Rating: 
Summary: King Kelson's Bride
Review: Being a fan I've been desperately waiting for the latest edition from Ms Kurtz which arrived over the weekend and I wasn't disappointed. More tales of magic and the middleages church which I digested in two days straight.Those who are already fans of Kelson and friends should enjoy this new tale with the added interest of further interaction with the lands set to the east. One small caveat, you'll most likely be left wanting the next book, but then I guess that's the mark of a good series writer. Thoughly enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to her usual excellence
Review: It seems I waited forever to be able to purchase and read a copy of KING KELSON'S BRIDE...and boy, was I disappointed! The characters didn't seem as rich and full and vibrant as they had been in Katherine's previous novels. Morgan and Duncan, especially, were quite pale in comparison to their former selves in other novels, and even Kelson didn't seem to have much of a spark at times. The talk of all the royal marriages confused me after a while--I couldn't keep track of who was to wed whom. I liked the fact that Jehana has started to live again, rather than continuing to sequester herself away and be so morbid and angry all the time. All in all, I was quite unsatisfied by the time I finished the book, especially as I've feasted on the literary wonders from Katherine in the past and was expecting more of the same. Maybe her SECOND novel in this series will be better.
Rating: 
Summary: A Few Quibbles, But Still Good
Review: Yet again, Katherine Kurtz does a superb job bringing her Medieval-styled world and characters to life. In this volume, Kurtz skillfully weaves political intrigue surrounding the return of King Liam to Torenth with Kelson's inner turmoil over increasing pressure to choose the queen Gwynedd needs. The conflict between Kelson the man, who cannot marry the woman he loves, and Kelson the King, who must marry for the good of his realm, is a poignant one, but given that three years have elapsed since the "Quest for Saint Camber," Kelson's despair is excessive. The first two-thirds of the novel are devoted primarily to the Torenthi angle, contributing numerous plot twists and developments to make for a page-turning tale leading up to an impressive climax. The last third of the book serves as the calm before the final storm, focusing on the arrangement of love-blessed, political marriages. While possibly important to future storylines, the negotiations themselves slow the novel, and it was the undercurrent of danger threatening to erupt which kept me reading. Unfortunately, the final climax failed to match the drama and intensity of its predecessor, offering only a brief skirmish that was quickly subdued. The novel closes with a royal wedding that finally breaks Kelson's bad luck with women (you could say he finally gets lucky!). "King Kelson's Bride" overall was engaging and well written. We are introduced to new characters and reacquainted with old ones, although some which featured prominently in prior novels (Morgan, Duncan, and Dhugal) play small roles here. Of all the characters, Kelson receives the majority of attention and is shown to be extremely capable (too much so for me): he is powerful magically, a skilled negotiator, handsome, honorable, intelligent, perceptive, and popular. He seems too perfect, and I disliked how he manipulated Nigel and Rothana to do what he wanted. Kelson's bride similarly beams perfection, although she came across as quite likable. I must confess to a roguish hope that she might have had a dark side! Quibbles aside, though, this was still a good book!
Rating: 
Summary: Boring Repetition
Review: Having read all the previous Deryni books, I pre-ordered this one months in advance. I could hardly contain my excitement when it actually arrived, only to be severely disappointed. All the previous stories have been about the Deryni-human conflict. The struggle for survival, the often-tragic outcomes made for gripping reading. In this story nothing much happens. It starts with a discussion of all the prospective brides for King Kelson. This discussion is repeated about 6 or 7 times throughout the book. Then there are discussions about other peoples marriage plans, about how to restore Conal's two (one legitimate, one not) children to their rightful place in court and who will receive which noble title. This too is told again and again. Repetition! It seems that Ms. Kurtz wanted to have a happy conclusion for everybody. Liam, the 14-year-old prince of Torenth is returned to his country to become king despite his plotting brothers. Kelson's mother, Jehana starts to come round to the idea that being a Deryni is not sinful. And Kelson comes round to the idea that he will love the woman whom he is going to marry. That is the whole story! Bored me to tears! All the goodies survive (most unusual for K. Kurtz) and all the badies die, save one. I suppose this is just in case Ms. Kurtz decides to write another novel. If she does, she must try a good deal harder. If I were to rate her previous books, I would give them each 4 or 5 stars. One is enough for this one. I think that Ms. Kurtz had written about two chapters and then decided to call it a book. She then simply copyied and pasted whole paragraphs, changed the wording slightly and then knitted the bits together with endless descriptions of the countryside, what people are wearing and other non-events. Only devout Deryni fans will manage to finish reading this book. Moreover, knowing how fascinating her previous stories were, they will be even more disappointed because it is so repetitive and boring!
Rating:
Summary: Haldanes Unite!
Review: Katherine Kurtz's King Kelson's Bride is wonderful, worthy of the tradition that began with Deryni Rising. SO MANY of the unresolved issues Kelson has lived with through six novels are dealt with in thoughtful, unexpected, and awesome ways. Of course, the flavor of the middle-ages continues to shine through, as the reader learns more about Torenth, moorish magic, and Haldane lineage. The only thing haunting the reader is the possibility that there will not be another Deryni novel...please let that not be true!
Rating:
Summary: Not quite satisfied, but very well pleased
Review: I thought that "King Kelson's Bride" was incredibly well-written, more so than previous novels in the Deryni Chronicles and the Histories of King Kelson. I started reading the Deryni books when I was in high school and now that I'm in my mid-twenties, I appreciate how the stories and the author's craft have developed. I only wish I could read more. While I was completely satisfied with Kelson's bride, I felt that there is more to the story of Gwynedd's succession and its Deryni legacy. I wanted to know how Teymuraz suddenly appeared in Rhemuth, how he was dealt with subsequently, and if the wedding between Cuan and Gwenliad progressed as anticipated. It would also be increasingly satisfying to see Araxie be invested with the Haldane powers and to finally reach a resolution on the matter of St. Camber himself. Everything so far is left to the imagination. Readers can only contrive a world in which Camber's heritage is fully restored through the work of King Kelson, his bride, and his allies. We have yet to acquire access to the possibilities that would unfold if more novels were to be written. This novel is a tease, although a wonderful and endearing one. On the other hand, I think that if the novel had been longer by 40 pages or so to appropriately deal with the Torenthi traitor and satisfyingly build the climax to Kelson's wedding, then I wouldn't have needed another book in this series. There's just so much going on here, and Kelson is such an amazing character, that I'm a little bit disappointed in leaving him and his world so early.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: There is only one word to describe this book--amazing. I haved loved Kurtz's books since I started reading them back in the mid-80s. King Kelson's Bride does not disappoint. The characters are very 3 dimensional and you come to care for them as if they were flesh and blood people. You don't even need to have read all of Kurtz's previous work to enjoy this--I confess to having skipped around a little myself--but after finishing KKB you will want to go fill in those blanks (at least I do!).
Rating:
Summary: King Kelson's Bride
Review: Another boring book! And I thought the last one was boring! I should have waited for this one to come out in paperback - after all, if I've waited, what, 8-10 years since the last one, I could surely have waited another year for this one. There is little real action in this book, and very little of Deryni capabilities. Mostly the book has detailed descriptions of castles or land or other frivolities - I skipped pages of that sort of stuff - and little character interaction. It also ties everything up in pretty wrapping paper and a big bow. Come on, life is not like that! Even in fairy tales someone loses, and in this book no one loses, everyone ends up with what they want. It took me 4 hours to read this book. Course, it took me 4 hours to read the last one too.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, decent fantasy, but....
Review: In "King Kelson's Bride," Katherine Kurtz once again returns to the saga of Kelson Haldane, this time focusing on the ethronement of his vassal king, Liam of Torenth, and his search for a new bride. This book had several excellent points. The cultural details and depiction of Torenth are excellent. Those in the "buffer states" of Orsal, Forcinn, etc. are fleshed out. Matyas in particular was an interesting, well-drawn character, and Liam very believable. I also enjoyed reading about Jehana's progression. However. All of Ms. Kurtz's recent books seem to suffer from a major flaw - the heros are models of perfection, the villians, evil, scheming demons without one redeeming quality. Camber had his share of flaws, as did Morgan, in her earlier works, but not Kelson. Frankly, the character of Conall was incredibly believable to me - who wouldn't react against a pair of self-righteous noble demi-gods like Kelson and Dhugal? I was sorry when Ms. Kurtz killed him off. Also, with the addition of so many characters, familiar, well-loved ones were reduced to cameo appearances - did Duncan even *speak* until the end of the book? As the Deryni Chronicles have progressed, one can see Ms. Kurtz's growth as a writer and historian: incidents are more fully fleshed out, descriptions more interesting and detailed, situations more complex. Unfortunately, her characters and plots have grown correspondingly less interesting. A good book with a good plot, but, I have to say, I agree with the other writer who misses Morgan and Duncan in their heyday.
Rating:
Summary: A flag on the Deryni summit
Review: It has been a long climb for the forces of the Light in the Deryni world of the Eleven Kingdoms, but the summit has been reached in King Kelson's Bride. From this vantage point it is easy to see the roles that the major characters in the Kelson series are to play out in their lives. As such, it is not anti-climatic, for Ms. Kurtz has written a book that carries a strong storyline and provides plenty of action and some suspense. In binding up the loose ends, I still was drawn through the book to the concluding lines and left the book with a satisfied feeling. I did feel that this book, coming ten years after the Quest for Saint Camber, carries strong influences from Ms. Kurtz's Adept series. She takes more time in describing the scenery and clothing. I will be looking forward to the next book, hopefully to describe the period 40-50 years prior to Kelson's coronation, to see how well Ms. Kurtz can put together a new trilogy. This is a recommended read for everyone wishing to complete the story of King Kelson and the restoration of Deryni fortunes.
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