Daggerspell is the first in what looks to be a very, very long series about a group of people and the intertwined fates they have with each other. In a magical land called Deverrey there is a system of magic called dweomer, which is sort of a Celtic-Jewish (I read it on her web site) mish mass of sympathetic magic and various electrical panes of life. The dweomer has caught up in its wyrd (destiny), about 400 years before this book begins, several people. One is a prince who wants to study the dweomer and leave his betrothed, who he does love, behind. One is the betrothed, who loves the prince to death. And there is her brother, who loves his sister in a creepy way and desperately wants to keep his honor.

It all gets screwed up and somehow these same people keep popping up together because they owe debts for faults in past lives. Several people live hundreds of years to accomplish the brining out of destiny.

This book sounds really interesting on its merits but it starts off very slowly and the first chapters are a little boring-which is bad because the chapters are hundreds of pages long. Some chapters take place hundreds of years in the past with stories of the characters past lives, but it feels disjointed from what's currently happening. There is an awful lot of talk of honor, and most of the book is people worrying about their honor, or fighting battles to save it. People even give up their kingdoms because they won't ask for forgiveness for something. It gets annoying, but there is something about the series that makes me think it could get really good in coming books.

At the end the book does pull together to be a cohesive and interesting story and so I will head on to the next book. If that one doesn't really pull me into the story more I may leave off.

Three Stars-but I am continuing on.

As a side note I think Sara Douglass probably got the idea for her Troy Game series from this series.
Daggerspell is the first in what looks to be a very, very long series about a group of people and the intertwined fates they have with each other. In a magical land called Deverrey there is a system of magic called dweomer, which is sort of a Celtic-Jewish (I read it on her web site) mish mass of sympathetic magic and various electrical panes of life. The dweomer has caught up in its wyrd (destiny), about 400 years before this book begins, several people. One is a prince who wants to study the dweomer and leave his betrothed, who he does love, behind. One is the betrothed, who loves the prince to death. And there is her brother, who loves his sister in a creepy way and desperately wants to keep his honor. It all gets screwed up and somehow these same people keep popping up together because they owe debts for faults in past lives. Several people live hundreds of years to accomplish the brining out of destiny. This book sounds really interesting on its merits but it starts off very slowly and the first chapters are a little boring-which is bad because the chapters are hundreds of pages long. Some chapters take place hundreds of years in the past with stories of the characters past lives, but it feels disjointed from what's currently happening. There is an awful lot of talk of honor, and most of the book is people worrying about their honor, or fighting battles to save it. People even give up their kingdoms because they won't ask for forgiveness for something. It gets annoying, but there is something about the series that makes me think it could get really good in coming books. At the end the book does pull together to be a cohesive and interesting story and so I will head on to the next book. If that one doesn't really pull me into the story more I may leave off. Three Stars-but I am continuing on. As a side note I think Sara Douglass probably got the idea for her Troy Game series from this series.