Deryni Rising

That this series remains unknown by today's fantasy readers is a pity, because it's a great series – especially for fans of political fantasy or fantasy that occurs in worlds similar to our own. There's not much action, but the characters and their relationships are more than enough to counter this. Why it made the list Deryni Rising is another one of those books where you need to keep in mind that it was written many years ago. It hasn't aged badly since realpolitik fantasy is so popular today. There are, however, some stock characters that people who have read extensively in the genre might find uninspired. The reason this is a memorable series is thanks to the characters of Kelson and Morgan. They're well written and will hold your attention throughout what is a tight, short read. Kurtz is an author that knows how to communicate ideas through concise descriptions rather than long information dumps. Sound like an obvious skill? You'd think. But there are few fantasy authors today that can condense their thoughts into less than 4 billion pages. It's a great series to give newcomers to the genre, especially if they're only interested in fantasy because of Jon Snow.