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Ok, the number one interest I have (after my family & animals) is reading. Celtic mythology and fantasy are
my favorites. At one time I had over 800 books in my library which I had built up since 1974. This past year
I've had need for more room in my library for computer and accessories so I donated 626 books to the my local
library branch. They were very happy to receive them!
When I moved into this house in 1992, I turned the small first floor bedroom into a library. Last year I removed
the wall section that was floor-to-ceiling shelving 6 feet wide. I am in the process of removing the 4 foot
wide section on the side wall and placing the remaining books in a custom made bookshelf which will give me more
wall space for desk, cabinets, etc. I could never imagine that I could have donated over 600 books, but I kept
the favorites that I like to read time and time again.
Anyhow, my single favorite book is actually not in the fantasy/mythology realm - it's Atlas
Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
Years ago, while living in Minnesota, I had surgery which required a rather long recouperation during the winter
months. I began reading more and more and poor Ted couldn't keep up with the library runs, so one day he brought
me this book because "it is large and will take you a while to read". Now that's a man's way of thinking for sure.
Anyway, I got about 20 pages in and decided I couldn't stand it, it bored me. Then a few days later I read those same 20 pages again.
This went on for days until I finally decided to read past those pages. Once I did I couldn't stop. I've read the book
more times than I can count, and still it holds interest to me. | |
| "Who is
John Galt?"
"This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world - and did.
Is he a destroyer or a liberator?
Why does he have to fight his battle not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does
he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves?
You will know the answer to thse questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play
havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women of this remarkable book. You will discover why a productive
genius steel indulstialist was working for his own destruction... why a philosopher became a pirate... why a composer
gave up his career on the night of his triumph... why a beautiful woman who ran a transcontinental railroad fell in
love with the man she had sworn to kill.
Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is unlike any other book you have
ever read. It is a mystery story,not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder - and rebirth - of man's
spirit." |
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But, I digress. As I was saying, my favorite books are of the fantasy or celtic mythology genres. With that in mind,
I will tell you that my favorite author is Katherine Kurtz - author of the Deryni series and the Adept series (besides a
few others). I wait for each of her books to come out, then find myself rereading from the first book of the series
before I start the newest one to refresh myself. Her thoughts on religion and mysticism, plus freemasonry are
astounding and quite true to form.
I read my first of her books quite by accident one day. I was sitting in the airport waiting for a much delayed flight
when I decided to see what the bookstore had to pass the time. I was intrigued by the cover of
Camber of Culdi, so I read the book. The prologue began and ended with: |
"Saint Camber. Camber of Culdi. Noble-born Deryni earl. Gifted scholar and legalist. Patron of Deryni Magic.
Defensor Hominum. Camber.
By the reign of Kelson I, he had been a legend for more than two hunderd years, in turn respected, venerated,
and feared.
But who was the man, Camber of Culdi? What was the man before he became the saint -- and the demon?
Was he, as later legends insist, the sole perpetrator of the atrocities and terrors associated with the Deryni
Interregnum? The apotheosis of Evil Incarnate? Or was there another side to this man who became a legend
in his own lifetime, saint after his death, and curse word for generations to come?
Just who was Camber of Culdi?......
Camber MacRorie. Seventh Earl of Culdi. Gifted scholar and legalist. Retired civil servant.
Sometime practitioner of Deryni magic.
In 903, he had not yet earned the title of Saint." |
| Once I began I was hooked.
Her blending of history with a mythological type of people held my interest. While not a catholic, I was amazed
at the ritual she blended using catholicism and her "Deryni magics" (my late cousin Nancy filled me in on the
catholic stuff). I finished the Legends of Camber of Culdi trilogy and then went on to read the Chronicles of the
Deryni trilogy. After this came the Histories of King Kelson trilogy and finally the Heirs of Saint Camber trilogy.
I eagerly await the first book of her next trilogy (she seems to like to write in threes).
The stories begin with Camber of Culdi, a Deryi patron who assisted in bringing the human royal line back to the
throne of Gwynedd. He "dies", becomes a saint, and then when human and Deryni relations fall apart, his
sainthood is revoked. There is a question still (over 200 years later) if he is really dead. And, what has become
of his line? Deryni were persecuted for centuries and went into hiding or disavowed their heritage. As you read
on in further books, you will find bits and pieces of information that tends to bring out what happened to the
Deryni families. There is still a gap of almost 200 years which Katherine has yet to cover - if she ever will, it's
up to her to know. I hope that she does fill in the gaps more. Her story development is fantastic!
To understand the Deryni, you have to know who and what they were. On the back cover of the book
Deryni Magic - A Grimoire the book is summarized as: |
| "A Race of
Giants" "In Gwynedd lived
the Deryni, that mysterious race of wizards with arcane mental powers. Often feared and misunderstood, they
came to be persecuted by humans, forced into hiding lest their race be destroyed. They were a race of Healers
and champions, priests and teachers, who fought for all men against the intrigues of tyrants.
Herein lie their tumultuous history and the secrets of their power and ritual. Revealed is the hidden knowledge of
casting protective circles; of defining the sacred space, of aspersing with holy water and salt, of censing the
circle, and finally, of calling the spiritual beings that represent the four elements of the material universe.
Glimpsed here are the secrets of Healers, of their schools and philosophies - from a view of actual training of a
Healer, to the tragedy of power gone awry.
But, most of all, herein is a celebration of Camber, Morgan, Kelson, and the other heroes of Katherine Kurtz's
great Deryni people." |
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Now, many people who love the Deryni books don't understand her The Adept
series with Adam Sinclair as a mystical
freemason in Scotland. I personally loved those books also. But then again, my family comes from Scotland,
and I have master masons on both sides of the family going way back. |
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"More than a Doctor, More than a Detective"
"He is Sir Adam Sinclair; nobleman, physician, scholar - and Adept. A man of learning and power, he practices
ancient arts unknown to the twentieth century.
He has had many names, lived many lives, but his mission remains the same; to protect the light from those
who would tread the Dark roads.
Now his beloved Scotland is defiled by an unholy cult of black magicians who will commit any atrocity to achieve
their evil ends - even raise the dead!"
"Portrait of an Adept"
A face began to take shape on the blank page - a lean bearded face, with deep eyes and
a patrician nose above a stern, passionate mouth. The face was surmounted by a conical helmet of steel over
a chainmail coif, in the sytle of the later thirteenth century. Adam's own eyes widened as he realized that
Peregrine was seeing him not as he was now, but as the Knight Templar he had been nearly seven hundred
years ago...." |
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Katherine Kurtz also wrote a book about George
Washington, mysticism and master masons - personally, I liked that one also, although it was not well recieved
from what I have read. I believe that some people just can't accept it when an author takes off in another
direction. It isn't bad, it's just different, and there are those who just can't cope with change. |
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"Two Crowns for America"
"The year is 1775. In Europe, an unseen Master peers into a darkened mirror for the image of the man whose
destiny it is to wear the victor's crown. Across the sea, a tall, commanding colonel named George Washington
is thrown from his horse and has a dream that will haunt him for the rest of his life. As rebellion grows imminent and
colonists flock to take up arms for liberty, they hardly suspect they are part of a greater plan. Who is the invisible
Master whose legendary abilities stretch across the fabric of time and history? More important, what can Washington,
Benjamin Franklin, and the other Founding Fathers do to preserve the original goal of their revolution?"
"Washington's Dream - - He was standing in the doorway of a candlelit room, the apron of a Freemason girt about his
waist. But it was no Lodge he had ever sat. Far at the other end of the room, a black-clad man presided as Master,
somehow both known and unknown.
There was more, all in a tangled and blurred rush of images, admonitions, instructions; a flagon of oil from which
someone annointed his forhead; a wreath of laurel leaves laid upon his brow by a white-clad woman who should
not have been in a Lodge of Freemasonry but somehow belonged in this one; his sword - and another sword - and
something done between tht two of them, so that by the time his own was laid back in his hands, he knew that it
was somehow - changed.
But even as he found himself able to breathe again, and the world stopped reeling, memory of the dream began
slipping away, so that by the time he could speak, he was not sure of any of it at all - except that, against all
logic, one hand was clenched quite determinedly around the hilt of his sword...." |
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The other books in my library run from A-Z. I keep them in alphabetical order by author and then in chronological
order as written. There are those at work who think that this behavior is "obsessive/compulsive", but I ask you,
if you a lot of books, how would you keep them straight? This past year I had to downsize the library to make
room for computer, files, etc, so I dropped from 800 books to about 200 books. It wasn't easy to downsize, but I had
to remove the longer shelving units from the larger wall. They are currently boxed in the garage and will be
donated soon.
Some of my other more favorite authors are Piers Anthony, Elizabeth H. Boyer, Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson,
Carole Nelson Douglas, David Eddings, Kenneth Flint, Barbara Hamby, Robert Jordan, Stephen R. Lawhead,
Morgan Llywellyn, Diana L. Paxson, Melanie Rawn, Fred Saberhagen, J.R.R. Tolkien, Patricia Wrede and Roger
Zelany (see, I told you A-Z). I guess I can blame this all on my mother - she's the one who bought me my first
"The Hobbit" book so many years ago. Thanks mom!
Be sure to check out the book links at the bottom of the page. They will take you to a variety of sites dealing
with Science Fiction/Fantasy reviews, authors, books, etc. |
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