I found this book extremely amusing... A different drug for every letter, and a really nice illustration for each drug. I don't necessarily agree with all the comments made, but I would still recommend this to any light-hearted legalization activist.

This clearly isn't a book for light hearted drug legalization activists. It's neither pro nor con, but does seem to offer a darker look at the effects of drug use. This book is just pure fun, with phenomenal illustrations from Steven Cerio.

a time of war is written in the eloquent style of katherines other deverry novels. following the bloodline of rhodry maelwaaed and jill cullyn of ceermoors daughter. if you liked the others in this series you will undoubtedly like this one. make sure you've started this series with the first book darkspell however.

A Time of War: Days of Blood and Fire is another of Katherine Kerr's wonderful novels of Deverry and the Westlands. It is a classic celtic fantasy, full of reincarnation, dweomer (magic), and more. Jahdo, a ratcatcher's son from north of Deverry, volunteers to travel with Meer, an eyeless bard of the people known as the Horsekin. Jahdo's decision pulls him into a web of dweomer and war, preventing him from returning to his parents. This book has all of our favorite characters from Katherine Kerr's other books, like Jill, Rhodry, and Dallandra. I would reccomend it to fans of Katherind Kerr, but make sure you read the earlier books in this series first!

This book caught my interest, despite the author's uneven and at times weak writing skills. Kerr has created a wonderful celtic world and culture in Deverrey, with strong if unfully realized characters, and certainly has a story to tell. I simply wish she had taken more time to flesh out her plot and characters. Also, the transitions between time periods that occur are more often awkward than smoothly segued. Nonetheless, there is enough here that is original and captivating that I will continue on with the second book of the series. Furthermore, the author appeared to be reaching her stride by the second half of the work, offering hope that the sketchy storyline and sparse detail that detracts at the start will resolve itself into fuller expression as the tale continues. It's definately worth a read, and I suspect will improve with the telling.

Finally, I must say that many of the reviews I find herein, both for this work as well as others, seem to ignore any proportioned approach or critical evaluation, burdened by an emotional bias that refutes credibility. It beggars belief that every book written deserves either 5 stars or an opposing trashing. It would be nice to see a bit more balance in these reviews, as well as evidence of thoughtful and comparative approach.

Medieval times have always intrigued me. This book was an incredible illustrator of how the times were. Some parts were very graphic and they make you believe that the book may of actually taken place, once long, long ago. Daggerspell has a little bit of everything. Katherine Kerr left out no detail ever so small about gore, romance, the beautiful scenery and any other thing. But a word to the wise: this book did take place around the middle-English period, and some of it can be hard to read, but it is easy to figure out if you think about it for a second or two. But if you cannot understand most of it I would strongly recommend not reading it at all. I say this because at the end of the book I could not stand to not read the second book in the series. Yes it was that good.

One of the best books I have read in a long time. Kerr pulls off the somewhat twisted timelines with ease, wonderfully written. The plot has enough twists to keep it interesting... I just can't stand a book that lets me guess the ending by page 32.

Deverry is a wonderfully created psuedo-Celtic world, with believable three-dimensional characters that the reader truly comes to care about. The currents of dweomer-magic and just a hint of Wiccan beliefs make the book very hard to put down. I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, but be warned- you won't be able to resist hunting down the rest of the series!

This book is just like Katharine Hepburn herself. Uniquely funny, unconventional, different and beautiful. I found the last three chapters to be especially the one simply titled 'Love', about her unique relationship with Spencer Tracy. Any fan of Hepburn, or of Hollywood's golden era must read this book. It was amazing.

Katharine Hepburn's autobiography absolutly rocks! !!!! Her life story, in her words, and ideas. It's funny, heartfelt, and smart. The ending with Spencer Tracy was sooooo sad. You MUST read this book if you like Katharine Hepburn or just the Golden age of Hollywood.

In her own words, in her own style, Katharine proves, with this book, that no matter what she is doing, she always remains true to herself.
Sometimes the train of thought gets a bit off-track, but it only adds to the charm of the book, and gives me the same feeling as I had when I was a child listening to my grandparents telling me the stories of their lives.
I've always loved Hepburn's characters. They are so independent, fiesty, and fun. Now I know why. She makes no excuses, or apologies, for a life that was, at the time, scandalous.
It is a must-have for anyone who loves Hepburn, loves old Hollywood, or just appreciates prose with an authentic voice.
This book is one of the old friends that I invite to coffee for a leisurely Sunday morning read-a-thon.

I'm a little confused as to why this book is being called "Book One of the Dragon Mage," as though Kerr has begun a new series. The story takes up right where the last book, "Days of Air and Darkness," left off. In addition, Kerr spends much of the book returning to an earlier thread of her story that was left unfully told several volumes back. This book therefore seems a direct descendent to her first eight. But why quibble?: This is a worthy successor to her earlier work.

As mentioned above, I was pleased to find her finally completing her tale of the Civil Wars, begun so many books back and left dangling for so long. I had begun to despair ever finding out in full about the conquest of Deverry by the High King and his supporters, so many of whom have played successive roles as Kerr's series unfolds. And, I gather, this part of her story is not yet fully over. In a similar vein, I was also heartened by hints that Ebany will once again be appearing, after being rather unceremoniously dumped back in "A Time of Omens." A complete jettisoning of these plot and character elements would have done much to diminish my opinion of this series. As I have thus far enjoyed it greatly, I was pleased that my faith in Kerr's writing had been rewarded.

Much more episodic than the current and, apparently, more popular works by Martin and Jordan, this work is nonetheless their equal, and deserving of more attention. While I believe this series overall is deserving of five stars, I gave this particular entry four, as I found Part 3 somewhat weaker in plot than the rest of the book. I realize this may be due to demands placed upon the author for setting up the next book, but nonetheless found this chapter unbalancing to the book's overall structure. This doesn't, however, lessen my anticipation for the publication of the next book. And for those fans already missing the passing of Jill and Nevyn, I suspect Jill in other guise is already back, and Kerr has indicated that Nevyn will shortly follow; Take heart!

One of the best things I've ever done was to buy Daggerspell several years ago. Since then, I've sweated blood trying to put together the rest of the series, and finally I've succeeded - until the Black Raven comes out, that is. I also agree completely with the fact that this series is deserving of more attention compared to Jordan, Goodkind, etc.

For those of you who are waiting for the Black Raven with bated breath, I would suggest visiting www.voyager-books.com - where, oh joy, the first chapter is online to read. For people interested in the Deverry series in general, Katharine Kerr has a website that you can link to off of tor.com. And as to what is coming after the Black Raven, there will be either 2 or 3 more books - I've got conflicting information on that.

Supposedly, at the end of this series, things will all link up into one big Celtic knot, and we will finally see the whole story line. Also, all the characters are supposed to come back in the end for a grand finale. Personally, I can't wait till this happens - and I have plenty of speculations about WHAT will happen. Is Jill Rhodry's daughter in this incarnation? Will Haen Marn ever get back to Deverry? Will Nevyn be incarnated as Domnall Breich's son? Will Evandar and his people all be born into the world of men? Will I ever quit asking all these questions? No. Well, I have one final question, which is certainly one that EVERYONE will want to know. WILL THIS SERIES HAVE A HAPPY ENDING?!?

If you're into Celtic history and mythology, read this! It puts Celtic beliefs into a fascinating story and is easy to follow - you don't have to have read all the previous books. (If there are any who follow the Wiccan Way reading this, I'm sure you'll find the whole series interesting.) For the best understanding, start from scratch; the first to read is DAGGERSPELL. The Red Wyvern is a wonderful tale, winding it's path amongst intrigue, honour, malevolence and pure fantasy. Please read this book, I swear you'll enjoy it!

Although not in the class of Jane Austen, the earlier writings of Fanny Burney contributed a great deal to the evolution of the novel. No mere romance, Fanny Burney's Evelina gives us a surprisingly modern heroine--modern both in her proto-feminist awareness of the world and in her "mixed" character. Evelina is not a paragon, and Burney's writings are neither mere pleasant fantasies of romance, nor cumbersome stories of impossible virtue. Like Richardson, Fanny Burnery was creating something very new in the 18th century: a psychological novel. Unlike Richardson (whose best-loved novel, Clarissa, has been described--by fans of his, mind you!--as "That long, still book.") Fanny Burney's books withstand the time travel down to our day. Evelina is--thus far, at least!--my favorite of her books.

As part of a group read, I picked up a week late"Evelina" from my local library. I wasn't quite sure whatto expect - certainly this would be no Tom Jones, but it wouldn't be Austen either - however what I found was a pleasant epistolary jaunt through a young girl's first season out. A jaunt, which, although begun a week late was quickly finished two weeks early! Customary to 18th century novels, Evelina's history is somewhat romantic, both her guardian and the hero impossibly good (a refreshing novelty, if a little sappy in places. They were apparently active members in the Mutual Admiration Society), and the secondary characters ridiculously vulgar. As Burney's first novel, the work shows some awkwardness in construction, but is otherwise excellent. Readers of modern romances may find the heros a bit formal, and fans of Jane Austen may find the epistlotary form unbelievable, but both they and lovers of historical fiction would do well to invest in this book, which provides an excellent glance into the end of an era, and one charming heroine's attempt to muddle through it. END

Anyone who loves Jane Austen (and don't we all?) will certainly enjoy Fanny Burney's Evelina. Burney is really a precursor of Austen, but has unfortunately been completely overshadowed by the later novelist. In its time (1778) Evelina was a tremendous hit and shy Fanny Burney a celebrated author overnight. She was invited into the literary circle of Samuel Johnson, became a reluctant lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte because of her celebrity and at age 41 married a refugee from the French Revolution, thus becoming Madame D'Arblay (check out her interesting diaries). The subtitle of Evelina (The History of A Young Lady's Entrance into the World) says it all: Evelina is an innocent and naive young girl, who suddenly finds herself in unfamiliar London society, surrounded by suitable and not so suitable suitors and a host of other characters. Lots of misunderstandings and perilous situations block Evelina's road, but don't be surprised to find humour and suspense as well, for the continuing question is of course whether Evelina will survive Society unscathed. Even though the pace of a novel more than 2 centuries old may be a bit slow for some, this is something you get used to soon enough: the novel contains far too much life, fun and social commentary too be dull.

Kerr is the first Celtic fantasy author I've read, and I find her books very compelling. Darkspell is quicker moving than Daggerspell, but still has the same flavor.

In this book, the influence of Dweomer is much more pronounced--however, she manages to make it believable.

This book is just the beginning. It is one of the best books I have read as far as style and content go. But it seems that the people who are not satisfied only look at this book. In my opinion the first three books, Daggerspell, Darkspell, and The Bristling Wood, are just setting the stage for what is to come. She did an excellent job of keeping the plot moving while keeping you interested. Also the way the characters souls are all intertwined and locked with each other puts an interesting spin to things. It is almost like watching a child growing and never knowing what to expect next. Overall I feel that the world she has created starting with Daggerspell will be a part of me forever.

After reading Daggerspell, I thought Kerr was a good writer but wasn't really sure her story could really merit more than one book. However, Darkspell got me thoroughly hooked. It seems as though she really has two plots that intertwine: the time-spanning reincarnations and the present dweomer war, and this book introduces the reader to the intricacies of each and the relationship between the two. I enjoyed the plot developments and further explanations of the type of magic she has created. I also loved the ending because it resolved enough for me to feel satisfied, but left enough hanging issues to keep me reading. I wouldn't recommend making a decision about the series until you've read this book.

I agree that Katharine Weber is a talented writer, however the book as a whole was uneven and by the end, uninspired. The photography imagery was overused often failed to conjure the picture [pitcher] or mood Weber seemed to be reaching for. The journal portion of the book was stunning; the third-person traditional narratives less so. In an attempt to create a novel as told through snapshots, Weber left me feeling unengaged and disinterested. Although I loved her word play and Harriet's voice in the beginning, I felt the novel ran out of steam and became much more pedestrian by its conclusion.

I had an intuition about reading this book and I was right. It's rich, dense, withstructural decisions with which one might not agree, BUT it is wonderfully memorable, complex, a rare great read. In addition, as said in my long title, above, reading this as a writer: it's a goldmine. Because Ms. Weber carries this book with a consciousness that mixes the mundane life we all live with a literary savvy we can also enjoy (what some of us live too). To put this simply: the plot can take anyone along but the real treat is to see how an "intellectual" can create an accessible world that has so many philosophical and photographic insights also dispersed throughout. I read the middle flashback section after the first and last because I needed to keep with chronology. But, however you choose to read this, do so. Recommended for those who love a good read and recommended especially for writers. Many many tricks of the trade are embedded if one reads this with a writer's eye. Thanks, Ms. Weber, for a book that seriously challanged this non-fiction writer to reach for more range in my own work. A marvel.

Ms. Weber's book has the convention of a young woman trying to come to terms with a new love, long-buried family secrets, and witnessing a dear friend's involvement in an unhealthy relationship. But she gives the conventions a twist that are very surprising, and the result is wholly satisfying. Nice work, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Weber.

for anyone looking for another "Girl With a Pearl Earing", do not expect anything similar in this book. Being a very dedicated Vermeer fan, i was excited to learn of this book but was dissapointed by it. while parts were interesting, the majority of the book was dull and the plot moved along slowly. i never even began to sympathize with the main character, patricia dolan, and i felt that the attempt made by the author to make the character more sympathetic was sappy and uninteresting. the only reason that i gave it two stars instead of one is a small plot twist at the end that i thought was slightly clever.

What do art historians and radical Irish political groups have in common? In this book, a (fictional) Vermeer painting owned by the Queen of England. Patricia Dolan, bereft Irish-American reference librarian at the Frick, falls hard for her Irish cousin and within weeks finds herself ensconced in a remote cottage in Ireland with one of the objects of her desire--the tiny "kidnapped" Vermeer painting that is being held for ransom. Patricia tells us her story in retrospect in the form of a plain-spoken journal and simultaneously reveals her interconnected, immediate musings on loss, love, art history, philosophy (Walter Benjamin in particular), national identity, politics and geneaology. To her credit, Weber clearly and cleverly conveys her complex tale in this slim and compelling novel that manages to be, like a Vermeer painting, both understated and profound.

Historical art expert Patricia Dolan has never fully recovered from the death of her daughter that subsequently led to her divorce. She throws herself fully into her work at New York's Frick Art Reference Library to forget her inner pain.

Her distant cousin, Michael O'Driscoll comes to New York to obtain her help. Soon, the duo becomes lovers. She leaves America to live in a cottage in a remote part of Ireland. As the long winter sets in, Patricia has only a stolen painting by Vermeer, THE MUSIC LESSON, as company. As she keeps a diary, Patricia soon begins to transform herself, guided by the painting that is her sole companion. She now knows that she must choose between the beauty of art and the mundane pragmatic world of politics where love is not part of the equation.

THE MUSIC LESSON is a clever, but strange psychological thriller that will elate sub-genre fans. The novel is mostly told through Patricia's diary, but that device does not slow down the tale for even a nanosecond. The story line is crisp though readers will question the naive motivations of Patricia even in her numb state. However, what makes this novel a winner is the characters, especially Patricia and the person in the painting. As with OBJECTS IN MIRRORS ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR, Katherine Weber scribes a taut thrilling tale of self awareness.

Harriet Klausner 3/17/99