Son of Avonar (Bridge of D'Arnath)

by Carol Berg

Book Overview

A violent fugitive who cannot speak, who has no past.A disgraced noblewoman who would rather forget her past.And a world of magic that has turned against both of them.Seriana Marguerite, daughter of a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451459628
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Roc
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.5" x 1.3" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

This book is for readers who want a heroine

This book is for fans of sword and sorcery who enjoy the female hero; except this heroine does not wield a sword or even sorcery, she wins the day because she is shrewd. The son of Avonar is the heir to magic, but this story is not told from his viewpoint. It is told from the viewpoint of a woman who comes to know first one heir to Avonar, and then another. The world exists, you see, in this realm and another. A magical barrier separates ordinary men from where sorcerers originated, a barrier connected by a magical and hard to find bridge. [Note the series title--The Bridge of D'Arnath.] Our heroine is Lady Seriana (Seri, for short), and she is sister to a duke, bound for marriage to the next king. But Seri refuses marriage to Evard, turning down a chance to be queen because she has fallen in love with a sorcerer. Now, sorcerers are rare in Leiran because they are feared and hated. Karon is one of the last sorcerers alive on this side of the barrier. He is a gifted healer, so gifted in fact that his patients accidentally give him away to his enemies. Though he tries to hide behind another profession, a sheriff traps Seri and Karon in front of the king. The sheriff stabs Seri in the back, in the heart, and Karon must save his beloved wife or watch her die. He is taken prisoner for sorcery and tortured. All of Karon's friends are murdered for having known his secret without telling the crown. Seri is held prisoner, but because she is a duke's sister, she looses only her station, her husband, and her child, but not her life. Seri runs away to live in the country. Dirt poor, ten years later when a stranger needs her help, she has little left to give. But this young man is very strange. He is running from those who seek his life. He is mute, and naked. And Seri discovers that he has no memory of who he even is. When Seri sees him do magic, she is compelled to solve a mystery more dangerous than her experiences ten years prior. This young man is also a son of Avonar, except his Avonar is on the other side (there are two cities called Avonar, one on each side of the magical barrier). Prince D'Natheil, Heir to the royal line of D'Arnath, has crossed over, come to ask assistance from those of his kind on this side of the barrier without having known that they were nearly extinct. But the mystery goes deeper than that. Seri feels drawn to this man . . . almost as if she has always known him. The book is presented in a flip-flop fashion. It begins in the middle then constantly flash-backs to fill in the back-story. Though it does have enough action to keep it moving, these flash-backs get a bit irritating. So, this reader only votes SON OF AVONAR a five out of ten, because -1- of the heavy use of flash-backs; and -2- because the prose, though very well done, gets a bit too wordy at times; and because -3- the ending did not satisfy [Note: the ending will probably satisfy you if you fit the description in the first paragra

Simply amazing

I am normally hesitant reading an author's new series, since they normally degrade in their writing ability. I picked this up, however, with a lack of anything better to read. I'm definetly glad I did. For those of you who read the Rai-Kirah series, Berg has improved on the few things I considered negative in that series. Often, she presented information much too quickly, and it became confusing and unclear. Here, she explains things much better without sacrificing the fast-past setting in which things are revealed. As with her previous series, the characters are multi-faceted and easy to love (or some grow on you). There are mysteries to be solved in this trilogy, some the reader can guess and some they can't. I love this mixture- I feel like I'm super-smart because I figured it out, but I'm not smart enough to figure it all out (good thing too, otherwise this book would suck). And for the romantic fantasy readers- have no fear. Carol shows her more feminine side with this book, using a female as her main character (in her previous trilogy, it was a man). Seri has gone through some rough times in her life, making her strong, but she still has her weaknesses. I love this character- her problems and pain take us through the plot, bringing it alive. I definetly recommend this series, particularly because I know the next book in the series is just as good (and so far what I've read of the third as well). Carol Berg knows how to write a great story that will keep you asking for more.

Carol Berg is such a good writer.

I have loved every single of Carol Berg's books. I read this one in about two days and I have utterly no idea what I'm going to do until the second one comes out. Berg elegantly weaves the past into the present as she tells the story of Seri, an exhiled noblewoman who's life was torn apart by her brother and her king. The story is told from Sari's point of view, as she runs into a young man who cannot speak. When people start asking after a young man who matches the mute stranger's description, Sari realizes that there is something special about him. The two of them, with the help of some minor characters, start out on a search for this man's past and his memory.Sari's story is utterly heartbreaking. She tells it with the reader already knowing the outcome. You come to know and love the characters and when it all comes down in Sari's love I kept echoing Sari's prayers that something miraculous would happen and they would all get away and live happily ever after.Son of Avonar is a very serious book, but Berg puts just enough humourous, heartwarming moments in it to make it fun to read. The character of Aeren (the mysterious young man) is at once funny and tragic in his amnesia clouded confusion. This story made me chuckle and it brought tears to my eyes. The characters, settings, and cultures are vividly constructed, and Berg's characters are so three-dimensional. It is rare to find characters who are neither good or bad, but flawed, noble, honourable people as we all are. The relationship between Sari and her brother is particularly poignant.There is also an interesting theme of nonviolence. Sari's culture is especially war-oriented, she often mentions that everyone carries a weapon, but her healer-husband's refusal to lift a hand is interesting. I am curious to see how Berg develops this theme in the future books.Son of Avonar is a wonderful book to read. It is as good or better as all of Carol Berg's books, an excellant fantasy novel.

Her best book yet!

I've read all of Carol Berg's novels and Son of Avonar is by far her best. She has evolved as a writer and storyteller and has managed to create something refreshing and new in the field of Fantasy - believable, fallible and human characters.Her character work has always been her strong suit, in that even minor characters are usually fairly well fleshed out. But this book (the first in a trilogy) is a self-contained masterpiece. You could read this book and go no further. I was sure she would hang me out on a cliff like most Fantasy authors do in a multi-book collection, but she wrapped it up nicely at the end, left me wanting so much more but not suffering using tired devices to keep my interest. This is a moving story, the flashbacks (another device that I never think is used well, though her weaving of it into the present made me look for the past with equal anticipation) lend so much weight to the story and it is heavy despairing stuff, the kind that makes your fist clench in agony as you are reading it. I kept thinking, dear God, no, no, no, for it was too devastating to consider because from the moment you meet the heroine, Seriana, she has you at her side, understanding her, feeling her loneliness and deep sadness. Yet her strength is amazing; amazing, but real. It is the kind of strength of the human variety not super hero.There is a love story here too, a beautiful love story that too is very real. One of the other reviewers said her words jump off the page - and they do - it is a very active story and the writing is filled with electric energy. It is spare; Hemingway-esque actually at points, without anything overblown. Utterly readable it is a page turner - you will fight to break away from it and probably will not be able to. Make sure you have time set aside and just read it straight through.I am thrilled to have had the pleasure to read this book and hope against hope that in the series they only continue to get better. I do have what I call Matrix-anxiety about sequels but I have faith that Carol Berg is up to the task. If she sticks to a similar format where each book is inclusive to itself I believe she will have a sure-fire hit on her hands.And finally thank you Carol Berg for FINALLY creating some characters who are not fourteen year old virgins! Seriana is thirty-five years old, a grown woman and I identified wit her much more than some unrealistic portrayal of a teenage princess or a twenty-something who has never been let out of a castle. Seri is all woman, her own woman, educated, bright, resourceful, but makes mistakes in judgment and often can't see the bigger picture. Just like a real woman.Carol Berg had my interest with her other books but now she has a fan!