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The Chronicles of the Deryni #1
Deryni Rising
In the land of Gwynedd, the Haldanes have long ruled and have long kept a dangerous there are those of their blood who possess the magical powers of the Deryni. To be Deryni in a land ruled by the all-powerful Church is to be branded an outcast. But now, young Prince Kelson is about to assume the throne after the mysterious death of his father. He must be told of his magical heritage. For his legacy is being challenged by a woman who does not hesitate to lay full claim to her Deryni powers. And to face her in magical combat, Kelson must learn a lifetime’s worth of magic in a few short days. If he loses, he dies as his father did. And if he wins, he is King—but all the world will know that he is also Deryni…
271 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
About the author
Katherine Kurtz
93 books716 followersKatherine Kurtz is an American fantasy novel writer. She is best known for her Deryni series. She currently lives in Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 319 reviews
September 23, 2010
3.0 stars. This is a good, solid, well written epic fantasy and if it was the first medieval fantasy story I had ever read would certainly rate higher. The problem for me is that as I read more and more fantasy stories the various medieval settings and magic systems start to blend together and it takes something really special to set a book apart from the rest of the "herd." This story, while very well done and an interesting read, is smack dab in the absolute center of standard fantasy fare so 3 stars is about as high as I can go with it.
Nominee: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Best Adult Fiction.
Nominee: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Best Adult Fiction.
July 13, 2013
It was years ago when I ran across Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels. Oddly, I never read the first trilogy...
I think as I get older I don't enjoy as much as I once might have stories of deception and the machinations of those who use lies, deception, and hatred to further their ends. Don't get me wrong, I know it goes on. It's probably the most common of "human activities". I didn't say I don't see it, I just said, it's not my chosen "mode of literary enjoyment".
Here we are treated throughout the book to a parade of dupes who, when given a lie that supports their own prejudice/s are quite happy to commit homicide. Not fun.
About 200 years before the novel opens, the Deryni who have been the lands overlords and have ruled the "humans" of Gwynedd with the proverbial iron hand (lacking any velvet glove) had been overthrown, freeing humans. The Deryni are a race of apparently somewhat telepathic and magic using abilities. Other than that, they seem pretty much human (as opposed to elves without pointy ears). There are good and bad among Deryni and human. When the Deryni overlords are finally overthrown by the humans it is with the help of Camber of Culdi. Camber also discovers that with "certain actions" humans can also have the full range of magic powers exercised by the Deryni. After the humans are/were freed they rejoiced and there was a time (apparently 10 to 15 years) when the Deryni people (the people other than the overlords) and the humans worked and lived together in peace. Camber was made a Saint by the church (loosely...very loosely based on the medieval Roman church). Soon however superstitious fears, bigotry, misunderstandings and simple prejudice brought about a persecution of the Dreyni people. At the time of the book, the "church" as a whole is still condemning of Deryni because of (it is claimed) the use of magic. Camber's Sainthood has been revoked and persecution is still common.
The Story follows the events which take place after Brion the King of Gwynedd is murdered and his son Kelson is to take the throne. A Deryni sorceress (Charissa) intends to "take back" the crown through a magical challenge to Kelson at his coronation. As the "special power" of the kings of Gwynedd had sufficed for Brion to defeat Charissa's father, she plots to keep Kelson from receiving those powers.
This isn't a bad book. The read can pull you in a bit and while there are some things I find annoying it is well done. I'll discuss a couple of things a bit more below the spoiler warning.
I think as I get older I don't enjoy as much as I once might have stories of deception and the machinations of those who use lies, deception, and hatred to further their ends. Don't get me wrong, I know it goes on. It's probably the most common of "human activities". I didn't say I don't see it, I just said, it's not my chosen "mode of literary enjoyment".
Here we are treated throughout the book to a parade of dupes who, when given a lie that supports their own prejudice/s are quite happy to commit homicide. Not fun.
About 200 years before the novel opens, the Deryni who have been the lands overlords and have ruled the "humans" of Gwynedd with the proverbial iron hand (lacking any velvet glove) had been overthrown, freeing humans. The Deryni are a race of apparently somewhat telepathic and magic using abilities. Other than that, they seem pretty much human (as opposed to elves without pointy ears). There are good and bad among Deryni and human. When the Deryni overlords are finally overthrown by the humans it is with the help of Camber of Culdi. Camber also discovers that with "certain actions" humans can also have the full range of magic powers exercised by the Deryni. After the humans are/were freed they rejoiced and there was a time (apparently 10 to 15 years) when the Deryni people (the people other than the overlords) and the humans worked and lived together in peace. Camber was made a Saint by the church (loosely...very loosely based on the medieval Roman church). Soon however superstitious fears, bigotry, misunderstandings and simple prejudice brought about a persecution of the Dreyni people. At the time of the book, the "church" as a whole is still condemning of Deryni because of (it is claimed) the use of magic. Camber's Sainthood has been revoked and persecution is still common.
The Story follows the events which take place after Brion the King of Gwynedd is murdered and his son Kelson is to take the throne. A Deryni sorceress (Charissa) intends to "take back" the crown through a magical challenge to Kelson at his coronation. As the "special power" of the kings of Gwynedd had sufficed for Brion to defeat Charissa's father, she plots to keep Kelson from receiving those powers.
This isn't a bad book. The read can pull you in a bit and while there are some things I find annoying it is well done. I'll discuss a couple of things a bit more below the spoiler warning.
January 22, 2019
The Deryni trilogy had been sitting unread at my parents' house since I picked it up used when I was a teenager in the '80s. A reread series on tor.com, run by Judith Tarr*, inspired me to try the series after neglecting it for so long.
*whose first novel I loved to pieces a few weeks ago :)
Well... I probably should have read Deryni Rising then, rather than now. I almost quit after struggling through a first chapter that I thought was awful. A villain who is objectively evil, full stop; confusing head-hopping (it is entirely possible to use a migrating third-person or omniscient narration without losing your reader); the whole thing larded thickly with adverbs. But this is one of Tarr's "heart books" as she describes it in the introduction to her reread series. Despite the bad first impression, I was willing to give it some leeway because of that, and because it was Kurtz's first book.
The writing did get quite a bit better after that rocky start. The story galumphs along at a good pace and with a smooth style as young King Kelson hurries to obtain his magical inheritance before the wicked Charissa, who murdered his father, comes to duel him face-to-face. Family friends--the fighting man Morgan and priest Duncan--unravel the ritual that will unlock his sorcerous powers. Each chapter has a cliffhanger (sometimes with an exclamation mark, for extra excitement!) that leads the reader breathlessly on to the next one, with Charissa's sabotages the main source of tension. The background of the story with the Deryni and Saint Camber was interesting and left a lot open for further development in later novels.
The rest of it, though, wasn't great. One thing lacking is characterization, the heart and soul of any book for me. Putting black hats on one set of characters, and white ones on another, is not enough to involve me in a novel. You at least know what motivates the main baddie to do as she does, which is better than saying "she's evil and must die" and leaving it at that. (In the end I wasn't convinced that the good guys and bad guys were all that different from each other, despite the narrative's insistence that they were.)
And there are the adverbs, which make this novel feel very, very old. I have nothing against adverbs (she said seriously). But it does stick out when you use four adverbs in two sentences, most of them pointless since you've already described the character's expression and body language, or put an exclamation mark at the end of a vehement statement, or whatnot.
And all the grinning and smiling and laughing over dialogue that isn't witty at all. Ugh.
Aside from being flawless and objectively good, two of our main heroes gain super-powerful magic abilities just as they are needed. Kelson somehow becomes an unbeatable mage less than twelve hours after gaining his powers, and with no practice. There's a hint in one scene that Morgan is exhausted after casting a protection spell over the sleeping Kelson, but a couple hours later he is able to heal his mortally wounded friend to full health with magic, with no weariness or other side effect. In general, magic is foolproof; can be used for whatever purpose you might need it for, from hypnosis to summoning mystical creatures to picking locks; and has no price. It's unsurprising that the magic-wielding Deryni were dictators back in this novel's history, until they were deposed....
The main villain of the story is a woman, and Kelson's mother Jehana also has a role to play, but other than them and a couple of random serving women who show up for one scene and are never seen again, they're invisible, completely absent from the story. Our attention is meant to focus on men and their doings, and see women only when they interfere with our perfect, and perfectly handsome, heroes' progress. Jehana gets a decent scene at the very end, which could have ended with her but it doesn't. So that's something.
I feel bad about being so negative about the "heart book" of an author I respect. There was a level on which I enjoyed it, but at no point did it grab me, move me, or make me think I wanted to keep on with the series. Indifference is worse than hate, in some ways. If I'd read it back in high school, I could maybe have found my fantasy boyfriend among these characters who come across as personality-free now. And the book wouldn't have had that overpowering musty smell.
*whose first novel I loved to pieces a few weeks ago :)
Well... I probably should have read Deryni Rising then, rather than now. I almost quit after struggling through a first chapter that I thought was awful. A villain who is objectively evil, full stop; confusing head-hopping (it is entirely possible to use a migrating third-person or omniscient narration without losing your reader); the whole thing larded thickly with adverbs. But this is one of Tarr's "heart books" as she describes it in the introduction to her reread series. Despite the bad first impression, I was willing to give it some leeway because of that, and because it was Kurtz's first book.
The writing did get quite a bit better after that rocky start. The story galumphs along at a good pace and with a smooth style as young King Kelson hurries to obtain his magical inheritance before the wicked Charissa, who murdered his father, comes to duel him face-to-face. Family friends--the fighting man Morgan and priest Duncan--unravel the ritual that will unlock his sorcerous powers. Each chapter has a cliffhanger (sometimes with an exclamation mark, for extra excitement!) that leads the reader breathlessly on to the next one, with Charissa's sabotages the main source of tension. The background of the story with the Deryni and Saint Camber was interesting and left a lot open for further development in later novels.
The rest of it, though, wasn't great. One thing lacking is characterization, the heart and soul of any book for me. Putting black hats on one set of characters, and white ones on another, is not enough to involve me in a novel. You at least know what motivates the main baddie to do as she does, which is better than saying "she's evil and must die" and leaving it at that. (In the end I wasn't convinced that the good guys and bad guys were all that different from each other, despite the narrative's insistence that they were.)
And there are the adverbs, which make this novel feel very, very old. I have nothing against adverbs (she said seriously). But it does stick out when you use four adverbs in two sentences, most of them pointless since you've already described the character's expression and body language, or put an exclamation mark at the end of a vehement statement, or whatnot.
And all the grinning and smiling and laughing over dialogue that isn't witty at all. Ugh.
Aside from being flawless and objectively good, two of our main heroes gain super-powerful magic abilities just as they are needed. Kelson somehow becomes an unbeatable mage less than twelve hours after gaining his powers, and with no practice. There's a hint in one scene that Morgan is exhausted after casting a protection spell over the sleeping Kelson, but a couple hours later he is able to heal his mortally wounded friend to full health with magic, with no weariness or other side effect. In general, magic is foolproof; can be used for whatever purpose you might need it for, from hypnosis to summoning mystical creatures to picking locks; and has no price. It's unsurprising that the magic-wielding Deryni were dictators back in this novel's history, until they were deposed....
The main villain of the story is a woman, and Kelson's mother Jehana also has a role to play, but other than them and a couple of random serving women who show up for one scene and are never seen again, they're invisible, completely absent from the story. Our attention is meant to focus on men and their doings, and see women only when they interfere with our perfect, and perfectly handsome, heroes' progress. Jehana gets a decent scene at the very end, which could have ended with her but it doesn't. So that's something.
I feel bad about being so negative about the "heart book" of an author I respect. There was a level on which I enjoyed it, but at no point did it grab me, move me, or make me think I wanted to keep on with the series. Indifference is worse than hate, in some ways. If I'd read it back in high school, I could maybe have found my fantasy boyfriend among these characters who come across as personality-free now. And the book wouldn't have had that overpowering musty smell.
July 13, 2013
Not bad. I'd definitely like to read more.
It's her first book, apparently, so the writing and characterization can get a little rough, and I honestly don't think she knows how to write men. The TWO female characters seem to embody only bad female archetypes, while the various male characters...er...embody the remaining female archetypes; the males ALL seemed to be about one heartbeat away from either kissing each other, scratching each others' eyes out, or putting their hair up in curlers and having a pillow-fight. It was really odd and clearly wasn't deliberate, so I'm hoping she learned to write both sexes better in the subsequent volumes. The fact that they all seem to be about males does fill me with a nameless dread, however.
Also, the constant politicking and framing of certain characters for crimes they had not committed got old VERY quickly. It happens about ten times throughout the novel, and by about the fifth time I was sick of it. After that, I started finding it hilarious. The race-hatred which under-girds the characters' willingness to believe lies about the framed parties is definitely a feature worth exploring and, to her credit, she does manage to show it FAR more than tell it. But again, after the fifth time it started to just feel silly.
In the end, though, I did think it was a neat little book. The pacing was brisk, the setting was interesting, the author's own voice was unobtrusive, and I'm willing to cut her some slack because it's her first novel. I'll pick up the second in the series soon.
It's her first book, apparently, so the writing and characterization can get a little rough, and I honestly don't think she knows how to write men. The TWO female characters seem to embody only bad female archetypes, while the various male characters...er...embody the remaining female archetypes; the males ALL seemed to be about one heartbeat away from either kissing each other, scratching each others' eyes out, or putting their hair up in curlers and having a pillow-fight. It was really odd and clearly wasn't deliberate, so I'm hoping she learned to write both sexes better in the subsequent volumes. The fact that they all seem to be about males does fill me with a nameless dread, however.
Also, the constant politicking and framing of certain characters for crimes they had not committed got old VERY quickly. It happens about ten times throughout the novel, and by about the fifth time I was sick of it. After that, I started finding it hilarious. The race-hatred which under-girds the characters' willingness to believe lies about the framed parties is definitely a feature worth exploring and, to her credit, she does manage to show it FAR more than tell it. But again, after the fifth time it started to just feel silly.
In the end, though, I did think it was a neat little book. The pacing was brisk, the setting was interesting, the author's own voice was unobtrusive, and I'm willing to cut her some slack because it's her first novel. I'll pick up the second in the series soon.
March 6, 2014
Deryni Rising
I tell myself quite often that I'm going to go back and read classic, older fantasies that I feel I should have read as a kid. Then I do it and remember why I stick with the newer contemporary works. My foray into the fantasy genre was a little irregular. Naturally, I started with Tolkien in Middle School and decided then that fantasy was my new favorite genre. And it still is I suppose. Then a friend of mine got me into Terry Brooks, so I read a ton of those books, all the while finding them to be lacking in ways I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then I started reading Wheel of Time and from there jumped into Song of Ice and Fire, and the game was forever changed. I couldn't read Brooks anymore. I tried reading Feist and found it too cheesy. My fantasy reading nose was held too high. I keep a lot of those "older" books still on my shelf because I tell myself one day I'll be able to look past the cheesy dialogue and happy endings and heroes on their quests for magic relics and see the value in these classic stories. So just recently I saw a coworker reading the Deryni trilogy and thought I'd give them a chance. Was it enough to change my prejudice against older fantasies? Eh, not really.
I was at least compelled enough to keep reading until the end. Her writing, while still afflicted with a lot of the general cheesiness that I find in earlier fantasies, is adequate if not eloquent. For a first novel, it's pretty decent prose. She doesn't abuse metaphors, her descriptions of characters and setting are detailed. The dialogue is believable enough but also tends to run into the cheesy territory, with many moments ending with characters grinning at each other due to some clever comment or snappy remark. The amount of times that Kelson, Morgan and Duncan verbally patted each other on the back was, well... too damn high! I found myself rolling my eyes on a few occasions. Otherwise I would consider Kurtz a capable writer and I would bet that her style improves much as her career goes on.
As for the plot of the book, simple would be an understatement. There isn't much in the way of surprise here. We know in the first chapter who the main villain is and who the mole/betrayer is. Everything that the characters (namely the king's general and adviser Morgan) say will happen does happen. Newly appointed King Kelson will be confronted by the evil sorceress Charissa. She says so herself. And he is. There are some non-simple aspects, however, like the politics. This isn't George R.R. Martin caliber politics here, but there's some decent political maneuvering and back-stabbing going on. I can dig that and I'd be curious to see if this is a trend that keeps up in her stories. As for the magic system, it's strength is that it's not baseless and the author at least offers a small bit of information as to how it works. Magic in this world is based on ritual and bloodlines. The Deryni are human-like but with magic blood in their ancestry, and they can use magic apparently very easily, even if they don’t really know what they’re doing or didn’t previously know that they were Deryni. As for humans, apparently they can use it too but they have to be taught and this subject doesn’t come up much, in this book anyways. It also apparently helps if sorcerers are poets, as they seem to come up with clever rhyming spells on the fly.
I’m torn on my decision for what to rate this book. The world seems interesting but we really only see one city (or one castle) of it in Deryni Rising. The characters aren’t two dimensional but I also didn’t get to know them enough to know whether or not I like or care about them. There’s some decent politics but not much in the way of action. The magic isn’t overused but it’s also kind of ridiculous at the same time. This book seems a bit mediocre in almost every way. It reads more like a prologue for this world than a whole book in itself. Will I read more? I already own the next two in the trilogy and they’re not lengthy books, so I don’t see why not. I am intrigued by the English folklore/Celtic inspired backdrop rather than the traditional Tolkien cloned story, which is why I started reading this in the first place. So, I’m not overly impressed, but I said the same thing when I read Assassin’s Apprentice and I still went on to read Royal Assassin and then Hobb’s series went on to become one of my favorites. So I'm going to rate this a 2, but really I'm giving it a 2.5. I'll keep an open mind for the future, as Kurtz may well yet surprise me.
I tell myself quite often that I'm going to go back and read classic, older fantasies that I feel I should have read as a kid. Then I do it and remember why I stick with the newer contemporary works. My foray into the fantasy genre was a little irregular. Naturally, I started with Tolkien in Middle School and decided then that fantasy was my new favorite genre. And it still is I suppose. Then a friend of mine got me into Terry Brooks, so I read a ton of those books, all the while finding them to be lacking in ways I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then I started reading Wheel of Time and from there jumped into Song of Ice and Fire, and the game was forever changed. I couldn't read Brooks anymore. I tried reading Feist and found it too cheesy. My fantasy reading nose was held too high. I keep a lot of those "older" books still on my shelf because I tell myself one day I'll be able to look past the cheesy dialogue and happy endings and heroes on their quests for magic relics and see the value in these classic stories. So just recently I saw a coworker reading the Deryni trilogy and thought I'd give them a chance. Was it enough to change my prejudice against older fantasies? Eh, not really.
I was at least compelled enough to keep reading until the end. Her writing, while still afflicted with a lot of the general cheesiness that I find in earlier fantasies, is adequate if not eloquent. For a first novel, it's pretty decent prose. She doesn't abuse metaphors, her descriptions of characters and setting are detailed. The dialogue is believable enough but also tends to run into the cheesy territory, with many moments ending with characters grinning at each other due to some clever comment or snappy remark. The amount of times that Kelson, Morgan and Duncan verbally patted each other on the back was, well... too damn high! I found myself rolling my eyes on a few occasions. Otherwise I would consider Kurtz a capable writer and I would bet that her style improves much as her career goes on.
As for the plot of the book, simple would be an understatement. There isn't much in the way of surprise here. We know in the first chapter who the main villain is and who the mole/betrayer is. Everything that the characters (namely the king's general and adviser Morgan) say will happen does happen. Newly appointed King Kelson will be confronted by the evil sorceress Charissa. She says so herself. And he is. There are some non-simple aspects, however, like the politics. This isn't George R.R. Martin caliber politics here, but there's some decent political maneuvering and back-stabbing going on. I can dig that and I'd be curious to see if this is a trend that keeps up in her stories. As for the magic system, it's strength is that it's not baseless and the author at least offers a small bit of information as to how it works. Magic in this world is based on ritual and bloodlines. The Deryni are human-like but with magic blood in their ancestry, and they can use magic apparently very easily, even if they don’t really know what they’re doing or didn’t previously know that they were Deryni. As for humans, apparently they can use it too but they have to be taught and this subject doesn’t come up much, in this book anyways. It also apparently helps if sorcerers are poets, as they seem to come up with clever rhyming spells on the fly.
I’m torn on my decision for what to rate this book. The world seems interesting but we really only see one city (or one castle) of it in Deryni Rising. The characters aren’t two dimensional but I also didn’t get to know them enough to know whether or not I like or care about them. There’s some decent politics but not much in the way of action. The magic isn’t overused but it’s also kind of ridiculous at the same time. This book seems a bit mediocre in almost every way. It reads more like a prologue for this world than a whole book in itself. Will I read more? I already own the next two in the trilogy and they’re not lengthy books, so I don’t see why not. I am intrigued by the English folklore/Celtic inspired backdrop rather than the traditional Tolkien cloned story, which is why I started reading this in the first place. So, I’m not overly impressed, but I said the same thing when I read Assassin’s Apprentice and I still went on to read Royal Assassin and then Hobb’s series went on to become one of my favorites. So I'm going to rate this a 2, but really I'm giving it a 2.5. I'll keep an open mind for the future, as Kurtz may well yet surprise me.
August 17, 2010
The series is 16 books is deep and growing - and it's wonderful. Not light reading - very deep historical fantasy text - and brilliantly done by a woman who was a church historian for some 20 years.
There are 14 books in the main cannon (so far - and a 15th on the way) - 6 in the "historical" time period and 8 in the "now" - that is, the series is about the world of the Deryni - consider: What if earth had 2 species develop side by side - one that had all those magical/esper abilities and one that didn't? What if we met this world at about the 14th century with the Catholic Church in dominance in the West? What if we looked at this world through the lens of 200 years of history? What if Katherine Kurtz wrote it?
Why you'd have a brilliantly written series of stories detailing the History of the Deryni. We meet the folk of the East - in the "modern" times - and they've a much more reasonable approach than our Western purges and interregnums - tho they certainly have their own troubles :>.
The series is brilliant - Camber and Kelson the "Big Protagonists" - each in their own time - the most recent 2 books (and the 3rd in that trilogy, on it's way) focus on Morgan - the 2nd major player in the "modern" times.
The two other books - a collection of shorts in the universe and "The Magic of the Deryni" are wonderful additions to the main storyline.
I've read the series at least 3 times now - and ALWAYS enjoy going back for more.
The haunting question: should you read it in Historical Order or in Publication Order? There are arguments on both sides, but I find it most satisfying to read in Historical Order, beginning with the Camber of Culdi series. But then, I'm a history nut ;>.
There are 14 books in the main cannon (so far - and a 15th on the way) - 6 in the "historical" time period and 8 in the "now" - that is, the series is about the world of the Deryni - consider: What if earth had 2 species develop side by side - one that had all those magical/esper abilities and one that didn't? What if we met this world at about the 14th century with the Catholic Church in dominance in the West? What if we looked at this world through the lens of 200 years of history? What if Katherine Kurtz wrote it?
Why you'd have a brilliantly written series of stories detailing the History of the Deryni. We meet the folk of the East - in the "modern" times - and they've a much more reasonable approach than our Western purges and interregnums - tho they certainly have their own troubles :>.
The series is brilliant - Camber and Kelson the "Big Protagonists" - each in their own time - the most recent 2 books (and the 3rd in that trilogy, on it's way) focus on Morgan - the 2nd major player in the "modern" times.
The two other books - a collection of shorts in the universe and "The Magic of the Deryni" are wonderful additions to the main storyline.
I've read the series at least 3 times now - and ALWAYS enjoy going back for more.
The haunting question: should you read it in Historical Order or in Publication Order? There are arguments on both sides, but I find it most satisfying to read in Historical Order, beginning with the Camber of Culdi series. But then, I'm a history nut ;>.
October 19, 2012
Quite good for a first novel; heck, quite good even were it not a first novel. Not a secondary-world fantasy, precisely, but not set in our world either -- more of a one-and-a-half-ary world fantasy, I'd call it, where it seems to take place on our globe but in a very heavily modified version of the British isles.
(I assume that it's our world because the religion is most definitely Christianity, complete with scripture quotes, and because there are a few Moors in the background.)
The basic premise: The Deryni are a race of magic-using humans. A few hundred years back, they ruled the land (unpleasantly) until the normal humans, with the help of a few renegade Deryni, overthrew them. Then, with the tables turned, there were the sorts of pogroms and atrocities you'd expect. Now they're a mostly-hidden, mostly-despised minority.
Kelson becomes king of Gwynnedd at the ripe old age of 14, and faces all manner of intrigues and prejudice (directed not at him but at his Deryni advisor Morgan), to say nothing of the Shadowed One, an evil sorceress who thinks she should be in charge.
I wonder if this book doesn't get as much credit as it deserves -- as far as I can tell, it was one of the first books to kind of bridge the gap between Tolkienian high fantasy and Howardian sword & sorcery. The heroes and villains are all human (more or less), they're mostly members of the noble class, and the plot tends more to political intrigues and dynastic succession rather than epic battles against a Dark Lord or adventures in tomb-robbing and other skullduggery. I feel like I can trace a line from this book to, say, Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksenarrion, or the works of Judith Tarr, or even George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.
(I assume that it's our world because the religion is most definitely Christianity, complete with scripture quotes, and because there are a few Moors in the background.)
The basic premise: The Deryni are a race of magic-using humans. A few hundred years back, they ruled the land (unpleasantly) until the normal humans, with the help of a few renegade Deryni, overthrew them. Then, with the tables turned, there were the sorts of pogroms and atrocities you'd expect. Now they're a mostly-hidden, mostly-despised minority.
Kelson becomes king of Gwynnedd at the ripe old age of 14, and faces all manner of intrigues and prejudice (directed not at him but at his Deryni advisor Morgan), to say nothing of the Shadowed One, an evil sorceress who thinks she should be in charge.
I wonder if this book doesn't get as much credit as it deserves -- as far as I can tell, it was one of the first books to kind of bridge the gap between Tolkienian high fantasy and Howardian sword & sorcery. The heroes and villains are all human (more or less), they're mostly members of the noble class, and the plot tends more to political intrigues and dynastic succession rather than epic battles against a Dark Lord or adventures in tomb-robbing and other skullduggery. I feel like I can trace a line from this book to, say, Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksenarrion, or the works of Judith Tarr, or even George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.
April 24, 2021
Pros: Cool magical concepts & a nicely authentic medieval feel to the setting—those aspects alone make it a decent work of pulpy fantasy.
Cons: Several (potentially) intriguing character relationships are set in motion—but their depth + development is minimal with flat, corny dialogue. It also falls into the trap of setting up “Omg, ONOZ!!” hurdles for the protagonists, but then solving them literally minutes later. Example: Brion’s sepulcher is opened to retrieve a Vitally Important Item, yet the body isn’t his! Omg, ONOZ!! What can we do?! How can we possibly overcome this problem?? Let’s look to see if the body has been moved to another sepulcher? Nope! Omg, ONOZ!! ...Oh, here it is. Brion’s corpse was under a shapechanging glamor to deceive us. Here, I can fix that right now. Aaaaand...done. *grabs Vitally Important Item*
See what I mean? This kind of no-suspense obstacle happens at least 4 times. Once, okay—but repeatedly doing so means I never feel that the protags are in any real danger & will certainly overcome their challenges by the end of 270 pages.
That being said...in terms of early 70s fantasy, it was a decent read & I’m interested to see how (if?) the characters develop as Kurtz refines her style. But I can see why she later reissued this first trilogy with some edits & revisions—there’s a good bit of untapped potential left on the table.
Cons: Several (potentially) intriguing character relationships are set in motion—but their depth + development is minimal with flat, corny dialogue. It also falls into the trap of setting up “Omg, ONOZ!!” hurdles for the protagonists, but then solving them literally minutes later. Example: Brion’s sepulcher is opened to retrieve a Vitally Important Item, yet the body isn’t his! Omg, ONOZ!! What can we do?! How can we possibly overcome this problem?? Let’s look to see if the body has been moved to another sepulcher? Nope! Omg, ONOZ!! ...Oh, here it is. Brion’s corpse was under a shapechanging glamor to deceive us. Here, I can fix that right now. Aaaaand...done. *grabs Vitally Important Item*
See what I mean? This kind of no-suspense obstacle happens at least 4 times. Once, okay—but repeatedly doing so means I never feel that the protags are in any real danger & will certainly overcome their challenges by the end of 270 pages.
That being said...in terms of early 70s fantasy, it was a decent read & I’m interested to see how (if?) the characters develop as Kurtz refines her style. But I can see why she later reissued this first trilogy with some edits & revisions—there’s a good bit of untapped potential left on the table.
November 19, 2016
It is safe to say I did not like this one bit. Maybe back in the day it was cutting edge fantasy (though I highly doubt it) but today it's absolutely painful.
I'm not sure what's worst. The fact that all the women (the few that there are) are stupid or evil. Or that all the black people, as far as I can tell, are the evil minions of the evil woman sorceress. Or that far too many men move with "catlike" grace. Or is it the most dreadful poetic prophecy I've ever come across in decades of fantasy reading? (Seriously, leave poetry alone if you can't do it; bad poetry is infinitely worse than bad prose and this is dire.) Maybe it's the sudden, consistent appearance of previously unsuspected and helpful magical powers when one of the protagonists is in a bad spot. Or the related implication that most things require little effort and can be learned easily, or recovered from in bare hours. (The example that had me rolling in my airplane seat? "Morgan .... had gone through virtually every book in Brion's private collection, and most of the general reference in the public section". It took him half an hour. I can only imagine that this private/public library consisted of the complete works of Beatrix Potter, and even then Morgan was speed-reading.)
But no. No. I know what's the most cringe-inducing aspect of this book. It's the fact that the evil sorceress is, more times than I can count, referred to as "my pet" by the slack-jawed yokel that is her chief patsy. If the appearance of "my pet" were part of a drinking game I'd have been plastered halfway through the book. Why didn't I make this a drinking game?
Anyway, God help me, I read this because it was on the shortlist for the 1971 Mythopoeic Award, which thankfully it did not win.
I'm not sure what's worst. The fact that all the women (the few that there are) are stupid or evil. Or that all the black people, as far as I can tell, are the evil minions of the evil woman sorceress. Or that far too many men move with "catlike" grace. Or is it the most dreadful poetic prophecy I've ever come across in decades of fantasy reading? (Seriously, leave poetry alone if you can't do it; bad poetry is infinitely worse than bad prose and this is dire.) Maybe it's the sudden, consistent appearance of previously unsuspected and helpful magical powers when one of the protagonists is in a bad spot. Or the related implication that most things require little effort and can be learned easily, or recovered from in bare hours. (The example that had me rolling in my airplane seat? "Morgan .... had gone through virtually every book in Brion's private collection, and most of the general reference in the public section". It took him half an hour. I can only imagine that this private/public library consisted of the complete works of Beatrix Potter, and even then Morgan was speed-reading.)
But no. No. I know what's the most cringe-inducing aspect of this book. It's the fact that the evil sorceress is, more times than I can count, referred to as "my pet" by the slack-jawed yokel that is her chief patsy. If the appearance of "my pet" were part of a drinking game I'd have been plastered halfway through the book. Why didn't I make this a drinking game?
Anyway, God help me, I read this because it was on the shortlist for the 1971 Mythopoeic Award, which thankfully it did not win.
May 27, 2013
Still enjoyed this just as much as when I first read it - but I must admit that perhaps some more modern stuff is slightly better :)
Written in the early 1970's this trilogy (of which this book is the first one) is/was a prime example of High Fantasy (a la mode of JRRTolkien's LotR). I have the 1981 copy (7th reprint!!) and it's still in one piece!
The action takes place over a period of a couple of weeks (from the death of the King, to the Coronation of the Prince), although it does concentrate on the 24 hours prior and including the coronation. Magic, politics, murder and deceit are all involved, and we are introduced to the main characters of Kelston, the 14 year old prince; Alaric Morgan, his Champion (in the true meaning of the word); and Duncan McLain, his Confessor.
The Deryni of the title is the lineage of some of the major characters: a melding of magic, occult, and 'abnormal' abilities. Kelston, Alaric and Duncan are all 'half-breeds', though with learning and tutelage they can become extremely adept (as is shown in the ultimate confrontation with the 'evil' person at the end of the story).
With hindsight, and this recent reading, I realise that the writing is prolific and flowery, going into minute detail of furnishings, clothes, buildings and such. I can see how certain meanderings can put one off. I can also see how Historical Fantasy has grown in cleverness after 40 years!!
However, I loved it then, and I still love it now. To me, it is still a classic.
Written in the early 1970's this trilogy (of which this book is the first one) is/was a prime example of High Fantasy (a la mode of JRRTolkien's LotR). I have the 1981 copy (7th reprint!!) and it's still in one piece!
The action takes place over a period of a couple of weeks (from the death of the King, to the Coronation of the Prince), although it does concentrate on the 24 hours prior and including the coronation. Magic, politics, murder and deceit are all involved, and we are introduced to the main characters of Kelston, the 14 year old prince; Alaric Morgan, his Champion (in the true meaning of the word); and Duncan McLain, his Confessor.
The Deryni of the title is the lineage of some of the major characters: a melding of magic, occult, and 'abnormal' abilities. Kelston, Alaric and Duncan are all 'half-breeds', though with learning and tutelage they can become extremely adept (as is shown in the ultimate confrontation with the 'evil' person at the end of the story).
With hindsight, and this recent reading, I realise that the writing is prolific and flowery, going into minute detail of furnishings, clothes, buildings and such. I can see how certain meanderings can put one off. I can also see how Historical Fantasy has grown in cleverness after 40 years!!
However, I loved it then, and I still love it now. To me, it is still a classic.
November 14, 2022
I absolutely loved this series when I first encountered in it Middle School umpteen years ago.
I devoured the first 3 trilogies and wait ed for more. It was a series my entire family loved---one of my cousins is name Kelson.
I loved the historical foundation of the book combined with the secret hidden group of Deryni. Even though it was the 80s and I was in my teens, I could understand the subcontext of the Deryni and homosexualality.
It's been years since I've read the series, but my sister downsized as she prepares for retirement and gave me the entire series.
I now understand how/why I understood the subcontext of the book. It doesn't take rocket science to figure it out. It hits you over the head like a 2x4.
I firmly support my GLBTQ friends (showing my age with that acroynym) but re-reading the book was too much.
For me, it destroyed an innocent childhood memory.
I devoured the first 3 trilogies and wait ed for more. It was a series my entire family loved---one of my cousins is name Kelson.
I loved the historical foundation of the book combined with the secret hidden group of Deryni. Even though it was the 80s and I was in my teens, I could understand the subcontext of the Deryni and homosexualality.
It's been years since I've read the series, but my sister downsized as she prepares for retirement and gave me the entire series.
I now understand how/why I understood the subcontext of the book. It doesn't take rocket science to figure it out. It hits you over the head like a 2x4.
I firmly support my GLBTQ friends (showing my age with that acroynym) but re-reading the book was too much.
For me, it destroyed an innocent childhood memory.
May 20, 2021
2.5 stars.
More Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings, complete with shadowy subterfuge and political maneuvering. It was far too slow for me to really enjoy it, however.
More Game of Thrones than Lord of the Rings, complete with shadowy subterfuge and political maneuvering. It was far too slow for me to really enjoy it, however.
January 9, 2016
I read this decades ago, and enjoyed it enough to read 6 volumes (maybe more—but I own the first six), but not enough to read since.
But Judith Tarr is doing a read for tor.com, and since I own it I figured I'd join in.
Well, it's an easy read, and I don't regret doing it, but honestly it's not terribly well written. As numerous reviewers point out, the few women are stereotypes, and most of the men are cardboard cutouts. Very few of them have sensible motives, and the two major Evil (mandatory capitalization!) characters are stupid! Like Bond villains, they have to give their victims time and opportunity to evade their clutches (though the heroes do that, too). The male villain fancies himself a great swordsman, yet apparently he's never demonstrated it publicly. I'm sorry, but it's not a solitary pastime. You have to practice at it—against other people!
And then the climax… wasn't.
It was Kurtz' first novel, and my recollection is that she got better (and this does have many things going for it) but I suspect if this has been my first reading I would never have got around to reading the next five.
The medieval almost-Wales setting and the medieval almost-Catholic church, along with the race of humans who can use magic, makes for a great setting, though in this book they're underdeveloped
But Judith Tarr is doing a read for tor.com, and since I own it I figured I'd join in.
Well, it's an easy read, and I don't regret doing it, but honestly it's not terribly well written. As numerous reviewers point out, the few women are stereotypes, and most of the men are cardboard cutouts. Very few of them have sensible motives, and the two major Evil (mandatory capitalization!) characters are stupid! Like Bond villains, they have to give their victims time and opportunity to evade their clutches (though the heroes do that, too). The male villain fancies himself a great swordsman, yet apparently he's never demonstrated it publicly. I'm sorry, but it's not a solitary pastime. You have to practice at it—against other people!
And then the climax… wasn't.
It was Kurtz' first novel, and my recollection is that she got better (and this does have many things going for it) but I suspect if this has been my first reading I would never have got around to reading the next five.
The medieval almost-Wales setting and the medieval almost-Catholic church, along with the race of humans who can use magic, makes for a great setting, though in this book they're underdeveloped
November 1, 2010
I really thought this wasn't going to work for me, but I kept plodding onwards to give it a fair chance, and suddenly about halfway through (after the council meeting in which Kelson demonstrates some Gumption) it took off and I really enjoyed it. I have no idea why, except that I was reading it over about 10 days and so maybe my mood just changed to where this is what I wanted.
This is an utterly cliched sort of fantasy novel set in a prettified Medieval pseudo-Wales, except that it was written in 1970 before all of these tropes became cliched as heck. The writing is pretty pedestrian, and the pacing really slow; there is no working class, no dirt, and really awful female characters (one is nominally Good but very Stupid, the other is Sexy and Smart and of course Evil).
And yet it was a great read for Halloween, and in spite of everything I could smell the rain and feel the warmth of the fire and the weight of the heavy cloak as the characters set out into the night to do what must be done. So, yeah, I read the second half in one huge gulp and started immediately on the next one.
This is an utterly cliched sort of fantasy novel set in a prettified Medieval pseudo-Wales, except that it was written in 1970 before all of these tropes became cliched as heck. The writing is pretty pedestrian, and the pacing really slow; there is no working class, no dirt, and really awful female characters (one is nominally Good but very Stupid, the other is Sexy and Smart and of course Evil).
And yet it was a great read for Halloween, and in spite of everything I could smell the rain and feel the warmth of the fire and the weight of the heavy cloak as the characters set out into the night to do what must be done. So, yeah, I read the second half in one huge gulp and started immediately on the next one.
October 19, 2014
Katherine Kurtz is truly a mistress of fantasy — she's been writing high epic fantasy for 40 years and should be considered one of the post-Tolkien "parents" of our genre.
The setting of the Deryni saga is an alternate medieval Europe (clearly analogous to our medieval England and Wales) and the Deryni are a magical race who look just like, and can interbreed with, humans. They have been persecuted for years by the Church (clearly meant to be our medieval Catholic church) and most people with Deryni blood choose to hide and/or deny their lineage and magical powers.
The plot is simple: in the prologue, King Brion (King of Gwynned) is killed by the evil Deryni sorceress Charissa who wants his throne. Charissa plans to challenge Brion's 14-year old son (and heir) Kelson to a magical duel during Kelson's coronation. If she wins, no one can stop her... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The setting of the Deryni saga is an alternate medieval Europe (clearly analogous to our medieval England and Wales) and the Deryni are a magical race who look just like, and can interbreed with, humans. They have been persecuted for years by the Church (clearly meant to be our medieval Catholic church) and most people with Deryni blood choose to hide and/or deny their lineage and magical powers.
The plot is simple: in the prologue, King Brion (King of Gwynned) is killed by the evil Deryni sorceress Charissa who wants his throne. Charissa plans to challenge Brion's 14-year old son (and heir) Kelson to a magical duel during Kelson's coronation. If she wins, no one can stop her... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
December 24, 2007
This is the first of Katherine Kurtz's amazing books about the Deryni, a race of magic wielding people set in a medieval times. While it isn't our world, it almost feels like it. The political institutions are like ours were. The Church is pretty similar. The one major difference is that magic works.
The books are set in a series of trilogies. This first book is about how Kelson becomes King and tries to hold on to his throne facing a threat he isn't really prepared for.
This first book is also probably the weakest. Kurtz's writing becomes much more polished in later books but it's worth getting though this to get to them. The world is richly detailed and feels more real than any other fantasy series has ever managed for me.
The books are set in a series of trilogies. This first book is about how Kelson becomes King and tries to hold on to his throne facing a threat he isn't really prepared for.
This first book is also probably the weakest. Kurtz's writing becomes much more polished in later books but it's worth getting though this to get to them. The world is richly detailed and feels more real than any other fantasy series has ever managed for me.
August 4, 2008
Of course, the July 2008 reading is the most recent time I've reread this favourite. I was introduced to this trilogy in August 1978, when my mother brought the books back to me from a trip to the States. I fell in love with main character Alaric Morgan back then. Rereading the book now, I see its flaws, but still enjoy it. A rollicking fantasy with great characters, a bit of magic, some swordplay, and maybe a bit too much description. The third in the series is by far the tightest of the three, but also the hardest to read as the series gets darker throughout.
These books still occupy a place on the top shelf in my collection, and even with their flaws, I don't think I'd move them down.
These books still occupy a place on the top shelf in my collection, and even with their flaws, I don't think I'd move them down.
August 19, 2010
The first(ish) in the much-read, much-beloved Deryni fantasy series. I found the characters flat, the plot nearly nonexistent, and the writing style so hackneyed and cheesy that I almost choked laughing. The female characters (the few that there are) all simper and weep hysterically (save the Evil one, who simpers and tries to look sultry). The male characters are all the bestest swordsmen ever with lean bodies and catlike grace. The only characters of color are all Evil. etc. This book was published in the 70s, so I suppose it could have been worse, but I don't intend to torment myself by reading anything else by Kurtz.
January 20, 2012
Having been told that I must read the Deryni series, I chose this revised, recently reprinted edition of the very first book. By itself, the book is adequate, if a bit more ’young adult’ than I expected. There are some obvious plot difficulties that are more a reflection of the novel's age, having been written in 1970, than the writer's ability. The thing that gets you past this is that Kurtz creates great characters that draw you into the story and make you keep reading. I can’t wait for the next book, Deryni Checkmate, which is being reprinted in December.
March 18, 2013
I read this book years ago and decided to do a re-read.
It is the story of the death of the current King of Gwynedd (a bit like Wales) and his sons coronation. It is full of Deryni magic and involves an evil sorceress.
It is very pseudo medieval and full of chivalric stuff with a few gaffs(i.e cotton wool)and to be fair there is not much to it. The writing is a bit juvenile now for my more mature tastes. It was alright but cliched and lacking depth.
If an author turned out such a book today they would not get published. Not comparable with modern fantasy but enjoyable enough.
It is the story of the death of the current King of Gwynedd (a bit like Wales) and his sons coronation. It is full of Deryni magic and involves an evil sorceress.
It is very pseudo medieval and full of chivalric stuff with a few gaffs(i.e cotton wool)and to be fair there is not much to it. The writing is a bit juvenile now for my more mature tastes. It was alright but cliched and lacking depth.
If an author turned out such a book today they would not get published. Not comparable with modern fantasy but enjoyable enough.
August 20, 2023
The writing is very well done and especially reflects the characters well. Despite having a fairly good sized amount of characters, they were all easily discernable and had their own distinct personalities - a lot of fantasy tends to clump 'side characters' into very bland tropes. This book doesn't do that.
Is it a thrilling fantasy with shocking moments of drama and battles? No. It's very mid in terms of plot, action, mystery and so forth. However, the characters really do make this book. The mother was delightfully terrible, almost cartoony in how 'bad' she was and she is blatantly set up to be a red herring (I won't say if she was or wasn't a red herring in the end), but she is also sympathetic considering the place and time she lives - as well as the fact that she's just lost her husband and is facing a lot of difficult things. I had the most fun watching the mother flounce on in.
The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad. This book won't knock your socks off but it's a fun ride either way.
Is it a thrilling fantasy with shocking moments of drama and battles? No. It's very mid in terms of plot, action, mystery and so forth. However, the characters really do make this book. The mother was delightfully terrible, almost cartoony in how 'bad' she was and she is blatantly set up to be a red herring (I won't say if she was or wasn't a red herring in the end), but she is also sympathetic considering the place and time she lives - as well as the fact that she's just lost her husband and is facing a lot of difficult things. I had the most fun watching the mother flounce on in.
The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad. This book won't knock your socks off but it's a fun ride either way.
January 7, 2024
First book of the year! I loved this. Just a simple fantasy. Magic, world building, and loyalty. Just what I needed!
Edited to add: the only part I didn’t love is the anti-church vibe. Wasn't too bad in this volume, but I won't be surprised if later volumes get worse.
Edited to add: the only part I didn’t love is the anti-church vibe. Wasn't too bad in this volume, but I won't be surprised if later volumes get worse.
January 23, 2018
The first in the series Chronicles of the Deryni. I can see why so many like it, as it is a fast read with a strong plot and likeable characters. On to book two.
March 16, 2024
That was fun, there was a heel to face turn I kinda saw coming but really appreciated. I also thought the castle was great -- secret passages, mysterious corridors that are guarded although no one uses them... The climactic wizardry battle was lovely. I will definitely continue with this series, hopefully we get more magical creatures and some more world-building in Deryni territory in the next volumes.
November 15, 2011
I heard this is a very long fantasy series (which is still ongoing), although it is divided into sets of trilogies so the collecting and reading order is easier. There is a chronological order, and order by publishing date and it’s up to the reader which way to pursue.
I love how this book gives you a nice blend of magic, fantasy, and it’s setting is in a fictional version of the British Isles. This is nice because not only do you have a solid established setting without too much world building, but it also focuses more on the fantasy/magic aspect so you don’t have to worry much about the setting itself. Besides, I think a setting set in this particular time period is perfect for fantasy to blend into.
There is a little background history scattered here and there for the reader, to understand what the current world is going through so that it is more easy to understand. It’s very similar to the world where the Christian Church wielded immense power, and a small group of people (you could call them ‘pagans’ if you wanted to) are either under immense persecution or in hiding practicing their own beliefs. Just add magic to these small group of people and you have the Deryni. I liked this aspect of the book. It gave it a more solid feel, nothing flaky or whimsical about it.
It was also nice to see the magic was not over the top, although I’m not sure what to say about some spell incantations. (Especially during the ‘epic final battle’) The spells are said out loud, and it almost has a lyrical rhyme to it although it seems like the magic users just think of the words to the spells randomly as if they’re writing poetry. What irks me a little is since Kelson is technically a beginner when it comes to magic, how in the world did he manage to find the words to the spells? or is it just an innate skill they were born with? it’s like a poetry battle, the one who says the best lines wins. It’s different but I can’t help but think it’s a little childish, I thought it could have been much better.
The political aspect of the book is good and I enjoyed reading this. As a fan of intrigue in any royal court fictional or otherwise, it’s always nice to see a bit of political infighting, backstabbing, betrayal, and all the rest. It is a typical story plot of “Old King gets killed whodunit, younger inexperienced King comes in” but the writing style is good and the reader is kept interested with a rich assort of characters, the main ones with distinct personalities to make them easily identifiable.
The characters in the novel are well done. I liked how they were portrayed. My favorites would be Morgan, Kelson and Duncan. Kelson developed quickly and fast yet some parts of him still show he’s still a boy growing up. I like Morgan and Duncan because although they’re your average typical heroes, they make a great team. Charissa is the usual archetype of a villainess but her descriptions and personality fit the role well. The one character I did not like was Jehana, although she was a protective mother (overly protective) she annoyed me and her attitude was horrible. I liked how Kelson gave her a good tell off, it did put her back in her place as she was really starting to get to me during a certain part in the book. Towards the end, she still didn’t get any sympathies from me.
This is a good read, and I think it’ll be great for those who are into epic fantasy. Be prepared, it is a long series, and not completed yet. Rich in detail with an almost realistic setting it might also please those that like historical fiction, and who don’t mind the deviation from real history.
I love how this book gives you a nice blend of magic, fantasy, and it’s setting is in a fictional version of the British Isles. This is nice because not only do you have a solid established setting without too much world building, but it also focuses more on the fantasy/magic aspect so you don’t have to worry much about the setting itself. Besides, I think a setting set in this particular time period is perfect for fantasy to blend into.
There is a little background history scattered here and there for the reader, to understand what the current world is going through so that it is more easy to understand. It’s very similar to the world where the Christian Church wielded immense power, and a small group of people (you could call them ‘pagans’ if you wanted to) are either under immense persecution or in hiding practicing their own beliefs. Just add magic to these small group of people and you have the Deryni. I liked this aspect of the book. It gave it a more solid feel, nothing flaky or whimsical about it.
It was also nice to see the magic was not over the top, although I’m not sure what to say about some spell incantations. (Especially during the ‘epic final battle’) The spells are said out loud, and it almost has a lyrical rhyme to it although it seems like the magic users just think of the words to the spells randomly as if they’re writing poetry. What irks me a little is since Kelson is technically a beginner when it comes to magic, how in the world did he manage to find the words to the spells? or is it just an innate skill they were born with? it’s like a poetry battle, the one who says the best lines wins. It’s different but I can’t help but think it’s a little childish, I thought it could have been much better.
The political aspect of the book is good and I enjoyed reading this. As a fan of intrigue in any royal court fictional or otherwise, it’s always nice to see a bit of political infighting, backstabbing, betrayal, and all the rest. It is a typical story plot of “Old King gets killed whodunit, younger inexperienced King comes in” but the writing style is good and the reader is kept interested with a rich assort of characters, the main ones with distinct personalities to make them easily identifiable.
The characters in the novel are well done. I liked how they were portrayed. My favorites would be Morgan, Kelson and Duncan. Kelson developed quickly and fast yet some parts of him still show he’s still a boy growing up. I like Morgan and Duncan because although they’re your average typical heroes, they make a great team. Charissa is the usual archetype of a villainess but her descriptions and personality fit the role well. The one character I did not like was Jehana, although she was a protective mother (overly protective) she annoyed me and her attitude was horrible. I liked how Kelson gave her a good tell off, it did put her back in her place as she was really starting to get to me during a certain part in the book. Towards the end, she still didn’t get any sympathies from me.
This is a good read, and I think it’ll be great for those who are into epic fantasy. Be prepared, it is a long series, and not completed yet. Rich in detail with an almost realistic setting it might also please those that like historical fiction, and who don’t mind the deviation from real history.
March 31, 2009
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
Katherine Kurtz is truly a mistress of fantasy -- she's been writing high epic fantasy for 40 years and should be considered one of the post-Tolkien "parents" of our genre.
The setting of the Deryni saga is an alternate medieval Europe (clearly analogous to our medieval England and Wales) and the Deryni are a magical race who look just like, and can interbreed with, humans. They have been persecuted for years by the Church (clearly meant to be our medieval Catholic church) and most people with Deryni blood choose to hide and/or deny their lineage and magical powers.
The plot is simple: in the prologue, King Brion (King of Gwynned) is killed by the evil Deryni sorceress Charissa who wants his throne. Charissa plans to challenge Brion's 14-year old son (and heir) Kelson to a magical duel during Kelson's coronation. If she wins, no one can stop her from making herself ruler of Gwynned. Kelson and his friends must decode Brion's poetic message and find the objects and information required to unleash Kelson's magical powers before he has to face Charissa. Charissa has some minions to help her, including one who's highly placed in Kelson's regency council.
I've been meaning to read Deryni for years, and I wish I had started earlier because now I realize that I came to it too late. The beginning of this massive epic was published "before my time" and so I missed it when I'm sure it would have seemed fresh and new. Now, reading Deryni Rising as an adult, it just seems old-fashioned.
First of all, the writing is not particularly vivid in this first novel (I flipped through a later book and noticed that the writing was much more polished, as would be expected). The omniscient narrator jumps around from point-of-view to point-of-view, explaining everyone's thoughts and motives and leaving no room for mystery, suspense, or the chance for me to deduce something on my own. For a 12th century medieval setting, there was also some jarring modern word usage (and even a couple of Americanisms) in the dialogue: "itemizing," "far-fetched," "parameters," "invalidated," "interface," "calculating," "variables," "capitalized." I was mentally thrust out of the story every time I read one of those.
Secondly, while Kelson is quite likeable and Morgan, his Deryni advisor, is actually intriguing, most of the characters are two-dimensional. The good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad. There is no in-between.
These are minor complaints and I should temper them by saying that I am sure I would have liked Deryni Rising if I had read it when I was 14. The writing was clear, the characters likeable, and the adventure was interesting. Particularly thought-provoking was the idea that the Catholic church might be able to live side-by-side with "the Occult" if the Deryni used their God-given powers for good instead of evil. If further Deryni novels explore this idea (and I'll bet they do), I will be tempted to pick them up.
I recommend Deryni Rising for those who enjoy YA fantasy. I can't speak for how appropriate the sequels are, but Deryni Rising can act as a stand-alone novel since there is no cliff-hanger at the end (thank you for that, Mrs. Kurtz!).
Read more Katherine Kurtz book reviews at Fantasy literature.
Katherine Kurtz is truly a mistress of fantasy -- she's been writing high epic fantasy for 40 years and should be considered one of the post-Tolkien "parents" of our genre.
The setting of the Deryni saga is an alternate medieval Europe (clearly analogous to our medieval England and Wales) and the Deryni are a magical race who look just like, and can interbreed with, humans. They have been persecuted for years by the Church (clearly meant to be our medieval Catholic church) and most people with Deryni blood choose to hide and/or deny their lineage and magical powers.
The plot is simple: in the prologue, King Brion (King of Gwynned) is killed by the evil Deryni sorceress Charissa who wants his throne. Charissa plans to challenge Brion's 14-year old son (and heir) Kelson to a magical duel during Kelson's coronation. If she wins, no one can stop her from making herself ruler of Gwynned. Kelson and his friends must decode Brion's poetic message and find the objects and information required to unleash Kelson's magical powers before he has to face Charissa. Charissa has some minions to help her, including one who's highly placed in Kelson's regency council.
I've been meaning to read Deryni for years, and I wish I had started earlier because now I realize that I came to it too late. The beginning of this massive epic was published "before my time" and so I missed it when I'm sure it would have seemed fresh and new. Now, reading Deryni Rising as an adult, it just seems old-fashioned.
First of all, the writing is not particularly vivid in this first novel (I flipped through a later book and noticed that the writing was much more polished, as would be expected). The omniscient narrator jumps around from point-of-view to point-of-view, explaining everyone's thoughts and motives and leaving no room for mystery, suspense, or the chance for me to deduce something on my own. For a 12th century medieval setting, there was also some jarring modern word usage (and even a couple of Americanisms) in the dialogue: "itemizing," "far-fetched," "parameters," "invalidated," "interface," "calculating," "variables," "capitalized." I was mentally thrust out of the story every time I read one of those.
Secondly, while Kelson is quite likeable and Morgan, his Deryni advisor, is actually intriguing, most of the characters are two-dimensional. The good guys are very good and the bad guys are very bad. There is no in-between.
These are minor complaints and I should temper them by saying that I am sure I would have liked Deryni Rising if I had read it when I was 14. The writing was clear, the characters likeable, and the adventure was interesting. Particularly thought-provoking was the idea that the Catholic church might be able to live side-by-side with "the Occult" if the Deryni used their God-given powers for good instead of evil. If further Deryni novels explore this idea (and I'll bet they do), I will be tempted to pick them up.
I recommend Deryni Rising for those who enjoy YA fantasy. I can't speak for how appropriate the sequels are, but Deryni Rising can act as a stand-alone novel since there is no cliff-hanger at the end (thank you for that, Mrs. Kurtz!).
Read more Katherine Kurtz book reviews at Fantasy literature.
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February 5, 2018My, my, how one's impressions can change over a mere thirty years! I ate Katherine Kurtz' Deryni books up back in the 80s. There's still some decent world-building here: the mysticism of the Catholic ceremony and iconography, all set in a land where there are Moors, and Scottish clans, and a quasi Welsh-English kingdom called Gwynedd. As daft as it is to yank readers out of your fantasy world by sticking in references to our own world, she somehow pulls it off without this reader being too-much of a stick-in-the-mud.
The above conceded, there are real problems with the writing in this book that I now see with my experience in the craft now guiding my eye. Rampant, rapid, multiple perspective shifts that even trip up the author (how can the person from whose perspective we're encountering the story know that his eyes had become fiery?). Excessive use of meaningless words, like "slightly." What exactly is becoming "slightly enraged"? - lazy writing, that's what it is! - someone more proud of their craft would have dug deeper to come up with "annoyed" or "angered." Redundancies abound: eg. "approached closer." An inability to distinguish between "which" and "that". Also, the author consistently, endlessly, dulls the impact of her writing by the continual use of "began to..." ... damn it, if you're going to cross the road, just do it! Don't begin to do it, then continue doing it, and finally finish doing it!
The above are actually relatively minor quibbles. The author has no idea how a sovereign would reign and how an autocracy around a sovereign would act in a time of attack from a foreign threat. So much of the plot is bound up in court intricacies that seem far too stupid for me to believe: a king has died, his son and heir thinks the death is murder and no mere heart attack, so the regency council does what? ... leaves the heir, who is to be crowned the next day, unguarded at all times? Come on!
I may continue re-reading the rest of this series just to explore how I got so caught up in this story so many years ago, but frankly, I'm now glad I re-read it just to gauge my own progress as a writer.
PS - If I were even 1/10th as successful as this author, I'd be a very happy lad.
The above conceded, there are real problems with the writing in this book that I now see with my experience in the craft now guiding my eye. Rampant, rapid, multiple perspective shifts that even trip up the author (how can the person from whose perspective we're encountering the story know that his eyes had become fiery?). Excessive use of meaningless words, like "slightly." What exactly is becoming "slightly enraged"? - lazy writing, that's what it is! - someone more proud of their craft would have dug deeper to come up with "annoyed" or "angered." Redundancies abound: eg. "approached closer." An inability to distinguish between "which" and "that". Also, the author consistently, endlessly, dulls the impact of her writing by the continual use of "began to..." ... damn it, if you're going to cross the road, just do it! Don't begin to do it, then continue doing it, and finally finish doing it!
The above are actually relatively minor quibbles. The author has no idea how a sovereign would reign and how an autocracy around a sovereign would act in a time of attack from a foreign threat. So much of the plot is bound up in court intricacies that seem far too stupid for me to believe: a king has died, his son and heir thinks the death is murder and no mere heart attack, so the regency council does what? ... leaves the heir, who is to be crowned the next day, unguarded at all times? Come on!
I may continue re-reading the rest of this series just to explore how I got so caught up in this story so many years ago, but frankly, I'm now glad I re-read it just to gauge my own progress as a writer.
PS - If I were even 1/10th as successful as this author, I'd be a very happy lad.
February 2, 2016
This book has all the marks of an early novel. The world and magic aren't adequately explained; the characters feel like explorations more than fully-rounded people; there are a total of two major female characters, one of whom is evil while the other is hysterical; chapter-ending cliffhangers are resolved a page later with absolutely no justification for the initial tension; and the prose is riddled with unnecessary speech tags and adverbs (some of them extra-questionable).
Not much really happens in this slight volume, which covers a decidedly narrow time frame--really only a couple of days. As a result, the main characters don't really grow through the narrative, and it's actually kind of hard to tell who the protagonist is--is it the boy king, Kelson? He probably experiences the most important journey in this book, but he's also mainly the object on which everyone else acts. Is it Morgan, the king's faithful defender? He gets the most page-time, and it's his internal world that's the most richly explored, but he doesn't change *at all*, and he's sort of always veering from jokey trickster to moody 'tude dude.
I've complained before about under-developed magic systems, and this book has that problem in spades. Magic is simultaneously an unknowable inchoate force *and* a highly-regulated sequence of hand gestures and spells. And yet those spells kind of...pop up on the spot? The final duel lacks all tension due to this lack of clarity. Kurtz tells us that there's stuff going on, but she doesn't bother to describe most of it, and we have no prior means of picturing it. Also, spells=conjuring monsters? That kinda comes out of nowhere.
What I kind of like about the limits of this story is what it chooses to focus on. This is essentially a 270-page transition of power. Where other writers might say, "Okay, old king dead, new king crowned, let's get on with the story," you can tell that it was important to Kurtz to track how Kelson comes into his power with the help of his trusted friends, and the ways that connects to the larger narrative of human relations toward their suppressed magical cousins, the Deryni. Things are out of whack in the world of Gwynedd when Deryni power is so important to a just rule, and yet the Deryni are still distrusted and put down. And through it all, the mysterious historical figure of Saint Camber, the heretic Deryni patron, keeps insinuating itself...
I think this works better not as a standalone novel but perhaps as the first part of a larger narrative. Which, of course, it is. And I've read later-published works from this world, so I know the writing and development get a lot better. So I'm going to continue through these long-awaited books on my "to read" list.
Not much really happens in this slight volume, which covers a decidedly narrow time frame--really only a couple of days. As a result, the main characters don't really grow through the narrative, and it's actually kind of hard to tell who the protagonist is--is it the boy king, Kelson? He probably experiences the most important journey in this book, but he's also mainly the object on which everyone else acts. Is it Morgan, the king's faithful defender? He gets the most page-time, and it's his internal world that's the most richly explored, but he doesn't change *at all*, and he's sort of always veering from jokey trickster to moody 'tude dude.
I've complained before about under-developed magic systems, and this book has that problem in spades. Magic is simultaneously an unknowable inchoate force *and* a highly-regulated sequence of hand gestures and spells. And yet those spells kind of...pop up on the spot? The final duel lacks all tension due to this lack of clarity. Kurtz tells us that there's stuff going on, but she doesn't bother to describe most of it, and we have no prior means of picturing it. Also, spells=conjuring monsters? That kinda comes out of nowhere.
What I kind of like about the limits of this story is what it chooses to focus on. This is essentially a 270-page transition of power. Where other writers might say, "Okay, old king dead, new king crowned, let's get on with the story," you can tell that it was important to Kurtz to track how Kelson comes into his power with the help of his trusted friends, and the ways that connects to the larger narrative of human relations toward their suppressed magical cousins, the Deryni. Things are out of whack in the world of Gwynedd when Deryni power is so important to a just rule, and yet the Deryni are still distrusted and put down. And through it all, the mysterious historical figure of Saint Camber, the heretic Deryni patron, keeps insinuating itself...
I think this works better not as a standalone novel but perhaps as the first part of a larger narrative. Which, of course, it is. And I've read later-published works from this world, so I know the writing and development get a lot better. So I'm going to continue through these long-awaited books on my "to read" list.
March 19, 2016
REREAD: 14 March 2016 - 19 March 2016 (7/10)
As I said back in 2005 (good grief, over 10 years ago), I remember finding these books amazing but hard work as, especially later in the series, they do get very grim. Good, but grim. So I kept putting off rereading them.
Last week, I discovered (rather late) that Judith Tarr is doing a reread of at least the original trilogy over on Tor.com. It was her fault I reread Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy last year and I definitely wanted to join in with this one. I dug my copy of Deryni Rising out of the depths of my Kindle (along with finding the paper copy in a storage box so I had a nice, big copy of the map) and set to rereading.
I'm glad I did. This is certainly not Kurtz's strongest book and she is very much still world-building as she goes. It needs to be remembered that it was her first book and it carries a number of the faults that first books do. But it also rollicks along at a great pace, introduces a cast of intriguing characters and sets in place situations and characters that, in rereading, let me nod wisely to myself and think "he'll be back" or "I didn't realise that thing got mentioned this early".
It is very much a starting place - read this one to discover the world with the plan to read further - and my memory assures me that as I read onwards the depth, complexity and power of the world and the characters will grow.
I'm hoping Judith Tarr will decide to carry on through the other books - I need someone to held my virtual hand for some of the later ones - as I am rather hoping I might manage to use this as a beginning to a reread of the entire series, including the ones I haven't read yet.
REREAD: 2005
I still really like these books and want to reread them, but I found I'm just not in the mood for this right now and my TBR pile is so enormous I want to work on paring that down a bit.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 26 September 2012]
As I said back in 2005 (good grief, over 10 years ago), I remember finding these books amazing but hard work as, especially later in the series, they do get very grim. Good, but grim. So I kept putting off rereading them.
Last week, I discovered (rather late) that Judith Tarr is doing a reread of at least the original trilogy over on Tor.com. It was her fault I reread Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy last year and I definitely wanted to join in with this one. I dug my copy of Deryni Rising out of the depths of my Kindle (along with finding the paper copy in a storage box so I had a nice, big copy of the map) and set to rereading.
I'm glad I did. This is certainly not Kurtz's strongest book and she is very much still world-building as she goes. It needs to be remembered that it was her first book and it carries a number of the faults that first books do. But it also rollicks along at a great pace, introduces a cast of intriguing characters and sets in place situations and characters that, in rereading, let me nod wisely to myself and think "he'll be back" or "I didn't realise that thing got mentioned this early".
It is very much a starting place - read this one to discover the world with the plan to read further - and my memory assures me that as I read onwards the depth, complexity and power of the world and the characters will grow.
I'm hoping Judith Tarr will decide to carry on through the other books - I need someone to held my virtual hand for some of the later ones - as I am rather hoping I might manage to use this as a beginning to a reread of the entire series, including the ones I haven't read yet.
REREAD: 2005
I still really like these books and want to reread them, but I found I'm just not in the mood for this right now and my TBR pile is so enormous I want to work on paring that down a bit.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 26 September 2012]
January 24, 2020
Kelson, the young prince of a vaguely Welsh-sounding kingdom, wants to survive his coronation. Morgan, a half-blooded Deryni magician and mentor to young Kelson, can help—so long as he escapes the executioner’s block himself.
Charissa, a full-blooded Deryni magician, has different plans for both of them. See, Kelson’s father—aided by Morgan—killed her father, and it’s time she took her revenge.
If this premise sounds simple—you’re right. It is. There are no twists or turns, no reveals that broaden the scope and make us re-think the plot.
Deryni Rising is remarkably straight-forward.
It’s not, however, simple. Deryni Rising was one of the first fantasy novels written in a historical manner.
We meet so many people and everybody—everybody—has too many names. Even one Sir Regifarth Contrivance Exilim Cointreu, Duke of the Western Plarshes of Barrington, is too much to remember.
I had to fight the urge to take notes. It doesn’t help that His Grace might be referred to by any permutation of those names or titles.
Thankfully Kurtz front-loads the meet-and-greet portion of Deryni Rising: everyone’s in town for the coronation and the narration marches us through each person in succession, mostly through the gaze of Morgan.
Given that I get a heavy whiff of Arthurian legend from Deryni Rising, I’m amused by Morgan’s name. I mean, Morgan le Fay is King Arthur’s half-sister, a sorcerer and, in many, many versions of Arthurian legend, inevitably a villain to Arthur. I wonder if Katherine Kurtz wanted to plant doubt in our head.
Morgan starts out rough. His love and devotion to the (now dead) king and prince Kelson might have made him plenty sympathetic, were it not for the worst introductions of a good character I’ve ever read: he hurts a horse to humble its rider.
Nice. Reeeeaaaal nice.
Once Morgan and Kelson are in the foreground, the rest of the book is back-to-back bite-sized trials and tribulations leading up to the climax and outcome.
At times they feel contrived. Chapters end on some toothless trouble that is overcome not a page into the following chapter. Sometimes, however, the characters truly are in over their heads. This almost makes the contrived trials a positive: they make it difficult to know what to expect.
Another joint strength/weakness of Deryni Rising is its characters.
None of them behave like real people. They’re too clever, too loyal, too loving, too evil, too single-minded, too absolute in their feelings. When characters are behaving in dramatic ways in dramatic scenes, this muchness lends an authentic grandiosity to a world full of pomp. When characters’ overwhelming cleverness solves some complicated problem, it’s satisfying enough to make me want to fist-pump. But when characters are sitting around a fire, trying to figure out what to do next, it’s jarring and absurd.
And yet, I prefer it to the alternative. The relationship between Morgan and Kelson feels akin to Merlin and Arthur in The Sword in the Stone, and that helps warm up the otherwise formal, almost academic-ness of this historical fantasy.
A key aspect of the historical-ness of Deryni Rising that the story is told in narration. We occasionally dip into a character’s thoughts and feelings, but on average it feels like someone is describing past events at a high level. While not my favorite point of view, I think here it helps cover a multitude of sins.
Take, for example, a character taking an absurd risk without much payoff.
In a close POV, we would need to understand why the character chose to take this risk. It’s possible that I would be swayed, that I would truly believe that the character would do such a thing. More often than not, however, the character’s decision and rationalization feel at odds with their characterization. Depending on how vehemently I don’t buy the character’s rationalization, I might quit the book entirely.
I didn’t have this same problem with Deryni Rising because we were never given that rationalization. We were told that a character did a thing. Accept it or move on. And since I’m the sort of person who assumes that folks make rational decisions and have reasons for their actions, and the narration is distant enough that I don’t feel privy to every thought a character has, I can more readily accept a character doing something that topically appears stupid. Hell, depending on how much I like the character and how intelligent they seem, I might spin up some rationalizations in the back of my head on their behalf.
I mean, not gonna lie, a character doing something that seems foolish or poorly thought out is never satisfying, but thanks to the narration style I can get past it.
This distant narration also helps with another issue: the magic. I don’t understand it, which doesn’t bother me at all. What does bother me, ever so slightly, is its scope. It’s so … definite. Characters can set a ward and say, with finality, “literally no one can break that ward except for me.” Countless secret rooms are revealed behind melting mountainsides or recessing walls/shelves/staircases. Somehow, magical knowledge and acumen can be transferred via ritual. It all seems almost too easy to me, and yet, since it’s communicated to me via a distant historical tone, I am capable of excusing it because I can assume that there is a far more complicated explanation—it’s just not important enough for the narration to explain it to me.
And, much like I’d rather characters be unrealistically charismatic and loving than unreasonably cold and formal, so too would I rather magic be simple and obfuscated than explained to the point of tedium. I’ve read more than enough about astrolabes for the decade.
With all of these issues that are both strengths and weaknesses, it should come as no surprise that I have mixed feelings about Deryni Rising.
I finished it, and once I was past the introductions, I found it effortless. I enjoyed the retro-ness of a story about magicians and kings and coronations and dastardly usurpers waiting for a chance to seize the throne. I enjoyed the characters—when they were up to something that matched their oversized emotions—and how the writing never lacked a hook. But at no point did I feel love surge within me for the world, the characters, or the writing. I never felt compelled to discuss events as they unfolded with my husband. I didn’t go “Oh, fine, one more chapter,” even though I was exhausted. Deryni Rising was just an easy, enjoyable, even comforting (in the way that favorite childhood meals can be comforting), read.
Which makes it the perfect series to pick back up again when I need a break or an easy win.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]
Charissa, a full-blooded Deryni magician, has different plans for both of them. See, Kelson’s father—aided by Morgan—killed her father, and it’s time she took her revenge.
If this premise sounds simple—you’re right. It is. There are no twists or turns, no reveals that broaden the scope and make us re-think the plot.
Deryni Rising is remarkably straight-forward.
It’s not, however, simple. Deryni Rising was one of the first fantasy novels written in a historical manner.
We meet so many people and everybody—everybody—has too many names. Even one Sir Regifarth Contrivance Exilim Cointreu, Duke of the Western Plarshes of Barrington, is too much to remember.
I had to fight the urge to take notes. It doesn’t help that His Grace might be referred to by any permutation of those names or titles.
Thankfully Kurtz front-loads the meet-and-greet portion of Deryni Rising: everyone’s in town for the coronation and the narration marches us through each person in succession, mostly through the gaze of Morgan.
Given that I get a heavy whiff of Arthurian legend from Deryni Rising, I’m amused by Morgan’s name. I mean, Morgan le Fay is King Arthur’s half-sister, a sorcerer and, in many, many versions of Arthurian legend, inevitably a villain to Arthur. I wonder if Katherine Kurtz wanted to plant doubt in our head.
Morgan starts out rough. His love and devotion to the (now dead) king and prince Kelson might have made him plenty sympathetic, were it not for the worst introductions of a good character I’ve ever read: he hurts a horse to humble its rider.
Nice. Reeeeaaaal nice.
Once Morgan and Kelson are in the foreground, the rest of the book is back-to-back bite-sized trials and tribulations leading up to the climax and outcome.
At times they feel contrived. Chapters end on some toothless trouble that is overcome not a page into the following chapter. Sometimes, however, the characters truly are in over their heads. This almost makes the contrived trials a positive: they make it difficult to know what to expect.
Another joint strength/weakness of Deryni Rising is its characters.
None of them behave like real people. They’re too clever, too loyal, too loving, too evil, too single-minded, too absolute in their feelings. When characters are behaving in dramatic ways in dramatic scenes, this muchness lends an authentic grandiosity to a world full of pomp. When characters’ overwhelming cleverness solves some complicated problem, it’s satisfying enough to make me want to fist-pump. But when characters are sitting around a fire, trying to figure out what to do next, it’s jarring and absurd.
And yet, I prefer it to the alternative. The relationship between Morgan and Kelson feels akin to Merlin and Arthur in The Sword in the Stone, and that helps warm up the otherwise formal, almost academic-ness of this historical fantasy.
A key aspect of the historical-ness of Deryni Rising that the story is told in narration. We occasionally dip into a character’s thoughts and feelings, but on average it feels like someone is describing past events at a high level. While not my favorite point of view, I think here it helps cover a multitude of sins.
Take, for example, a character taking an absurd risk without much payoff.
In a close POV, we would need to understand why the character chose to take this risk. It’s possible that I would be swayed, that I would truly believe that the character would do such a thing. More often than not, however, the character’s decision and rationalization feel at odds with their characterization. Depending on how vehemently I don’t buy the character’s rationalization, I might quit the book entirely.
I didn’t have this same problem with Deryni Rising because we were never given that rationalization. We were told that a character did a thing. Accept it or move on. And since I’m the sort of person who assumes that folks make rational decisions and have reasons for their actions, and the narration is distant enough that I don’t feel privy to every thought a character has, I can more readily accept a character doing something that topically appears stupid. Hell, depending on how much I like the character and how intelligent they seem, I might spin up some rationalizations in the back of my head on their behalf.
I mean, not gonna lie, a character doing something that seems foolish or poorly thought out is never satisfying, but thanks to the narration style I can get past it.
This distant narration also helps with another issue: the magic. I don’t understand it, which doesn’t bother me at all. What does bother me, ever so slightly, is its scope. It’s so … definite. Characters can set a ward and say, with finality, “literally no one can break that ward except for me.” Countless secret rooms are revealed behind melting mountainsides or recessing walls/shelves/staircases. Somehow, magical knowledge and acumen can be transferred via ritual. It all seems almost too easy to me, and yet, since it’s communicated to me via a distant historical tone, I am capable of excusing it because I can assume that there is a far more complicated explanation—it’s just not important enough for the narration to explain it to me.
And, much like I’d rather characters be unrealistically charismatic and loving than unreasonably cold and formal, so too would I rather magic be simple and obfuscated than explained to the point of tedium. I’ve read more than enough about astrolabes for the decade.
With all of these issues that are both strengths and weaknesses, it should come as no surprise that I have mixed feelings about Deryni Rising.
I finished it, and once I was past the introductions, I found it effortless. I enjoyed the retro-ness of a story about magicians and kings and coronations and dastardly usurpers waiting for a chance to seize the throne. I enjoyed the characters—when they were up to something that matched their oversized emotions—and how the writing never lacked a hook. But at no point did I feel love surge within me for the world, the characters, or the writing. I never felt compelled to discuss events as they unfolded with my husband. I didn’t go “Oh, fine, one more chapter,” even though I was exhausted. Deryni Rising was just an easy, enjoyable, even comforting (in the way that favorite childhood meals can be comforting), read.
Which makes it the perfect series to pick back up again when I need a break or an easy win.
[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]
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