The Quest for Saint Camber
Paperback Edition
|
|
| Author | Katherine Kurtz |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Darrell K. Sweet |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Histories of King Kelson |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
|
Publication date
|
1986 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardcover) |
| Pages | 435pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardcover) |
| OCLC | 13395557 |
| 813/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3561.U69 Q47 1986 |
| Preceded by | The King's Justice |
| Followed by | The Harrowing of Gwynedd (next published), King Kelson's Bride (literary chronology) |
The Quest for Saint Camber is a historical fantasy novel by American-born author Katherine Kurtz. It was first published by Del Rey Books in 1986. It was the ninth of Kurtz' Deryni novels to be published, and the third book in her third Deryni trilogy, The Histories of King Kelson. Just as the Histories trilogy is a direct sequel to the first Deryni trilogy, The Chronicles of the Deryni, the next Deryni trilogy to be published, The Heirs of Saint Camber, is a direct sequel to Kurtz' second Deryni trilogy, The Legends of Saint Camber. In 2000, Kurtz published her thirteenth Deryni novel, King Kelson's Bride, which is a direct sequel to the events of The Quest for Saint Camber.
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 brutally persecuted and suppressed for over two centuries. The novel begins approximately eight months after the conclusion of The King's Justice, as King Kelson Haldane embarks on a religious quest to celebrate his knighting. When a deadly accident befalls Kelson's party, a close member of the king's family uses illicit arcane power to seize the throne of Gwynedd.
The plot of The Quest for Saint Camber covers a period of approximately three months, from early March to mid-June 1125. The novel begins as Prince Conall Haldane, cousin of King Kelson Haldane, meets with the Deryni adept Tiercel de Claron, a member of the Camberian Council who has been secretly working with Conall to develop the prince's Haldane potential. Meanwhile, Bishop Duncan McLain faces an ecclesiastical tribunal to confirm the legitimacy of the marriage vows he took years before becoming a priest. With the assistance of both Kelson and Duke Alaric Morgan, Duncan convinces Archbishop Thomas Cardiel that his brief marriage was legal, thus confirming the trueborn status of his son, Earl Dhugal MacArdry.
...
Wikipedia