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Katherine Kurtz

Author of Deryni Rising

66+ Works 26,269 Members 198 Reviews 67 Favorited

About the Author

Katherine Kurtz was born in Coral Gables, Florida on October 18, 1944. She received a four-year science scholarship to the University of Miami where she graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry. She completed an M.A. in medieval English history at UCLA while writing her first two novels, and working as show more an instructional designer for the Los Angeles Police Academy. She is also a professionally trained hypnotist, a student of comparative religion, and somewhat of an authority on heraldry and chivalry She has also joined with Deborah Turner Harris, and together they have written five books in an adept series of occult detective thrillers set in modern Scotland. Her first editing foray, Tales of The Knights Templar, appeared from Warner Books in 1995, which wa followed by a second volume, On Crusade: More Tales of The Knights Templar. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Katherine Kurtz

Series

Works by Katherine Kurtz

Deryni Rising (1970) 2,014 copies
Camber of Culdi (1976) 1,694 copies
Deryni Checkmate (1972) 1,596 copies
High Deryni (1973) 1,568 copies
Saint Camber (1978) 1,438 copies
Camber the Heretic (1981) 1,364 copies
The Bishop's Heir (1984) 1,299 copies
The King's Justice (1985) 1,203 copies
The Quest for Saint Camber (1986) 1,198 copies
The Harrowing of Gwynedd (1989) 1,090 copies
The Adept (1991) 859 copies
The Deryni Archives (1982) 819 copies
King Javan's Year (1992) 788 copies
The Bastard Prince (1994) 768 copies
King Kelson's Bride (2000) 741 copies
The Lodge of the Lynx (1992) 684 copies
The Templar Treasure (1993) 670 copies
Dagger Magic (1995) 575 copies
Death of an Adept (1996) 548 copies
In The King's Service (2003) — Author — 543 copies
Deryni Magic (1990) 512 copies
Lammas Night (1983) — Author — 453 copies
St. Patrick's Gargoyle (2001) 423 copies
Childe Morgan (2006) 392 copies
The Temple and the Stone (1998) 364 copies
Knights of the Blood (1993) 360 copies
Two Crowns for America (1996) 275 copies
At Swords Point (1994) — Created by — 256 copies
Tales of the Knights Templar (1995) — Editor, Contributor — 252 copies
Deryni Tales (2000) 237 copies
Legacy of Lehr (1986) 235 copies
The Temple and the Crown (2001) 214 copies
Codex Derynianus (1998) — Author — 162 copies
The King's Deryni (2014) 151 copies
The Chronicles of the Deryni (1970) 150 copies
On Crusade: More Tales of the Knights Templar (1998) — Editor, Contributor — 105 copies
Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar (2002) — Editor, Contributor — 89 copies
Camber of Culdi/Bethane (2016) 40 copies
Venture in Vain (2001) 5 copies
Swords Against The Marluk (1977) 3 copies
Bethane [short story] (1982) 2 copies
Vocation [novelette] (1983) 1 copy
Legacy [short story] (1983) 1 copy
Catalyst [short story] (1985) 1 copy
Trial [novelette] (1986) 1 copy

Associated Works

Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales (1991) — Contributor — 374 copies
Flashing Swords! #4: Barbarians and Black Magicians (1977) — Contributor — 211 copies
In the Shadow of the Gargoyle (1998) — Contributor — 170 copies
The Crafters (1991) — Contributor — 168 copies
Hecate's Cauldron (1982) — Contributor — 147 copies
Moonsinger's Friends: In Honor of Andre Norton (1985) — Contributor — 142 copies
Serve It Forth: Cooking with Anne McCaffrey (1996) — Contributor — 141 copies
A Magic-Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic (1998) — Contributor — 132 copies
Battlestations (2011) — Contributor — 127 copies
Total War (1990) — Author — 100 copies
Crisis (1991) — Contributor — 87 copies
The Gods of War (1992) — Contributor — 81 copies
Legends (1999) — Introduction — 43 copies
L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 36 (2020) — Contributor — 30 copies
Swords Against Darkness (2016) — Contributor — 26 copies
The Deryni Adventure Game (2005) — Original novel — 20 copies
Novel Ideas-Fantasy (2006) — Contributor — 16 copies
Nine Visions, a Book of Fantasies (1983) — Contributor — 13 copies
Ashtaru der Schreckliche. (1982) — Contributor, some editions — 9 copies
New Altars (1996) — Introduction — 3 copies

Tagged

Adept (138) alternate history (119) anthology (354) Camber (84) Chronicles of the Deryni (102) Deryni (1,847) Deryni series (132) ebook (275) fantasy (7,007) fantasy fiction (197) fiction (2,449) Gwynedd (85) hardcover (122) high fantasy (124) historical fantasy (181) historical fiction (137) Histories of King Kelson (83) Katherine Kurtz (114) Knights Templar (186) Kurtz (180) magic (425) medieval (131) mmpb (116) mystery (89) novel (164) occult (90) own (123) paperback (346) PB (85) read (330) religion (160) science fiction (533) Science Fiction/Fantasy (214) Scotland (91) series (330) sf (268) sff (434) short stories (208) to-read (559) unread (117)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

Abandoned within the first 20 pages. The writing is unimaginative and horrid.
 
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electrascaife | 25 other reviews | Jan 18, 2024 |
This is the first of Kurtz's NUMEROUS books set in the Deryni world. High fantasy of an earlier era, this focuses on the death of the current king and the difficulties surrounding the inheriting of the throne. Interesting and somewhat unique (especially at the time) in fantasy, we have the Catholic Church itself as a major player in this fantasy world, separate and distinct from magic which is generally inherited by blood or rite from a race called the Deryni. Religious fanaticism and racism both play ongoing roles in this world. There are some strong female characters, including the primary antagonist.
I think one of the most interesting things about this first book is that the entire thing (minus the prologue) essentially takes place over the course of 24 hours. It was a good way to keep the pacing moving along, and not fall victim to a lot of detailed world-building in the first book by keeping the story so small and tight (less than a dozen truly important characters) despite the scale of its impact on the world.
I'm glad this was the next in the stack of inherited old fantasy and science fiction. I've been working through them, mostly from the 60s-80. At least as far as the fantasy was concerned I was growing worried that I had grown too old, too sophisticated as a reader, and/or just gotten to accustomed to newer (and often more grimdark) ways of telling these stories that I wasn't able to really enjoy work from the era during which I first fell in love with fantasy.
While this definitely hearkens back to a style of story-telling in fantasy that is definitively different than today, I still really enjoyed it. Whether it truly is or not, it *feels* slower paced, less grim. The magic was a little all over the place, but I know later on Kurtz pins down the system in a much more detailed way (there's a book just about how the magic works), but that feels normal for time period of fantasy during which this was written. I think this is readily accessible to adults, teens, and advanced young readers, just the kind of cross-demographic appeal fantasy was supposed to have.
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jdavidhacker | 25 other reviews | Jan 5, 2024 |
I've been going back to classic fantasy books. I missed this one when it came out, but it's the first of the Deryni series, first published in 1970.
It occurs in Gwynedd, where King Brion rules as leader of one of the Eleven Kingdoms. Brion is human but has powers bequeathed to him by the Deryni, a race of people with magic and psychic powers now persecuted by the Church. His general is Alaric Morgan, a half-Deryni who has been training the heir, Prince Kelson. A Deryni sorceress named Charissa assassinates Brion, but rumors paint Morgan as the killer.
This is epic high fantasy roughly based on Welsh legends and history. This book has spawned fifteen books that take place in this world, though this one can be read as a complete story. The world-building is fascinating and involved, with political machinations in both the court and church taking place among murders and magic. It's more YA fantasy than Game of Thrones, but a very satisfying introduction to a spellbinding world and characters that I will be reading more about.
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N.W.Moors | 25 other reviews | Oct 3, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

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Associated Authors

Deborah Turner Harris Contributor, Author
Scott MacMillan Author, Contributor
Richard Woods Contributor
James D. Macdonald Contributor
Debra Doyle Contributor
Robert Reginald Contributor, Author
Robert J. Harris Contributor
Lawrence Schimel Contributor
Elizabeth Moon Contributor
Tanya Huff Contributor
Poul Anderson Contributor
Bradley H. Sinor Contributor
Julie Spangler Contributor
Andre Norton Contributor
Diane Duane Contributor
David Spangler Contributor
Susan Shwartz Contributor
Darrell K. Sweet Cover artist
Matt Stawicki Cover artist
Shelly Shapiro Cartographer
Nick Sullivan Narrator
Bob Pepper Cover artist
Michael Herring Cover artist
Bob Porter Illustrator, Map by
Michel Vrana Cover designer
Horst Pukallus Übersetzer, Translator
Tom Kidd Cover artist
Greg Call Cover artist
Jon Sullivan Cover artist
Joe Burleson Cover artist
Don Maintz Cover artist
Åke Eldberg Translator
Peter Eilhardt Cover artist
Melvyn Grant Cover artist
Edwin Herder Cover artist
Daniel R. Horne Cover artist
Bryant Eastman Cover artist
Kinuko Y. Craft Cover artist
Michael Kaluta Cover artist
Joe DeVito Cover artist

Statistics

Works
66
Also by
20
Members
26,269
Popularity
#799
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
198
ISBNs
298
Languages
5
Favorited
67

Charts & Graphs