Daggerspell and the latter novels in Kerr's Deverry series are among the best Celtic fantasy novels written to date, both in depth of character development and the realistic complexity of the setting. Kerr has modernized the mythos created by such early fantasy writers as Kenneth Morris and Evangeline Walton. Her books have similar depth to those of other medieval fantasy authors such as Katharine Kurtz and Charles de Lint.

Of current writers in the field, possibly only Robert Holdstock's Mythago series has superior depth of setting and characterization.

Kerr also gives a great deal of attention to the language of the time, which she describes as Neo-Gaulish, and as part of the Celtic family closely related to Welsh, Cornish and Breton.

Kerr's attention to detail also extends to the plot of the novel, which spans four centuries, and includes numerous reincarnations of the same characters who...