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Guardians Of The Keep (The Bridge Of D'Arnath book 2) by Carol Berg
01/10/2004 . Source: Jennifer Howell 
pub: Roc. 528 page paperback. Price: $ 7.99 (US). ISBN: 0-451-46000-6. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.penguin.com
Roc
Having felt the prequel to this a distinct letdown, I wasn't exactly holding high hopes for this, the second book in Carol Berg's 'Bridge Of D'Arnath' trilogy.
As it turns out, I'm happy to be proved wrong this time and it's mainly in its defiance of expectations that 'Guardians Of The Keep' works so elegantly well. A word to the wise: don't read any further if you haven't read book one 'Son Of Avonar' because book two hinges on its grand finale twist.
It does up the stakes several notches from the first book, when former Leiran noblewoman/exiled pauper Seriana spent ten years mourning her executed sorcerer husband, Karon, and murdered new-born son before discovering said hubby is still around, albeit selectively amnesiac and reincarnated in the body of a warmongering Prince of Avonar, D'Nathiel...it's a long and rather complicated story. Book One ended with Karon/D'Nathiel returning to the world of Avonar, across the bridge from Seri's world, to try to regain his memories of both Karon and D'Nathiel. Oh, and the end of the world is at stake from the rather nasty and soulless Lords of Zhevna. Think that covers everything.
Book Two starts slowly with Seri waiting for her other half to return (sans amnesia, preferably) while revisiting her childhood home of Comigor - now housing her late brother's spoilt wife and her disturbed and withdrawn nephew. It's a well-drawn world of rural politics that works much better than the harried extended chase of book one and the atmosphere of the entire narrative follows this: for all the action, it's very much a book about waiting. The emotional effectiveness of this comes as a surprise. It's a quieter, more menacing story, like Berg has realised she can take a breath and let her characters suffer a little more subtly.
Meanwhile in Avonar, Karon/D'Nathiel is having an even worse time, caught between total amnesia and the memories of two lives, all the while fending off a ruling council of Avonar who a) can't be trusted and b) want him to take his rightful throne. Now, if only he could remember how, exactly, life would be a whole lot easier.
Seri's unwillingness to be drawn back into running her ancestral household is soon overcome and a growing mystery of just what exactly is going on with her nephew, Gerick, keeps the tension bubbling. When he disappears, the next Big Twist rears its ugly head and unlike the end of 'Son Of Avonar', I did not see this one coming and it changes absolutely everything. Which is nice.
Much murder and kidnapping later, both Seri and Karon/D'Nathiel end up in a brilliantly extended piece of suspense, hiding incognito right under the noses of the psychotically scary Lords of Zhev'Na. Slightly silly name, but another well-realised setting and yes, the end of the world/worlds is at stake again. You get the sense that reconstructing a broken little family is more important to Berg than all the grand-scale stuff. Which is exactly what the best fantasy should be about.
The characters have grown more rounded and become much more interesting this time around. Instead of the showy magics and tedious horseback chases of the first book, this one is about being a grown-up. About waiting and being patient, even with a constant gnawing on your nerves. If that sounds boring, it's not. It's about 50% less frenetic than the first book, but a far better read. Go read both of them, though, because that makes 'Guardians Of The Keep' such a pleasantly different surprise.
Jennifer Howell 
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