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A review by imyril
The Bristling Wood by Katharine Kerr
4.0
Dawnspell is a bridge book: the flashback (which begins one of my favourite sequences within sequences) is a set-up, the modern day is a set-up and nothing gets resolved before the cliffhanger at the end. It's a bit flabby, and hilariously the bad guys literally have a conversation over the fire about how the plot is absurdly convoluted.
This killed me when it first came out - the prospect of YEARS to find out what was going to happen - but rereading with Dragonspell safely on my shelf I can just sit back and appreciate the good bits. This is where we first glimpse the full sweep of the history of Annwn, with hints of a fourth race and the stark realisation of just how many apple carts were upset when that Gallic tribe sailed into the mists and found Deverry. We also get a whole lot more insight into the unpleasant and self-interested web of politics that holds Deverry together - and keeps parts of it as poor and unsupported. It's also the start of the multi-book flashback sequence detailing the end of the Time of Troubles, which gives us one of Rhodry's most interesting incarnations and eventually (although not in Dawnspell) explains why Jill is so scared of dweomer. Last but not least, we get to hang out with Salamander ap Devaberiel, who is the extravagantly iced cinnamon roll of the Deverry saga (I'm sure his elaborate way of speaking and fecklessness irritate some readers, but I adore him).
On the flip side, this is the least feminist of the novels to date: there's a heap of Nevyn having horrors at women who sleep around and/or sleep around for money, and Jill is stripped of her agency for Plot Reasons.
Knowing how relevant almost everything will become in the future, I can appreciate Dawnspell more. But it was my least favourite of the first four (six?) for a reason on first reading, and I can see why. That's not a huge criticism, though - it's still an engaging read, and left me (leaves me) desperate to get on to the final volume of this first sequence within the saga.
Content warning: rape
3.5 stars
This killed me when it first came out - the prospect of YEARS to find out what was going to happen - but rereading with Dragonspell safely on my shelf I can just sit back and appreciate the good bits. This is where we first glimpse the full sweep of the history of Annwn, with hints of a fourth race and the stark realisation of just how many apple carts were upset when that Gallic tribe sailed into the mists and found Deverry. We also get a whole lot more insight into the unpleasant and self-interested web of politics that holds Deverry together - and keeps parts of it as poor and unsupported. It's also the start of the multi-book flashback sequence detailing the end of the Time of Troubles, which gives us one of Rhodry's most interesting incarnations and eventually (although not in Dawnspell) explains why Jill is so scared of dweomer. Last but not least, we get to hang out with Salamander ap Devaberiel, who is the extravagantly iced cinnamon roll of the Deverry saga (I'm sure his elaborate way of speaking and fecklessness irritate some readers, but I adore him).
On the flip side, this is the least feminist of the novels to date: there's a heap of Nevyn having horrors at women who sleep around and/or sleep around for money, and Jill is stripped of her agency for Plot Reasons.
Knowing how relevant almost everything will become in the future, I can appreciate Dawnspell more. But it was my least favourite of the first four (six?) for a reason on first reading, and I can see why. That's not a huge criticism, though - it's still an engaging read, and left me (leaves me) desperate to get on to the final volume of this first sequence within the saga.
Content warning: rape
3.5 stars