Reading order

Deryni novels reading order

Katherine Kurtz

Deryni Rising1970
Deryni Checkmate1972
High Deryni1973
Camber of Culdi1976
Saint Camber1978
Camber the Heretic1981
The Bishop's Heir1984
The King's Justice1985
The Quest for Saint Camber1986
The Harrowing of Gwynedd1989
King Javan's Year1992
The Bastard Prince1994
Every volume in order (16) ↓

16 volumes
Volumes: 1970–2014
Published: about 110 h
Reading time: Completed
Status

Quick answer

Start withDeryni Rising1970 · Volume 1 of 16

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Publication order

16 volumes1970–2014Completed

Katherine Kurtz’s long-running historical fantasy, begun in 1970, set in Gwynedd, a kingdom modelled on medieval Wales and England, where the Deryni, a people born with psychic powers, are feared and persecuted by a powerful Church.
Deryni Rising follows the boy king Kelson and his half-Deryni protector Alaric Morgan defending the throne; the Camber books go back two centuries to the saint and rebels who shaped that history.
Rich in politics, ritual and church liturgy, and a pioneer of grounded medieval fantasy.
No book has enough ratings yet.
Read the Kelson books first.

A plan for the whole series

16 volumes, 6,126 pages, about 110 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 5 months.

Per day: 45 min

Stages

7 stages, with 6 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around April 26, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1
Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 22, 2026
Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
2
Stage 213 h17 daysby December 13, 2026
- 4. Camber of Culdi1976 · 316 pages · 6 h
- 5. Saint Camber1978 · 371 pages · 7 h
Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 16, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3
Stage 315 h20 daysby January 5, 2027
- 6. Camber the Heretic1981 · 441 pages · 8 h
- 7. The Bishop's Heir1984 · 375 pages · 7 h
Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 9, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
4
Stage 420 habout 4 weeksby February 4, 2027
BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by February 13, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5
Stage 516 habout 3 weeksby March 6, 2027
- 11. King Javan's Year1992 · 442 pages · 8 h
- 12. The Bastard Prince1994 · 421 pages · 8 h
Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by March 11, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
6
Stage 616 h21 daysby March 31, 2027
- 13. King Kelson's Bride2000 · 483 pages · 9 h
- 14. In the King's Service2003 · 372 pages · 7 h
Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by April 5, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7
Stage 716 h21 daysby April 26, 2027
- 15. Childe Morgan2006 · 312 pages · 6 h
- 16. The King's Deryni2014 · 547 pages · 10 h
The end of the series
April 26, 2027

In one goMarch 28, 2027about 5 months

In stages, with breaksApril 26, 2027about 6 months · +17 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 16

No volume in this series has enough ratings to enter a ranking yet, so the list carries no scores — the order and the volumes are still complete.

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 28, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Which Deryni novels book is the longest?

“The King's Deryni” is the longest at 547 pages; the shortest is “Deryni Rising” with 281 pages.