06/05/2023
With this lyrical, BDSM-infused romantasy, Carey circles back to her Locus Award–winning debut fantasy, Kushiel’s Dart , 21 years after its first publication—but the epic love between courtesan Phédre, who was sold into sexual slavery as a child, and celibate warrior Joscelin, here retold from Joscelin’s point of view, sits differently in 2023’s sexual and political landscape. Fortunately, in this revamped version, Carey does her best to minimize the sexualization of children and racialization of beauty that were prevalent in the original.With the edges filed down a bit and all of the larger plot points known (the book ends with the wedding of Queen Ysandre), the original political themes fade, and a narrative that often verges on cozy emerges, lingering over Joscelin’s youthful training days in the Cassiline Prefectory before shifting to his rube-in-the-city culture shock as he takes his first assignment, which brings him disapprovingly into Phédre’s decadent world. It’s the stuff of fan fiction, with Carey lovingly applying a full painter’s palette to what had previously been only sketched. Carey proves she has lost none of her inimitable style nor her ability to fully realize characters; devoted fans will revel in getting Joscelin’s backstory. (Aug.)
A USA Today bestseller! Paste magazine's Most Anticipated Fantasy Books of Summer 2023 ”Featured in Autostraddle 's "81 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way Summer 2023" Cassiel’s Servant reveals the secrets of the mysterious Cassiline brotherhood. In this gorgeously realized novel, Carey returns to the world of Terre d’Ange and offers us a new and dazzling perspective on a character we thought we knew.”—Nghi Vo, author of The Chosen and the Beautiful and Siren Queen Paste Publishers Weekly Booklist Library Journal Praise for the Kushiel's Legacy trilogy New York Times bestselling authorKushiel's Dart Booklist , starred review Kirkus , starred review Publishers Weekly , starred review Associated Press The Detroit Free Press Library Journal on Kushiel's Dart
06/01/2023
"Love as thou wilt." Those words from Carey's beloved series "Kushiel's Legacy" are burned into scores of readers' minds; the first book, Kushiel's Dart , followed the life of a young indentured servant, Phèdre nó Delaunay, who rose to become one of the most influential people of her world. In this novel, Carey retells that first entry through the eyes of Phèdre's consort, Joscelin Verreuil. In Terre d'Ange, noble families pledge a middle son to the warrior-priests that serve in the Cassiline Brotherhood. After leaving his family and life behind at age ten, Joscelin spends his childhood becoming the honorable, serious fighter who is later assigned to protect Naamah's servants, leading him to a crossroads where he must choose the code of his faith or the love of his life. Familiar characters written from a different perspective open the reading wide, revealing new details through old footsteps. VERDICT While many parts of the story are familiar, Joscelin's point of view will revitalize fans of the series and draw new readers to this lush epic fantasy. Libraries should prepare for requests for the original series.—Kristi Chadwick
2023-06-08Kushiel’s Dart (2001), from the perspective of the protagonist’s lover, the warrior-priest Joscelin Verreuil.
Kushiel’s Dart was a first-person narrative by Phèdre, a courtesan and spy living in an alternate version of France called Terre d’Ange, who was chosen by the angel Kushiel as an “anguissette”: someone who finds physical pain and submission pleasurable. She uses all of her skills and capacities to ferret out a conspiracy against the queen of Terre d’Ange and foil an invasion. In the process, she falls in love with her bodyguard, Joscelin Verreuil, who breaks several vows he has made to the angel Cassiel—including celibacy—when he returns her affections and does his utmost to protect her against a number of threats. Now we get the opportunity to revisit these events from Joscelin’s point of view, but whether the reader will feel enriched by this is questionable. Phèdre is a unique, complicated character who uses her dark desires to disguise that she is also a fiercely intelligent and well-educated spy with a strong independent streak. As her fellow courtesan/spy Alcuin notes, she’s a paradox; as such, the first-person narration in Kushiel’s Dart helps to reveal her thought processes. But Joscelin is basically a trope character: a priest who breaks his vows for a woman and is tormented by the conflicting forces of love, loyalty, and faith. Third person makes him inscrutable and fascinating. You don’t entirely know what he’s really like in the beginning of Carey’s first book; we come to learn that he's a deeply feeling, passionate person whose attempt at stoicism ultimately fails. The first-person narration in this book makes him less mysterious and compelling, which is too bad. This is also an aggressively adjunct book that assumes you’ve read the source material, because it races by all the delicate details of the political conspiracy and how they’re ferreted out. It is somewhat fun to revisit the story, but it feels like an echo, perfunctory and lacking the poetry of the original. The additional material without Phèdre is frankly not all that interesting, either: In particular, Joscelin’s training to become a Cassiline Brother resembles practically every other fantasy novel’s sequence set in a remote school where children learn an elite skill.
For dedicated (and somewhat uncritical) fans only; others might prefer to revisit the previous work.
This audiobook--the fourth in the Kushiel's Legacy fantasy series, but the second chronologically--offers more than a retelling of KUSHIEL'S DART. This companion piece is narrated from Joscelin's point of view. Narrator Owen Findlay is a master of distinctive voices as he reintroduces listeners to Joscelin, a warrior-priest who is sworn to celibacy and dedicated to protecting Phèdre nó Delaunay, a servant. While occasional production hiccups and noticeable pauses may require some patience, even at increased listening speed, Findlay's skills shine as he captures unique personalities, the complex political landscape, and Joscelin's internal conflict. While this production is delightful as a stand-alone, listening to the original trilogy first is recommended for the most satisfying experience. E.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
SEPTEMBER 2023 - AudioFile
