Darkspell
core novel 1987 Deverry
Record
| First published | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.05 (10,682 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 476 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-385-23109-1 |
| First-edition date | 1987-09 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
The second Deverry novel follows two mercenaries whose lives become entangled with the fate of the kingdom: Rhodry, an exile banished from Aberwyn's dragon court by his own brother Rhys and unaware of his true parentage, and Jill, who travels at his side as a fellow silver dagger while discovering her own latent magical abilities. Their banishment forces them into the hard, wandering life of hired swords, even as the ancient sorcerer Nevyn quietly watches over them, sensing that their fates are bound to older, unfinished business of his own. The pair becomes entangled in a scheme by a dark sorcerer seeking to seize the Great Stone of the West, a magical gem said to guide the conscience of Deverry's king, whose theft would threaten the moral foundation of the kingdom's rule.
Where it sits
- Universe: Deverry
- Series: Act One: Deverry core; position 2 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Katharine Kerr
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1988: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 22nd.
Notes
- From the series record (Act One: Deverry): UK alt-titles exist for books 3-4 (Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood; Dragonspell: The Southern Sea).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Act One: Deverry: position 2 of 4: previous Daggerspell (1986) · next The Bristling Wood (1989)
- Internal chronology, within Deverry: position 2 of 16: previous Daggerspell (1986) · next The Bristling Wood (1989)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deverry_Cycle
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/91953/darkspell-by-katharine-kerr/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkspell
- https://www.sfadb.com/Katharine_Kerr
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