Welcome To the Cedar Grove

Every colour, even the sombre grey of the rocks, seemed as bright and glowing as jewels. Whenever they came to a clearing or a mountain meadow, the sun poured over her like water; she could swear that she felt it dripping and running down her arms.
Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood by Katherine Kerr.

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so this is likely to be shortish and sweetish.

Reading this book reminds me why I loved this series so much the first time I read them, and I don't think I got much further than this the last time. I remembered some of the events in this instalment but not all, so it's possible that I didn't get to the end last time. The Bristling Wood continues the tale of the exiled prince, Rhodry, and his lover, the Silver Dagger's daughter, Jill, (a silver dagger in her own right), and their watchful 'soul mate' Nevyn - and if you wonder, yes, that is a play on words, since Nevyn means 'no one' and that's the way the old Dweomer-man considers himself.

The book continues its presentation of the elves of this land as being something slightly less regal than those you might find, say, in Lord of the Rings, a little more adventuresome, not quite as wholesome, but fun none the less. Salamander features very much in this novel, which also starts to unfold more of the deep complexities of the politics of the many demesnes, and the racial differences and rivalries. However it does this in a way that doesn't bog you down in the boring side of the politics of it, and by the end of the book there's so much going on it leaves your head spinning.

There's a resolution of sorts at the end of the book, of course there is, but it does leave you hungry for more, and to find out just how the characters are going to 'get out of this one' as it were. Well worth reading, but do start that the beginning of the series. Trust me. It's worth it.

Every light casts a shadow. So does the Dweomer. Some men choose to stand in the light; others in the darkness.
From Darkspell by Katharine Kerr

Feels like I've been reading this book forever. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did... just sometimes it had me wondering how many times can you tell the same story with different players and only slightly different outcomes. But then isn't that life, if we don't learn the lessons we are given, don't we face them again in a different package at a later time...?

After a while the 'archaic' language starts to either get to you or draw you in... it did both to me in turn and turn about fashion, I guess depending on the mood that took me at the time of reading the book, but on the whole I'm just jealous I guess. Kerr winds the elements of the story together to build a very tangled web indeed. I guess it has to be tangled as there are at least six more books in the series. Of necessity she's going to have to resolve some of the things through those books, and soon, before that "how many times can you tell this story?" question becomes a bore. I wonder what she'll put in their place. She's bound to do something.

Of course that's a question that won't get answered for some time... taking a break from Deverry now to head into the Cotswolds... at least as far as reading is concerned.