.jpeg){kind=small}
An interesting bit of fiction, Kurtz uses this novel to introduce her world centered around Gwynedd featuring the race of Deryni characters, with their extraordinary mental powers and other abilities to use magic. The story is reasonably self-contained in itself, though, obviously, as a first in a trilogy, it leaves itself open to sequels. Kurtz's setting is gritty and realistic, one almost feels the scenes coming straight out of the Middle Ages. Her characters come across as real people, with effective chemistry between them. The plot is reasonably simple without too many twists; as much as anything, it serves to introduce Kurtz's world and characters. What perhaps stands out most of all is Kurtz's seamless ability to mix magic and Christianity. Unlike the awkward Shadowmancer series, this one finds a way to make it work within a very realistically-Christian framework. It bears remembering within real Medieval Europe that commoners practiced "magic" all the time and one of the roles of parish priests was to rule on what magic was "white" (and therefore permissible) and what was "black." The clergy in this series perform similar roles, although those who practice magic (chiefly a form of extraordinary mental powers or psionics) are racially separate from regular humans. Kurtz explores the ramifications of such a glaring racial difference and how it plays out in a society defined by power and often by violence. Kurtz's realism and this interesting racial dynamic make this book (and the whole series of Deryni books) stand out from just any ol' mass market fantasy work, though it hardly equals the works of J.R.R. Tolkien or the others fantasies at the very top of that class. Anyway, well worth reading.