Reviews

Dragonspell: The Southern Sea by Katharine Kerr

insipidurbanism's review against another edition

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adventurous

5.0

felinity's review against another edition

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5.0

This completes the first section of the Deverry tapestry. If you want, you can stop here, after book 4, though there are plenty of loose ends that are woven into the following series, but if you want some form of resolution for Jill, Rhodry, Nevyn and The Old One you'll find it.

dreamreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really good conclusion to this first four-book arc within the Deverry series. If I had to rank all of the books, I would say that this was the one I enjoyed least, but even then, this is still getting a high rating and is truly great fantasy. I surprisingly missed having any past timelines present. I never realized how attached I grew to those, though I do think if you squint there is some of the past timeline from book three peeking through here in the Rhodry, Gwin, Jill plot. 

Nothing will top Darkspell for me. That book was so good. But this was a good way to wrap up this initial plot with Nevyn and Brangwen coming full circle, while leaving enough unanswered questions to justify continuing the series. I'm really excited to see where it goes next! I love following these characters. 

mirtlifthewise's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

halfelfschollar's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was good to see the magic system finally explained and to see the main concept established in the first book finally come to fruition. It was clear to see that eventually Jill would study magic but not what the circumstances would be. The plot has come full circle and it's time for them to move onto the next journey.

While it seems he's been removed from the plot I will miss Salamander, as his character off set the seriousness of Jill and Rhodry. I hope he's brought back in the next books.

I missed the past lives in this book. As confusing as the jumping back and forth has been I've enjoyed seeing how past actions affect the current events. Hoping they'll be back as the series continues. 

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katmarhan's review against another edition

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5.0

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
Spoilerfor 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.

angrywombat's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow, that flew by.
A very easy book to read, and a much simpler, straightforward tale compared to the previous three in the series. I found myself missing the previous life stories, as this book was squarely focused on Rhodry and Jill. It was a very fitting, and appropriate ending to the story that started with a young girl playing with the wildfolk and a wandering old herbman searching for her.

humanpuke's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

vaderbird's review against another edition

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2.0

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

wordnerdy's review against another edition

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4.0

https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2022/02/2022-book-30.html

This was a really satisfying conclusion to the first chunk of books in the Deverry series (there are four different series set in this world, plus one just starting up). Great characters, interesting action, no flashbacks to past lives (I have enjoyed those in earlier books but it was becoming a lot to keep track of) so things flowed a little better. And I really liked the way Jill's story wrapped up. I didn’t know if I’d keep going but I definitely plan to start the next book. A-.