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wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2022/02/2022-book-28.html
So I am still interested in these characters/their world/their magic, but this second volume was more unpleasant than the first. We finally meet some of the evil sorcerer types hinted at in the first book, and they’re pretty vile (they can get power through lust and so there is a fair amount of rape, but only of dudes bc they don’t teach women their evil ways). The past life flashback section here was interesting, though also not particularly pleasant, as the main young woman pledges her life to a dark warrior goddess. Lots of riding around on horses and fighting battles, some more important than others. I breathed a sigh of relief every time a character got to take a bath! But we'll plow ahead. B.
So I am still interested in these characters/their world/their magic, but this second volume was more unpleasant than the first. We finally meet some of the evil sorcerer types hinted at in the first book, and they’re pretty vile (they can get power through lust and so there is a fair amount of rape, but only of dudes bc they don’t teach women their evil ways). The past life flashback section here was interesting, though also not particularly pleasant, as the main young woman pledges her life to a dark warrior goddess. Lots of riding around on horses and fighting battles, some more important than others. I breathed a sigh of relief every time a character got to take a bath! But we'll plow ahead. B.
humanpuke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s worth noting that apparently a newer edition of this book attempts to fix some of the problems outlined below. I don’t have that edition and can’t comment on that.
Tired trope of “villain is gay and a pedophile” prevented this from being a 5 star book, and some parts dragged more than Daggerspell. It’s from the 1980s, so it’s certainly a terrible relic of trends in SFF at the time. And while the series deals with other consequences of troublesome sexuality, given that this is such a trope, the blatant homophobia can’t really be treated the same as the incest story lines. At least in my opinion.
But it answered a lot of questions from Daggerspell, sometimes in a clumsy fashion, and sometimes in a very interesting way. Still gonna continue on in the series.
Tired trope of “villain is gay and a pedophile” prevented this from being a 5 star book, and some parts dragged more than Daggerspell. It’s from the 1980s, so it’s certainly a terrible relic of trends in SFF at the time. And while the series deals with other consequences of troublesome sexuality, given that this is such a trope, the blatant homophobia can’t really be treated the same as the incest story lines. At least in my opinion.
But it answered a lot of questions from Daggerspell, sometimes in a clumsy fashion, and sometimes in a very interesting way. Still gonna continue on in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Rape
michelle_abelha's review against another edition
1.0
This book was deeply disturbing (sexual torture). Should have stopped reading it.
angelahayes's review against another edition
5.0
5 Stars
Darkspell (Deverry #2) by Katharine Kerr
Epic Fantasy!
RTC
Darkspell (Deverry #2) by Katharine Kerr
Epic Fantasy!
RTC
helenid's review against another edition
5.0
This was quite difficult to read for two reasons. Firstly, the formatting was off and I'd be flung out of the story by sentences that didn't make sense only to realize that a letter was wrong (rite becoming lite, some pure random words thrown in that made no sense e.g. ro instead of to). Secondly, the dialogue didn't feel natural to me, it felt like modern upper-class English which didn't match the setting. I did love the Welsh sounding words, given I'm Welsh.
Rhodry came across as a sword-wielding loon at times which was hard given he's a main character. As usual Nevyn was interesting.
2.5 rounded up
Rhodry came across as a sword-wielding loon at times which was hard given he's a main character. As usual Nevyn was interesting.
2.5 rounded up
jwells's review
Feeling a bit lukewarm about this series, I read some reviews of this book and the next one. Wow, trigger warnings for rape and homophobia in this book? And rape in the book three, as well. Wow. I thought the creepy incest theme in book one was bad. I'm bailing on this series.
mellymith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Rape
nekokat's review against another edition
3.0
Far more of a cookie-cutter fantasy novel than its predecessor, Wyrd notwithstanding. Kept my interest, mostly, though the politics and history got a bit convoluted, and I missed the feeling of inevitability from the first novel. Demoted a star for equating homosexuality with evil/unclean magic.