Deryni Checkmate
Cover illustration by Bob Pepper for the first edition of Deryni Checkmate
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| Author | Katherine Kurtz |
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| Cover artist | Bob Pepper |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Chronicles of the Deryni |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books (first edition), Ace Books (revised edition) |
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Publication date
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1972 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardcover) |
| Pages | xiii, 302 pp (first edition), 336pp (Revised hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | (first edition), ISBN (revised hardcover edition) |
| OCLC | 20741741 |
| Preceded by | Deryni Rising |
| Followed by | High Deryni |
Deryni Checkmate is a fantasy novel by American-born author Katherine Kurtz. It was first published by Ballantine Books as the forty-sixth volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in May 1972, and has been reprinted a number of times since. The author released a revised and updated edition of the novel that was published by Ace Books in 2005. Deryni Checkmate was the second of Kurtz' Deryni novels to be published, and also the second book in the Chronicles of the Deryni Trilogy.
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 12th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent physic and magical abilities who have been shunned and persecuted for centuries. The book takes place several months after Deryni Rising, and details the consequences of the events that surrounded the coronation of young King Kelson Haldane. Horrified by the demonstrations of Deryni magic that occurred during the coronation, the leaders of the Holy Church of Gwynedd decide to take a stand against the Deryni, particularly Duke Alaric Morgan and Monsignor Duncan McLain. Kelson, Morgan, and Duncan must find a way to thwart the vengeance of the Church while also preparing for a possible invasion by a foreign enemy.
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