Customer Reviews (5)

This is the book that if you're a fan of the Deryni...
So it came out suddenly. So it vanished even more quickly, devoured and hoarded by eager fans. It's worth it, look for it when it comes out in paper (oh speed the day!). Herein you will find tantilizing hints, clues and nibbles that make even more of the novels seem that much more elusive and alluring. Trivia, puns, hidden clues and more await those not put off by the encyclopediac listings and beautifully detailed maps. A Baedeker for the Eleven Kingdoms...

The Codex Derynianus is the Sine Qua Non of Deryni fandom.
The Codex Derynianus is an encyclopedic guide to the world of the Deryni and the XI Kingdoms, but it is far more than that. It is funny, informative, and gives Deryni fans important information about the Kingdomof Torenth and the Royal House of Furstan that has not been brought tolight before. Ditto with Meara, the Forcinn states and the lands to theSouth and East of Gwynedd proper. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to own acopy.

A MUST for any traveller to the XI Kingdoms
This book is THE guide for the traveller in the XI Kingdoms.If one has read all the other books with the Deryni Canon.Codex is a required addition to the library.

This book is a MUST for any fan of the Deryni Universe!!!!
Codex is a valuable resource into the world of the Deryni.It's measuresof dates, places and peoples provide all the necessary means in which tofully become part of the ongoing Saga of the Deryni. I will never bewithout it.

Reference for serious fans
The _Codex_ is a densely-written compendium, covering the people and places from not only the four trilogies (and several isolated books) of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni world, but also the "historical" gaps between and behind those stories. While narratives may be constructed by those willing to thread through cross-linked entries, this book is primarily a reference work: probably not for the casual reader, and almost certainly not for those who have never read any of Kurtz's books before.

Still, for those who have, this book is a nearly invaluable guide. IMHO, it is somewhat compromised by its high price, low print run, and lack of an index or interior illustrations, but most of these factors should be mitigated once the softcover edition is printed in 1999 or so. Similarly, several minor errata have slipped into initial publication, but these are expected to be corrected for paperback, assuming those entries aren't edited out on the journey across publishers and formats. ... Read more

Product Description
The mysterious military order of the Knights Templar was founded during the time of the crusades. A group of French knights, they vowed to protect pilgrims on their journeys to the Holy Land. What were the truths of the Knights Templar? What were the secrets of their initiation ceremonies? And what kind of extraordinary adventures did they share? In this spectacular collection, some of today's leading fantasists will share their vision of the lives of these intriguing crusaders.Amazon.com Review
Katherine Kurtz has collected eleven original stories based onthe legendary Knights Templar in a book that serves as a sequel to herearlier collection, Tales of the KnightsTemplar. The stories, written by such authors as Andre Norton,Diane Duaneand Kurtz herself, are separated by interludes that chronicle theactual history of the Templars and that also set the background foreach successive tale. As with most collections, the stories varywidely from about average to pretty good.What's most compelling hereis the Templars themselves, a mysterious order of knights founded inthe late 11th century, ostensibly to protect pilgrims in and aroundJerusalem. But the Templars grew to become one of the most powerfulpolitical and religious orders in the world, only to be brought downby a jealous King Philip IV of France. In the aftermath of theirdestruction, tales and legends that persist today sprang up around theTemplars, creating fertile ground for Kurtz's band of imaginativestorytellers. --Craig Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

More Tales of Pure Knights
_The author's _On Crusade_ is my favorite single volume on the subject of the Knights Templar- and this volume is a worthy successor. Like the original it combines both fact and myth in an a blend that comes across exactly right. The introduction,as well as, the "interludes" between stories, are an excellent, readable history of the order, while the stories themselves cover the mythology and legend from many differing perspectives- from the founding of the order, to the present day, to the far future.

_You get an good overall sense of what the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (later, the Knights of the Temple) were really all about. These were men from all over Christiandom (and perhaps beyond) who were pledged to protect pilgrims and holy places with their lives and honor. The took a vow of absolute poverty- individual knights owned nothing. Any wealth the order amassed was put to the purpose of the protection of pilgrims- and later, all of the Christiandom. A measure of their success at fulfilling their original purpose lies in the fact that, from humble pilgrims to kings, all knew that they could trust their lives, as well as, their last penny to the Templars. Even the infidels knew that Templars were honorable men, for they neither asked for, nor accepted ransom, nor would they retreat in battle (unless out-numbered by at least three-to-one, and even then only under direct orders.) It is said that even the famed Assassins feared and payed tribute to the Templars.

_Are the Templars still among us?

Exciting, puts you right in the action.
A collection of very good writing styles. Believable. Exciting. Excellent escapist work, lets you get away from the daily grind and live in the adventure of the Middle Ages.

Fill your night with more Tales of the Knights
The Knights Templar have proven to be a durable subject of historic fascination and literary speculation for more than 700 years since their alleged end. These elite warrior-priests, answerable only to the Pope, amassed wealth, knowledge and power through their Crusades in the Holy Lands.

ON CRUSADE tells eleven new tales, mostly fantasy, based on the exploits and actions of the Knights Templar. It continues the explorations began in TALES OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR, and shows both the humanity, and inhumanity of soldiers who straddled the hyposcrisy of being warriors for Christianity. The individual tales are wonderful dips into the waters of literary talents both new and old. Highly Recommended ... Read more

Product Description
Adam Sinclair, the Adept, must locate the stolen Seal of Solomon-an artifact under the care of the Knights Templar-before dangerous forces unleash the demons the seal has kept bound for centuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Bland Adept
The Adept series started with some promise but quickly slipped into a bland ensemble of "very good" endlessly resourceful heroes without a flaw "fighting" against "very bad" unredemable villians. The occult aspects of the novels read as tiresome padding. Basically a low budget Saturday B movie. I threw my copy of this book away.

Still More Quaint Ol' Occult Detective Stuff
THE TEMPLAR TREASURE is the third of THE ADEPT novels. The best written book in the series, it is also somewhat like a prodigal son, having a storyline and plot totally divorced from the rest of the books.

Rather than doing battle with The Lodge of the Lynx as in the rest of the series, Sir Adam and his associates are faced with a renegade French archaeologist and occultist, Henri Gerard, who has discovered the secret of King Solomon's treasures and is on a mad quest to recover them and the wealth and power he believes they represent.

Kurtz and Harris are indefatigable here in providing literally chapters' worth of lore about the Knights Templar and their connections to historic Scotland, as well as finally defining the occult traditions of their protagonists.

THE TEMPLAR TREASURE is spiced with some really intriguing medium/seance/reincarnation scenes that seem entirely plausible within the scope of the novel.

Best of all, Kurtz has "borrowed" General Sir John Cathal Graham from her wonderful novel LAMMAS NIGHT. Gray Graham brings a whole nuanced texture to THE TEMPLAR TREASURE which makes it unique in the ADEPT series. It's clear Kurtz adores the character of Graham and his scenes make up some of the best writing in the book.

The scene descriptions are detailed without being heavy-handed. Sir Adam, Peregrine and Inspector McLeod seem to have settled into an easy camaraderie. The stilted "drawing-room" tone of the first two ADEPT novels is muted, and the characters all exhibit a certain dry wit and a sense of poking fun at themselves throughout that makes THE TEMPLAR TREASURE a minor gem.

Give this novel FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS and a chance to grow on you.

They know Magick but I'd like some realistic characters
I just finished this in the Adept series, and plan to read 'em all.I am SO at polar odds about these books, though. Kurtz and Turner REALLY know their stuff about cerimonial magick, the Knights Templar, Fae folk, Reincarnation and the Quabbalah-just for starts! That they so seemlessly weave it into a rousing adventure is enough to make me keep on(I cant wait to read #4, Dagger Magic where they will hopefully make good the promise in Lodge of the Lynx that Hitler was a black magician)But WHY are the characters so shallow!?!Peregrine is never described as any more then "blond and owl eyed" Adam has "distinguished greying temples" and drives a Jag. FORGET about any female characters, except for Adams mother they are convienent background material. I find it almost hard to care about these people, but the elegant and descriptive writing, the lushious depections of castles, magickal artifacts and the most beautiful mansions you ever wished you lived in PLUS the AUTHENTIC (And so rare to me)weaving of real magick and lore into the plot will keep me reading anyway. Better then most fantasy fiction. And I hear their new Knights Templar series is better.

A fascinating blend of fantasy and history
Suspend your logic for a trip into a magical world with The Adept series. Yes, Kurtz and Harris make good use of just enough historical fact to maintain plausibility, while adding a good dose of fantastical magic for a wonderful read. While The TemplarTreasure may not contain enough fact for fans of that bygone order, it does contain some reasonably accurate description of Qabalistic ritual. I am certain that either Kurtz or Harris are familiar enough with the Golden Dawn tradition to have fashioned their psychic detective in similar tradition. A delightful read.

Good mix of historical fact and fantasy
Having renewed my interest in fantasy/sci-fi book reading just recently, i came across this book at a second hand bookshop. Being familiar with the author's past works, i expected the same Knight/Chivalry stuff from theauthor with the added magic/sorcery mix added. The book was a good read.The mix of historical fact and fictional elements were very interesting andmade me very interested about the stories of the Templar Knights andScottish history.

However it wasn't a perfect book with the ending alittle too predictable. ... Read more

Product Description
Evil times had come for rthe Deryni, the humans with strange, magical powers. The Regents of the boy-king Alroy sought their destruction. And now Bishop Alister Cullen was dead, depriving the Deryni of their greatest friend. But no one could be sure he was really dead. His body lay unchanged and incorruptible. As those questions remained unanswered, the effort to save Deryni had to continue. In the meanwhile, Camber's daughter Evaine pursued the most perilous quest of all--to find among ancient foribidden scrolls the spell that might release Camber. The price to fail--or to succeed--was unthinkable.....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

More to come?
This was an excellent book.I hope that this won't be the end of this generation of characters in the Deryni series.All of Ms. Kurtz novels feature main characters of strong moral value, and this is not an exception.This is a novel full of the usual well written and thought out scenes, and strong charaters.It is, as are of her Ms. Kurtz books enjoyable and believable.It has a good number of surprises as well, and it's own fair share of suspense and intrigue.The charaters struggle and risk all they have for what the feel is the greater good.They stop at nothing to do what is right, and accomplish it while attempting to hurt as few others along the way as possible.this is a page turner of a book.It won't dissapoint.

One of the better of the Deryni series
I have mixed feelings about the Deryni series.At it's best it is very authentic, mixing a very detailed pseudo-pagan medievalism with a well thought out magical system.It fails sometimes though in the characterizations and motivations and gets rather gimmicky and embarrassingly self-imitative at times.But this book is not one of those.The books featuring St Camber and his children and the beginning of the Haldane line are generally quite fun and illustrate medieval religious issues in a fantasy format.I haven't come across too many books that deal with the issue of Sainthood in an almost physical way, which is odd because there are so many medieval based fantasy characters out there. Or if I have come across fantasy books featuring the issue of Sainthood they must have been so bad I can't remember any of them.This one is good.All the more so since it studies a character who was both admirable and interesting.And as I remember it, it's been awhile, the plot has some surprising quirks. You might want to read the three previous books that feature Camber himself, or you might want to let this story introduce you to the legend.

The Harrowing Of Gwynedd
I applaud Katherine Kurtz's ability to introduce her characters to all readers so that they feel like family. I was moved to tears by the ending of this novel, yet was left with a smile on my face. I can only say thatthis is a MUST read for deryni fans, and everyone else on the planet aswell. The heirs of Saint Camber is a stunning example of a fantasy seriesthat, in another time, could be true.

Another book of courage and tragedy........
The Harrowing of Gwynedd sees the Deryni people on the verge of extinction, as a small group of them attempt to make stand. The story centers on Evaine, daughter of Camber, as she leads the struggle. She is a mother, a soceress, and a warrior, whose skills are tested to the limit. Her success or failure will determine the fate of her people. Read this book and see what happens. Her character is both strong and believeable, as her presence dominates this book ... Read more