The Red Wyvern

The Dragon Mage, Book 1

De: Katharine Kerr

Narrado por: Ruth Urquhart

Katharine Kerr's richly imagined cycle of novels set in Deverry and the Westlands has earned a devoted following—and a reputation as the finest Celtic fantasy being written today. Now she returns to Deverry's war-ravaged past . . .

In a kingdom torn by civil war, young Lillorigga seeks to shield her dawning powers from her cruel mother Merodda's manipulation. Mistress of a magic that, untamed, could kill her, Lilli brings her terrifying visions under the kindlier tutelage of the mysterious dweomermaster, Nevyn. But soon she must choose between her own clan and the true king who fights to claim his rightful throne, between sanctuary and blood feud, loyalty and love. Little does she dream that the slaughter she invites, and the malevolence she defies, could stalk her across the ages . . . twisting and twining the strands of timeless destinies.

©1997 Katharine Kerr (P)2023 Tantor

Most excellent

This book series is probably my favorite epic storyline of any out there. Looking forwards to the next!

Read the Books in Order!

I have a feeling a lot of the recent middling reviews are because this book was on sale a few weeks ago and people bought it thinking it was the beginning of a series. It’s not! And if you try to start here, which is basically the middle of the series, you will be lost.

Go back. Start with Daggerspell. Or, even better, get the four book omnibus that’s currently available. Then read the Westlands quartet. *Then* you can start this one.

I really love this series— but it has a complicated structure and a ton of characters from different timelines to keep track of. This is essentially the ninth book in the series. Trust me, this is not the place to start.

Unremarkable

I don’t think I felt a single moment of actual emotion during this entire story. Not sadness or happiness or excitement. Just - boring.

At the end of this book I realized that I didn’t know who any of the characters were and I had no interest in what may happen next. In fact I’m not even sure there would be another book in the series based on the ending - nor am I interested in looking it up. Snoozefest.

Hard to follow

I love audible books but I had such a hard time understanding what was going on. Too many characters. So hard to follow

about time

this book series has been my all-time fav since 1995. I have enjoyed listening to this many times.

Great series

Read these books back when they first came out in print. Great to hear them again.

Not overly appealing to my older self

My younger self might have loved this. It is medieval fantasy that feels very, very medieval, in a strong Scottish flavor spiced up with some magic, told primarily through female characters. My older self, however, is less impressed. There isn't anything particularly fresh, surprising, or complex. It is also structured very strangely-- it starts with a brief introduction to a whole bunch of different characters, then shifts to a big long story about completely different characters. That story is moderately compelling, though highly predictable. But then it ends, and the book goes back to all those initial characters I'd pretty much forgotten, and goes off on a new story that doesn't end. It presumably continues in a sequel, but I'm not going to bother to find out.

Difficult to follow, narration dull

This story was difficult to follow for its many characters and many with similar sounding names. Also, the reader only gets to know most characters superficially so it’s hard to care what happens. In addition, the narration was so repetitive in tone and cadence. Narrator did better with dialogue, but much of the book is narration.

not for me

I was very disappointed. The story jumps too much and the narrator was difficult to follow because of the lack of change between characters voices. I couldn't finish the book.

Purchased as a Daily Deal and Wish I Could Return

I purchased this book based on glowing reviews. Ehhhhh... Not so much!

I am giving up after the first few chapters. Although I am a fan of epic novels and collections (think: Guy Gavriel Kay novels; Robertson Davies trilogies; Game of Thrones, of course; all the Tudor Queens of Alison Weir...), this one is just... complicated. The character names are all difficult to follow in audible format. Too much unfamiliar vocabulary is introduced, too quickly. The place descriptions are wordy and much of a muchness. The time-skips are confusing. The characters themselves come at the reader in a rush and are too hard to keep track of. (Did I say confusing?)

Maybe it all improves as it goes along, but the author hasn't interested me enough, hooked me, made me care enough about ANYONE (save about one character who appears in the prologue), for me to hang in there in order to find out whether things do, in fact, improve. It's just a confusing tangle of fantasy tropes and similar-sounding character names. A muddy collection of muddled places and times and confused magick-y stuff.

May your luck be better than mine,