Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Legacy
Overview:
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 5 out of 5
Contains: strong sex and violence, including rape and torture
Author's Website: Jacqueline Carey
My thoughts: I bought "Kushiel's Dart" and "Kushiel's Chosen" as part of a two-for-one deal at Angus and Robertson, and was hooked as soon as I started reading them. I was sad when I finished Kushiel's Dart - so much so that I considered reading it a second time before I started on book two, which isn't something that happens to me often! Usually I want to get right on with the story, but these books were just... captivating. There's a bit of eroticism and masochism to them, but there's just something there that caught me. They're very well written, and as long as you can get past the pleasure and pain thing, you'll enjoy them. I didn't enjoy the third book as much as the first, but as a whole series, they're still recommended.
The Books:
"Kushiel's Dart" - Published 2003
Born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, and fated to feel pleasure and pain as one, Phédre nò Delaunay is sold into indentured servitude as a child. When her bond is purchased by an enigmatic nobleman, she is trained in history, theology, politics, foreign languages, and the arts of pleasure - above all, she learns the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Exquisite courtesan, yet talented spy, she may seem an unlikely heroine, but when Phedre stumbles upon a plot threatening her homeland, Terre d'Ange, she has no choice but to act. Betrayed into captivity in the barbarous northland of Skaldia, and accompanied only by disdainful young warrior-priest, Phédre makes a harrowing escape and an even more harrowing journey, to return to her people and deliver them a warning of the impending invasion, and that proves only the first step in a quest that will take her to the edge of despair and beyond.
"Kushiel's Chosen" - Published 2003
Phédre, now the Comtesse de Montréve, had retired to her country estate, leaving the political intrigue of the court behind. However, the unexpected return of a lost sangoire cloak announces Melisande's continued presence and marks the opening move in her next ploy for power, which prompts Phédre to return to her earlier role of spy disguised as a courtesan. As Phédre seeks to discover where Melisande has gone to ground, she is soon led to the canals and ancient, water-world splendors of La Serenissima, where she becomes ensnared in various plots to succeed the aging Doge. Caught between stratagems too devious and complicated even for her skills to discover or master, Phédre falls prey to enemies where least expected, leading to prison, piracy, barbarians and the mysteries of a more ancient culture that will once again place Phédre as the only, if unlikely, hope to save Terre D'Ange and her queen.
"Kushiel's Avatar" - Published 2004
Phédre's life has taken a strange and sometimes dangerous course - she has lain with princes and pirate kings, battled the most beautiful woman in the world, and saved two nations with her courageous actions and sacrifices. Through out it all she has had the devoted swordsman Joscelin at her side, but Phédre's latest plans will put his pledge to the test, for she has never forgotten her childhood friend Hyacinthe. She has spent ten long years searching for the key to free him from his eternal indenture to the Master of Straights, a bargain with the gods that he struck so that a nation could be saved. She is determined to seize one last hope to redeem her friend, even if it means her death. Their search will bring Phédre and Joscelin on a dangerous path that will carry them across the world, to fabled courts and splendid vistas, to distant lands where madness reigns and souls are currency, and down a fabled river to a land forgotten by most of the world, and to a power so mighty that none dare speak its name.
Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel's Legacy (Part 2)
Overview:
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: Unread
Author's Website: Jacqueline Carey
My thoughts: I will get these books purely on the basis of the first trilogy!
The Books:
"Kushiel's Scion" - Published 2006
Born a Prince of Terre d'Ange, Imriel de la Courcel bears a legacy he despises. His father was Benedicte de la Courcel, great-uncle to the D'Angeline Queen, Ysandre, who evaded conviction for treason by dying before he could be tried. His mother is Melisande Shahrizai, the brilliant traitoress who nearly usurped her nation's throne - twice.
Raised in an isolated sanctuary, unwitting of his heritage, Imriel was kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery in the deadly kingdom of Drujan. There he endured a living nightmare of cruelty and abuse until his rescue by Phédre nò Delaunay, the Comtesse de Montréve, and her consort, the Cassiline Brother Joscelin Verreuil, who restored him to Terre d'Ange against overwhelming odds and adopted him into their household.
Life in the country estate of Montréve is bucolic and serene, but the entanglements of court life are never far away. Imriel is surrounded by enemies who would gladly see him dead - and their distrust intensifies when his mother, Melisande, vanishes. With the onset of adolescence, Imriel discovers the darker aspects of Kushiel's legacy within himself, and finds with horror that he reacts to Phédre's nature as an anguissette; Kushiel's Chosen.
Beset by desires he reviles and political obligations he rejects, Imriel flees to become a student in the ancient city of Tiberium in Caerdicca Unitas. There, he undertakes a course of study with an underlying agenda: To find the person who trained Anafiel Delaunay, Phédre's mentor, in the arts of covertcy. If he can do so, it may be that he can undertake to solve a greater mystery and determine the whereabouts of his mother.
Intrigue, dalliance, friends and enemies await Imriel in Tiberium; but no one could anticipate the events that will shape his life. A child of his birth parents' blood and his foster parents' spirit, damaged by childhood trauma, he must find a way to reconcile his conflicted nature. Blessed Elua bids all D'Angelines, "Love as thou wilt." For Imriel nò Montréve de la Courcel, discovering how to obey the precept of Blessed Elua will prove a challenging journey, fraught with sorrow and joy.
And this is only the beginning of it...
"Kushiel's Justice" - Published 2007
Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phédre and Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions. Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in beauty, art, and desire. After a year abroad to study at university, Imriel returns from his adventures a little older and somewhat wiser. But perhaps not wise enough. What was once a mere spark of interest between himself and his cousin Sidonie now ignites into a white-hot blaze. But from commoner to peer, the whole realm would recoil from any alliance between Sidonie, heir to the throne, and Imriel, who bears the stigma of his mother's misdeeds and betrayals. Praying that their passion will peak and fade, Imriel and Sidonie embark on an intense, secret affair. Blessed Elua founded Terre d'Ange and bestowed one simple precept to guide his people, love as thou wilt. When duty calls, Imriel honors his role as a member of the royal family by leaving to marry a lovely, if merely sweet, Alban princess. By choosing duty over love, Imriel and Sidonie may have unwittingly trespassed against Elua's law. But when dark powers in Alba, who fear an invasion by Terre d'Ange, seek to use the lovers' passion to bind Imriel, the gods themselves take notice. Before the end, Kushiel's justice will be felt in heaven and on earth.
"Kushiel's Mercy" - Published 2008
The final adventure in the Imriel Trilogy. Having paid dearly for ignoring Elua's edict to love as thou wilt, Imriel and Sidonie have finally come forward to publicly confess their love for each other - only to watch the news ignite turmoil throughout the land. Those who are old enough cannot forget the misdeeds of Imriel's mother, Melisande, whose self-serving lies plunged their country into war. In order to quell the uprising, Queen Ysandre hands down a decree: she will not divide the lovers, but neither will she acknowledge them. And if they decide to marry, Sidonie will be disinherited. That is, unless Imriel can find his mother and bring her back to Terre D'Ange to be executed for treason...
Jacqueline Carey - Sundering Series
Overview:
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 3 out of 4
Author's Website: Jacqueline Carey
My thoughts: These two books weren't as good as the Kushiel series - it was an interesting idea, but the books themselves just sort of drifted along towards the conclusion. Not an exciting read.
The Books:
"Banewreaker" - Published 2005
Once, the Seven Shapers dwelled in accord. First born among them was Haomane, Lord-of-Thought - who with his six sibling gods shaped the world to his will. But Haomane was displeased, for his younger brother Satoris was too prideful in his gifts to the race of Men, and refused to bow to Haomane. So began the Shapers' War. Haomane and his siblings lay at one end of a vast ocean, unable to touch their creations, while Satoris and the races of the world dwelled on the other. Satoris is reviled, because most of the races believe that it was he alone who caused the rift. But Satoris sits in his Darkhaven - seeking neither victory nor vengeance. Now a new prophecy has come of how the world could be made whole if Satoris were destroyed. To thwart the prophecy, Satoris orders Tanaros Blacksword, his chief lieutenant and the immortal Commander General of his army, to capture the Lady of the Ellylon - the beautiful Cerelinde - to prevent her alliance with the last High King of Men. But what neither realize is that meeting Cerelinde will irrevocably change Tanaros's world forever, and could doom Satoris in the process...
"Godslayer" - Published 2006
Once human but now immortal, Supreme Commander Lord Tanaros chose darkness when driven mad by the betrayal of his adulterous wife and his liege king who cuckolded him. A thousand years later, his only allegiance is to his master, the dark god Satoris. The name of Satoris is the word for evil throughout all the races, and the legend of Tanaros has become the byword for treachery. Now there is a new prophecy that tells of Satoris's destruction and the redemption of the world. To thwart it, Tanaros is holding captive the Lady of the Ellylon, the beautiful Cerelinde, to prevent her alliance with the last High King of Men. Though all who support Satoris clamour for her death, Tanaros refuses to act like the monster that he is made out to be. He discovers that not all of his heart has been lost - and his feelings for Cerelinde could doom Satoris, but also save the race of Men.
Jacqueline Carey - Santa Olivia
Overview:
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: unread
Author's Website: Jacqueline Carey
My thoughts: A stand-alone Novel
The Books:
"Santa Olivia" - Published 2009
Loup Garron was born and raised in Santa Olivia, an isolated, disenfranchised town next to a US military base inside a DMZ buffer zone between Texas and Mexico. A fugitive "Wolf-Man" who had a love affair with a local woman, Loup's father was one of a group of men genetically-manipulated and used by the US government as a weapon. The "Wolf-Men" were engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, sensory capability, stamina, and a total lack of fear, and Loup, named for and sharing her father's wolf-like qualities, is marked as an outsider.
After her mother dies, Loup goes to live among the misfit orphans at the parish church, where they seethe from the injustices visited upon the locals by the soldiers. Eventually, the orphans find an outlet for their frustrations: They form a vigilante group to support Loup Garron who, costumed as their patron saint, Santa Olivia, uses her special abilities to avenge the town.
Aware that she could lose her freedom, and possibly her life, Loup is determined to fight to redress the wrongs her community has suffered. And like the reincarnation of their patron saint, she will bring hope to all of Santa Olivia.
Jacqueline Carey - Naamah's Kiss
Overview:
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: unread
Author's Website: Jacqueline Carey
My thoughts: A stand-alone Novel
The Books:
"Naamah's Kiss" - Published 2009
Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke a sacred oath sworn in the name of all his people. Now, only small gifts remain to them. Through her lineage, Moirin possesses such gifts - the ability to summon the twilight and conceal herself, and the skill to coax plants to grow.
Moirin has a secret, too. From childhood onward, she senses the presence of unfamiliar gods in her life; the bright lady, and the man with a seedling cupped in his palm. Raised in the wilderness by her reclusive mother, it isn't until she comes of age that Moirin learns how illustrious, if mixed, her heritage is. The great granddaughter of Alais the Wise, child of the Maghuin Donn, and a cousin of the Cruarch of Alba, Moirin learns her father was a D'Angeline priest dedicated to serving Naamah, goddess of desire.
After Moirin undergoes the rites of adulthood, she finds divine acceptance... on the condition that she fulfill an unknown destiny that lies somewhere beyond the ocean. Or perhaps oceans. Beyond Terre d'Ange where she finds her father, in the far reaches of distant Ch'in, Moirin's skills are a true gift when facing the vengeful plans of an ambitious mage, a noble warrior princess desperate to save her father's throne, and the spirit of a celestial dragon.