Days of Blood and Fire

Rating:
Summary: Book Seven of an Outstanding Series
Review: Similar to "The Dragon Revenant" Kerr again returns to a linear plot previously set up in "Time of Omens," again abandoning her usual interaction of stories set within differing time periods. Obviously by now I am an enthusiast of the tale and world begun in "Daggerspell" and would recommend fans of better fantasy fiction take a look. Despite the positive response of the previous reviewer, however, Kerr's books are not written as stand-alones, and without the information provided by the earlier works, one's enjoyment of this book will be greatly limited. Despite the fact that it was the weakest book in the series, start with "Daggerspell": By the time you reach "Days of Blood and Fire" I'm sure you'll conclude that the considerable time invested was enjoyably well spent.

I do however have one reservation regarding this book: The introduction of a dragon. It may be a personal quirk on my part, but rarely have I found the active appearance of dragons in a tale either satisfying or credible. Often anthropomorphised in manner either typecast or silly - McCaffrey's romanticized and laughable wyrms are but the most notable examples - their inclusion as characters almost invariably fails to be convincing (At the risk of sacrilege I would include Tolkein's Smaug). Though the dragon here is present for only a few pages, it is apparant that it will play a large role in the next book, and it talks, which may not bode well for the conclusion of the series. Those of you who delight in clever wyrms, carry on. I will reserve final comment for completion of the next book.

Rating:
Summary: Book Seven of an Outstanding Series
Review: Similar to "The Dragon Revenant" Kerr again returns to a linear plot previously set up in "Time of Omens," again abandoning her usual interaction of stories set within differing time periods. Obviously by now I am an enthusiast of the tale and world begun in "Daggerspell" and would recommend fans of better fantasy fiction take a look. Despite the positive response of the previous reviewer, however, Kerr's books are not written as stand-alones, and without the information provided by the earlier works, one's enjoyment of this book will be greatly limited. Despite the fact that it was the weakest book in the series, start with "Daggerspell": By the time you reach "Days of Blood and Fire" I'm sure you'll conclude that the considerable time invested was enjoyably well spent.

I do however have one reservation regarding this book: The introduction of a dragon. It may be a personal quirk on my part, but rarely have I found the active appearance of dragons in a tale either satisfying or credible. Often anthropomorphised in manner either typecast or silly - McCaffrey's romanticized and laughable wyrms are but the most notable examples - their inclusion as characters almost invariably fails to be convincing (At the risk of sacrilege I would include Tolkein's Smaug). Though the dragon here is present for only a few pages, it is apparant that it will play a large role in the next book, and it talks, which may not bode well for the conclusion of the series. Those of you who delight in clever wyrms, carry on. I will reserve final comment for completion of the next book.

Rating:
Summary: This book is worth every cent.
Review: This is the best fantasy book that I have ever read, and possibly one of the best books overall. Anyone who is a fantasy reader should definately pick this one up. It kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the end, where I immediately ran out to pick up "Days of Air and Darkness" to find out how this chapter in the Deverry saga ended. Full of action, intrige, and emotion, this book is sure to give anyone a good read. I am about to order the rest of the series to see what else has gone on.

Rating:
Summary: This book is worth every cent.
Review: This is the best fantasy book that I have ever read, and possibly one of the best books overall. Anyone who is a fantasy reader should definately pick this one up. It kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the end, where I immediately ran out to pick up "Days of Air and Darkness" to find out how this chapter in the Deverry saga ended. Full of action, intrige, and emotion, this book is sure to give anyone a good read. I am about to order the rest of the series to see what else has gone on.

Rating:
Summary: Quite entertaining
Review: Whether or not you started with Daggerspell or if you have just recently started reading the works of Katharine Kerr, you should definately read this. I found the book entertaining with all the old characters mixed with the new and their wonderful skill at getting wound up in problems that seem to large to remedy. You get to see parts of her world that you do not see in the other books which is always exciting with this author. She transends into the world "high fantasy" well and the ending is rather different from most of her others because it is sudden and leads into the next book.