The Bastard Prince

[JediMatt1000]

Really enjoying this one. I get the feeling the "great lords" will be getting the commupence they deserve.

[revanne]

I wish I had read it out of sequence- I couldn't  get over my annoyance with Rhys Michael's behaviour in King Javan's Year.

[Laurna]

I always felt that this book was miss titled.
By the time this book was published in 1994 I was reading other things. I bought the book, but I didn't read it- you see the last of my favorite characters had been done in during KJY.  From the title, I had the impression that the book would have been all about the Torenthi side. So I just didn't open the cover. Not until just a couple years ago, long after I had joined this site. That is when I realized the real nemesis of the story is not the baster prince of Torenth but the human regents of Gwynedd. Causing it to be a far more interesting story that I had originally imagined it to be.  So I propose the novel should have been titled "Defying the Regents of Gwynedd." I have read it twice now and enjoyed it both times.

[JediMatt1000]

Revanne, I can relate, though I didn't read mine out of sequence. I thought that Rhys Michael's behavior in King Javan's Year was necessary as he was sort of a "devil may care" type of youth. Javan was on the throne and he probably thought Javan was very paranoid and not telling the truth when Javan would take him into confidence; the things the "great lords" were pulling.

Fast-forward to Bastard Prince; and everything Javan was saying had been validated and vindicated for him. I thought it was very messed up; how all of the boys (maybe excluding Alroy) had met an untimely end at the hands of the regents. Javan's was by far the very worst. I was surprised to see some of the behaviors that Rhun and Manfred were showcasing before Rhys Michael's death, how surprised they were of the codicil, and I guess it was probably a good thing the young king passed; as it appears Hubert had plans on getting him to change the codicil before he was brought back to Rhemuth.

Almost finished, so many things have been building with Kheldour and Joram's moving on the "chess pieces" into play. So excited!

[revanne]

Yes - I thought that ironically it was Rhys Michael's death that enabled him to succeed in freeing his heirs - had he returned to Rhemuth seriously weakened in health I wouldn't have given much for his chances against Hubert.

[Lochiel]

Enjoy the book I am right behind you reading my favorite book KJY for like the 8th time. I don't want to do a spoiler but Rhys Michael does redeem himself.

[JediMatt1000]

Just finished this one the other day. I have to say it was one emotional "roller coaster", but his death ensured that little Owain could and the unborn and unnamed prince could live in peace and freedom that their father and their uncles never knew.

While I was fairly satisfied with the end that Rhun & Manfred met; I still thought Hubert got off a little too easily. Yes, he pretty much starved himself to death but died "unrepentant" to his former deeds. If anything; I was sort of hoping Hubert would meet the worst end imaginable as I thought he was by far the "mastermind" that brought destruction to an entire race of people.

And I was hoping for an immediate repeal of the statutes of Ramos as well. Even though technically free, none of the Deryni that went underground with Joram would be allowed to hold religious office for something like 200 years - I think.

Overall though; I was extremely satisfied with this finale. I really wish I could hold Mika and tell her that things were going to get better and she was such a hero. A very strong woman indeed.

[revanne]

While I was fairly satisfied with the end that Rhun & Manfred met; I still thought Hubert got off a little too easily. Yes, he pretty much starved himself to death but died "unrepentant" to his former deeds. If anything; I was sort of hoping Hubert would meet the worst end imaginable as I thought he was by far the "mastermind" that brought destruction to an entire race of people.

I agree, although in the Deryniverse there is judgement after death and I can't think he would get off lightly before that court.

And I was hoping for an immediate repeal of the statutes of Ramos as well. Even though technically free, none of the Deryni that went underground with Joram would be allowed to hold religious office for something like 200 years - I think.

Though that would have been a good outcome it would have created a problem for the pre-existing books, written first but in the future. The problem with a tale "that grows in the telling".

[JediMatt1000]

Good points revanne! I had forgotten about those earlier books. And yes, I do believe in final judgement; and that is what ultimately awaits Hubert.

Still though, kudos to KK for such a wonderful series!

[revanne]

Still though, kudos to KK for such a wonderful series!

Indeed.

[Shiral]

I spent a lot of time in The Harrowing of Gwynedd and King Javan's Year wanting to shake the teeth out of Rhys Michael's head. By the time of The Bastard Prince, he had redeemed himself, for me. I think alas, he did have to die so that Michaela, Cathan  and RM's sons could be free of the Regents.  But the regents had done so much damage by then that undoing it was the work of the next two centuries. But setting your wife and children free of imprisonment is a pretty meaningful outcome of your death.
Melissa

[JediMatt1000]

I agree Melissa.

[ReikiDeryni]

Liked the way the all three books ended except Herbert should have been executed for treason.

[Avisa]

Michaela having to tell Owain that his father is dead was probably one of the most tear-jerking things I ever read. After rereading it some time in the last year, I feel like she and Eliza Hamilton have some things in common. I get a similar feel from the character in the book and the one in the musical.

[ReikiDeryni]

I would love to see a trilogy dealing with what happened after the Bastard Prince. When I finished reading this trilogy I was like, NOOOOOOOOOO. Talk about cliffhanger ending.