Much like “Camber the Heretic,” which chronologically comes before this one, this is not an attention-keeping tome but even worse. I suppose readers who are not fascinated by the ritualistic episodes, which can go on for ten or twelve pages, will have to endure those elements in the narrative or just scan through them as I do. Kurtz revels in their magical mysticism but only sometimes does she conjure up the unexpected.These are some of the events played out or brought into play in this volume: The “blocking of Deryni powers” to conceal members of the Deryni race becomes a strategy to fool the Regents who now rule Gwynedd after the death of King Cinhil. The Regents, headed by Archbishop Hubert MacInnis, are bent on cruelly decimating the Deryni race. A new religious order, Custodum Fidei, is established to entrench the demonization of all things Deryni. Evaine and Joram, the children of Camber, and Dom Queron, a healer-priest, go underground where they establish a new Camberian Council to undermine the Regents’ power.Prince Javan has gained Deryni powers from the ritual performed in the presence of his father Cinhil before his death. His older brother, King Alroy, is just a puppet in the Regents’ power base, following their dictates. Javan comes on side with the Camberian Council to help them counteract his brother’s complicity with the Regents. The prophet Revan, with the support of the Camberian Council, continues his subterfuge as a Willimite cult leader, baptizing Deryni and those who have had close contact with Deryni, to divest them of magical powers and influence. This is a scheme to deceive the Regents to allow the cult to gain followers because it supposedly fulfills their objective to disempower Deryni. Since his death Camber’s body has through a spell stayed in a state of equilibrium, not decomposing. Evaine obtains the forbidden scrolls Protocols of Orin to explore the possibility of bringing Camber back to life.This is the first book of the “The Heirs of Saint Camber” trilogy and also the fourth book if all the seventeen or so books in the full Deryni epic are read chronologically. It was the tenth of the Deryni books to be published. I do find it peculiar that books by a female author can be so devoid of human kindness and romance. And she offers up only one female hero! The next volume is called “King Javan’s Year.” By its title we can tell that the Regents will de deposed or their influence compromised. Hopefully it will have more excitement, suspense and female influence.
This is an odd meld of both Christian faith and the author's own mystical world. It's odd and one I'm not particularly thrilled with. It's too literal to be taken as mere fantasy, and too many liberties to be accepted as a historical piece.It's well written but I am unfamiliar with the characters and world to be invested in it. I'm going to complete this book but probably won't pick up others in the series. I got this book for free in the free books pile at Penguicon. Others may like this sort of story but it wasn't my cup of tea.By the time the book ends there are absolutely no resolution of the story. The Harrowing of Gwynedd, sets up the rest of the storyline. I was disappointed. She does make interesting characters, and can write well. It's just not a world I want to spend more time in. There is so much Catholic history, latin rituals and villany of the Catholic church, that I would rather not deal with. It's too historical and literal to be a fantasy novel and too much fantasy to be a fantasy.
What do You think about The Harrowing Of Gwynedd (1989)?
Politics, religion, and a magical race deemed evil by those not of that race (Deryni). What I really love about Katherine Kurtz and the Deryni series is that you never know what to expect. She has no problem killing off anyone at anytime if it serves the story. She has her fair share of happy endings, but sometimes her most endearing characters meet unpleasant ends. This particular book had a little too much (Catholic) Church ritual details throughout for my taste, but this is easily overlooked. I wish we could give half-star reviews. It's not a perfect book due to the ritual details. More like a 4.5, so I'm rounding up.
—Michael
I've been reading Kurtz's Deryni novels for decades now. And in all honesty, I read it more like history or a memoir than fantasy. The "magic" elements are genetically transmitted psi powers and for the most part can't be learned. However, I'm a sucker for a holocaust story. And the love between Rhys and Evaine is timeless and tragic. The Harrowing of Gwynedd relates the beginning of the darkest time for the Deryni. The beginning of the persecutions and executions that will last for decades (pro
—Jon
