Conference noted::sf

My S.O. bought it last week, and has spent the time since then rereading the
1st trilogy, then "The Bishop's Heir," and now he's into the Camber trilogy.
Sigh...

He liked "The Bishop's Heir."  I'm going to have to reread the 1st trilogy
myself before I read it.  I'll be interested to see your review, Tracey.

						-- Nina

  As promised, a review of "The Bishop's Heir"...

  Katherine Kurtz has written two trilogies previous to theone on which she
is working now.  The first was "The Chronicles of the Deryni" consisting of
Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate, and High Deryni.  The second was "The Legends
of Saint Camber" consisting of Camber of Culdi,Saint camber, and Camber the 
Heretic.  The series deals with a society similar to Medievil England, complete
with the Church (With a Capital "C").  The one major difference is there is 
a race called the Deryni, who have special powers.  They can tell if some is
lying, they can ease fatigue in their own bodies, they can communicate mind-to-
mind with other Deryni, and a few Deryni can heal.  These trilogies follow the
lives of several deryni individuals and the changing fortunes of the Deryni
in general.  And their fortunes do change.  Even though they are very powerful,
they are a minority.  As with all powers, some who possess them will abuse.  
The more plentiful Humans tend to fear the Deryni even those who have never
done evil.  Thus the stage is set for revolutions, purges, and persecution.
   Although the Deryni Chronicles were the first written,  the Legends of Saint
Camber take place first in the internal chronolgy.  Becuase of this, I read the
Legends of Saint Camber first.  I shouldn't have done that.  Although her 
first trilogy was good,  I think that Kurtz' writing improved tremendously 
between the trilogies.  I also think that when she wrote the Camber series, she
had a better idea of how she wanted to develope and explore the Deryni powers.
Thus I was a little dissappointed when I went on to read the first trilogy.  
It suffered at little in comparison to the depth and richness of the second
trilogy.  Although I liked the characters in the Chronicles, I couldn't get 
as involved with them as I wanted.  I am pleased to say that Kurtz' has gone
back to the characters of the first trilogy and brought to life.  They are 
every bit and gripping as the characters in the Camber triology.  I can't say 
how happy I am with this book.  I was afraid that it would not be able to live
up to my expectations.  it has and more.  Kurtz' characters are involving,
believable in motivation, and so varied!  I really feel that there is enough
material here for another trilogy.  She brings in wonderful plot twists.
(You will LOVE it when you finally find out where the title comes in!)  One
of the things that makes Kurtz' work so gripping is that she takes risks with
her characters.  She lets them grow, and change (not always in pleasant ways), 
and sometimes die.  It's rare that an author we'll kill off a main character,
 but it makes the risks to the other characters more real.  One of the scenes 
that moved me more than any other scene I have ever read, was the death of one
of the characters in the Camber series.  I was absolutely devastated!  There
was such a sense of loss, of waste of potential.  It felt as if someone I knew
had died.  
   I don't want to say much about the book itself because I don't want to spoil
it for those who are going to read.  My opinion of it can be summed up in one
sentence.  Sunday, I read about 200 pages of it, hurrying to get to the end to
see what would happen but dragging my feet because I didn't want it to end.
If you liked Kurtz' other works , you will like this.  Gotta go now, I'm 
starting to read the Camber Series again.

tlh

re:.2

I was not impressed with the first trilogy. It's been a few years since
I have read the first trilogy so I can't go into details of what I
didn't like, but one thing I seem to remember was a feeling of being let
down. Kurtz builds up to a climax, and I remember being disappointed with
the climax. 

If you say her writing has improved then maybe I'll read the second
trilogy. 


MartyJ

	I joined the SF Book Club, and the first book they sent me was
	St. Camber - I read it stand-alone, and didn't get much out of it.
	Perhaps I'll complete the set and try again...

	I just finished "The Bishop's heir".  Wow!  I agree with just about
everything in .2.  I don't know how, or why, but Kurtz's work affects me like
nothing else I've ever read.  The first trilogy was mediocre, but the second
was unbelievable.  This one promisses to be just as good, if not better.  With
every other book I've read, I've always been able to remain detached.  Not so
with Kurtz's works.  Her characters are so involving that they seem real, and
I feel very strongly for them.  It has taken me several hours to get over the
ending to "Bishop's Heir".
	In the 'about the author' section (the one in the book, not the fly),
they mention several short stories set in the Deryni universe.  Does anyone
know anything about these.  I would very much like to read them.

=ME=

  That reminds me...  In the front where they have the other books listed,
the is the title Lammas Night.  Has anyone ever heard of this?  I always keep
a look-out for Kurtz' work and I've never seen this one.

tlh

	I haven't seen it, but I plan to check the bookstore tonight.  It
is probably not kept in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section, as it is set
in WW II, and partly based on actual events, if the description in Bishop's
Heir is accurate.

=ME=

I found my copy in the SF section of a Walden's bookstore.

It was enjoyable.  Good characterization and a more earthy, druidic
view of magic than one usually sees.  I thought the mix of historical
and fictional events were blended well.

						John

LAMMAS NIGHT, if I can recall, is basicly a Hitler-occult-conspiracy novel,
at least based upon the blurbs on the book (correct me if I'm wrong, John).

As to Deryni short stories, let's see, in order of publication....

(1) "Swords Against the Marluk"
	FLASHING SWORDS #4 (ed. by Lin Carter), Dell Books & SF Book Club, 1977

(2) "Bethane"
	HECATE'S CAULDRON (ed. by Susan Shwartz), DAW Books, 1982

(3) "Healer's Song"
	FANTASY BOOK, August 1982	[revised from its first appearance
					in a Darkover Convention Program Book]

(4) "Legacy"
	FANTASY BOOK, February 1983	[also first appeared as above]


There was also an excerpt from CAMBER THE HERETIC in FANTASY BOOK,
	December 1981.

These are all the ones I know of so far.


--- jerry

>LAMMAS NIGHT, if I can recall, is basicly a Hitler-occult-conspiracy novel,
>at least based upon the blurbs on the book (correct me if I'm wrong, John).


	I am currently reading Lammas Night.  (3/4 done)  Basic plot :
MI.6 trying to convene a grand coven to distract Hitler from invading
England.  Interesting....  sparked my interest to learn more of Wicca.


	But....  
		I saw the first book int the _FOURTH_ Deryni series...

?????  Mumblefrats "Archbishop"... Gwynedd ???


That's all I remember of the name. (Gwynedd _is_ right) Has anyone seen this.  
Is it in paperback?  I saw the hardbound in Worcester (Mass) 2 months ago
but $17.95 is steep.

    
    Considering that The Harrowing of Gwynedd just emerged in hardcover
    earlier this year, I don't expect a paperback for quite some time.
    
    DFW

    The Harrowing of Gwynedd is now out in Paperback.  I picked up a copy
    in the Book Stop yesterday.

    
    Has anyone heard about the next Book "Javen's Year"?  It's been a
    while since Harrowing of Gwynedd.
    
    -Steve