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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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"Kevin! Kevin!"
Kevin had not had time to
go far. Hearing Bronwyn’s terrified scream, he raced back
down the corridor and flung himself at the door. It gave without
resistance and he staggered into the room—halted in horror
at what he saw.
Bronwyn had sunk to her knees
beside the dresser, fingers white-knuckled against the edge of
the dark-stained top. The object of her terrified gaze was a
strange blue crystal that glowed and pulsated among the jewels
and trinkets on the dresser. And as Kevin watched, she reached
slowly toward the thing to touch it, her lips moving in a silent
repetition of Kevin’s name.
Kevin acted. With a wordless
cry, and without further thought than the need to get the crystal
away from his beloved, Kevin shoved her aside and scooped the
thing off the dresser with both hands, intending to fling it
through the open terrace doors and out of range.
It was not to be. The spell
had been ill-set to start, and never for the likes of a human
lord like Kevin—indeed, the more deadly for that. As Kevin
lifted the crystal he froze in mid-motion, a terrible expression
of fear and pain washing across his features. In that same instant
Bronwyn realized what he had done and tried to wrest the crystal
from him, hoping that her Deryni blood would at least afford
partial immunity where Kevin had none. But she, too, was transfixed
as she touched him, the crystal beginning to pulsate wildly with
their dual heartbeats.
Then both were engulfed in
a flash of harsh white light which illuminated the entire room.
It seared the carpets and the very air with its brilliance, cutting
off the screams which reverberated through the palace as the
white light faded.
And then there was silence.
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Synopsis |
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Morgan, the half Deryni, is to
be taken prisoner by the church so that he can renounce his heritage.
His cousin, Monsignor Duncan McLain, rides to Coroth to warn
Morgan of this and also that the church may also impose an Interdict,
wherein all of the people in the Duchy of Coroth will no longer
have church support and will not be blessed upon death until
Morgan is handed over.
Bronwyn, Morgan’s sister, is engaged
to Kevin, a lord in his own right, and are to be married in a
few days. Little does she know that she has a secret admirer
who will do anything to possess her. Duncan has his first visit
from Camber of Culdi and he is warned that the time will soon
come when he has to choose between the church and his Deryni
blood. Warin is on the warpath and is hunting down all Deryni
under the blessing of the church, and displaying powers of healing
that he says are a gift form God. But could the man that is hunting
Deryni also be one of the same?
Deryni Checkmate is the second book of The
Chronicles of the Deryni trilogy.
There is debate about which
series should be read first, either this one or The Legends of
Camber of Culdi trilogy, which take place 300 years before this
story, or this one. According to the author, the books should
be read in the order that they were originally published.
This
is a fantasy tale about a man who must avoid being prosecuted
because of his blood, and also stop a war from brewing. The church
firmly believes that all Deryni must renounce their heritage
and swear to never use magic again. Their main target is Morgan,
but they also focus on Duncan once they learn that he is also
Deryni. And what of King Kelson, who is also half Deryni? Will
he be next?
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Review |
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I really loved the first book
in this trilogy. The first half of this book seemed very
slow and a little bit of a grind to read. New characters are
introduced, like Morgan’s sister Bronwyn, who you really
fall for. The action is really lacking and the story doesn’t
seem to move along very quickly. About halfway through the book,
the plot starts to thicken and the story picks up a little speed.
By the end of the book I was gobbling up the words anxious to
find out what was going to happen, and shocked by one event that
I did not see coming. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I was
expecting more of the storyline to center on Kelson, the main
character in the first book. I kept waiting, and waiting, and
waiting…but it never happened. Maybe that’s why it
seemed a little slow to me.
I got a little lost in everything
that was going on in the first 100 pages and was never quite
sure who everyone was and what exactly they were doing. But it
all kind of works itself out in the end and it turned out to
be a pretty good book.
Deryni Checkmate does end leaving you hanging
with a burning desire to find out what is going to happen in
the conclusion of the trilogy.
I rated this book an 8 out of
10. |
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