Sunday Seconds - The Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz

Sunday Seconds -- there are books that I would really love to re-read -- if I could make the time. Sometimes books have profound impacts on one's reading experience. Sometimes you just know these books could be even greater if you could go back and read them with again better understanding and life experiences under your belt. Sometimes books don't hold up the memory the second time around -- that's the risk. Sunday Seconds will be a cataloging of that kind of wish list.

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The Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz

The Deryni novels are a series of historical fantasy novels. The series is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to those of the British Isles of the 10th and 12th centuries, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of the Eleven Kingdoms includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent psychic and magical abilities. Throughout the course of the series, relations between humans and Deryni result in ongoing political and religious strife that is often interconnected with the individual lives of the main characters. While the plots of the novels often involve political, ecclesiastical, and military conflicts on a grand scale, they are counter-balanced by details of the characters' personal lives. Neither race is depicted as inherently "good" nor "evil", as both humans and Deryni are depicted as protagonists and antagonists at various points of the series. Additionally, the novels often depict the characters engaging in various forms of magic, and such scenes vary in importance from minor events to significant plot points.

Publication Order of the Deryni Novels:
The Chronicles of the Deryni
The Legends of Camber of Culdi
The Histories of King Kelson
The Heirs of Saint Camber
King Kelson's Bride
The Childe Morgan Trilogy

The Chronicles of the Deryni
DERYNI RISING (1970)
November 1120: Kelson Haldane must protect his crown from a Deryni usurper.
DERYNI CHECKMATE (1972)
March 1121: Alaric Morgan and Duncan McLain face the wrath of the Holy Church.
HIGH DERYNI (1973)
June 1121 – July 1121: Kelson Haldane attempts to repair an ecclesiastical schism on the eve of a foreign invasion.

The Legends of Camber of Culdi
CAMBER OF CULDI (1976)
September 903 – December 904: The events that inspired Camber MacRorie to lead the Haldane Restoration.
SAINT CAMBER (1978)
June 905 – January 907: The struggles of Camber MacRorie to protect the throne of Cinhil Haldane.
CAMBER THE HERETIC (1981)
January 917 – January 918: An anti-Deryni backlash sweeps through Gwynedd, threatening the lives of every Deryni in the kingdom.

The Histories of King Kelson
THE BISHOP'S HEIR (1984)
November 1123 – January 1124: An old political conflict threatens to erupt once again.
THE KING'S JUSTICE (1985)
May 1124 – July 1124: Kelson Haldane leads a military campaign to put down a rebellion
THE QUEST FOR SAINT CAMBER (1986)
March 1125 – June 1125: A tragic accident befalls Kelson Haldane during a religious quest.

The Heirs of Saint Camber
THE HARROWING OF GWYNEDD (1989)
January 918 – August 918: The Deryni desperately try to survive the persecutions.
KING JAVAN'S YEAR (1992)
June 921 – October 922: Javan Haldane struggles to secure his throne.
THE BASTARD PRINCE (1994)
May 928 – December 928: Rhys Michael Haldane must defend his crown from a foreign invader.

The Childe Morgan Trilogy
IN THE KING'S SERVICE (2003)
Summer 1082 – November 1091: Donal Blaine Haldane seeks a Deryni protector for his sons.
CHILDE MORGAN (2006)
December 1093 - March 1096: Kenneth and Alyce Morgan prepare their son Alaric for his future role.
3rd To be released

Other novels
KING KELSON'S BRIDE (2000)
June 1128 – August 1128: Kelson Haldane faces the plots and intrigues of the Torenthi royal court.

You can see why I love these. All the elements that I crave are there: politics, court intrigue, religion, historical, and a touch of fantasy. I had not realized, though, that Kurtz had published the first one in 1970. Wow. I guess we should be glad for as many as we have here but I still wish for more. I have at least the first three in a box somewhere but I really should obtain the entire series and I would love to read them again now that I am older. I believe I started these in junior high, around the time I was also reading DUNE. Now THIS is what SFF can be. And what I can't really find in today's SFF books.

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We went to see the new Harry Potter movie last night. They are wisely doing this is two parts because the storylines are just too big at this finale. The bad thing is also that they're doing it in two parts because now we have to wait until summer for part two. This movie was 2 1/2 hours long so you can see how much is there. I liked it a lot. I've, of course, read the book so I knew what was going to happen though I had forgotten some details. You'd need to dedicate a chunk of time but it is amazing to watch all the movies back to back to see how the kids have grown. Also amazing are all the fantastic British actors in these movies. I think actually one of the tv channels has been showing the movies back to back this weekend.

Today, I've got to work on Premeditated, do clothes laundry, and walk Tug. It was foggy last night and early this morning. Now it's clear and sunny but very cold. Steve might be going shooting with our neighbor this morning.

The Steelers play tonight and it'll be broadcast. Steve also has the finale of his zombie show to watch (ugh). I would love to do some reading. Of course, now that the Harry Potter movie has stopped in the middle of the story I had to dig out the book and I may have to do a re-read of the last half of the book. (sigh) I just don't make much progress in current reads, do I?

Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster