For the machinations of Kelson’s Crown Council and the more magical (and devious) Camberian Council, I must definitely tip my hat to Frank Herbert’s Dune, the only novel for which I actually sat down and analyzed particular scenes to figure out how and why they worked so well.

Many things have evolved in the course of thirty years, of course, as my vision of the Deryni universe has continued to expand. Insofar as it is possible to bring these earliest books more into line with the later series, I have done so, though I have tried not to tamper with the essentials of books that have stood the test of time. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I have corrected obvious typos, of which there were only a few, and made minor adjustments to the language, but I have resisted the temptation to excise or seriously rewrite parts that are not consistent with the Deryni canon as it later developed. Thus, Stenrect crawlers and some of the mythical beasts that Kelson must face down in the final duel at the end of the book remain, as do the rhymed incantations between Kelson and Charissa, though you’ll see these features nowhere else in the series. (Caradots do make a brief return engagement in the second book, Deryni Checkmate, but that seems to have been their swan-song.)

Likewise, the use of the Deryni expletive Khadasa! gradually falls by the wayside as the series progresses, though loyal fans have made numerous attempts to come up with a background for the term that makes sense. As of this writing, the jury is still out regarding the meaning of the term, or where it comes from—Torenth, lost Caeriesse, and the Anvil of the Lord have all been mooted as its source—but the bottom line is that it pretty much disappears after the first three books. So does the title of monsignor, as the Church in Gwynedd takes on a profile more high Anglican than Roman Catholic, though the use of Latin still lends an unmistakably medieval flavor to this aspect of the universe.

But I don’t apologize for any of these blips on the screen that charts the evolution of the Deryni universe. (In fact, I am continually amazed that so few inconsistencies have crept into the series during a span of more than thirty years.) Deryni Rising is still a damned fine first novel, as evidenced by its track record and the hordes of faithful fans who continue to keep the series alive by their encouragement and enthusiasm.