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Book Details

High Deryni

73.3% complete
Copyright © 1973 by Katherine Kurtz
1973
Fantasy
Unknown
Never (or unknown...)
See 27
I - Abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is death. Lamentations 1:20
II - Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Isaiah 1:23
III - He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Isaiah 33:16
IV - And I will give thee the treasure of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places. Isaiah 45:3
V - Behold the great priest, who in his days pleased God. Ecclesiasticus 44:16,20
VI - The words of the wise and their dark sayings.
VII - Many things beyond human understanding have been revealed to thee. Ecclesiastes 3:25
VIII - Make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday. Isaiah 16:3
IX - Mine own conscience is more to me than what the world says. Cicero
X - I form the light, and create darkness. Psalms 45:7
XI - The tents of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure. Job 12:6
XII - Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Psalms 22:11
XIII - And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee. Isaiah 29:3
XIV - Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth. Isaiah 42:1
XV - Curse not the king, no not even in thy thought. Ecclesiastes 10:20
XVI - You have probed me, and you know me. Psalms 139:1
XVII - And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far. Isaiah 5:26
XVIII - Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Psalms 41:9
XIX - They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? Psalms 64:5
XX - The Lord hath delivered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand. Lamentations 1:14
XXI - He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men. Lamentations 1:15
XXII - They shall hold the bow and the lance; they are cruel, and will not show mercy; their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, everyone put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee. Jeremiah 50:42
XXIII - And I will bind up that which was broken, and I will strengthen that which was weak. Ezekiel 34:16
XXIV - Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil into this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. II Kings 22:16
XXV - Thou art a priest forever. Psalms 110:4
XXVI - It is he that sitteth above the circle of the earth. Isaiah 40:22
XXVII - It is oftimes a bitter lesson, to be a man. Saint Camber of Culdi
Book Cover
Has a genre Has an extract Has a year read In my library Want to read In a series 
2411
For MARGARET FRANCES CARTER:
because every mother
with an offspring who writes
should have a book from her Author-Child.
The name they had given the boy was Royston - Royston Richardson, after his father - and the dagger he clutched to fearfully in the deepening twilight was not his own.
May contain spoilers
But the crown lay heavily that day upon the Heir of Haldane.
No comments on file
Extract (may contain spoilers)
Early in the evening of that same day, another pair discussed the fate of the renegade Deryni.  The speakers were prelates, self-exiled members of that same Gwynedd Curia mentioned by Wencit with such derision earlier in the day.  These same prelates had been largely responsible for the schism which now split Gwynedd's clergy along diverging lines.

Thomas Cardiel, in whose private chapel the two spoke, had never been thought to be a likely candidate for rebellion.  Holder of the prestigious See of Dhassa for nearly half a decade, and but a year past his fortieth birthday, he had never expected to become a leader in the events which had taken place two months before.  When he was consecrated bishop, he had been a seasoned if youthful cleric of steady disposition and unimpeachable loyalty to the Church he served, eminently suited for the neutral role traditionally played by the Bishop of Dhassa.

Nor had his colleague, Denis Arilan, dreamed where the covocation of two months prior would lead.  At thirty-eight, Gwynedd's youngest bishop had begun to carve out an imposing niche for himself from the time he first entered the seminary.  But now, unless events changed drastically for the better, neither he nor Cardiel was likely to advance far beyond this point.  Indeed, they would be fortunate to survive the coming weeks with their lives.

According to the Gwynedd Curia, Cardiel and Arilan's sins were great.  For they and four of their colleagues had defied the Curia of Gwynedd in open Synod, declaring their intention to split the Curia if the contemplated Interdict of Corwyn was not abandoned.

But the Interdict was not abandoned.  Archbishop Loris having already decided to force the issue through, had called the Six's bluff.  And now Gwynedd supported two Curias: the Six in Dhassa, who had expelled Loris and his followers from the city's gates; and the Eleven in Coroth, Morgan's captured capital, who sided with the rebel Warin de Grey and claimed to retain the true authority of the Church.  Reconciliation, if it could be reached at all, would not be an easy matter.

Cardiel strode back and forth agitatedly before the altar rail of the tiny chapel, reading and re-reading a sheet of creased parchment.  He shook his steel-grey head uncomprehendingly as his eyes scanned the text, releasing a perplexed sigh as he skipped to the top of the page again.  His companion, Arilan, sat seemingly at ease as he watched from incessant front pew, his own tension betrayed only by the incessant drumming of his fingertips on the back of the seat.  Cardiel shook his head and rubbed a hand against his chin, sighing once more.  A dark amethyst winked on his right hand as it caught the dim candlelight.

"It just doesn't make any sense, Denis," Cardiel was saying.  "How could Corwyners have turned on Prince Nigel, of all people?  Has this taint which has touched Nelson also stained his uncle?  Nigel is no Deryni."

Arilan stopped his finger-drumming long enough to gesture helplessly, then realized what he had been doing and forced himself to stop.  He, too, had been chagrined at the news of the rout at Jennan Vale two days earlier, but his keen mind was already turning over all the known aspects of the situation, trying to piece together some plan of action.  He ran a restless hand across his dark hair and swept off his violet silk skull cap, then fingered the object briefly before dropping it to the seat beside him.  Violet glittered on his hand and on the heavy silver pectoral cross as he folded his arms across his chest.

 

Added: 06-Aug-2019
Last Updated: 15-May-2025

Publications

 01-Nov-1974
Ballantine Books
Mass Market Paperback
In my libraryOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Nov-1974
Format:
Mass Market Paperback
Cover Price:
$1.50
Pages*:
369
Internal ID:
2128
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-345-24497-4
ISBN-13:
978-0-345-24497-0
Printing:
2
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Credits:
Alan Mardon  - Cover Artist
"IT'S CLEAR THAT KATHERINE KURTZ IS A
GREAT NEW TALENT IN THE FIELD OF FANTASY.
THE BOOKS HAVE THE PROMISE OF
TOLKIEN OR EDDISON..."
- Bestsellers


With young King Kelson on the hrone of Gwynedd, the priesthood of the Eleven Kingdoms feels its control deeply threatened, for Kelson is half-Deryni - part of the race of humans gifted with extrasensory powers, a race that ruled two centuries earlier, but was dethroned and driven underground.  So, the battle for final power is about to break into open conflict, led by the Church which equates the supernatural powers of the Deryni with witchcraft and heresy!
Cover:
Book CoverBook Back CoverBook Spine
Notes and Comments:
First Printing: September 1973
Second Printing: November 1974

Includes:
Appendix I: Index of Characters
Appendix II: Index to Place Names
Appendix III: Time Line for History of the Eleven Kingdoms
Appendix IV: The Genetic Basis for Deryni Inheritance

Other book covers for this series run

Image File
01-Nov-1974
Ballantine Books
Mass Market Paperback

Related

Author(s)

Awards

1974Mythopoeic SocietyMythopoeic Award Nominee
*
  • I try to maintain page numbers for audiobooks even though obviously there aren't any. I do this to keep track of pages read and I try to use the Kindle version page numbers for this.
  • Synopses marked with an asterisk (*) were generated by an AI. There aren't a lot since this is an iffy way to do it - AI seems to make stuff up.
  • When specific publication dates are unknown (ie prefixed with a "Cir"), I try to get the publication date that is closest to the specific printing that I can.
  • When listing chapters, I only list chapters relevant to the story. I will usually leave off Author Notes, Indices, Acknowledgements, etc unless they are relevant to the story or the book is non-fiction.
  • Page numbers on this site are for the end of the main story. I normally do not include appendices, extra material, and other miscellaneous stuff at the end of the book in the page count.






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