CR II, Book 1: Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey

07Nov09

I know I’ve written before about Jacqueline Carey and what it is about her books that I so adore. So I’m going to try to keep the effusive fangirlishness to a bare minimum here, especially since I want you to go read these books instead of turning you off to them.

Kushiel’s Avatar is the third in the first trilogy in a two part series now referred to as the Kushiel’s Legacy series (confused yet?). This is the final book centering on Phedre no Delauney de Montreve and her exploits. I hesitate to go into much detail beyond that, simply because you really need to read all three books in this trilogy to really understand the scope of them, as well as to appreciate two things about Ms. Carey:

1. Her world building skillz are practically unrivaled.
2. The plot of these three books makes me want to throw in the pen and just doodle on the beach for the rest of my life.

There’s no way to encompass the entire world that gets drawn into these stories. There’s also no way I can do justice to the intricacies of the plots; or to the conspiracies and mysteries, nor even to all the characters. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

So I’m going to gloss over the plot, because I don’t want to get into all three books, and I really don’t want to give anything away. I’d much rather you go read them and get the whole thing from the beginning.

We’ll suffice it to say that this book finally ties off several threads that have been woven throughout the story, and does so in a satisfactory way, yet it doesn’t leave everything too neat and tidy so as to be utterly unbelievable.

This novel has some definite dark spots, so if you’re looking for all sweetness and light, I wouldn’t recommend this series, let alone this book. Hell, the main character is what is referred to as an anguissette, one who is marked by a god to experience pain and pleasure as one her whole life. Which is just a fancy way of saying that she’s a true masochist.

Also, she’s a courtesan.

Really, just go read them. I’ll wait here; I’ve already started on the first book in the second trilogy.

 

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Tags: book 1, cannonball read, CR II, imriel, joscelin, kushiel, kushiel's avatar, kushiel's legacy, phedre