Deryni Rising

Katherine Kurtz's first novel, and the first in a multi-novel Deryni series over several trilogies. A mystery of sorts; the reader knows what happened and the characters learn over time. Also fantasy (swords and sorcery).

These characters are touched on for half of the series. We get to know Kelson (coming into his own as king) and his two allies, Duncan and Alaric. There is a lot of history here; the Deryni have magical powers and these are frowned on by a powerful church.

This was the author's first novel. I understand some of the "canon" of the Deryni changed slightly after this, but it is still a good tale. I read this as a kid, and wonder how much Tim Kask used this to create Psionics for 1974's Dungeons & Dragons. I believe later novels (I'm sure I read at least 5 or 6) delve deeper into this particular kind of mind magic. I look forward to re-reading more of this series - and reading later entries that I never did at the time.