The Gold Falcon: Book One of the Silver Wyrm

Well, I guess I'll be the first to say that this is a wonderful book--though I'm not sure how well-received it might be by someone who hasn't read the rest of the eleven books leading up to The Gold Falcon. Truth be told, I made the same mistake myself when I first discovered this series; I randomly selected The Red Wyvern (book nine), and found myself completely and thoroughly confused by the time I'd reached the second chapter. It's well-worth the confusion, though--and really, if you start with the first book, Daggerspell, you'll get the hang of Kerr's writing style quickly enough. These books aren't written in a linear progression (which, as afore mentioned, can create some confusion) she describes her method as being like a celtic knot in novel form: parts of the tale weave in and out of each other, with story-arcs that feature different incarnations of a core set of characters. The reader is left with a very eloquent and intriguing impression of the kinds of decisions and drama that affect us all, and the ramifications that echo through multiple lifetimes. I understand that Kerr is an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and it's pretty obvious in her use of Elves, Dwarves, Dragons, etc. I occasionally wish she'd get away from some of the more "cartoonish" aspects of these different magical races and stick with the riveting and more historically based medieval storylines in her books. She's created a fascinating and well-fleshed out world in which people interact in a deeply compelling way. Over the course of eleven books, the reader has had the chance to walk a mile in the footsteps of every echelon of her society, from bondsman to Gwerbret or even King. I usually find it hard to put these books down, and I think I gobbled The Gold Falcon up in one gluttonous sitting. Basically, if you've loved the series so far, you'll be buying this book no matter what, and I doubt you'll be disappointed. (I wasn't.) And if you haven't read any of Kerr's other books, I think I'd recommend that you start at the beginning. One gets the impression that Kerr has a very distinct destination in mind, and you don't want to miss one step of the journey.

This book made my fingers hover over the rating... it's probably 4.5 stars. I read the original novel in this series when it first came out in, what, the 80s? early 90s? I must have re-read it a dozen times in the years since then, because Kerr did such a wonderful job of world building. Her main characters span multiple lifetimes, and usually they do not remember what they did in an earlier incarnation. I was absolutely charmed, because the system of magic was consistent; the characters were well drawn (in an Arthurian "honor matters!" way); and it was not a predictable "oh you know how it'll end" tale. The first several books were great, and I highly recommend that you start with Daggerspell. But the later series somehow tired me for reasons I never did figure out. I'm happy to report that this new trilogy (one presumes?) has brought back the original magic from the first books. Nevyn and Jill do get together (yay!, after only what, 600 years) and it's fun to see the two dweomer-masters as teenagers dealing with the "but who was I? am I still that person?" identity crisis. There is humor, compassion, honor... and none of it gets in the way of telling a good story.

I absolutely adore this series and am sad to see it coming to an end. It was horrible to wait this entire time for this book (if you followed it and saw all the pushbacks like I did), but it was well worth it. It doesn't really answer questions but it definitely sets up the next two books to tie everything together. This book, unlike the others, only stays in one timeline choosing to tell the past by using small character flashbacks that are actually told to other characters instead of that character being in that time. A definite must for any follower of the series.

Let's hope we don't have to wait a very long time for the continuation of this series! As with every time I pick up a Katharine Kerr book, I can't put it down. I stay up late at night fighting the sleep dweomer and end up late for work! It's well worth it! If I had dweomer powers I would hurry up Katharine to finish the next book! In the meantime, maybe I will re-read the whole saga since it's been years since I read the first book.

As noted in the other review, this is the least complex and challenging of the Deverry series to date. The ongoing story of Nevyn and Jill is resolved, almost too easily, given the tangled paths these characters have had in past books. The setup, however, gives promise for the next volumes in the series, and we still have Rhodry as a dragon and Dallandra to provide the connecting threads. Not the best Deverry to start on, as it would be very difficult to follow without knowing the backstory. Keep 'em coming Kit!