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    The Bristling Wood
    The Bristling Wood
    The Bristling Wood
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Bristling Wood

    Written by Katharine Kerr

    Narrated by Ruth Urquhart

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Against the passionate sweep of Deverrian history, the powerful wizard Nevyn has lived for centuries, atoning for the sins he committed in his youth.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 21, 2018
    ISBN9781977378910
    The Bristling Wood
    Author

    Katharine Kerr

    Katharine Kerr was born in Ohio and moved to San Francisco Bay Area in 1962, where she has lived ever since. She has read extensively in the fields of classical archeology, and medieval and dark ages history and literature, and these influences are clear in her work. Her epic Deverry series has won widespread praise and millions of fans around the world.

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    Reviews for The Bristling Wood

    4/5

    299 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Book three in the Deverry series only focuses on two timelines - what I consider to be the "main story" revolving around Nevyn, Jill and Rhodry, and another new incarnation of the characters set about 220 years earlier. The earlier storyline reinforces all the complicated character relationships while also revealing more of the world's history. I expect this story arc will continue into the next book, as it was left unresolved. The main story in this book was a little tedious this time around. Jill and Rhodry both spend a lot of time traveling and I was a little bored now and then. This book also deals with rape, which made me pretty uncomfortable. It fit with the time and I can see why Kerr chose to move the story that way, but it wasn't pleasant to read (not that it should be...). The other thing I'm getting tired of is the "berserker rage" characters tend to break into during battle. It's an overused phrase - I get it, they go insane with battle lust and laugh a lot. I don't need to read that phrase for every battle! That being said, I'm going to continue through the series. I love Nevyn and I really enjoy the reincarnation theme.
    • 1/5
      I think the file for this audiobook is broken. Skipped parts and went back multiple times. Very annoying.
    • 4/5
      Dawnspell is a bridge book: the flashback (which begins one of my favourite sequences within sequences) is all set-up, the modern day is all set-up and nothing gets resolved before the cliffhanger at the end. The narrative is 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, but rereading with Dragonspell safely on my shelf I can just sit back and appreciate the good bits - because there are plenty of them.Dawnspell is where we first glimpse the full sweep of the history of Annwn and a whole lot more insight into the unpleasant and self-interested web of politics that holds Deverry together. 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 have sex 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.
    • 3/5
      Maintains readability and interesting level of new introductions in this very incomplete segment of the history - missing the key to previous incarnations.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Though still enjoyable and worth reading, this book was a step down from its predecessors. The previous books used the past incarnation device to illuminate and deepen the characters of Jill, Rhodry, etc., but this time the trip to the past was almost unrelated and early on in this interlude, I gave up trying to make sense of how the past and present characters mapped to each other. Perhaps Ms. Kerr gave up on them as well, for that section ended almost abruptly, unlike in previous books where the side plots were tidied up at their end.Interestingly in the main thread of the plot, the fallibility of both Jill and Rhodry is exposed and explored. Jill emerges from an ordeal with fundamental alterations, and as the book draws to a close, the potential is growing for Rhodry's rescue from a separate set of grim circumstances.Ready for the next one!
    • 4/5
      This is my favourite of the series so far! In this book the modern day plot follows Jill and Rhodry as they are forced apart by circumstance, and ends on a real cliffhanger where Rhodry vanishes, and it is up to Jill and Salamander to try and find him. In the past we meet another incarnation of Jill and Rhodry, at a time when the silver daggers are brought into being and Rhodry fights to bring the one true king of Deverry to power.As I said in a previous review, because the flashbacks tend to be the bulk of the book, it is necessary to find them entertaining if the novel as a whole is to be considered a success. In this novel, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Jill and Rhodry's previous life, especially the novelty of Jill being reborn into a man's body this time around. It was a gripping insert, and I loved to see exactly why the silver daggers came into being.We saw a great deal more of modern times, and the politics affecting Deverry. Lovyan stepped onto centre stage, and I appreciated the fact that Kerr wrote into the story strong female characters. I got tired of Rhys' stubborn ways concerning Rhodry and was frighteningly indifferent to his plight.One character I was genuinely curious about and repelled by was Perryn. His treatment of Jill, and the way he was able to entice women, was presented as extremely disturbing, especially because it was so involuntary. Again, I loved the Wildfolk, and found it particularly amusing when Salamander used them to cow the pirate folk of Slaith.All in all, a great book. Because of the extreme cliffhanger and the introduction of Taliesyn as a character, I am desperate to read the fourth in this sequence and think that Kerr is doing a fabulous job bringing the world of Deverry alive.
    • 4/5
      Please see Daggerspell for my assessment of the series.A must read series.