Customer Reviews

Deryni Rising ( Chronicles of the Deryni #1)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Maybe it's a generational thing, like one of those events with which only people of a certain age can identify. For instance, I can't understand the fascination that some have for Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Elvis Presley. It's the same thing with some fantasy works: some will make people fervent followers, others will leave people cold. I rather suspect that some of the books I read in my youth would seem substandard were I to read them for the first time now. This is by way of saying that maybe I was a far more impressionable lad back in the day. Be that as it may, I first read the original Deryni trilogy back when I was in high school, and it definitely had a major impact on how I came to view subsequent fantasy works. I rate these books, along with Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series, as my favorite fantasy books by far.

What's not to like in this first trilogy? Kurtz creates a vivid, living land, essentially an alternate medieval Europe with substantially altered geography and dynasties. You quickly get a sense that this is a intricate world with a rich depth of history. The setting, since it draws on our popular conceptions of the Middle Ages, seems familiar enough that you can easily picture the castles and cathedrals and towns, yet different enough that your imagination can be given free reign to fill in the details.

The people, too, are excellently depicted, from high to low. Few are unalloyed heroes or villains; they all have their flaws and virtues, their hidden secrets and desires and fears. None of them are able to move efforlessly from triumph to triumph; sometimes they stumble, make mistakes, fall into traps. Other than the Deryni themselves, few can call upon huge stores of magic, or charge headlong into battle with mightily enchanted items. An arrow to the chest is as likely to kill the greatest warrior as the meanest footsoldier. And make no mistake, people will die in these books--divine force will not intervene to save them, and they're not going to come back from the grave. (Well, except maybe for one exception.)

Kurtz excels at bringing her cast of characters to life. Many of them are so well drawn that it's a real disappointment to think that their lives are merely fictional. You'll hate to see their adventures come to an end. Even characters that start out as minor figures can climb to prominence and become more developed over the course of the series.

This first trilogy helped popularize the "alternate Europe" setting with the Catholic Church as a major element. The Church does not come off too well here, as most of its hierarchy is composed of fanatics, slick political operators, and bigots. This theme has been picked up in other works inspired by the Deryni books (such as some of the novels by the overly-prolific Mercedes Lackey). While it works here as an integral part of the milieu and history, in books written by others, the Church as villain is generally done quite poorly. But I digress.

This first Deryni trilogy is epic in scope, filled with intrigue, battles, mysterious rites, strange encounters, passion, love, and death. Multiple plot lines are followed and many points of view are presented. It is truly a sweeping and engripping epic.

The following trilogy, centered on Camber, a figure from a few centuries prior to the original books, is almost as good. After that, Kurtz begins to churn out Deryni books that suffer from improbable plots, silly and uninspired characters, and a certain numbing sameness. They read almost as if a lesser talent had created them under her vague supervision.

But you won't be disappointed with this first set. Unless, as I said, only oldsters like me can identify with this. You kids and your Robert Jordan these days, sheesh...

If you haven't discovered Katherine Kurtz's now epic saga of the Deryni, then you're missing out on one of the best fantasy series out there. Deryni Rising is the first book in the series and the first novel for Katherine Kurtz, and while I still recommend this vociferously, I have to admit that on re-reading the writing style is still in its formative stages and the overall tone and plot aren't...perfect. But the strengths are there and you'll be quickly pulled into her alternative Medieval European world, mostly by the fact that her alternative world is basically exactly like reading exciting history, except there are those select few blessed (or cursed) with magical abilities, aka the Deryni.

While nowdays alternative historial fanatasies fill the genre, Kurtz's was among the first and still the best. Trained as a historian, she gets things right. From the latin phrases, the heraldic elements to the powerful and not always benign church, you'll believe you're simply reading about the medieval ages as it should have been, complete with powerful but persecuted magical practioners. She's basically said, so what if magic was real..? And run with it

This opening novel introduces the main characters, Kelson a young boy-king trying to come to terms with both his temporal and magical powers, as well as his staunch allies, Alaric Morgan, a powerful Duke and a feared sorcerer and Morgan's cousin Duncan Mclain, a priest and also secretly Deryni. Kelson's kingdom, Gwynedd is beset with internal political maneuvers as well as magical threats from other Deryni kingdoms. There is plenty of intrigue, as well as her interesting take on the magical systems of the Deryni. The fact that to be known as a Deryni is practically a death sentence, let alone to use those powers openly, places Kelson and his friends in a precarious position trying to maintain their hold on the kingdom.

Basically I fell in love with the medieval setting and the amazingly well drawn characters. Although Kelson isn't as compelling, mostly because of his youth (and how refreshing to actually read about a teenage character that doesn't act and think like he's thirty!) but if you follow the series he definately matures in books that follow (The Bisop's Heir, The King's Justice and The Quest for St. Camber). This trilogy is really more about Morgan and Duncan which is fine because they are both worthy characters. Morgan is the barely tolerated Duke of Corwyn, known to be a sorcerer and the King's Champion, yet he is hampered in his efforts to help Kelson against his Deryni enemies and his very Deryniness threatens the King's standing among his fearful human nobles. Duncan is a Deryni priest when no Deryni are admitted to the priesthood because of their 'evil' powers. Needless to say the conflict between the church and the magical Deryni plays a major role in the milieu of Gwynedd. Although Kurtz's view of the church is harsh (foaming at the mouth fanatics, powerful men who use their priestly offices for personal gain, hatred, bigotry and prejudice) it is also realistic. She balances the negative with Mclain and others whose behavior and beliefs contradict the fanatics and shows what a very real and everyday part religion would have played in such a society.

All in all a really great book that sets the stage for the ones to follow. Unlike some more contemporary authors (Kate Elliot springs to mind) who have mined medieval settings for their epics, no one compares with Katherin Kurtz for realism. And she doesn't use her knowledge of history to show off fancy or obscure details since the information forms, as it should, a strong and compelling background that supports, but never overshadows, the characters and story.

Kelson Haldane is the fourteen-year-old heir to the kingdom of Gwynedd. His father Brion has kept peace in the kingdom for fifteen years, but people still talk about the Deryni insurrection two hundred years ago, which centered around Saint Camber of Culdi.

Years ago, King Brion killed Marluk, some sort of Deryni bad-guy-sorcerer. Now his daughter Charissa, also a powerful sorcerer, wants revenge and to claim the throne of Gywnedd. Through nefarious means, she kills Brion, leaving young Kelson the unprepared heir to assume the throne. Can Morgan, the half-Deryni Duke of Corwyn, prepare his young ward to defend himself against Charissa in time?

What are Deryni? They are never formally explained, but Deryni are magical people, not technically human, who can evidently breed with humans, because there are numerous half-Deryni characters in this novel.

The Church, which I assume to be the Catholic Church of Rome in the 1100s, hates the Deryni and wants to stamp out their magic and influence in England. (I also assume that this is set in England - an alternate history - because Gywnedd is the name of Wales in this time period.)

I had a friend in junior high school who was a devoted Deryni fan and urged me repeatedly to read this series. I wish I had, because now that I'm older and more skeptical, I was less than captivated by this book - which I'm sure I would have been when I was younger. This is truly a teenager's book, because all the characters are so black-and-white; either all good or all bad. The plot seemed slow, but mainly because the POV shifted between multiple characters and sub-plots. I wish it had been written from the POV of young prince Kelson, and his angst and personality explored more in depth; i.e. - a typical hero quest novel. I felt as if I did not know Kelson, whereas a book with a similarly slow plot, DRAGONSONG by Anne McCaffrey, haunts me to this day because of the deep character development of the heroine Menolly.

For a good hero quest series, you can't go wrong with David Edding's BELGARIAD.

This is one book you can unrepentantly recommend to any person, whether they are a fantasy reader or not. I have recommended this book to many many people, from all reading bacgrounds and never once have they come back dissapointed, usually they buy the next two.

Ignore it's simplicity, it is a unique stroy, with characters that are engaging. Who doesen't want to read a book, every once in a while, where you can love to hate the bad guy and love to love the good guy! Ala star wars etc...

As far as the non-glossed over view of the "Church", you might find that it simply reflects most of the very true documented history of the Catholic Church. It wholly enhances the read!

Read and enjoy! BTW, don't let the old artwork throw you!

I first read this novel (and the following two books in the series) twenty years ago, and re-read them a few years after that. It's an intriguing and exciting look at the relationship between magic and religion. The pace is fast and the characters are likeable. In the following years, I was often disappointed by other fantasy novels because they couldn't live up to the Deryni. A few years ago, I got an itch to read the series again and was very frustrated when I couldn't find them on my bookshelf. I was thrilled to discover this new, hardback edition in the local bookstore--first because I wanted to read it again, and secondly because it's one of the few books I want to keep forever in hardback. A classic--worthy of its reputation.

I was first introduced to Katherine Kurtz and the world of the Deryni when a friend loaned me a copy of this book back in '78. He said that he thought I'd enjoy it. I enjoyed it so much that I read it twice...

It's a mixture of medieval sword and sorcery, with strong religous ceremony, in a plot that moves along nicely, keeping you enthralled to the end. However, this is just the first volume in a first trilogy of stories of the Deryni, a human race with magical powers, which just gets better and better.

Since I bought the three books in this trilogy, I have read them several times, including on honeymoon, where my wife also read and enjoyed them. (Hey, you've got to have something to read when lazing by the pool!) I don't often read books more than once, but I know I'll read these again.

When I relocated from Scotland to the U.S. I was severely limited in what could be taken. From my large collection of books, I kept my Asimov and my Kurtz Deryni books. Nuff said!

This book is the introduction to Kurtz' world of Deryni, and an enjoyable one at that. It can be read as stand alone, or as the introduction to the series, but should be read as the start of the series. "Camber of Culdi" could also be read as the start of the series, but makes a slightly less effective start.

It is the familiarity of the setting that makes it comfortable. Gwynned is clearly quite similar to the slightly more Celtic areas of medevial Britian, with it's borders of Keldor and Merea as Scotland and Wales. The Deryni, a race of Wizards (it's inherited) add the edge of fantasy that makes the whole of the series facinating and unknown.

Clearly she also studied some parts of the Western Ceremonial traditions of Magick, for while she puts a new spin on them for the sake of fiction, she also makes them quite familiar to anyone who has studied them.

The characters, while three dimensional, aren't too complicated as of yet for this novel, as they are later developed more fully in later novels, but they are not characatures. In all, it was an excellent work.

Begin with a world in which there are humans who can do magic! Wonderous things ... healing wounds, teleportation, bringing harmony to discord, reading the truth of a man's words from his own mind and voice. Evil and foul things ... murder from afar without the slightest trace, domination of entire peoples, tortures without the need to get the blood on one's own hands.

This is a world that is at an equivalent time to approximately 1200 A.D. in our world. The place most concerning us is Gwynned ... an analog to our Britain, though certainly not yet "Great". And the people who are able to utilize "magic" are the Deryni, an enhanced offshoot of humanity.

Can you imagine what such people, open to the perception of powers beyond our world, might experience in the sacraments of their religion? Or the strength and depth of the bonds that two might share as husband and wife?

But all is not sunshine and flowers. The Deryni are a race that are constantly observed through eyes of hatred and mistrust. They possess gifts beyond those of general humanity, and for this they are feared. And they will undergo an Inquisition, similar to the one in our history, where the Deryni take the place of the Jews and Moors ... for reasons no more wise than those which drove our inquisitors.

A haunting line drifts through all of the books in this wonderful series. One that is sadly true of the world we live in today as well as this mythical realm ... "The humans fear what they cannot understand."

And sometimes that fear drives them to horrific crimes in the name of Christianity.

This, the first book in the series, starts us with young Prince Kelson, heir to the throne of Gwynned. Kelson is abruptly placed on the short path to his Kingship as his father, Brion, is murdered through magical means. He is guarded and guided by two powerful Deryni, loyal to his father and Kelson ... Alaric Morgan and Father Duncan ... a priest in masquerade, for the Deryni are not accepted as clergy by the same twisted logic that drives the superstitions surrounding the Deryni.

There is much before our young King-to-be, barriers both magical and mundane ... much which shall show the mettle of the men he will keep his closest counsels with. And we are privileged to see young Kelson grow from the young princve to a King worthy of the respect and loyalty of such men. Toward the end, there is a mystic confrontation that he must surmount, one in which he receives aid from a most-unexpected source.

There is also an examination of the Right of Kings, a power that is derived from the human soul, but no less magical for that.

This book is the delightful first step on a truly magical journey. The characters are all well-crafted, both the ones which you will feel privileged to know, and those whom you can do nothing less than despise.

Prepare to see wonders and to peer into spaces not lit in our world. Prepare to be entranced ...

This is the first work by Katherine Kurtz I've read, and I must say that I found it enjoyable and engaging. Written in 1970 before the advent of "doorstop" fantasy, the story is inventive, well-paced, and, at under 300 pages, by today's standards brief. Regardless of the at times well deserved criticism directed at the current trend in fantasy of writing multi-volume, massive epics, this story could have been improved with a further fleshing out. Unlike a earlier reviewer, I found this tale had something happening in every chapter, and would have benefited from a slowing of the pace in order to devote more time to description and characterization. Nonetheless, it's well written and inventive, and I will continue on with the series.

This was the first Katherine Kurtz novel I read. I fell so in love with it I went out and bought every book I could find by her. I fell in love with the characters and the way she made them so believable, and so real.

Mrs. Kurtz introduces the royal house of Haldane is this novel, and their magical world. King Kelson is 14 and has lost his father and gained the throne. A good novel always contains the battle between good and evil, and this of course is present right along side the struggle for power.

This is a very captivating story of magic, freindship, survival, and power. It will hold your attention from beginning to end and you won't want to put it down.