Rating: 
Summary: Uh oh, look out, we've got a stinker here.
Review: Not to say anything personal to the author, but this book is really bad! Nothing compared to Harry Potter.
Rating: 
Summary: THE CHURCH STRIKES BACK
Review: The middle piece of a work in a trilogy is usually less satisfying than its bookend pieces simply because you know nothing will be resolved until the third work. In Deryni Checkmate this attribute is not so glaring as it could've been. Kurtz has written a novel that stands alone or as part of the series. Deryni Checkmate takes up right where Deryni Rising left off as King Kelson tries to organize his kingdom after defeating an evil sorceress. He has many problems working on his mind. First, the powerful Archbishop Loris is using the chaos to further his end of getting rid of all Deryni or at least making them renounce their powers. Similar to Adolph Hitler and the Jews, Loris uses the Deryni as a scapegoat for everything evil in the world. He is also covertly supplying aid to a rebel leader, Warin, who believes he was appointed by God to wipe all Deryni off the face of the earth. So what if Warin believes that he is a messiah? Loris believes he can control him. Also, Wencit of Torenth, a Deryni lord, plans to start a war for the opposite reason, to extend Deryni rule over all humanity for once and for all. Can you blame him? The Deryni have been slaughtered and harassed for 200 years. The Church's first order of business is to isolate Kelson from his best friend and mentor, Morgan. His offense? Practicing Deryni magic out in the open, a blasphemy against God. In this novel, Kelson is really not the main character. Instead, Kurtz focuses on the adventures of Morgan and his cousin, the priest Duncan as they try desperately to evade the Church and Warin and still be able to help the young king see his way through what is rapidly developing into a civil war. Deryni Checkmate is a more psychological novel than Deryni Rising, focusing instead on the moral decisions facing the characters than swordfights. What I like about this fantasy world is that it is fantasy without all the magical unicorns and orcs and goblins that fluff most of the genre. It has more to do with the relations between two races. The series is also a cautionary tale about the power of the Church. When the Church serves as a brake for society, a force to hold us back until we are wise enough to use power for good, it's positive. When the Church becomes an Exterminator, a prosecutor, it becomes a servant of evil. This is a good series. I don't know why it's currently out of print. Well, I guess there is a reason. It doesn't sell. It's too bad. You can always pick them up at used bookstores or here on Amazon. The next book in the series is High Deryni.
Rating:
Summary: Bad.
Review: The worst book I've ever read by far. Dangerously bad
Rating: 
Summary: Previous books a must
Review: This book focuses on the anceint battle of church versus state, and it's effects on Mrs. Kurtz magical kingdom of Gwynedd. Unfortunately for the characters involved the age old battle hasn't yet been solved, and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. To read this one you would almost have to have read the previous novels in the series. Mrs. Kurtz usually recaps well enough to make it possible for her readers to pick-up the series mid-stream, but the plot thus far must have become too involved. Still, this remains a very well written book, and you will finish it wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: Previous books a must
Review: This book focuses on the anceint battle of church versus state, and it's effects on Mrs. Kurtz magical kingdom of Gwynedd. Unfortunately for the characters involved the age old battle hasn't yet been solved, and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. To read this one you would almost have to have read the previous novels in the series. Mrs. Kurtz usually recaps well enough to make it possible for her readers to pick-up the series mid-stream, but the plot thus far must have become too involved. Still, this remains a very well written book, and you will finish it wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This was a wonderful book, and I also must disagree with the low ratings. While not as good as the first book, the book was still good. A lot of new characters were introduced, and Kelson becomes a more interesting character.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This was a wonderful book, and I also must disagree with the low ratings. While not as good as the first book, the book was still good. A lot of new characters were introduced, and Kelson becomes a more interesting character.
Rating:
Summary: Branching into Series
Review: With this book, Kurts takes Deryni Rising, and transitions it from stand alone novel to introduction to a series, and she does a good job of it as well. There are many possible threads left over from the first book, and she picked them up adeptly. Since there exists in Gwynned a race of Sorcerers known as the Deryni, there would exist people who hate and/or fear them. In this world they are found largely in the church. This sets up a conflict between the King and his Archbishop, the two single most powerful individuals in the kingdom. That all of this happens on the eve of war makes it more stressful for King Kelson, and Archbishop Loris would rather go down in flames than compromise. The allegories that can be made for racism are abundant and clear, as the status of Deryni is inherited, so can one be held responsible for an accident of birth?
Rating:
Summary: Branching into Series
Review: With this book, Kurts takes Deryni Rising, and transitions it from stand alone novel to introduction to a series, and she does a good job of it as well. There are many possible threads left over from the first book, and she picked them up adeptly. Since there exists in Gwynned a race of Sorcerers known as the Deryni, there would exist people who hate and/or fear them. In this world they are found largely in the church. This sets up a conflict between the King and his Archbishop, the two single most powerful individuals in the kingdom. That all of this happens on the eve of war makes it more stressful for King Kelson, and Archbishop Loris would rather go down in flames than compromise. The allegories that can be made for racism are abundant and clear, as the status of Deryni is inherited, so can one be held responsible for an accident of birth?
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