweomer and political necessity both decide they need to get their hands on Rhodry, toot sweet. Jill is ensorcelled by a strange being named Perryn, and his story is one that, disappointingly, offers so much promise that Kerr never quite fulfills. (The same is true with Rhodda, about whom more in a later review.) Nevyn can't help, because he's stuck back in Aberwyn helping Rhodry's mother get him recalled from exile, so it's up to Rhodry's half-elven, dilettante-dweomer brother, Salamander, to rescue Jill. But then there's Rhodry, wandering around Deverry all alone - who's going to find him first? While the present part of the story here isn't quite my favorite, I love the section set in the past. Maddyn, Maryn, Owaen, Caradoc, and Branoic are truly enjoyable characters, and their story is one of the strongest in the whole series. Moreover, it's one of those places where you can really see how events in the past are shaping relationships in the present. Overall, the writing is fantastic, although Kerr does have a few tics that can get annoying. I love this series, and this book is worthy of continuing it.

Against the passionate sweep of Deverrian history, the powerful wizard Nevyn has lived for centuries, atoning for the sins he committed in his youth. Now, with so much of his work at stake, Nevyn discovers that the Dark Council has been quietly interfering with the already tangled politics of war-torn Eldidd. Their evil webs are nearly spun before Nevyn, with all the power at his command, even realizes there's a war of magic destroying his world. Katherine Kerr's writing takes a bit of getting used to, but it's worth the effort. She approaches her stories with a Celtic storytelling mindset, which means she conveys events according to their significance to the story, as opposed to chronologically. Consequently, while the stories begin in the "present" (which is an elastic concept, anyway, in a fantasy setting), the events unfold, chapter wise, both in the "present" and in the distant past. This can be frustrating, at first, but Kerr's writing is heavily steeped in Pagan and Western Mystery tradition, and the Celtic setting (and mindset) of her characters means that time, or chronological time, is not essentially relevant. To be honest, I found the first book infuriating, as I spent a lot of time trying to adjust to the writing style. However, I found the story engrossing enough that I persevered, and by the second book was so hooked I've read all ten in her three series. Kerr's story evolves around the concept of reincarnation, and unfinished business, and "karma", and fate. The same souls recur again and again, just in new bodies, over the course of the centuries over which the story unfolds. Kerr's world is one of High Fantasy, populated by Elves, Men, and Dwarves, as well as faeries/elementals, which she terms the "Wildfolk". However, hers is a slightly more dark, dangerous and less clear cut world than the works of other High Fantasy authors, not the least due to the fact that someone who was your friend in a former life can re-emerge in the story centuries later as a foe, and vice versa. There is a tremendous amount of magic, but it's the magic of the Western Mystery tradition (quite a bit of Golden Dawn and even Enochiana), and that of R.J. Stewarts Faery tradition. There are dragons, and giant beast men. The Elves are a fallen race, driven out of their magnificent and palatial cities centuries before by invaders, and who now roam the plains as primitives. They possess the potential to be superlative magicians, but the knowledge was lost in the fall of their civilization. Humans, though warlike and shorter lived, have preserved this knowledge, but guard it jealously. The Wildfolk, basically magic incarnate, are unhinged from the effects of "karma", but lack permanence of personality, and cannot grow or develop, cursed to stagnation. The Dwarves are a secretive mystery, entrenched within the earth. Each has something to offer the other, and the story that unfolds is the story of this "technology" exchange, of sorts, between them. Fans

For the profit of kings, well did he attack the hostsof the country, the bristling wood of spears,the grievous flood of the enemy.- The Gododdin of Aneirin, Stanza A 84This volume interleaves two skeins of history: the 'present' (Jill and Rhodry's time) and the last years of the Time of Troubles (the civil wars between Cantrae, Cerrmor, and Eldidd, all of whom had claims to the high kingship of all Deverry). The Time of Troubles thread began in _Darkspell_, but picks up here a generation or so later in the course of the wars of that terrible era.In the present, Salamander has determined that the mysterious ring of dwarven silver is destined for Rhodry. But Rhodry's fate is that of Aberwyn - his brother's "barren" ex-wife, now married to another man, has just given birth to her first son, so Rhodry's recall from exile is the only way to avert civil war over the rhan. The ring is his from his blood-father, but he's heir to the rhan through his legal father. This story is continued in _The Dragon Revenant_ - Salamander's puzzle of how to get the ring into Rhodry's hands without destroying his claim to the rhan.In the past, Maddyn (later Rhodry) has been wounded unto death in his lord's last charge, and as an outlawed man, has no choice but to turn mercenary. Here we have the founding of the silver daggers, and the beginning of the thread that will later lead to the forging of the ring. Maddyn's story continues in _A Time of Omens_, _The Red Wyvern_, and _The Fire Dragon_, and is concluded in _A Time of Exile_.

It sounds from the synopsis as if this book was the one originally titles "The Bristling Wood".She's been re-writing her series from the beginning. I thing her original names for the first few books were terrible (almost kept me from reading them), but changing them is confusing!

Katharin Kerr has created another classic celtic fantasy with her book, Dawnspell. Once again, Rhodry, Nevyn, and Jill battle to save Deverry from the forces of evil. The best part of this book, however, is the lenthy reincarnation flashback, dealing with the formation of the Silver Daggers. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy, because it is a wonderful book! (Make sure you read Daggerspell and Darkspell first.)