The Deverry Series

This series of fifteen books took me thirty-one years to read, starting with 'Daggerspell' in 1988 and finishing with 'The Silver Mage' in 2019, which is quite a long time. It partly took this long because it was rare that I would see the books on sale at the book shops I mostly frequented at the time. In fact book nine of the series 'The Red Wyvern' I purchased from a book store in the U.S. while I was on holiday there, this being four years after I had purchased the previous book because I had never seen it for sale in the UK.

The other reason it took so long was that from 2000 until 2016 the majority of my spare time was spent reading rules and guide books as I progressed along the path of being an Archery judge, finally attaining International Judge Candidate level. Each step up in grade brought more responsibility and a need to be more conversant with the rules and the various procedures, so the regular reading of all associated matters was a necessity. I was also a member of four committees at the time too, so together this had the effect of leaving me less and less time to read for pleasure.

Most of these books I thoroughly enjoyed, though the ones which centred more around Evandar, I did find to be less engaging, though this could be because of the time that passed between my reading one book and the next, which was about four years, so my recollection of the characters and the plot was a bit hazy. The last three books I read as ebooks, some twelve years after reading the previous book, and it did take a while for me to recall the plot up till this point, but once I had achieved this I completed book thirteen rapidly and the final two, which I bought together the following year, I read back to back.

I think this is probably one of the less well known and understated fantasy series, but if you get a chance to read it, I doubt you will be disappointed.

While adding the books below and looking for the synopsis on various sites, I have discovered that there is now a sixteenth book, which was published in 2020. This is the first book in a new trilogy set within the Deverry world, so it appears I have more to read.

Daggerspell: Deverry: Book 01

A broken promise, a curse and a magic beyond imagining…

The powerful sorcerer Nevyn broke a promise long ago and a curse has trapped him ever since. He waits for the one who might break him free of his prison. Await that may soon finally come to an end.

Jill is the daughter of a Silver Dagger, a band of wandering swordsmen who fight for money, not honour. After her mother died when she was young, father and girl took to the road, living from town to town, never settling.

Jill’s only friends are the mysterious spirits known as Wildfolk: gnomes, sylphs, sprites and undines. Their magical presence in her life marks her out as different; special. but young Jill has no idea what destiny has in store for her.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

30th June 1988

Retail Cost

£3.95

Number of Pages

528

Year Read

1988

Darkspell: Deverry: Book 02

Exiled from his brother's court, Lord Rhodry has found a life for himself on the road with wandering mercenaries, the Silver Daggers. The going is hard, but Jill, a young master of sword and magic, is with him, and as they journey across Deverry’s long roads, feelings between warrior and lord deepen.

But before love can truly blossom, Jill and Rhodry are drawn into a web of enchantment and mortal danger. The Great Stone of the West, a magical jewel that guides the conscience of kings, has been stolen. When Jill stumbles across the Stone, she draws the attention of the Dark Brotherhood – evil sorcerers who will hunt her with the darkest magics and messengers of death.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

26th May 1989

Retail Cost

£3.99

Number of Pages

476

Year Read

1989

Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood: Deverry: Book 03

An end to exile, heroes scattered and darkness rising…

When Jill and Rhodry are forced apart by unexpected circumstance, Rhodry vows to find her, no matter what it takes. But before he can, he disappears.

With his brother injured, Rhodry is next in line to rule. As Deverry’s peace hanging in the balance, the king lifts Rhodry’s exile and bids him return home before it is too late.

And so it falls to Jill to save the land and the man she loves. Though her magic is strong, this challenge will test her utterly: for there are those who would see Rhodry gone forever and the fragile peace of the kingdom broken at last.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

2nd June 1990

Retail Cost

£4.50

Number of Pages

454

Year Read

1990

Dragonspell: The Southern Sea: Deverry: Book 04

For years the provinces of Deverry have been in turmoil; now the conflict escalates with the kidnapping of Rhodry Maelwaedd, heir to the throne of Aberwyn.

Intent on rescuing him, his beloved Jill and the elven wizard Salamander infiltrate the distant land of Bardex, where Rhodry is held captive. Tied to Deverry by obligation and circumstance, the immortal wizard Nevyn begins to see that all the kingdom's problems can be traced to a single source: a master of dark magics, backed by a network of evil that stretches across the sea.

Now Nevyn understands that he too is being lured away to Bardek--and into a subtle, deadly trap designed especially for him.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

19th August 1991

Retail Cost

£4.99

Number of Pages

495

Year Read

1991

A Time of Exile: Deverry: The Westlands: Book 05

It is years since the half-elven Lord Rhodry took the throne of Aberwyn. When Rhodry's lost lover, Jill-now a powerful wizard-comes to Aberyn and tells him it's time he accepted his elven heritage, Rhodry faces the most difficult choice of his life. But with Jill's help and that of a human wizard named Aderyn who has lived for years in the Westlands, Rhodry begins to understand how his life is connected not just to his own people, but to the Elcyion Lacar, the elves who inhabit the country west of Deverry, as well.

At last, destiny begins to unravel its secrets, revealing Aderyn's true purpose among the elves-and the god' deeper design behind Rhodry's dual heritage.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

17th September 1991

Retail Cost

£8.99

Number of Pages

476

Year Read

1991

A Time of Omens: Deverry: The Westlands: Book 06

The prophecy of the dashing young king who must journey in disguise and the ruler in exile who must take up a sword…

The former Lord Rhodry has taken to the road as a silver dagger once more, forced to take up the mercenary life to escape court – lest his former subjects discover his elven blood.

Life on the road soon turns bitter as it brings him face to face with the history of his people – entwined as it is with his own past – but he cannot stop. While Jill travels to distant lands to seek answers to the riddles of their shared destiny, Rhodry roams far from the lands he once ruled. Selling his sword in the hills and towns of Deverry, he finds dark forces are gathering, evils that only the magics of Light can defeat.

From the shadowy land of the Guardians come omens, of gods and legend, that seem to point the way toward cataclysmic war…

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

14th May 1993

Retail Cost

£8.99

Number of Pages

395

Year Read

1993

A Time of War: Days of Blood and Fire: Deverry: The Westlands: Book 07

A dragon found, an army raised and an eyeless bard with a tale of blood and magic…

The life of Jahdo the ratcatcher's son changes forever when he stumbles upon a clandestine meeting between an ambitious councilman and a dangerous, mysterious woman.

When a bard arrives, demanding help under an old treaty, he unknowingly drags Jahdo into a web of intrigue and black magic. The boy’s destiny takes him far from his beloved home in the peaceful land of the Rhiddaer, on a journey to the faraway land of Deverry, where his path crosses with that of the half-mad berserker Rhodry and the mighty sorcerer Jill.

For a ruthless deity is rising, and the truths of the ties between elves and men will soon be revealed in the fallout of a battle waged between gods and mortals, between past and future. Days of blood and fire lie ahead for them all.

History and destiny collide in The Westlands series, where Kerr weaves myth and history to create a sparkling fantasy classic: a tale of adventure and timeless love, perilous battle and pure magic.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

19th April 1994

Retail Cost

£8.99

Number of Pages

485

Year Read

1994

A Time of Justice: Days of Air and Darkness: Deverry: The Westlands: Book 08

Days of air and darkness, nights of siege and steel…

A disastrous siege has befallen Cengarn and trapped the Princess Carra behind its walls – the goddess Alshandra has sent a fanatical army to kill Carra’s child at any cost.

But Carra has defenders, both elven and human, with powerful magics at their command: Jill and Dallandra, prepares to battle the evil workings of the mad goddess and stand against her. Meanwhile, Rhodry is flying to their aid with a powerful ally, a dragon sworn to fight the ravaging Horsekin.

But an old enemy lies in wait to prevent him from ever seeing the city – or Jill – again.

In one timeline we return to Jill and Rhodry’s first journey together. In the other, we meet them as they fight what may be their final war.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

27th June 1994

Retail Cost

£8.99

Number of Pages

465

Year Read

1994

The Red Wyvern: Deverry: The Dragon Mage: Book 09

Days of air and darkness, nights of siege and steel…

A disastrous siege has befallen Cengarn and trapped the Princess Carra behind its walls – the goddess Alshandra has sent a fanatical army to kill Carra’s child at any cost.

But Carra has defenders, both elven and human, with powerful magics at their command: Jill and Dallandra, prepare to battle the evil workings of the mad goddess and stand against her. Meanwhile, Rhodry is flying to their aid with a powerful ally, a dragon sworn to fight the ravaging Horsekin.

But an old enemy lies in wait to prevent him from ever seeing the city – or Jill – again.

In one timeline we return to Jill and Rhodry’s first journey together. In the other, we meet them as they fight what may be their final war.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

25th September 1998

Retail Cost

$6.50

Number of Pages

393

Year Read

1998

The Black Raven: Deverry: The Dragon Mage: Book 10

At the end of the Civil Wars, Prince Maryn stands on the brink of bringing peace at last to the torn kingdom, but powerful magics threaten his reign and his life. Only Nevyn’s young apprentice, Lilli, can see the horrifying power of the curse, her dead mother’s legacy of evil, that could bring disaster upon them all. But she has only untried magic for a weapon as she fights to save her beloved prince.

Centuries later, the ancient evil rises again, threatening a raging tide of war that could destroy Deverry forever. Out in the lonely Northlands, the savage Horsekin are gathering their armies to march west and conquer the kingdom promised them by their blood-maddened goddess, Alshandra, and her human priestess, Raena. Directly in their path lies the peaceful city of Cerr Cawnen, trembling in the fear of war.

Format

Hardback

Date Acquired

12th October 1999

Retail Cost

£16.99

Number of Pages

336

Year Read

1999

The Fire Dragon: Deverry: The Dragon Mage: Book 11

The holy city rises from the ashes of Deverry's long wars. Prince Maryn prepares to claim the high kingship, but still, the rebel Boar clan stands fast against him. And at court, his illicit passion for the young dweomer apprentice, Lilli, threatens to revive a curse that only she -- at her own peril -- can lift.

It is a drama that will be played out centuries later in the city of Cerr Cawnen. Among the many who take refuge in the lakeside citadel, nestled in a volcano's shadow, are a Westfolk band guided by the elven enchantress Dallandra and protected by Rhodry Maelwaedd and his fiery guardian dragon.

Meanwhile, from the north come the savage Horsekin slavers, ancient foe of the Westfolk, now bent on the domination of Cerr Cawnen. They are awaited by the sorceress Raena, their self-sworn high priestess and the votary of an evil goddess. Now, as Rhodry and Raena renew their timeless enmity, the fate of the city and every soul within it hangs in the balance -- and on an act of self-sacrifice dangerous beyond imagining.

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

19th January 2002

Retail Cost

£6.99

Number of Pages

435

Year Read

2002

The Gold Falcon: Deverry: The Dragon Mage - The Silver Wyrm: Book 12

The powerful dweomermaster Nevyn has been reincarnated, but young Neb knows nothing of his previous life. Orphaned following a cholera epidemic, Neb and his younger brother arrive at the desolate farm of their last living relative and soon learn that a worse plague lurks beyond the western border of Deverry.

The savage Horsekin tribes, spurred on by their new goddess, Alshandra, are raiding the villages and taking slaves as the first step in their plans to destroy both the nomadic Westfolk and the Deverrian farmers. Neb finds love and danger as he and his soulmate Branna are drawn inexorably into a war for the survival of the kingdom itself. Although they have powerful allies in the Westfolk dweomermasters Dallandra and Salamander, they are also facing mighty enemies, enemies that they have fought before in the past lives that they no longer remember!

Format

Paperback

Date Acquired

20th June 2006

Retail Cost

£11.99

Number of Pages

517

Year Read

2011

The Spirit Stone: Deverry: The Dragon Mage - The Silver Wyrm: Book 13

The powerful dweomermaster Nevyn has been reincarnated, but young Neb knows nothing of his previous life. Orphaned following a cholera epidemic, Neb and his younger brother arrive at the desolate farm of their last living relative and soon learn that a worse plague lurks beyond the western border of Deverry.

The savage Horsekin tribes, spurred on by their new goddess, Alshandra, are raiding the villages and taking slaves as the first step in their plans to destroy both the nomadic Westfolk and the Deverrian farmers. Neb finds love and danger as he and his soulmate Branna are drawn inexorably into a war for the survival of the kingdom itself. Although they have powerful allies in the Westfolk dweomermasters Dallandra and Salamander, they are also facing mighty enemies, enemies that they have fought before in the past lives that they no longer remember!

Format

Kindle Edition

Date Acquired

18th June 2018

Retail Cost

£6.69

Number of Pages

479

Year Read

2018

The Shadow Isle: Deverry: The Dragon Mage - The Silver Wyrm: Book 14

As the tale of Deverry and her people draws near to its close, questions will be answered and mysteries uncovered…

The wild Northlands hold many secrets, among them the mysterious dweomer island of Haen Marn, the mountain settlements of Dwarvholt, and the fortified city of Cerr Cawnen, built long ago by escaping bondmen from Deverry itself. And just who or what are the mysterious Dwgi folk?

Thanks to the Horsekin, who continue to push their religious crusade south toward the borders of the kingdom, the human beings of Deverry and their elven allies realize that the fate of the Northlands lies tangled with their own. Although the dwarven race holds strong, the island of Haen Marn has fled and Cerr Cawnen seems doomed. Only the magic of Dallandra and Valandario and the might of the powerful dragons, Arzosah and Rori, can reveal the secrets and save the Northlands from conquest.

Format

Kindle Edition

Date Acquired

21st March 2019

Retail Cost

£7.99

Number of Pages

428

Year Read

2019

The Silver Mage: Deverry: The Dragon Mage - The Silver Wyrm: Book 15

Spurred on by the priestesses of the false goddess Alshandra, the Horsekin hordes are massing on the northern border of Prince Dar's holdings. Their leaders believe that the rich grasslands of the prince's domain belong to them by divine right, no matter whom they must destroy to claim them.

But Dar has powerful allies on his side, including the dragon Arzosah, who has hated the Horsekin for hundreds of years. She will vow to take a revenge worse than anything the Horsekin and their priestesses could possibly foresee.

The prince’s most powerful ally, however, is the one the Horsekin refuse to understand: the deep magic of the dweomer, as wielded by the band of sorcerers sworn to protect him, and especially by the elven master of magic, Dallandra, the silver mage.

Format

Kindle Edition

Date Acquired

21st March 2019

Retail Cost

£5.99

Number of Pages

419

Year Read

2019