Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sonofthe 's review for:
Deryni Rising
by Katherine Kurtz
I first heard mention of this series in the late 90s when I discovered the Fudge tabletop RPG. Deryni was one of the few settings published by any of the small presses putting out Fudge materials, and the only officially licensed one that I knew of. The combination of fantasy, magic, politics, and religion intrigued me. In the years since, I kept reading good things about the series.
I finally found the first book online after years of failing to find it at used bookstores. Anticipation was high, but I tried not to let it get my hopes up. Deryni Rising is short, and I blazed through it faster than usual, but when I started thinking about my review, I stalled out.
Parts of the book were fascinating, giving a less common take on fantasy than I'm used to. Others were let-downs. I kept reminding myself that this was originally published in 1970, but I don't know as much about fantasy as I do about science fiction, so I had nothing familiar to compare it to.
Rather than the familiar fantasy journey, this story takes place almost completely in one city. It starts out with the king being assassinated and all the tension comes from wondering if the prince and his adviser will make it to coronation day. The prince is a competent young man who's been groomed for the throne. The adviser is a mysterious, likeable outsider who's been the victim of a recent smear campaign. There's political intrigue and power struggles involving the religious leaders. There are racial tensions and plenty of characters blindly following their biases. The story seems to be set in an alternate medieval/renaissance? earth. No Tolkien-derived fantasy races exist, just normal humans and a separate human race that developed magic ability.
But, in spite of all the interesting characters, there were a few poorly developed ones that pulled the story down for me. And they were all women. The villain and the antagonistic mother were both two dimensional, and together with a one-dimensional single-scene servant, they make up the three women in the book. What the hell? Still, I try to remind myself that the story was published in 1970. Maybe having a female villain and an influential mother was progressive for the time. I don't know.
I already have books two and three in the series, so I'm hoping for some improvement. Kurtz is also still writing in this universe, with the next book slated to come out December of this year. So, if the books I already own seem good enough, I might try one of her more modern entries.
We'll see.
I finally found the first book online after years of failing to find it at used bookstores. Anticipation was high, but I tried not to let it get my hopes up. Deryni Rising is short, and I blazed through it faster than usual, but when I started thinking about my review, I stalled out.
Parts of the book were fascinating, giving a less common take on fantasy than I'm used to. Others were let-downs. I kept reminding myself that this was originally published in 1970, but I don't know as much about fantasy as I do about science fiction, so I had nothing familiar to compare it to.
Rather than the familiar fantasy journey, this story takes place almost completely in one city. It starts out with the king being assassinated and all the tension comes from wondering if the prince and his adviser will make it to coronation day. The prince is a competent young man who's been groomed for the throne. The adviser is a mysterious, likeable outsider who's been the victim of a recent smear campaign. There's political intrigue and power struggles involving the religious leaders. There are racial tensions and plenty of characters blindly following their biases. The story seems to be set in an alternate medieval/renaissance? earth. No Tolkien-derived fantasy races exist, just normal humans and a separate human race that developed magic ability.
But, in spite of all the interesting characters, there were a few poorly developed ones that pulled the story down for me. And they were all women. The villain and the antagonistic mother were both two dimensional, and together with a one-dimensional single-scene servant, they make up the three women in the book. What the hell? Still, I try to remind myself that the story was published in 1970. Maybe having a female villain and an influential mother was progressive for the time. I don't know.
I already have books two and three in the series, so I'm hoping for some improvement. Kurtz is also still writing in this universe, with the next book slated to come out December of this year. So, if the books I already own seem good enough, I might try one of her more modern entries.
We'll see.