Kushiel's Dart

I don't often read fantasy books so I almost passed this up. Then one day I needed something to read and opened it - and thank Elua I did! I don't think it's hyperbole to say this is honestly one of the deepest, richest, well conceived fantasy books I've ever read. Or any genre, really. The author has borrowed heavily from real places and cultures in history and cleverly renamed and repurposed them to build a world that is so rich I felt it actually could have existed. The characters were perfectly rendered and felt like full blooded people who laughed and cried and died and I lived every bit of it right along with them. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how many times I got choked up over a character's love or loss. The main villain is so perfectly realized and nuanced that I can't remember the last time I've encountered a literary adversary so chilling. And on top of all that there's just a touch of the supernatural thrown in to keep things really interesting. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to fantasy fans, or any fans of excellent writing.

I have to say I had really low expectations going into this book. I bought it to read to my wife, who has a vision disability, but loves the fantasy genre, and there is very little serious romantic fantasy out there, even less available on audiotape. I reluctantly chose this one, figuring I'd suffer through it for her entertainment. From the premise of the book, described on the back cover, I expected it to be a practically endless sequence of raunchy sadomasochistic sexual encounters weakly tied together by a paper-thin plot. Can you blame me? Here's what it says of the main character: "chosen [by some divine power] to forever experience pleasure and pain as one.... trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bed-chamber..." How could that possibly have prepared me for the depth and skill of storytelling I was in for by reading this book?We hear the story as told by Phèdre, who bears the mark of "Kushiel's Dart," as the scarlet mote in her eye is referred to. This first volume in the trilogy starts with her humble beginnings as the "unwanted get" of a woman of little social consequence, her indenture into the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, and her rise into the highest social circles of the city. That's merely the first act. The trilogy is set in an alternate history of Europe, where the principal difference seems to be that in this novel, the French may actually be justified in their claim to divinity. The story's main location is geographically analogous to our world's France, but in Phèdre's world, it is called Terre D'Ange (Land of Angels), because the inhabitants (D'Angelines) are descended from divine beings who left the holy land over a thousand years previously. The religion is explained early on in the story, and is close to, but not quite, real-world Christianity. The story takes place some time in the late middle ages or the early Renaissance. Carey uses real-world societies from various time periods to model her world upon. The names of the nations are changed to older, variations on, or more obscure references to those regions they describe. Spain is Aragonia, for example, England is Alba, and so on. The stage thus set, Carey proceeds to weave an intricate story of politics, love, betrayal, and adventure. One of the strongest points to recommend this story is the cast of characters. The many political figures who take a role in the story are all well-developed characters, each illustrated in great detail in the story, each with their own multifaceted personalities, desires, merits, flaws, and distinctive habits. There are erotic episodes, as the summary implies, but they are woven into the story so seamlessly, and in fact essential to the plot, so that to dismiss this book as merely common erotica is selling it far too short. To begin with the concept of a main character whose uniqueness is based in the erotic, and to build such a full and complicated story, Carey shows a skill with the written word rarely seen in f

This is a first-time novel by Jacqueline Carey, and honestly---it's books like this that restore my faith in the publishing industry. =P I have read novels by long-time writers which were nowhere near as richly detailed, powerfully written, or just plain interesting. Now I know that publishers aren't just looking for the next Robert Jordan or Mercedes Lackey. They *do* actually care about quality.Anyway, enough babbling. The story is set in a kind of alternate Europe, primarily in a pseudo-France called Terre d'Ange. In this world, Judeo-Christianity never got much of a foothold, because in this world God had a red-headed stepchild, so to speak. Basically, everything's the same as in our world until the crucifixion of Christ. At that point, Mary Magdalene wept at the cross's feet, and her tears mingled with the blood and produced a kind of angel/god creature called Elua. Some considered Elua an abomination or a mistake, but thirteen angels decided to follow him, reckoning that he was a child of God whether God chose to acknowledge him or not (and God didn't). Also following Elua was a woman named Naamah, a whore who decided to protect and care for this innocent creature by selling herself for his needs---to buy food, to bargain for his life, etc. Elua wandered for a long time and eventually found the land of Terre d'Ange, where the people welcomed him, and he and his angels settled down there.In the present time of the novel, the people of Terre d'Ange are known throughout the world for their beauty and grace, since they're all the descendants of angels. And because of Naamah's sacrifices, a sort of "blessed whore" tradition has perpetuated itself into the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers---thirteen whorehouse-temples whose male and female prostitutes are all sworn to the service of Naamah (who has the status of the Virgin Mary in this land) in various ways. Some houses specialize in delicate beauties who blush and faint; others specialize in clownish types who make their patrons laugh; still others specialize in darker arts.Into this mix is born Phedre, a child who's rejected from the house she's born into (the delicate-fainter house) primarily because she has a "flaw"---a tiny blood-spot in one eye. In Terre d'Ange, this is called "Kushiel's Dart," and it's the marker of one chosen by the cruelest of Elua's angels, Kushiel, who administered punishments to sinners in Purgatory. It also marks Phedre as an "anguissette"---a masochist.Phedre is sold to a man deeply involved in the politics of Terre d'Ange. He understands her potential immediately, so he tutors her in languages, histories, all sorts of things, while she grows up and eagerly awaits her debut to the service of Naamah. Once she starts her work---making assignations with the wealthy and powerful of Terre d'Ange society (who seem to consist of an awful lot of sadists) and spying on them---she becomes embroiled in the politics of the land. These politics lead her into an extremely complex

Wow. I think I'm in love. Phedre no Delaunay may be the most unique and interesting heroine ever written. Masochist, bisexual, prostitute, spy, prisoner, ambassador... she is all of these and more. Phedre's world shares our own history right up until the death of Jesus, when Jesus's blood, mingled with the tears of Mary Magdalene and the soil of Mother Earth, gives birth to a new savior, Elua. Together with his seven chosen angelic companions (including Naamah, who prostitutes herself to save him, and Kushiel, a former punisher of sinners) found the kingdom of Terre d'Ange, mingling their immortal blood with humans according to Elua's decree: "Love as thou wilt." A beautiful philosophy, and one that creates a land where sexuality in all its forms is holy, natural, and accepted. I found the d'Angeline religion fascinating, and a lovely backdrop for Phedre, who serves Naamah but has been chosen by Kushiel to find pleasure in pain. The first "anguissette" in three generations, she finds herself first a pawn and then a player in a deadly game of court intrigue. The book is almost divided in half. The first, "pawn" half, focuses more on Phedre's education, both sensual and intellectual. Her teacher, Anafiel Delaunay, uses her as a spy, for reasons he won't entirely reveal to her. There are some graphically erotic scenes with Phedre's patrons, and whispers and intimations of plots and intrigues both past and present.By the second half, Phedre is on her own, and must use what she's learned as she is cast out of home and country, first as a prisoner to the barbaric Skaldi (Norseman/Viking/Goth counterparts), then as an ambassador to the Albans and Cruithne (Celtic counterparts). This is where her personality finally takes shape, and although, as she laments, Kushiel's Dart never stops pricking, she uses her bedroom skills shrewdly and for a greater purpose. Erotic, imaginative, lushly beautiful, intelligent... all these things and more describe both Phedre and this book. The villainess is seductive, the good guys are all too human, and everyone in between has their own motivations. With both a rousing climax (no pun intended) and enough strings left tantalizingly loose to make you eager for the sequel, it balances perfectly the edge between "good enough on its own" and "set-up for the rest of the series". Highly recommended!

Others have written about the plot, so I'll concentrate on who would probably like this book best, and who should probably avoid it.Fantasy readers who like magic-focused stories---there's not enough magic here, except in the symbolic and vaguely mystical sense, to interest you. This world's magic is all psychological. Anyone looking for standard fantasy or sci-fi---avoid this book. There's nothing standard about it. The story is set in an alternate version of Europe, but this is just a trick to allow the reader to more easily comprehend the cultural and political complexity that Carey has written into this novel. Once the reader figures out that the Skaldi, for example, are basically Scandinavian/Vikings with all the attendant cultural tropes, that saves the necessity for tedious culture-building and lets the author get to the real meat of the story---the characters. Speaking of which, people who like a world-focused story should also avoid this. This story is not about the decadent country of Terre D'Ange and its people and troubles. The story is about a very complex woman who lives in this world, loves it, suffers for it, and ultimately triumphs. A key theme of the novel is, "That which yields is not always weak."And---it must be said---people who have even the slightest unease about reinterpretations of the Christian faith, or people who are even slightly squidged by alternative sexuality of any kind---this is not the book for you. You'll find yourself wondering why the author is spending so much time on the sex, or why she's chosen to reinterpret Christianity in this fashion, and frankly---if you have to ask, you shouldn't be reading this book. Might as well ask why Frank Herbert chose to reinterpret Islam, Catholicism, and gender politics in "Dune". Speculative fiction doesn't always speculate only about science or history or the macabre; sometimes it speculates about human society, and I've personally found this to be the best speculative fiction of all.As for who *should* read this book... Well, the opposite of the above, for starters: fans of religion in fantasy/sci-fi (particularly alternative religions), fans of alternative sexualities, fans of mysticism, fans of avant-garde fantasy. To add to that, fans of star-crossed traditional romance will find something juicy here, too, in the danger-filled relationship of the seductive Phedre and the celibate warrior-monk Joscelin. Fans of excellent writing should definitely read this, just to be treateed to some of the most artful and elegant prose I've read in a long time. Fans of strong female characters--- the strength of this character is far more subtle than what you'll see in most books, but undeniable nevertheless. Fans of mystery and intrigue, a definite recommend, although I found this to be the one weakness of the book. The intrigue is sometimes *too* dense (for this reader to comprehend, at least), and its revelations were sometimes too subtle for me to interpret.

Two days ago I walked into my favorite bookstore and was greeted with shouts and a rather heavy book tossed into my hands. The owner told me that this book "had my name written all over it". So I shelled out my money and took it home.Wow! I cannot say that I ever imagined such a book as this existing. With today's society being as obsessed and disgusted with taboos as it is, the fact that a book that combines S/M, fantasy, erotica, slave literature, political intrigue, and incredible battle scenes is out there, it's just too lovely.I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a penchant for the interesting, but not for those who are light of heart. Phedre's scenes with her patrons are often more in depth than the average "spanking scene" that books incorporating S/M contain. Kushiel's Dart also maintains an impressive ability to be pansexual. No matter what sexual orientation or proclivities it's readers have, they will find something to interest them.The best part of this book, as far as I see it, is the fact that the villainess is not 100% loathsome to the protaganist. In fact, it is the love/hate/fear relationship that really sends the plot running.This is a great book, and I'm still trying to figure out how this is a first novel.