"Katherine Kurtz - The Deryni Archives" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

yet within the hierarchies of the Church. The HISTORIES OF KING KELSON-The
Bishop's Heir, The King's Justice, and The Quest for Saint Camber-pick up the
story after the CHRONICLES; and future novels will explore the centuries
between the reigns of Cinhil's successors and the accession of Kelson Haldane.
The stories in this volume, except for the first one, all fall between the
Camber and Deryni Trilogies, and constitute all but one of the shorter works
written in the Deryni universe to date. It was felt that the omitted story
really needed greater length for proper development-which it will receive in a
future novel. Three stories were written specifically for this collection, and
have never appeared in print before. At least one of the others has been out
of print for some time, and several never got wide distribution. They are all
canonical with respect to the novels-that is, what is told here is consistent
with what appears in the novels.
Most of them elaborate on incidents or characters that are mentioned in the
novels. And some, whatever else they may do, are designed to tantalize with
hints of things to come in future novels.
Incidentally, before we move on to the stories, I probably should mention a
few points about my approach to Deryni history. I've said that it's a rough
parallel to real world history in terms of culture, level of technology, type
of government, ecclesiastical involvement, and the like. However, readers have
often commented that the stories read like history rather than fantasy. In
fact, I've been accused, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, of simply recounting
the real history of a world in some other dimension.
Well, I can't answer that. Part of that impression undoubtedly comes from the
fact that I was trained as a historian and thus have a historian's eye for
detail and a historian's background of real world history from which to draw.
But there are times when I have no idea where the material comes from-I simply
know that things happened a particular way. When I'm asked what character A
did after event B and I say that I don't know- the characters haven't told me
yet-I really am not being facetious. Also, solidly conceived characters tend
to do what they are going to do, whether or not that was how the author
thought they would behave. And sometimes, the only thing I can say is, "I
can't tell you why right now; I just know that it happened that way."
Sometimes, it even seems to me that I'm just tapping into a stream of events
that have already taken place, and all I have to do is sit back, observe, and
report what I see. Every author does this to some extent, I suspect. But when
readers comment on the illusion as much as readers have commented regarding
the Deryni, one has to wonder, if only wistfully, whether there isn't at least
a mythic truth to the speculation. (I suppose I could tell you about some of
the times I've sensed Camber peering over my shoulder, agreeing or disagreeing
with what I was typing, but that's whimsy- isn't it?)
So, these are tales of the Deryni and those who come into contact with them,
as the characters have revealed them to me. I hope you enjoy your sojourn
among them.
-Sun Valley, California June, 1985
catalyst fall, 888
Chronologically, "Catalyst" is the earliest of the Deryni stories written thus
far, set some fifteen years before the opening of Camber of Culdi. It was
written for a Festschrift in honor of Andre Norton's fiftieth year of
publication. (A Festschrift is an anthology in celebration of an author, its