Why is the Deverry cycle on my TBR?
Deverry Cycle by Katharine Kerr is a relatively long series made of a few different smaller self-contained (yet connected) series. There are five installments in the series (as of publishing this post), starting with Deverry, including Daggerspell, Darkspell, The Bristling Wood and The Dragon Revenant. It then continues with The Westlands, which includes A Time of Exile, A time of Omens, Days of Blood and Fire and Days of Air and Darkness. The third installment is called The Dragon Mage and it includes: The Red Wyvern, The Black Raven, The Fire Dragon and The Gold Falcon; this last book is also the introduction to the following installment called The Silver Wyrm. It is a bit confusing as the books listed in this series also belong to the prior installment, The dragon mage act, but here they are: The Spirit Stone, The Shadow Isle and The Silver Mage. Last but not least, there is The Justice War which includes one book only for the time being, Sword of Fire. The Justice War should be a trilogy! So the series is still going!
Yes it already feels like a vast series but the goal is to tackle one installment at a time and see if I will be interested in the entire Deverry Cycle. I guess the first act (as they are called acts) will be quite telling regarding my fascination with this series!
One more introductory note: you might have read the name of the series before and you would be spot on. In fact, I have included this series in my 80s fantasy series (link)!
How did I include this series in my never-ending TBR? That is a good question; it originally became part of the to be read list because Goodreads pushed the book into my feed. Now, Goodreads’ algorithm is not always on point but the best thing a reader can do is to still check these suggestions and understand if a book works for them (and go down the rabbit hole of spending hours looking at books!). True, this process parts science and parts art and its beauty (in my opinion) is in the possibilities that it offers!
So what convinced me to add this book on the TBR list? Ultimately the blurb provided that there were already areas of interest. For instance, there were some foundational elements such as this is a longer series (yes, I have an absurd interest in longer series and I do not have a great track record for finishing them either…) and the author is a woman.
Now why this matters to me? First and foremost, representation matters. There are plenty of great male fantasy authors who can write female characters; but there is a different sensibility with women writing fantasy. The second element is that women who wrote in the 80s had the possibility to discuss and achieve gender equality; while this is a generalization, there was a trend for authors in the 80s to put women on the same level as men and this feels quite empowering. The authors in this period of time (but also before and after) talked about such an important topic and they did it quite successfully!
What else caught my attention about this series?
While reading the blurb, this is what convinced me (and keeps getting me excited): “ (…) a tale of bold adventure and timeless love, perilous battle and pure magic”.
This is really why I read fantasy, I want the exploration of new worlds, I want the hype of a new adventure, I want to participate into the events that shape the destiny of the land; and, most importantly I want to see magic and mythological creatures!
There are also a few other elements here that intrigue me on top: there is the reference a story of redemption from guilt (this plot line can be outstanding if properly executed) and there is a theme of fulfilling destiny. Both these tropes and themes work for me and I am looking forward to exploring the execution.
There is also the reference to magical and mysterious folk; this often is an indicator that the world building is quite complex. It does not mean that it will be but I tend to consider it as an indicator of layered world building. I am curious to know what they have to do with the larger story.
In addition to the above (as if this was not enough), somehow the reference to herbman makes me particularly excited; it is a typical trope of fantasy (Blackthron and Grim by Juliet Marillier, but also The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan have herb healers) and yet this roles is traditionally (but not exclusively) associated with a female figure. So I am curious to know how this story shapes up. I also want to understand if magic comes or is associated with herbs or if this is a different set up.
The last element that pushed me toward the line, was Mark Lawrence’s review, especially the reference to great world building and that the book aged well (here)!
Have you read Deverry and/or some of the self-contained series? Do you recommend it? If so, why is a series to read? If not, are you now considering to read this series? If so, why? What are the elements that speak to you?
Comment down below, using a sword emoji!
