This year I resolved to read more classic science fiction and fantasy, hopefully making a dent in that stack of books I really should have read by now. Mostly because they should be good books, but also to be better informed about my genre and its history. I decided that this meant reading six science fiction and six fantasy books written before 1980 by authors that were completely new to me.
Since I feel weird saying I’m “reviewing” giants like H.G. Wells and T.H. White, let’s just say these will be my reactions to books that have shaped the science fiction and fantasy genres in one way or another.
Up this month is Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz, first published in 1970.
Deryni Rising (1970)
Written By: Katherine Kurtz
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 271 pages (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: The Chronicles of the Deryni (Book 1)
Publisher: Del Rey
Why I Chose It: My mom recommended these once upon a time, probably when I was a teenager, so I’ve always wanted to read them.
The premise:
In the kingdom of Gwynedd, the mysterious forces of magic and the superior power of the Church combine to challenge the rule of young Kelson. Now the fate of the Deryni — a quasi-mortal race of sorcerers — and, indeed, the fate of all the Eleven Kingdoms, rests on Kelson’s ability to quash the rebellion by any means necessary . . . including the proscribed use of magic!
Spoiler Free!
Discussion: Okay, so this is definitely my favorite classic so far. Probably by far, too. This is the kind of story that comes to mind when I think of the sorts of science fiction and fantasy that first drew me to the genre when I was a teenager. Great characters, mysterious magic, life-threatening conflict, and a dash of politics. I found Deryni Rising eminently readable. It’s actually really hard to find great intrigue without it being overwrought or convoluted as well, but Kurtz manages it well.
One of my favorite conflicts in the book was the interplay between church and magic. I’ve read plenty of fantasy where the church or some sort of organized religion (whether Christianity or otherwise) is the antagonist to magic. That’s nothing new. But the way faith and certain liturgical elements were actually required for the magic was really interesting. It made the blind hatred and discrimination shown by the rest of the clergy and their devout followers more palatable knowing that behind the scenes was a character like Duncan, a member of the clergy and a secret Deryni. His internal conflict, trying to reconcile his heritage with his faith was one of the more compelling aspects of the book.
Speaking of, I thought Kurtz did a wonderful job with Kelson and Morgan as well. Their relationship and trust were the focal point of the whole story. I loved how Morgan had to move on from being a friend and protégé of the King and to become a friend and mentor of the Prince. And seeing him try to find a balance with his natural grief over the death of a beloved friend and needing to be a protector for Kelson felt raw and real.
The only complaint I had was with the portrayal of female characters. Which felt very familiar considering the rest of the books I’ve read in this challenge, but also very weird considering the author herself is a woman. All the women in this book (even the briefest of walk ons) were painted as either annoying feather-heads, and therefore easily ignored or brushed off, or as antagonist forces working against our heroes. And the latter ranged from willfully ignorant, and therefore dangerous, to outright evil, and therefore someone to be destroyed. I’ve been trying to figure out if this was a deliberate choice on the part of the author to be taken more seriously in a time dominated by male authors. Or if it was so much a part of the culture of the time that it didn’t even occur to her as a problem. Neither of which is a great choice.
In Conclusion: Despite the odd sexism, I still really enjoyed this one. I flew through it, and I will definitely be picking up the rest of the series. Lucky for me there are a ton of them.
Next month will be the final book in this challenge, The Riddle Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip. I found this on a list of must-read classic fantasy, so we’ll see how it goes.
The Deryni books were my “gateway drug” into fantasy novels – back in the fall of 1992, I was a lonely foreign exchange student in Minnesota, not fitting in well with my host family. One day I was raking leaves in the neighborhood to earn some cash, and the homeowners, upon learning that I loved to read, gave me a bag of their old fantasy books. I started reading “Deryni Rising”, and never looked back 🙂
Sadly, Kurtz’s latest installment in the series (Childe Morgan trilogy) is not up to par, and “King Kelson’s Bride” was just OK, but you have four trilogies of good stuff before you get to those 🙂
It’s always a little disappointing when a series peters out like that. Some just need to quit while they’re ahead (I feel that way about most of Mercedes Lackey’s stuff now). But thanks for the heads up. I’m looking forward to the next few.
Yeah, the last Valdemar book of Lackey’s I enjoyed was “Storm Breaking”. *sigh* It sucks when good series start going downhill 🙁
Valdemar was definitely my “gateway drug.”