Customer Reviews

Codex Derynianus: Being a Comprehensive Guide to the Peoples, Places, and Things of the Derynye and the Human Worlds of the XI Kingdoms

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The Codex Derynianus is an encyclopedic guide to the world of the Deryni and the XI Kingdoms, but it is far more than that. It is funny, informative, and gives Deryni fans important information about the Kingdom of Torenth and the Royal House of Furstan that has not been brought to light before. Ditto with Meara, the Forcinn states and the lands to the South and East of Gwynedd proper. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to own a copy.

So it came out suddenly. So it vanished even more quickly, devoured and hoarded by eager fans. It's worth it, look for it when it comes out in paper (oh speed the day!). Herein you will find tantilizing hints, clues and nibbles that make even more of the novels seem that much more elusive and alluring. Trivia, puns, hidden clues and more await those not put off by the encyclopediac listings and beautifully detailed maps. A Baedeker for the Eleven Kingdoms...

This book is THE guide for the traveller in the XI Kingdoms. If one has read all the other books with the Deryni Canon. Codex is a required addition to the library.

Codex is a valuable resource into the world of the Deryni. It's measures of dates, places and peoples provide all the necessary means in which to fully become part of the ongoing Saga of the Deryni. I will never be without it.

The _Codex_ is a densely-written compendium, covering the people and places from not only the four trilogies (and several isolated books) of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni world, but also the "historical" gaps between and behind those stories. While narratives may be constructed by those willing to thread through cross-linked entries, this book is primarily a reference work: probably not for the casual reader, and almost certainly not for those who have never read any of Kurtz's books before.

Still, for those who have, this book is a nearly invaluable guide. IMHO, it is somewhat compromised by its high price, low print run, and lack of an index or interior illustrations, but most of these factors should be mitigated once the softcover edition is printed in 1999 or so. Similarly, several minor errata have slipped into initial publication, but these are expected to be corrected for paperback, assuming those entries aren't edited out on the journey across publishers and formats.