CBR II, Book 2 (finally): Kushiel’s Scion, Jacqueline Carey

15Dec09

I went on a Jacqueline Carey binge right around the time CB version 1.0 ended: I re-read the entire first and most of the second trilogies that she wrote. I think this is somewhere in the vicinity of 2700 pages. Why yes, I am sorta bragging about that. I already reviewed the final book in the first trilogy written, and now here’s the first book in the second trilogy written.

It’s very difficult to do this without at least somewhat spoiling the previous trilogies for you. I suppose I can’t avoid it entirely so here you go: the main character here was a minor/growing character in the last trilogy. In fact, he first came into existence (literally, he was born) during the events of the second book, and was rather important in the third book.

So, Imriel. He’s not so much spoiled as he is a very broody, moody young man. What saves him from being entirely unbearable is his self-awareness. He ponders the nature of goodness quite a lot. It gets old. It probably annoys me as much as it does because I tend to do something quite similar. Woohoo self-awareness.

Anyway, this first book details the years of his adolescence, from about ten or twelve to about eighteen, when he gains his adulthood and hares off to Tiberium to go to University. The majority of the books takes place there, involving numerous fun and weird characters, all kinds of sex and adventure. The fantasy element really comes into play when he goes to a friend’s wedding out in the countryside. But I’m not going to tell you about that.

I like that Carey has created this world that closely mirrors our own, and yet doesn’t. Magic, though not entirely common, isn’t precisely uncommon this world. And the gods take very keen interest in their chosen and their scions. I really feel like Carey does a magnificent job of it, too.

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Tags: book review, cannonball read 2.0, imriel, jacquline carey, kushiel's legacy series, kushiel's scion