King Kelson's Bride (Paperback)

They do not, but with Rothana's help, Kelson finds the perfect wife and queen for him in his kinswoman, Princess Araxie Haldane. He is at first reluctant to marry Araxie, still believing himself to be in love with Rothana, but comes to appreciate her gradually for her intelligence and for her grace and spirit. The novel is less about the question of WHO the bride will be than it is about the way her and Kelson's relationship develops through the novel.

The other major plot thread in King Kelson's Bride is King Liam-Lajos' restoration to the throne of Torenth over the protests of his uncles, Mahael and Teymuraz. As the author herself has pointed out, "things are different in Torenth" and indeed they are. And very colorful and exotic, too. I very much enjoyed spending some time there in this novel as it is the first time that Ms. Kurtz has allowed us to have a visit that lasted more than a few pages. And we meet some new characters, the most intriguing of which is Count Matyas, King Liam's third Furstan uncle. Is he Mahael's brother first, or is he Liam's loyal uncle? Readers may be assured that there is plenty of danger, treachery and magic afoot on the day of Liam's enthronement.

We also have the chance to visit the Ile d'Orsal for the first time. The court of the Hort of Orsal has been mentioned in previous Deryni novels, but we the readers have never seen it until now. And while Kelson is abroad, back in Rhemuth his mother Queen Jehana undergoes a sea change regarding her attitude towards herself and her Deryni powers with the help of two very diverse allies. And no I won't tell you who -- read the book!

I do have a few quibbles with the novel, but nothing that an additional hundred pages of text wouldn't have fixed. It is simply too short, and I wanted more of everything. I would especially have liked to see more interaction between all the main characters of the Kelson timeline, Alaric Morgan, Dhugal and particularly Duncan who has always been a favorite of mine. And the final chapter dealing with Kelson and Araxie's wedding and her coronation was FAR too brief to satisfy me. Readers new to the Deryni series may find that as an introduction to the Deryni Series, this novel is a little like coming in on Act V of a Shakespeare play. The story is still compelling, but there are a great many new people to meet, most of whom bring their own histories and motivations to the tale. But there is a happy solution to any confusion this may bring: Read the rest of the Deryni books! Your perseverance will be rewarded by many happy hours reading excellent fantasy literature.

For those who have not read any of the previous Deryni novels, the Deryni are a race with magical powers living in a world similar to medieval Britain. There is a history of bad relations between Deryni and humans, and for the two centuries before Kelson's time, Deryni have been a persecuted minority in Kelson's kingdom of Gwynedd. But Kelson is half-Deryni himself.

But in this novel, unlike all previous ones, there is next to no human-Deryni conflict. To all appearance, Gwynedd has accepted the gradual reemergence of Deryni. The conflict in the story arises from Kelson's visit to the former enemy (and Deryni-ruled) kingdom of Torenth - with influential Torenthis still determined to destroy both him and Lajos, the present king of Torenth. And even that conflict is less important to the novel than almost any previous ones in the series.

In fact, the main conflicts of the novel are internal personal ones - including Kelson's reluctance to seek a third potential bride after two failures in previous novels, his mother Jehana's continued distrust of Deryni powers (including her own). By the end of the novel, Kelson is married and the reader is convinced that the marriage will indeed be a happy one - but this particular storyline could have done with some extra development.

Still, the book generally reads well and answers a number of questions that Deryni fans have been asking for years. Newcomers to the series may find the many references to previous novels somewhat confusing - but the best answer to that is the rewarding task of reading the previous novels.

In this story nothing much happens. It starts with a discussion of all the prospective brides for King Kelson. This discussion is repeated about 6 or 7 times throughout the book. Then there are discussions about other peoples marriage plans, about how to restore Conal's two (one legitimate, one not) children to their rightful place in court and who will receive which noble title. This too is told again and again. Repetition!

It seems that Ms. Kurtz wanted to have a happy conclusion for everybody. Liam, the 14-year-old prince of Torenth is returned to his country to become king despite his plotting brothers and Kelson comes round to the ides that he will love the woman whom he is going to marry. That is the whole story! Boring!

All the goodies survive (most unusual for K. Kurtz) and all the badies die, save one. I suppose this is just in case Ms. Kurtz decides to write another novel. If she does, she must try a good deal harder. If I were to rate her previous books, I would give them each 4 or 5 stars. One is enough for this one.

Only devout Deryni fans will manage to finish reading this book. Moreover, knowing how fascinating her previous stories were, they will be even more disappointed because it is so repetitious and boring!