Rating: 
Summary: Gripping!
Review: A well-done, suspenseful, entertaining book. I must disagree with the reviewers who gave it a low rating. It requires concentration to fully understand the plot with all of its subplots. The conflicts of the persecution of the Deryni and the threat towards Alaric Morgan's duchy are continually entertaining. The end is clearly a cliffhanger (and an excellent, though sad one) leading up to the next book, High Deryni. A must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: I have to keep reviewing this book!
Review: Again, sadly, bad. That's all I can say
Rating: 
Summary: Phew--a stinker
Review: I just read this series because I had picked up "The Harrowing of Gwynnedd" in a second-hand store and really enjoyed it. Boy, is it obvious that this was written by a much younger writer. The plot is interesting, the action fast-paced, but the writing is pretty awful. Let's face it, having the villain stand on a hill and shake his fist at the escaping hero is so cliched as to be embarrassing. Read it only to fill in the background for the other books.
Rating:
Summary: Phew--a stinker
Review: I just read this series because I had picked up "The Harrowing of Gwynnedd" in a second-hand store and really enjoyed it. Boy, is it obvious that this was written by a much younger writer. The plot is interesting, the action fast-paced, but the writing is pretty awful. Let's face it, having the villain stand on a hill and shake his fist at the escaping hero is so cliched as to be embarrassing. Read it only to fill in the background for the other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Vast improvement!
Review: I really didn't enjoy the first book in the series much, because it was so narrow in scope. In this book, however, Kurtz adventures out into the world she created and has multiple conflicts happening at once. A fantasy book that focuses on three characters (I'm referring to Deryni Rising) is such a bore to read, especially when they aren't well-developed! I'm hoping the 3rd book will also be an improvement on this one, as many of the characters are still too shallow, and the shifting point of view gives away the thoughts of some characters whose thoughts should be more of a surprise (for example, the Morgan's would-be assassin on the boat, and Rimmell the architecht).
Rating:
Summary: Vast improvement!
Review: I really didn't enjoy the first book in the series much, because it was so narrow in scope. In this book, however, Kurtz adventures out into the world she created and has multiple conflicts happening at once. A fantasy book that focuses on three characters (I'm referring to Deryni Rising) is such a bore to read, especially when they aren't well-developed! I'm hoping the 3rd book will also be an improvement on this one, as many of the characters are still too shallow, and the shifting point of view gives away the thoughts of some characters whose thoughts should be more of a surprise (for example, the Morgan's would-be assassin on the boat, and Rimmell the architecht).
Rating:
Summary: i dunno
Review: i still dunn
Rating:
Summary: Deserves a higher rating than many others give here.
Review: I think part of the reason the other people here give it such a low rating is because so many tragic incidents occur and that disagrees with them. It's not as fast-moving as Deryni Rising, and they expected it to be so. I agree, it's not the best book in the series, but there are some very good scenes in it, and it is necessary to read this book to understand what happens in the final book, High Deryni. Now, that book is really worth reading, and you can't appreciate it as well if you haven't read this book. There are some new characters in Deryni Checkmate that become very important later on, and some of the characters from Deryni Rising are elaborated on. I find it very entertaining to read the development of these characters. They can easily become favorites (as they have for me) if you can appreciate the trials they go through in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great continuation of the story.
Review: I'm am sitting here wondering if those people who gave this book such a bad review even read it; or perhaps they didn't understand it. I will be the first to admit that it is not her best work ever done, but it is far from the worst book ever written either. This novel has quite a few unpleasant moments in it, but that is part of the story the author is trying to portray. how true to life would it seem if everything in all of the novels was always peaches and cream? I think Mrs. Kurtz is an amazing author because she is willing to write the bad events with the good. This novel is definately worth the read and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent, suspenseful novel...
Review: King Kelson of Gwynedd faces a war on two fronts: a Church led internal rebellion, and an invasion from a neighboring land; while covert forces loom in the background, in volume two of The Chronicles of the Dernyni, Deryni Checkmate. It is an excellent story, with complex plots and subplots. Treachery and intrigue abound, while courage and honor are put to the test. This is the cliffhanger that concludes in High Deryni. A definite must read...
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