Deryni Magic

In a charming grimoireok/eed , or book of spells, Kurtz tells her fans everything they could wish to know about her creations, the Deryni, a race of people with magical powers who inhabit a medieval Europe-like land. This fictional encyclopedia offers articles on the origins and history of the Deryni, the framework of their church and rituals, explanations of their telepathic and other psychic powers, and of some magical techniques they employ, including shape-changing, dark magic and healing powers. As Kurtz elucidates the skills of the Deryni, she considers the ethical questions involved in, for instance, the ability to read minds (such as the responsibility of a Deryni priest who knows more than he hears in confession), and casts a thoughtful light on our own beliefs about magic and religion. She describes spells, for example, as a trigger to posthypnotic suggestiono, 108 , and she speaks of the Eucharist as ``one of the most powerful magical rituals ever devised by humankind.'' p. 29 Extensive appendices fill in details on the clergy, healing invocations and Deryni esoteric texts, and genealogies, maps and drawings illustrate the book. (Jan.)