The Dragon Revenant

Deverry Cycle #4

by Katharine Kerr

For years the provinces of Deverry have been in turmoil; now the conflict escalates with the kidnapping of Rhodry Maelwaedd, heir to the throne of Aberwyn.  Intent on rescuing him, his beloved Jill and the elven wizard Salamander infiltrate the distant land of Bardex, where Rhodry is held captive.  Tied to Deverry by obligation and circumstance, the immortal wizard Nevyn begins to see that all the kingdom's problems can be traced to a single a master of dark magics, backed by a network of evil that stretches across the sea.  Now Nevyn understands that he too is being lured away to Bardek--and into a subtle, deadly trap designed especially for him.

Katharine Kerr's novels of the Kingdom of Deverry unfold in a world of stunning richness and depth.  Her vivid portrayal of characters caught in a complex web of fate and magic captures the imagination with a realism that few can match.  Now she retums to this enchanted kingdom, where the wheels of destiny are tuming anew.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dragons, Magic

396 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1990

About the author

Born in Ohio, 1944. Moved to San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and has lived there ever since. Katharine Kerr has read extensively in the fields of classical archeology, and medieval and dark ages history and literature, and these influences are clear in her work. Her epic Deverry series has won widespread praise and millions of fans around the world.

Reviews

[Metodi Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

С "Магия за дракон" завършва този първи цикъл за далечното кралство Девери.

Макар и да е свързано с не малка доза носталгия, за мен препрочитането на тези книги и историята в тях си останаха голямо книжно удоволствие и ги препоръчвам на всички почитатели на класическото фентъзи.

Катрин Кер е талантлив и ерудиран автор, та ми е много жал, че най-вероятно няма да видим на български останалите 12 книги от тази поредица.

Цитат:

"Робството кара хората да свикват на жестокост и да намират оправдание за нея. Този път води неизбежно към злото."

P.S. Можете да намерите и четирите книги в Читанка!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final Deverry novel. There are others but this is the final novel of the first Deverry series. It’s really a very satisfying book to read, and I think the best one of this series. I know I’ve read it before I think at least twice but this was published in 1990, so it was a long time ago. There are a lot of things to love: Jill and Salamander’s friendship as the travel about Bardek searching for Rhodry, Rhodry enslaved in Bardek, suffering from amnesia and trying to find a way to live out his life, Alaena finding Rhodry and losing him. Nevyn’s battle with The Old One was a bit of a miss however, after being built up over four novels it seemed to end too quickly and easily.

I think however the way this ends is satisfying. Perry’s escapes from Nevyn and finds his own place in the world with a woman as strange as he is. Jill realizes that she has to leave Rhodry if she wants to study the dweomer and her and Rhodry’s heartbreak feels so real, after all that they have been through together. In the end Rhodry marries a timid mouse of a woman who will eventually grow to hate him so that he can burn Slaith to the ground, the town where he has his life stolen from him, from which he is shipped of to Bardek to be sold as a slave, a town of slavers trafficking Deverry citizens to the southern Archipelago. While I admire what he wants to do I can’t help but pity the girl he forces to marry him. While it isn’t the romantic ending we imagined it feels more real for all of that. Life really isn’t all that romantic, great love stories end tragically or not. People marry other people they aren’t really well suited to all of the time. In the end Jill remembers all of those lives she lived before. She remembers Galrion (Nevyn) when they were both young and forgives him, the thing he has been waiting for for 400 years. As I said, it is satisfying.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, I can now say I’ve read the first four books in the Deverry Cycle – in their chronological order. These four books form act one, which Katharine Kerr subheads as “Deverry”. And now, looking back to when I first read these during my mid-teens and now, 20 or so very odd years later, I realise exactly what a huge influence they were on me, for wanting to be an author of epic fantasy. (I admit to love the idea of exploring past life relationships for characters, and this is a story seed for my Those Who Return series.)

Also, what struck me about Kerr’s Deverry Cycle is her envisioning of a magic system, which as far as fantasy magic systems go, is extremely well thought out, even if the dualistic light vs. dark, good vs. evil split is evident. Contemporary fantasy has, to a large degree, moved on from this sort of worldview, but in this regard I think it’s fine if you look at when the novels were first published.

Dragonspell is a culmination of all the events of the preceding books, but without the flashbacks to past lives. Rhodry has been kidnapped and whisked across the ocean to Bardek, where he has had his memories wiped. He spends a fair portion of the book a clueless slave owned by a rich widow (and you can well imagine that his good looks will appeal to her). Jill, with Rhodry’s half-brother Salamander, have made the perilous crossing across the ocean and are actively hunting Rhodry, because the death of Rhodry’s other half-brother back home means that his time in exile is over. Rhodry’s return means his taking on responsibilities that will prevent the outbreak of war, so it’s a bit of a race against time to see him returned.

Of course there are bigger problems at play. Rhodry is but a pawn in the longstanding struggle between the dweomers of light and dark, with Nevyn finally coming up against the rather sinister Old One. All the while, Jill is slowly discovering that she has a real knack for the dweomer herself, and by the time she reaches the end of her journey, she has a terrible decision to make. Will she marry Rhodry and live happily ever after as his wife, or will she pursue her magical studies and fulfil Nevyn’s centuries’-old vow to bring her to the dweomer?

That she can’t have both becomes apparent from quite early on, and it’s terrific watching her grow as a character in a milieu where women traditionally do not possess much freedom. Jill is a prime example of an empowered female character.

Kerr, in my mind, is possibly one of the greatest and unsung masters of fantasy, and if you’ve fallen in love with names such as Kate Elliot, Karen Miller and Robin Hobb, and have yet to discover Kerr, then do yourself a favour and begin with the first four books in the 15-book Deverry Cycle.

Here you’ll discover a world steeped in Celtic lore, with elves, dwarves and magic. Great battles and loves are interwoven and we are privy to the growth of characters through their many lives as they come to terms with their collective wyrd. Though there is a linear plot, there are diversions to events in the past, which all inform the primary narrative arc, and make this one of my firm favourites in the fantasy genre that absolutely deserves a permanent and prominent place in any serious fantasy collection.

[Malin (readingzebra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book that closes a first cycle in this series. So I was expecting something more ... climactic that will make this closure memorable but in my opinion it didn't. Of course the author arranges the most immediate accounts of the protagonists of the story in a very good and satisfying way, continuing through narrating their adventures to make them more understandable and dear to us, and with a magical encounter puts an end to this phase of threat by the forces of evil, with nothing breathtaking but with something that contains many symbolisms. This endeavor has some interest and creates some intense and moving moments but I feel that there is nothing that overwhelms you, as was the case in the first two books of the cycle, and it has become a reason for my willingness to go further. This willingness, however, has not yet given up and even with the shortcomings I felt there were still many things to prove that traveling through this series is still worthwhile.

Το βιβλίο που κλίνει έναν πρώτο κύκλο σε αυτή τη σειρά. Για αυτόν τον λόγο περίμενα κάτι περισσότερο... εντυπωσιακό που θα κάνει αυτό το κλείσιμο αξιομνημόνευτο αλλά κατά τη γνώμη μου κάτι τέτοιο δεν έγινε. Φυσικά η συγγραφέας τακτοποιεί τους πιο άμεσους λογαριασμούς των πρωταγωνιστών της ιστορίας με έναν πολύ καλό και ικανοποιητικό τρόπο, συνεχίζοντας μέσα από την εξιστόρηση των περιπετειών τους να μας τους κάνει πιο κατανοητούς και πιο αγαπητούς ενώ με μία μαγική αναμέτρηση βάζει ένα τέλος σε αυτή τη φάση της απειλής από τις δυνάμεις του κακού, χωρίς κάτι που να κόβει την ανάσα αλλά με κάτι που περιέχει αρκετούς συμβολισμούς. Αυτή η προσπάθεια της έχει κάποιο ενδιαφέρον και δημιουργεί μερικές έντονες και συγκινητικές στιγμές αλλά έχω την αίσθηση ότι σε κανένα σημείο δεν υπάρχει κάτι που να σε γεμίζει, όπως συνέβαινε στα δύο πρώτα βιβλία του κύκλου και έγινε αφορμή για να θέλω να προχωρήσω περισσότερο. Αυτή η θέληση, όμως, ακόμα δεν έχει εγκαταλείψει καθώς ακόμα και με τις ελλείψεις που ένιωθα ότι υπάρχουν εξακολουθώ να βρίσκω πολλά πράγματα που να αποδεικνύουν ότι το ταξίδι σε αυτή τη σειρά εξακολουθεί να έχει αξία.

[kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's hard to overstate how disappointing this book was. Long. Dull. Uninspired. Anticlimactic. A pale, passionless shadow of the way the series started out.

I'm glad all the loose ends got tied up and the story all sorted itself out, but boy was it a slog to get here. Unlike the others, this book takes place in a single time period, which makes it even more obvious that Kerr has given up on the one truly original and interesting aspect of Daggerspell -- the reincarnation and Wyrd.

Minus the interesting echoes of past lives, we're down to your basic fantasy novel, and a mediocre one at that. The plot is repetitious and meandering, the characters are kind of dumb, the bad guys are a complete joke, and 300+ pages of tension and plotting lead up to a complete non-event of a final showdown.

For others who have read the first three and want to read this one just to see how it all pans out: Rhodry is un-exiled and appointed the heir, but has meantime gotten himself kidnapped and sold into slavery in Bardek. Jill and Salamander go chasing after him, eventually finding him and disposing of the bad guys, who turn out to be incompetent cowards who can't match Nevyn's power. They take Rhodry back to Deverry, where Jill predictably realizes she wants/needs to study dweomer more than she wants to be trapped into the courtly life of a queen. After some agonizing, she leaves Rhodry and goes off to become Nevyn's apprentice. This decision made, she almost immediately remembers all the details of her former life, and tells Nevyn she (Brangwen) forgives him. There, now I've spared you the hours of your life you would've wasted on this book.

[Barry Mulvany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had thought to give this book 4 stars because of one part but thought that was unfair as I really enjoyed everything else and it seemed stingy to remove a whole star just because of one part even if that was a fairly major part. Unlike the previous books this all takes place in the 'current' timeline and mostly on the Bardek islands, with some cutbacks to Deverry. Plot I won't mention at all, being the fourth and last title in the series but let's just say that things moved well and I really liked that the author didn't try to drag things out. I had thought one particular part was probably going to last most of the novel but no, things got sorted out fairly quickly which was refreshing. The ending was long and might put some people off (similar to some complaints I've seen for LotR) but I thought it was very good and fitted the book well.

Now to the part that bothered me. It's basically when the Old One's dark room (for want of a better word) gets destroyed by the Kings of the Aether. Now I was under the impression that they didn't interfere, except subtly in the world of men and this was blatantly not the case here. It basically made the final show down a bit of an anti-climax as the good guys had already won and though it was acknowledged in the book, it removed whatever tension was left in the story. It just seemed rather a strange plot twist, I certainly didn't see it coming but it felt like a deus ex machina. As already stated apart from this it was a great conclusion to a very good series and I'm still surprised how fresh this seems even though it is relatively old in the modern fantasy genre.

[MasterSal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Loved portions of this book - basically everything related to Nevyn and the reincarnation storyline. However the villains were mid at best. And Rhodry truly annoyed me. As a result, I can’t say that this was a home run but still enjoyed the book. And the first arc in the world.

Writing remains strong. And if you like Rbodry I think this would be a slam dunk for other readers. Looking forward to continuing in the world.

[Ettelwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jednou se sem vrátím. Zpátky za Jill a Rhodrym. Slibuju!

[Aleksandra Janusz]

As I said before, I regret that it wasn't translated to Polish in the 90s. It's without any doubt a classic epic, with the narrative spanning across centuries and different lifetimes of the reincarnated individuals. It is also, for its time, surprisingly empathetic. I admit that I've been dreading our heroes going to Bardek, anticipating stereotyping the Middle Eastern-ish Empire in the usual ways. The portrayal of Bardek, however, quickly turned into a piece of decent worldbuilding, complete with another culture that is in some ways much more advanced that the "barbarian" Deverry - there is some medieval Arabia in it, but also ancient Rome. Yes, they have slavery, but they also have lawyers, and there is a hilarious scene when the bad guys plan doesn't pan out simply because they did not predict that the main characters can't read. Another plan doesn't pan out because the slave trader is not evil - he has been taught that his trade is culturally acceptable, but given the task to basically destroy Rhodry by hard labor, he thinks it's absurd and decides otherwise. Despite my fears Rhodry's slavery wasn't, as well, torture porn - it was much more ambiguous, interesting, and explored the issues with this kind of social structure.
Not everything is perfect though. The plot is engaging thanks to the characters interactions and adventures, because the villains are laughably incompetent. They fight between themselves more efficiently than with our heroes. More often than not, the heroes don't even know about their interactions, because the villains managed to weed themselves out before even getting to them! Even the great Old One turns out to be rather underwhelming.
Another problematic character is Perryn. Today he reads as a very botched attempt at neurodiversity. Perhaps Kerr was inspired by - then potential - human-Neanderthal hybrids, but the execution stinks much, thank you. Especially after what he did to Jill.
As I said, though, reading is risky by design, and choosing my risks, I'd choose this series over and over again. I even like, to some degree, Kerr's dubious decisions - there's something charming about the author who is compassionate, treads new paths and sometimes stumbles, but you know that the thought was there and nobody told her what to do.
Overarching Nevyn's plot solution is very rewarding and this is the story we follow and we are curious about. A multitude of side stories have similarly rewarding solutions. Kerr manages to evoke compassion even for Rhys, whose fate is tragic enough, given that he really is the last Maelwaedd and he knew that all along.
I'll continue binging on when the funds allow.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been 16 years since I first picked up the first Deverry novel, DaggerSpell, and here in am, 16 years later, about to finish the fifteenth and final one.

Has the journey been worth it? Yes. Was the wait too long? Yes.

I would not recommend anyone starts reading the Deverry cycle unless they intend to read them all, as the macroscopic story is at least as important as the microscopic ones, and as such I am reviewing the books as a set.

I almost give them 4 stars (excellent) but in the end I am not enjoying them quite as much as I did in my early 20's and so I settled on 3 stars (good). As fantasy novels go the concepts and the writing are really excellent but for me the last couple of books haven't been as enjoyable as the early ones and it's a lot to expect people to read fifteen novels. That said I don't regret a single minute of the time I spent in Deverry. I even used to own a 'deverry' domain and use the handle of 'Rhodry' when t'internet was young.

Highly recommended IF you have the stomach for a lot of reading.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely, both a satisfying and unsatisfying conclusion to this series. The knowledge that is has a whole host of further books in the wider series balances this somewhat, but as the fourth and concluding part to this four-book story there are some things which are a bit lacking.

Perhaps one of the strengths of this final book is that there are no flashbacks involved and the whole story is present and the long prepared for action builds even faster in this final volume, leading us to the climax of much of what has come before. However, in some ways this is also a weakness. The first two books had two flashbacks, while the third had only one, which frankly felt unfinished and left a lot to explored. Then in this book there are none. This felt a lot like Kerr had started strong with a good idea, but found it was difficult to keep it up through the whole series, or just got a bit bored with going back in time and laying down so many links to the present. I suppose the unfinished flashback story from volume three will eventually materialise in a later series, but it gives this set of books a messy and unbalanced feel to them.

My second issue is that after four books and several hundred years of build up, the climax to the story is not actually very satisfying. I expected at the least a mirroring scene to that which opened the series. I also found certain plot hooks just conveniently skimmed over and not as much attention given to them as I thought they deserved, while there were some largely irrelevant and not important sections of the book left in. Needless off stage complications which ended up being barely an inconvenience for the main characters lead to a bit of a false sense of heightened drama, which then did not have much of a pay off.

Some of the writing is a bit lazy as well. There are some passages which seem to be directly lifted in virtual cut and paste from the previous book. Some of the dialogue also is rather repetitive - but to be honest, that is an issue with the whole series. Few of the characters really seem to have much of their own voices and most of them use interchangeable phrases and speech patterns so that unless you are being actively told who is saying what, it would be just as easy to attribute to their words to someone else. Salamander is an exception to this, and bringing in his character is a great breath of fresh air and he is a fun character to read. However, the way that most of the other main characters react to him and the continual 'chattering elf' comments just highlights how flat a lot of the other dialogue is.

So, why am I giving this four stars? Well, it does conclude most of the story, more-or-less. And it does so in a generally satisfying way. In addition, the detour into Bardek and the chance to see some new places and a bit of a different culture is an interesting one. It is not just the main story which is tied up either, but several characters which focus has moved away from get an ending and for the most part we can be satisfied with the way things turned out. And it was definitely enjoyable to visit this series again after so long. I suppose that the four stars is more for the series as a whole than this book as a single volume, which on its own may not have been as strong as the first two, was definitely better than the third and does the job just fine.

Also, I am well aware that there are other books which pick up some of the missing threads and a few of the loose ends (and have read those and largely forgotten the details again, as I tend to do). Kerr was definitely laying some ground work for some of these later books here. I think while she generally has a plan, some of the details of how things will turn out have not been decided yet, and so some things are left a bit... fuzzy. Meanwhile, others things are clearly of a lot of importance, and we will seeing a lot more of them. So, in a way, this is less a series finale, and more of a season ending, as it were...

[Lianne Pheno · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...

Ce tome ci est la fin du premier ‘arc’ de la série. Le dernier a avoir été publié en français. La série a continué sur plusieurs autres arcs en VO.
Pour rassurer les lecteurs français, il y a bel et bien une fin pour les personnages de cet arc. Rien qui ne soit laissé en suspend ou qui donne le sentiment qu’il manque des éléments. Une fin d’ailleurs des plus originales pour un livre de fantasy de ces époques.

L’intrigue de ce tome était sans doute la plus simple depuis le début de la série. Pas de flashback, pas d’évocation de réincarnations passé ou autre. Du coup on peut se concentrer à 100% dans l’intrigue principale qui constitue le présent de la série.

Pour ne pas trop spoiler je vais dire qu’un personnage a été kidnappé et on l’a forcé à perdre la mémoire. Devenu esclave il accepte son rôle avec intelligence tout en cherchant à se souvenir et à s’échapper.
Pendant ce temps le frère de ce personnage ainsi qu’un amie tentent de le retrouver. Ils ont de vagues indices sur sa position et donc savent qu’il se trouve dans un archipel d’îles bien précis. Seulement les îles sont grandes et variées, et retrouver une personne qu’on a caché sans avoir sa nouvelle identité est difficile …

Dans l’ensemble c’est une lecture agréable, qui se laisse porter. Je trouve que le coté esclavage est bien géré, le personnage n’agit pas de façon extrême et on comprend son fonctionnement et comment il gère ce changement. J’avoue qu’en temps normal ça n’est pas du tout mon sujet préféré, car il peut y avoir tellement abus qui me mettent souvent dans un sacré état. Du coup j’ai mis longtemps à sortir ce tome parce que j’avais peur que ça soit mal géré (car le livre est assez ancien et à ces époques la on faisait moins attention).

Mais heureusement c’est bien passé ici. Evidemment on ne passe pas à coté de la violence, mais l’autrice a su la laisser plus ou moins en sous entendu et ne pas nous faire de scènes particulièrement horribles, préférant traiter ses conséquences pour les personnages que le choc du moment.

Je crois que le fait le plus surprenant de ce tome a été sa fin. C’est sans doute un des finals les moins « classiques » de la fantasy classique que j’ai jamais lu. Je ne parle pas de la façon dont on gère les antagonistes qui est toujours fait de façon bienveillante avec toujours une rédemption possible -dans le sens ou la personne peut, après s’être rendu compte du mal qu’elle a causé, travailler à rétablir le bien, dans l’esprit de la série (peut-être un peu trop d’ailleurs pour certains, qu’on aimerait voir vraiment punis pour leurs abus, même si pour certaines victimes des circonstances c’est bien fait), mais de la façon dont les personnages terminent leur vie ensuite.

Mais ce qui est bien c’est que d’un coté, connaissant le principe des réincarnations et du Karma mis en place dans la série, du coup oui, ça promet peut-être une suite (même si je ne sais pas si la suite sera sur ces personnages la, ou peut être encore une autre réincarnation plus tard). Un choix original en tout cas que je n’attendais pas du tout !

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this more of a 3.5 than a 3 stars. I really enjoyed the first two books but was very disappointed in the third, so there was a year or so gap between finishing that and picking this up. Whilst I did enjoy this one much more than the third, I feel like the series got a bit weaker as it went on. For example, the concluding portion of this book felt rather anti-climactic, I was expecting more of a 'show down' to happen after a four book build up, but found it a little rushed instead. There are definitely aspects that I liked, one of which being Jill. I enjoyed where she ends up as a character but find my enjoyment of her spoiled slightly by some of the events of book 3 (which pissed me off no end). Whilst I am not entirely satisfied with the micro-story, I have other Kerr books to read so am looking forward to continuing on with the macro-story and seeing how it unfolds in other cycles!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, satisfying conclusion. On to the next Deverry tetralogy!

My only complaint is that some of the speech/dialogue patterns flowed together a bit too much. Folks of different walks of life have similar idioms, curses, expressions, turns of phrase. The dialogue is, as ever, still well-crafted and apt, but I'd have appreciated more variety.

[Brita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kanske inte den bästa boken men bra ändå. Och det händer väldigt, väldigt mycket... Nu får jag nog leta lite efter nästa bok för mitt bibliotek har den inte kvar längre.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars may be slightly generous, but I did prefer this to the first three books in the series. I enjoyed that they finally got around to explaining the way the magic worked a little more and that the stories were starting to come together a bit. This could, likely, have been a trilogy and been slightly more effective.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series. It's not earthshatteringly brilliant, more like comfort food. This is good standard fare, a world with medieval/early modern technology, magic, dwarves, and elves. There's political intrigue and complicated family relationships, etc. It was all very engaging and flowed along, and was a good respite from "real life."

[art of storytelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books don’t wow me very much, especially as the series goes on, but I still get in the mood to read them from time to time - I like the setting and the classic fantasy feel a lot, and the Welsh-inspired names and reincarnation plot have always intrigued me.

The beginning of this book was a lot more interesting than the second half; I enjoyed learning about Bardek, which was surprisingly free of stereotypes of a non-dominant culture to this world (I guess the Deverrians are considered barbarians to most places, so the Bardekians may be the dominant culture?). It was a lot of fun to see Jill and Salamander trouping around with their magic show while Rhodry struggled to regain his memories.

The Brotherhood/evil gang plot seems like an overused fantasy trope to me at this point and wasn’t all that riveting; Perryn, under the influence of dark magic, raped Jill repeatedly and ensorcelled her in a previous book and he gets a little too much screen time (and a happy ending) for me; nevertheless, I like that Jill had to choose between her love for Rhodry and studying the dweomer.

I do appreciate that the plot eventually goes back to Nevyn’s need to mentor Jill in the dweomer, but much of this book feels like sidetracking plot points that barely move the characters forward. This series has never had “chapters” but been divided by time and place, and as the reincarnation plot is hardly touched in this book, there are only three or so divisions and much of it felt longer than it had to be because of paragraph breaks indicating new scenes the whole time. I miss the switching back and forth between time periods and incarnations of the characters in the first few books.

[Aria Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 4 "The Dragon Revenant" (known as "Dragonspell" in the UK) marks the end of the first cycle of the Deverry Saga. More details about the saga, plot, style etc. on my comment here for Book 1: Daggerspell.

I found the end of this first cycle really satisfying. Book 3 had ended on an unbearable cliffhanger. You're taken into the suspense again right from the first pages of this 4th installment. Unlike the 3 previous novels, this one won't make us discover in flashbacks parts of our heroes past lives, for the simple reason that there is too much to say and show already about our present time story. I really love these flashbacks, but there's nothing to be disappointed about, with the pace of The Dragon Revenant, you won't get much time to long for them. The last pages of the book almost moved me to tears, in the way the characters grew and became better persons. A beautiful conclusion to this tale.

Note that Book 5 will portray some of our protagonists again, several years later, but with a new plot that will last 4 novels too.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this is the first book in the series with no flashbacks. And I was good with that, because we got the entire Bardek story in one beautiful volume. Even though I knew the end result, I had forgotten most of the actual story. It was almost like reading the story for the first time, and that made me so happy.

I will admit to being a romantic, and I think that the end of this book had probably my only "dislike" of the series. That Rhodry and Jill don't end up together broke my heart. I understand why, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to this chapter of the story of Deverry. Without the flashbacks to previous lives of Jill, Rhodry, and others, the story in this book flowed more smoothly. We got to see more of the contrast between the kingdoms of Deverry and Bardek, as well as the relationship between the Brotherhood of dark dwoeomermasters and their assassins, the Hawks. And bravo to the author for not forcing a "happily ever after" ending, but instead giving us the bittersweet decisions mature and responsible adults must sometimes make, heartbreaking as they may be.

[Rhod Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the books even though it doesn't have flashbacks, which are usually my main reason for coming back and re-reading the Deverry books. Because really, I just love the whole damn setup so much -- Rhodry in Bardek, Jill starting to learn dweomer but with SALAMANDER of all people, the wonderful bit where we find out what kind of bird Salamander turns into, and above all, Gwin, Gwin, Gwin, Gwin, oh God, GWIN.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second pass through the first four Devilry books has been nearly as enjoyable as the first. Kerr's world building makes you wish you were there.

This book takes place entirely in the "present" time of the books and brings the series to a conclusion though open ended enough that you know Kerr has more to explore.

Overall I enjoyed this a lot and I'm looking forward to re-reading the remaining books!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. A great conclusion to this arc of the story.

I first read these when they came out and I started but never finished the next one. I don't think I was ready for the change in time and location. This time I'm excited to move on and learn more of the wider story.

Highly recommended, but start with the first book, Daggerspell.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally felt a sense of closure at the end of this book, but of course, Katherine Kerr left it open for sequels as well. In some ways, especially in the last half of the book, it felt like it just went from tying up one loose end to the next. I was satisfied with the way the story ends, but it felt somewhat methodical without a whole lot of tension. I would like to go onto the next series, if only I could find them!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent read from Kerr. After reading Book 3 of the Deverry series, I saw myself stopping after the first 4. Now, having read The Dragon Revenant, I want to read the next set of 4! I love the characters, love the plot, and look forward to finding out more about Jill, Nevyn, Rhodry and the Wildfolk in Book 5.

[Marjolein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love this world and the route Jill is taking. It's great to read more about Rhodry too, but the whole black wizard storyline is not my favourite, and I missed the different timelines in this part.

[Patrick St-Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bristling Wood, third installment in Katharine Kerr's Deverry saga, ended with such a cliffhanger that I had no choice but to jump right into The Dragon Revenant to discover how the author would bring an end to the first story arc of this Celtic fantasy series. Not sure why this title was ultimately chosen, for it has absolutely nothing to do with the plot.

Unlike its predecessors, this fourth volume only occurs in the present. I figure that the plot had grown too vast to include past reincarnations in the storylines this time around. As a result, The Dragon Revenant made for a more streamlined reading experience. Which, it goes without saying, was for the best.

Here's the blurb:

For years the provinces of Deverry have been in turmoil; now the conflict escalates with the kidnapping of Rhodry Maelwaedd, heir to the throne of Aberwyn. Intent on rescuing him, his beloved Jill and the elven wizard Salamander infiltrate the distant land of Bardex, where Rhodry is held captive. Tied to Deverry by obligation and circumstance, the immortal wizard Nevyn begins to see that all the kingdom's problems can be traced to a single a master of dark magics, backed by a network of evil that stretches across the sea. Now Nevyn understands that he too is being lured away to Bardek--and into a subtle, deadly trap designed especially for him.

Katharine Kerr's novels of the Kingdom of Deverry unfold in a world of stunning richness and depth. Her vivid portrayal of characters caught in a complex web of fate and magic captures the imagination with a realism that few can match. Now she retums to this enchanted kingdom, where the wheels of destiny are tuming anew.

Once again, in The Dragon Revenant Katharine Kerr's superior worldbuilding continues to shine. Like Katherine Kurtz and Kate Elliott, the author has an eye for historical details and her portrayal of medieval Welsh/Celtic culture brings this tale to life with a realism that feels authentic. With the bulk of the action taking place beyond the sea, we learn more about the dweomer and its uses, about Bardek in particular, about the Old One, the dark masters, the Hawks of the Brotherhood and the other guilds. If it was in The Bristling Wood that the story truly took off, it's in The Dragon Revenant that Kerr brings it all together.

The better part of the novel deals with the aftermath of Rhodry's kidnapping and his becoming a slave in Bardek, as well as Jill and Salamander's quest to rescue him. With his brother dead, Rhodry is now the lawful heir. But if he cannot be found within a year's time, war will erupt as factions fight to determine who will lead. I feel that too much focus was put on the Bardek plotlines and not enough on the Nevyn vs the Old One showdown. Given its importance in the series thus far, their battle was rather anticlimactic to say the least. This is definitely a case of the resolution not being worthy of the build-up. However, I really liked how the author played with the politics of Rhodry's return and how it all came about. That was well done.

The Dragon Revenant brings all the storylines from the previous books to a mostly satisfying conclusion, all the while leaving the door open for a lot more to come. Kerr failed to come up with an endgame that did justice to the proverbial battle between Good and Evil, especially since she spent the last two volumes telling us how badass the Old One is. In and of itself, this could have killed the book. But the finale delivered in more ways than one. Those expecting a nice and romantic ending might find themselves shocked to a certain degree.

Though it's far from perfect, The Dragon Revenant concludes the first story arc of Katharine Kerr's Deverry saga in a way that makes me want to know what happens next. So yes, I will give the next arc a shot. If you're looking for a complex old-school speculative fiction series featuring an interesting cast of characters, you should definitely check out these books.

For more reviews, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little dissatisfied with the ending.

In one sense, it is over: Rhodry ascends the governorship (and the scene where he pops up at the tourney was fun to read); Jill chooses to follow her path (I loved her dilemma - that she felt that she had to choose, and that she ultimately felt trapped that Rhodry didn't understand. The ending scene with Nevyn was a great resolution of the central conceit in the first book too); and the Salamandar and Alaena plotline was very neatly wrapped up too. I thought the Perryn plotline was sort-of wrapped up, though I would have appreciated more concrete answers to what he is. But then - not everything needs to be answered.

I keep coming back to Rhodry's speech:

"My apologies, Mother. There's somewhat you don't know." He turned with one of his unhuman sunny smiles. "On the Auddglyn coast there's a town called Slaith. Ever heard of it? Of course not - neither have most people. It's a pirate haven, and Ygwimyr's known of it for years and done naught about it. Why? Because he doesn't have a fleet. When he marries his sister to me, he'll get the use of mine, because in return I'll get the right to sail into his rhan and burn that stinking filthy hellhole to the ground."

The force of that hatred! I felt that was a good example of showing, not telling, of the kind of torture that Rhodry endured.

I also liked that Mael's books kept getting mentioned again - the past reverberating through to the present.

On the other hand: what was it with all the people turning from the dark side (Gwin and Sarcyn)? What was up with the Maryn plotline - we didn't see an end to that? I didn't understand how that affected the plot in general or the actions that were taken (I gather he unified the country, but what's the point of going into detail into that point in history? What's the broader thematic point? I might have missed that). What's the significance of the ring that Salamandar trotted all the way after Rhodry for?

With all the unanswered questions, how can this be the ending to a quartet? Well. I mean, ultimately - the main question/issue from the first book was Nevyn teaching Jill the dweomer, so that was answered, but I would have liked a nicer ending.

I add that I liked the dialogue, especially Perryn's "oh er well". I liked that the characters had different ways of speaking marked out. I liked the sense that names changed through the eras - that Gladion was considered old-fashioned at a later point (it's strange that "Nevyn / No one" hadn't changed that much through the four hundred years, but I'm not quibbling that).

I don't know if I'll recommend this series - it is light reading, the worldbuilding is detailed, but... it also feels forgettable. I'll keep reading because it's entertaining and fun, but it doesn't feel that it goes deeper than that. So I'll keep the series at 3 stars.