Kerr, Katharine
DAYS OF AIR AND DARKNESS
Katharine Kerr
Bantam Spectra 1994/95
Pb 406 pages
ISBN#
0-553-57262-8
Convinced to ally with half-elf Rhodry--in this
Eighth installment of Kerr's Novels of Deverry and the Westlands--the
dragon Arzosah carries our hero out of the wilderness and into the
arms of battle. This is where the seed that was planted in Book
Four [THE DRAGON REVENANT] takes hold. [Perryn--Book Four--was the
reincarnated soul of this dragon's mate.] Arzosah doesn't too much
mind Rhodry's mastery over her because she is just as eager as he to
wrack revenge on the Horsekin who killed her mate.
There is one venture into the past in DAYS OF
AIR AND DARKNESS: one hundred and thirty-six pages of delay to
introduce the dweomermaster who is Alshandra's contact point within
the mortal realm. Then we bounce back to now-time (1116) and Rhodry
suddenly realizes a fact of life kept from him (and everybody else)
by dweomermasters: the souls of the dead are reborn to live again.
It takes a lot of magic to fight the forces
brought against the city of Cengarn. After the muster of men,
dwarves, and elves, Evandar the Guardian magically pulls them
together and hastens them on their way. But, of course, there's
difficulty in everything connected with the siege of Cengarn, and a
lot of good people do die. Evandar learns frustration and sadness.
Rhodry learns patience. The siege comes to a satisfying conclusion,
but there are loose ends yet to be tied as the book comes to its
conclusion, and I've noted that the next book published by this
author in the realm of Deverry and the Westlands takes us
back to a time when dragons were more common. <sigh>
So--if Ms. Kerr should ever see this review, this reader requests a
satisfying conclusion to Rhodry Maelwaedd that could also (please?)
have Aethan/Gwin's soul reborn to a significant character in the
main plotline. Ha! Well, we can all wish.
Anyway, DAYS OF AIR AND DARKNESS concludes
Rhodry's Wyrd, his destiny to aid in uniting elves and men. Though
part of an extensive series, DAYS OF AIR AND DARKNESS can be read
alone with DAYS OF BLOOD AND FIRE (first) without too much confusion
as to what went before. For those interested, however, the first
book in the series (and an excellent read in its own right) is
DAGGERSPELL. Kerr's Novels of Deverry and the Westlands are
recommended for fans of Sword & Sorcery. They have quests and
battles; elves, dwarves, and a dragon; and lots of magic. The
stylistic ingredient that kept this reader's interest was the
concepts of reincarnation and Wyrd (Karma) that entangle Kerr's
characters on a grand scale!
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