The Wysard

Rating:
Summary: Solid "Wysard"
Review: "Wysard" is an unusual fantasy -- no elves, dwarves, dragons or Dark Lords, just radically different human cultures and plenty of wysards (good and bad). If you are looking for something a bit away from the usual fantasy stuff, this might be the book you want.

Ryel Mirai left his family in the Steppes many years ago, to learn with the wysard Edris at the city of Markul, for studies that were dangerous, dark and gave him powers that the outside world could hardly believe in. But when he ventured into the void beyond life, he encountered the daimon Dagar -- who murdered Edris. Now he leaves Markul, with a strange mocking voice in his head and visions of his dying mother and a mad princess.

After healing his mother, Ryel travels to the city of Almancar, where the
Sovrena Diara has gone mad under Dagar's influence -- the same influence that whispers constantly in Ryel's mind. Even as he heals her, he learns two things: That Edris's rai (spirit) is still around, and can be reunited with his body... and that an evil wysard is trying to bring Dagar back with the same spell...

"Wysard" reads a bit like an earthier, sexier "Wizard of Earthsea"; it has some of the same themes, the same atmosphere, and one can imagine Le Guin using similar ideas (the misty, ascetic wysard city, the decadent Almancar with its incestuous royals and rich brothels, the proud horse-riding Steppes folk). Kephart manages to deal with Ryel's training quite well through flashbacks, more skillfully than most authors can.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that the pace is a little rushed; if it had been slower, it would have been easier to get acquainted with Ryel, Edris and the rest rather than paying attention to where the plot was going next. And readers may be frustrated by the big blinking "To Be Continued" that ends the book, leading up to sequel "Lord Brother."

Ryel is a likable guy, and his loving but tense relationship with Edris is exceptionally well-done; Edris himself is a bit abrasive, definitely not easygoing, and a good change from the usual wizard mentors. The voice of Dagar is mocking and nasty, more effective than a blustering villain. Diara, Ryel's future lover, while we don't see much of her, is perhaps the most likable of all.

"Wysard" makes a change for those who want a genuinely dark, adult fantasy without the cliched trappings. Intriguing.

Rating:
Summary: Well imagined fantasy
Review: After I finished reading Carolyn Kephart's WYSARD, I wanted more - and there IS a second volume to this story of Ryel and his struggle against the evil soul Dagar. Ryel, a boy raised on the Steppes as the son of a gruff farmer and a beautiful foreign mother, enters into the art of wizardry. He trained by his mentor Edris to be the one wyzard powerful enough to defeat the body-dead but still powerful Dagar, an evil spirit bent on conquering the world. As an Overreacher, a wyzard who has crossed over to the realm of the dead and returned to the living, Ryel is both empowered and burdened by his art. As he was marked by Edris to be a savior, so is he marked by Dagar to be one of his rulers.

At times, Kephart's writing style and dialogue seem too stilted, as though she is relying on a pseudo-Middle Ages grammatical structure to give her novel atmosphere. However, at other times, her prose is smoothly lyrical, written with beautiful logic. Kephart's real strength, however, is her storytelling ability. While she takes far too many pages to set up the central conflict, I couldn't put down this novel once I had passed the midway point. By the end, the story was incredibly engrossing. Unfortunately, in this novel nothing is resolved. It ends with a cliff-hanger, necessitating the reading of Kephart's second volume to discover Ryel's fate.

Kephart clearly has talent. She has imagined her fantasy world well, with details that make it come alive for the reader. I only wish that much of the novel had been tighter and more judiciously cut, perhaps combining it with the second volume into one 250 page novel. Still, there is much to admire here. Avid readers of fantasy especially will be intrigued by Kephart's writing. While I could not give this novel four stars, three seems too few: three and a half stars for an up-and-coming fantasy writer.

Rating:
Summary: Well imagined fantasy
Review: After I finished reading Carolyn Kephart's WYSARD, I wanted more - and there IS a second volume to this story of Ryel and his struggle against the evil soul Dagar. Ryel, a boy raised on the Steppes as the son of a gruff farmer and a beautiful foreign mother, enters into the art of wizardry. He trained by his mentor Edris to be the one wyzard powerful enough to defeat the body-dead but still powerful Dagar, an evil spirit bent on conquering the world. As an Overreacher, a wyzard who has crossed over to the realm of the dead and returned to the living, Ryel is both empowered and burdened by his art. As he was marked by Edris to be a savior, so is he marked by Dagar to be one of his rulers.

At times, Kephart's writing style and dialogue seem too stilted, as though she is relying on a pseudo-Middle Ages grammatical structure to give her novel atmosphere. However, at other times, her prose is smoothly lyrical, written with beautiful logic. Kephart's real strength, however, is her storytelling ability. While she takes far too many pages to set up the central conflict, I couldn't put down this novel once I had passed the midway point. By the end, the story was incredibly engrossing. Unfortunately, in this novel nothing is resolved. It ends with a cliff-hanger, necessitating the reading of Kephart's second volume to discover Ryel's fate.

Kephart clearly has talent. She has imagined her fantasy world well, with details that make it come alive for the reader. I only wish that much of the novel had been tighter and more judiciously cut, perhaps combining it with the second volume into one 250 page novel. Still, there is much to admire here. Avid readers of fantasy especially will be intrigued by Kephart's writing. While I could not give this novel four stars, three seems too few: three and a half stars for an up-and-coming fantasy writer.

Rating:
Summary: Great epic fantasy...can't wait for part 2
Review: Although he detests his lessons and sees nothing gained by them, Ryel Mirai has spent much of his life in strict self-discipline studying inside Markul. However, Ryel's life changes when his mentor Edris suddenly dies at too young an age. Without Edris' guiding hand, Ryel searches for a new truth and soon learns his own real identity and who the enemy is that he has been trained to face.

Ryel leaves the protection of the walled city to confront Dagar, who resides on another plane. Dagar needs a human form and has selected Ryel's body as ideal. Abetting Dagar on his quest to conquer the world is Ryel's rival Michael. As Ryel seeks to thwart his foe, he learns that the spell Dagar desires bring Edris back to life, but the danger may be greater than the benefit.

WYSARD is a great fantasy tale that works because the key players are fully developed and understood, and seem real even on a quest. The story line is well written, and filled with typical action and adventure inside a vividly described magical world. Carolyn Kephart shows she is a talent that sub-genre fans will enjoy although the wait for Part Two will prove more difficult than Joe Paterno's football season.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Intimate, insightful, a MUST read - The Wysard
Review: As an avid fantasy reader, I have read books by many authors. Few have the technical skill and rich depths of prose found in the Wysard. This book reveals a world filled with striking cultures and offers insights into the characters that are not often seen in this genre. The main character Ryel is surrounded by a building sexual tension that changes his role in the world as he discovers the machinations of the malevolent Dagar. From intensely intimate scenes between Ryel and Edris, to Michael's stark cruelty, this book was crafted with word by word care and it shows. I eagerly await part 2 of the Wysard and highly recommend this first book in the Wysard series.

Rating:
Summary: A great novel! A gifted author!
Review: Carolyn Kephard earned her Ph.D. in English Literature from Penn State University. Her area of expertise includes English Literature through the Medieval, Renaissance and Restoration periods. Wysard is the first of a two-part series revolving around a young adept named Ryel Mirai, who leaves his harsh existence on the Inner Steppes to study with Edris, his father's brother, in Marcul learning the art of the Wysand.

As Ryel discovers, his father Yorganar is not really his father:

"Ryel had never in his life heard any man other than his father call his mother by her name. It was unfit, as it was unfit for a married woman to remain in the presence of an newcomer after the first greetings were done, or speak to her brother-in-law, or oppose her husband in anything. But his mother was not of the Steppes, and had kept the ways of her city. What shocked Ryel even more was that his father had not ordered her to withdraw, nor rebuked her for her presumption. He felt confused and uneasy at so much law-breaking."

Ryel studies for a dozen years in Markul, learning that his gift is great and that there is a dark side to the art...a wraithworld of the void. Precocious as he is, Ryel overreaches and is rewarded with the dark eyes seen only by fellow wysands. Edris dies mysteriously, and Ryel is lured out into the world by Dagar, a disembodied spirit from the shadows, who promises much in his lust to occupy Ryel's body. Ryel takes the challenge and finds that he has allies in high and powerful places...who are also of his blood. As his powers grow, so does the danger, as he travels ever closer to the void which entraps Edris.

Wysard is superbly well crafted, and Carolyn Kephart is going to pick up a fan in anyone who picks up this book. She has the power to truly convey the reader into this pleasurable world of magic and yearning. Her imagination is as rich as her writing is concise. Kephard picks up the reader, who embarks on a river of fantasy, only to whimper for more when the story reaches its stopping point. All the reader can hope for is a speedy second book to reestablish the connection at the earliest possible time. Wysard is a fascinating, and Kephard is talented.

Shelley Glodowski, Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: This is but half a book
Review: Didn't find it that original, but it's biggest error is that it's only the first half (or third?) of series, with no conclusion in it at all. Leaves you kind of stranded. Things like that should be clearly stated somewhere....

Rating:
Summary: I'm not a fantasy fan, yet I was enthralled with this novel
Review: I am not a fan of fantasy; I prefer sci-fi, no magicians, wizards or dragons need apply. Yet I like some authors who cross over into fantasy from sci-fi like Ursula LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey and Sherri Tepper.

Carolyn Kephart's "Wysard" starts out a bit like "Harry Potter." Ryel is highly gifted with magical ability, has a scar from a lightning bolt, leaves home and goes off to study with Master Edris. Here's where the similarity ends. "Wysard" is for teens and adults, not for kids. There's none of the whimsical Potter humor here. "Wysard" is PURE fantasy.

The strained relationship with Ryel with his mentor Edris, Ryel's subsequent quest and conflict in his role in the magical city-state of Markul are compelling. The struggles are heroic. There is a lot of action and good character development. My only criticism is that the scenes move back and forth between the mature Ryel and the youth Ryel and sometimes the transition is not smooth, so you have to pay attention.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this novel. If you are a fan of fantasy like the Earthsea books of LeGuin, you will definitely enjoy "Wysard."

Rating:
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: I am not a huge fantasy fan, but this one was good.

Rating:
Summary: A fresh take on a well used theme.
Review: I think this author is going to go places. She's got her own voice and even though I've read similar stories to this one her take was fresh and interesting. Basically this story is about this young boy turned wysard and his quest to free his mentor's soul from a curse. It's a fun story full of high adventure and intrigue. Definitely worth your time.