"great Deryni tale"
The King of Gwynedd, Donal Haldane rules through divine
right and his powers are said to come of God. The Deryni,
a race of sorcerers, are said to be evil and secular.
Church law doesn't grant them the same rights as humans.
In actuality, the power of the Haldanes and the Deryni are
much alike; Donal has no problems using the Deryni to help
him maintain peace in the Eleven Kingdoms. Lady Alycee De Corwyn is the sister of the future duke and
a great heiress who knows she must make a dynastic
marriage. While she awaits the king's decree, she arrives
at court to serve the Haldanes as only a Deryni can.
After losing a father and brother to Gwynedd's enemies,
Donal implements a plan that would make her child his
son's protector by betraying a woman he has come to
respect and a man he calls friend. This novel takes place after the massacre of the Deryni
following the Haldane Restoration. The survivors are
slowly coming out into the open again hoping to prove to
the humans that they are not evil just because a few
commit malevolent acts. Still they are feared and the
church encourages mankind to hate the Deryni but through
their loyal service to the crown, humanity is slowly being
shown that being Deryni is not a bad thing. Katherine
Kurtz still reigns as the queen of historical fantasies in
a series she started almost three decades ago. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted October 5, 2003
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