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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Middle ages meets magic, 15 Jan 2003
By A Customer
A wonderful blend of medieval knighthood and gallantry, with magic. The earliest book of the Deryni series, giving the tale of the downfall of the Furstan rulers and reinstatement of the Haldane lines which runs through all the later books by Katherine Kurtz. Highly enjoyable, but perhaps not as a first book, read the Kelson series first (Deryni Rising,etc). More please.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magic & politics realised by detail of character and setting, 19 Nov 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Camber of Culdi (Paperback)
After a fairly typical fantasy beginning Katherine Kurtz develops this into a gripping and enjoyable read primarily through the strength of her characterisation. Despite the title, no one character is exclusively developed at the expense of the others; rather we see a range of personalities (though the baddies are a bit more 2-dimensional than our heroes). The physical detail of the author's description is also one of the great pleasures of this book. The construction of her pseudo-Mediaeval world is perhaps not hugely original in concept but is nonetheless well-realised, and will be further so in subsequent books. Definitely a feel-good book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Historical Fantasy, 12 Dec 2009
Two hundreds years before King Kelson, the Festillic kings ruled. Corrupt and twisted, they've controlled Gwynedd for a century after massacring the rightful Haldane dynasty. But the massacre was incomplete and the grandson of a Haldane lives. He's a monk and unsuited to either a warrior or a regal life and so the cleric Camber must convince him to choose a different path for the sake of the land.
The feeling of a genuine period of early medieval history being detailed that is to be found in most of Kurtz's writing is displayed well here. You may know the conclusion to the story from the volumes that are set later on in the timeline, but despite that there's still new avenues and surprises. I'm guessing that Camber is the author's favourite, as she gives him more importance and influence than any other character in the saga. So, by knowing what will happen to him, his role as the lead in a trilogy seems at first to be odd, but the solution is elegant.
Although the charismatic Camber leads, the unsuitable Haldane heir also shines. He is both restricted by and ruined by his responsibilities. He wants to devote time to the ecclesiastical life to which he is more suited, but he must do what is necessary, whatever the pain he will suffer. Aside from the characters, it is the sense of history that most empowers this series, as the changes set in motion by Camber are corrupted by people who are less worthy. For me this is the strongest of the trilogies.
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