A very historical novel. Very little fantasy involved. Just a bunch of men fighting wars in medieval church ruled times. I did not enjoy it, but forced my way through the first book. I probably will never continue to read the rest of them.

I am going to review this without spoilers or major plot reviews. I love books that have are fantasy, but have a historical background and I now that I will be reading all the books set in this world. I would love to be able to purchase them in one volume like I did this one but I don’t know if the author/publisher is planning on doing it soon so I have to obtain individual copies of either print or digital and on a fixed income it’s not always easy.

These novels are set in an alternate universe reminiscent of medieval Wales; the Deryni are magical creatures that have many abilities, including the ability to travel via portals between places and non-magical humans. These are the historical books of the Deryni and the first if you want to read them chronologically; however, I don’t think I would have enjoyed them as much if I had not read TCOTD first. I am an avid fan of SKP and think that reader who enjoyed The Welsh Princes trilogy would like this. The author has done a remarkable job building her alternate world; the characters are well-drawn and the reader will feel as if they are part of that world.

It took me longer to read this than I would because I wanted to read The Chronicles of the Deryni trilogy so I would be reading the books in the order they were written, but after finishing these I think I should have read the Kelson trilogy before I started this. I feel guilty about reading books that are not in my TBR queue at Netgalley ,like I’m cheating or something but if I without doing this I would not have been able to finally read Mary, Called Magdalene which I’ve been wanting to read for years or Mississippi Blood which I’ve been waiting for since I finished The Bone Tree. These novels were so good that even though I am way behind on book reviews I don’t regret reading them.

4.5/5 STARS: **I want to thank the author and/or publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are mine.**

3 stars - <a href="http://magazine.metaphorosis.com/review/2016/Camber-of-Culdi-Katherine-Kurtz">Metaphorosis Reviews</a><br /><br />

Overall, I'm afraid the trilogy just doesn't live up to my memory, and even less to the strengths of the original Deryni series. Instead, it gets lost in ecclesiastical dress up and amoral, Machiavellian politics.

<strong>Camber of Culdi</strong>
<br /><br />I loved Katherine Kurtz' Deryni books when I first read them back in the seventies. Alaric Morgan and Duncan McLain rediscover ancient magics! There's a secret council! A young man finds he has secret powers! The books were great fun. In this second series, about Camber of Culdi, I liked going back to learn what the title character was really like. I recall being sorry there wasn't more about magic, but still - Camber of Culdi! Sadly, by the time the third trilogy came out, the magic was gone - almost literally. The books had devolved into purely fantasy-political stories. I kept reading, but eventually, when a book (I think <em>King Kelson's Bride)</em> came out in which <em>nothing</em> happened, I mostly gave up. Still, I remember liking the first two trilogies a lot, so I picked up this reissue of <em>Camber of Culdi</em> looking forward to re-reading an old favorite.

A long time back, while I was still enjoying the <em>Deryni</em> series, I read Ursula Le Guin's essay “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie,” in which she cruelly points out the essentially political, non-fantasy nature of the books. I saw her point, and I dislike fictional politics, but I liked these books anyway.

On this re-read, Le Guin's views came sharply back into focus. Counter to my memory, there's almost no magic in this book. Instead, it is a heavily political story about dynastic succession, with religious trappings and a hint of magic here and there for flavor. It's well written, but almost all of the writing is about things I don't care about. While I recalled Kurtz as being focused on religion, a lot of the book is what these days people would likely call ecclesiastical porn - lots of details of vestments and monasteries and priestly devotion; certainly far more than there is about magic.

[some mild spoilers below]

The books are also heavily male-centric. There are a few females involved - the evil temptress, the innocent maiden, the sympathetic friend. Granted, the books are a bit dated, but they're from the 70s, not the 30s. It's hard to set aside "if we do not support our men in their good works, what hope is there for any of us". And, of course, it's worse to kill women than men. Yes, it's a vaguely historical fantasy, but if we can have magic powers, why not independent women? Only in the bonus story - one of the best parts of the book - is there a woman who really acts for herself. The implicit condemnation of gays is less frequent, but no more palatable. That's not even touching the devoted servants who will do anything for their kind masters.

The bad guys are caricatures, and not very credible. Camber's son is very close to the cruel tyrant, but there's never any indication of why he would be - the guy is a cartoon villain, while the son is good and noble.

The book is of two minds. On the one hand, the plot machinations are to depose Deryni in favor of humans. On the other, it's clear that Deryni are special. While it's a given of the series that Deryni have special powers, Kurtz also seems to extend their special place to other issues - for example, "a thoroughness possible only for Deryni", which doesn't seem explained by their standard powers. This special place is nowhere more clear than in dealing with Cinhil - the reluctant pretender. Without really any qualms, his 'friend' and confidante waits until he trusts her, then messes with his volition - and we're meant to feel good about it.

All in all, a vastly disappointing return to the magic of yesteryear. I came into this book expecting to love it almost as much as I had before. Instead, I was mostly bored. I'd been looking forward to re-reading the first two Deryni trilogies. Now I'm a little worried about going back even to the first one.

If you want an alternate history stuffed with the ecclesiastical trappings, political machinations, and just the faintest bit of magic, this is for you. If you want a true fantasy, you may want to look elsewhere.

<strong>Saint Camber</strong>

One of the things I'd forgotten until this re-read of the serious is just how morally flexible Camber and his crew are. In the first series, Alaric and Morgan see Camber as a legendary figure who could do no wrong. While this trilogy allows for the fact that Camber's just a man, we're clearly still supposed to see him as always on the side of good and right. In fact, it becomes a little annoying just how righteous he is - at least in his own eyes and the eyes of the author. The truth is that he's astonishingly manipulative and Machiavellian. Ends, in this case, virtually always justify the means; the token protests and qualms are just that - tokens, not to be taken as serious obstacles. Even within the heavy religious layer, devotion to god takes second place to political need. It wouldn't all be so troublesome if it weren't for the fact that we're clearly meant to see all these decisions as amply justified, because Camber is on the side of <strong>Right</strong>. He warns against Deryni exploitation of vulnerable humans, even as he exploits vulnerable humans for his own goals.

There's also a much stronger fascination with clothing than I recalled. If you're not interested in a detailed description of sumptuous religious habiliments, you'll be able to skip long paragraphs.

A big appeal of the books for me was always the magic that later generations were slowly discovering. Here, in the earlier time... they're busy discovering the magic of an earlier generation. And a lot of what they find is both awfully convenient, and thinly described. A couple of warding cubes, a religious invocation, some mumbling, and you're pretty much good to go. Need a particular skill? Camber and crew are bound to discover it just in time.

Don't ruin your memory of this book by re-reading it.

<strong>Camber the Heretic</strong>

It irked me more in this book just how convenient the magic often is, and how poorly described. All we really know is that it's intent that matters, not form, but that Kurtz spends a lot of her time describing ceremony. Most of that ceremony is both religious and very similar - that is, the interesting warding cubes that in the original trilogy were so interesting still play a role - the same one. We get minor hints that they're capable of more, but somehow those different forms look just like the original. But while some acts - like warding - require careful ceremony, other, more complex acts, can be activated just by touch - or by nothing at all. There's a great deal of inconsistency. Some things just don't make sense.

We hear mention of Ancient Ones and of a group called the Airsid, but no useful detail. The further Kurtz takes the magic, the more clear it becomes that there <em>is</em> no underlying system. My guess is that she made it up as she went along originally. That worked well then, but as she dug deeper into the world, she didn't spend the effort on magic that she did on religion. It all adds up to dissatisfaction, since a number of plot points turn on the viability of magic, but there's no way to predict its success or failure. Haldane access to magic is not explained either.

The moral ambiguity of the prior books in this trilogy continues. They literally say, at one point, that it's important to let Cinhil believe he's in charge. King Cinhil, mind you. And Camber et al feel free to give orders (e.g. rounding up some Deryni) despite having no authority to do so. They're comfortable completely disrupting and redirecting the lives of others (humans especially) for their own convenience, and in service of what <em>they</em> believe to be important. Only their intimates seem to be exempt from these interventions. They complain when Cinhil makes a small decision of his own - about his own children - that makes their own deceptions harder. In short, they act just like the Deryni stereotype they're trying to fight. For example, they complain that the court has moved from a 50:50 human:Deryni ratio to one that favors humans - despite the fact that Deryni seem to be a fairly small minority in Gwynned.

The problems with magic and morals combine in this volume. While the Deryni take a free hand changing the minds and memories of low-ranked people whenever it strikes them, they're powerless to act against a handful of genocidal bigots. Why is it that those minds can't be controlled just as easily as those of underlings? Only once does anyone really speak up against this manipulation, and is then easily closed down. I'd like to believe that Kurtz was deliberately writing a novel about a sinister, Machiavellian crew, from their own point of view, but it's all too clear that we're meant to believe in the Deryni cause, and to excuse their means in favor of the ends they aim for. I couldn't do it.

The book takes a sudden turn toward brutality toward the end; a change from the somewhat sanitized violence of previous books.

In short, this trilogy disappointed me. Where I expected an exploration of Deryni magic, I got ecclesiastical habderdashery, and a morality that was not so much ambiguous as straight-out repellent. Far from rooting for persecuted Deryni, I came away thinking that none of the sides was particularly attractive. If you want your Deryni a little less goody-goody, this is the book for you.