Book Review: Camber of Culdi
After The Lord of the Rings, there are several fantasies that had a profound impact on me as a teenager. One of my favorites is Katherine Kurtz’s Deryni series, a collection of five interlocking trilogies that take place in a medieval setting. The land of Gwynedd definitely has a British feel to it, what with its Protestant high church and the royal court. Overall, the series reads more like historical fiction than rousing fantasy adventure.
As a race, the Deryni have moderate magical abilities, such as extrasensory perception and in some cases healing skills. Because of these powers, nonmagical humans tend to be distrustful of Deryni. It’s in this pervasive uneasiness that most of the plots unfold.
Camber of Culdi is the first volume of The Legends of Camber of Culdi trilogy, chronologically the first part of the overall history, though it is the fourth novel that Kurtz wrote. It follows the efforts of the earl Camber and his family to restore the human Haldane line of kings in the face of the tyrannous reign of King Imre, a Deryni.
Camber’s son Joram and son-in-law Rhys discover the last living descendant of the Haldane line, and they intend to restore him to the throne. The only problem is that Prince Cinhil is a cloistered monk who has no interest in the material world. How do you convince someone to forsake their vow to God in order to become a king?
Kurtz is not interested in spectacular swordfights. She is more interested in the emotional challenges her characters face in terms of racist tension. Neither humans nor Deryni fully trust one another. Some humans claim the magical powers of the Deryni must come from the devil, whereas some Deryni consider nonmagical folk as something less than human.
When I read the series as a teenager, I was often frustrated that Prince Cinhil was so reluctant to be released from his religious vows and to become king. He struck me as a morose stick-in-the-mud. After all, he was being advised by the magnificent Camber of Culdi, a Deryni mystic who was focusing on the greater good. In other words, how could Prince Cinhil remain cloistered when he knows that there is a tyrant murdering innocent people?
Katherine KurtzBut when I read the book recently, I picked up on the moral ambiguity that Kurtz is most fascinated with. Neither humans nor Deryni are angels. Some are more ethical than others, and certainly many characters act admirably. But there are shades of gray throughout the entire Deryni series. And that is what makes the stories so compelling.
By today’s standards, Camber of Culdi may seem a bit dry. But I encourage readers to persevere, because what comes in the second volume (Saint Camber) and the third volume (Camber the Heretic) are worth it. Kurtz’s storytelling abilities keep getting better and better through each subsequent volume.
One of my reading challenges this year is to make my way through all five trilogies and one stand-alone novel. It’s fun to rediscover these works.
As a race, the Deryni have moderate magical abilities, such as extrasensory perception and in some cases healing skills. Because of these powers, nonmagical humans tend to be distrustful of Deryni. It’s in this pervasive uneasiness that most of the plots unfold.
Camber of Culdi is the first volume of The Legends of Camber of Culdi trilogy, chronologically the first part of the overall history, though it is the fourth novel that Kurtz wrote. It follows the efforts of the earl Camber and his family to restore the human Haldane line of kings in the face of the tyrannous reign of King Imre, a Deryni.
Camber’s son Joram and son-in-law Rhys discover the last living descendant of the Haldane line, and they intend to restore him to the throne. The only problem is that Prince Cinhil is a cloistered monk who has no interest in the material world. How do you convince someone to forsake their vow to God in order to become a king?Kurtz is not interested in spectacular swordfights. She is more interested in the emotional challenges her characters face in terms of racist tension. Neither humans nor Deryni fully trust one another. Some humans claim the magical powers of the Deryni must come from the devil, whereas some Deryni consider nonmagical folk as something less than human.
When I read the series as a teenager, I was often frustrated that Prince Cinhil was so reluctant to be released from his religious vows and to become king. He struck me as a morose stick-in-the-mud. After all, he was being advised by the magnificent Camber of Culdi, a Deryni mystic who was focusing on the greater good. In other words, how could Prince Cinhil remain cloistered when he knows that there is a tyrant murdering innocent people?
Katherine KurtzBut when I read the book recently, I picked up on the moral ambiguity that Kurtz is most fascinated with. Neither humans nor Deryni are angels. Some are more ethical than others, and certainly many characters act admirably. But there are shades of gray throughout the entire Deryni series. And that is what makes the stories so compelling.By today’s standards, Camber of Culdi may seem a bit dry. But I encourage readers to persevere, because what comes in the second volume (Saint Camber) and the third volume (Camber the Heretic) are worth it. Kurtz’s storytelling abilities keep getting better and better through each subsequent volume.
One of my reading challenges this year is to make my way through all five trilogies and one stand-alone novel. It’s fun to rediscover these works.
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