Reviews

King Kelson's Bride by Katherine Kurtz

apryde6226's review against another edition

3.0

Of all the Deryni books, this is my least favorite but also important because of how it ties up a lot of loose ends.

seandelliot's review

4.0

Decades ago I devoured Kurtz's Deryni series. The first trilogy captivated me, then the second trilogy and then the prequel trilogy and then, there I was, in the mid-1990's having read all she would write on her land of Gwynedd. It was a harsh reality, the second trilogy ended on a rather sad note and with too many loose ends. I checked the bookstore and library shelves for a new volume for years. I'm not sure if I knew this book existed until I found in while updating my reading list for this database. I feared, since the book was published in 2000, that I had found it back then and read it, but it's clear, though the characters and many of the situations are very familiar, I had not read this book. It picks-up a few years after the 3rd book (published in 1986) ends and takes us for a roller-coaster ride of dynastic intrigue. I have loved Kurtz's world since the very first time I read Deryni Rising. A world very clearly based on a medieval England/Europe but with a twist of magic and perhaps a bit of 20th century enlightenment applied to the sensibilities of the heroes of the tales. I suppose, looking though today's lens, Kurtz's books are still largely a fairy tale of swords and sorcery of the wealthy, but I also suppose there should still be room for escapism in fiction. In the end I only have to add that the final chapter was a letdown. It felt rushed, a little forced, like she had come to the end of a very long telling and needed to wrap it up lest it drag out. After waiting two decades to see if King Kelson finally gets his happily ever after it's probably better that he got it even if the author stumbled a bit across the finish line.

kittenscribble's review

2.0

I think Kurtz's several-years-hiatus from writing Deryni books was not a good idea. I remember them as being terribly angst-filled, but this volume is light, almost annoyingly gossipy. King Kelson finds and marries his bride, against a backdrop of politicking, king-crowning, and matchmaking. The villains are disappointingly flat. The previous Deryni books were overwhelmingly cruel to the heroes, which made them tense and heartbreaking reading; this one doesn't match with the others at all.

winters's review

medium-paced

2.5

vaderbird's review

3.0

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish