Childe Morgan by Katherine Kurtz is the second book in the Childe Morgan interlude series. (It’s the sequel to In the King’s Service.) The book follows In the King’s Service by about five years; Alric is born and we see quite a bit more of his parent’s life.
Again, Kenneth and Alyce are the heroes of the book. Kenneth continues to be a good “Gwynedd through the eyes of a human” viewpoint. His bravery and loyalty to the crown continue to define him and make a strong backbone for his character.
Alyce continues to be the core Deryni presence, occasionally translating or performing magic. Despite her central role, she seems to be edged out of the center of the plot. Her relationships are interesting; a web of friends and family, and of course her relationship to her eldest son, Morgan. Her role seems less vibrant this time, but that may be due to the chains of motherhood, at least in part.
Despite the title, Morgan doesn’t get POV scenes– which is something of a relief, given his youth. He’s a bit precocious, but seems like the few four year olds I know in many ways. Donal Haldane remains a conflicted character. He’s very well written– I empathized with him quite a bit, even though he has to burden people heavily in his service. There are a few short scenes with other characters emphasized; Michon gets several POV scenes to keep us informed about the Camberian Council’s doings.
All in all, I enjoyed the book, but it seemed a lot less focused than many of the earlier books. Several short asides are introduced to setup elements in other books– while they are handled well, they are still somewhat distracting. The back cover has several quotes which apply well to this book too– it’s a subtler book of intrigue with less emphasis on action.
I wouldn’t suggest this book (or this series) as the first Deryni books, but it is a great continuation if you love the world and want to see more of it. I look forward to the next book. I expect it will be something like ten years later and feature Morgan as the POV character… but I wouldn’t put it past her to trick me.