2008-02-20 Disappointing

I love the early Deryni novels, and would recommend them to all fantasy readers as well worth the time to seek out and enjoy. Unfortunately I have found the last couple of offerings to be far below the high standards of their predecessors.

For me, Childe Morgan lacked excitement - there was very little action and virtually no exploration of the Deryni magic that has been the theme of so many of Katherine Kurtz's novels. Rather than an engaging tale of magical fantasy, the novel seemed more like an academic exercise in showing a detailed account of how life was lived in the middle ages. Though I am sure that the detail was historically accurate, the story suffered as a result. Aside from filling in some of the gaps left between previous novels, I do not believe that this one was really worth the read.

I can only hope that future Deryni novels return to the heights of the earlier works.