Kushiel's Dart (Kushiel's Legacy Series #1)

Kushiel's Legacy

Amazing book! There were times, in the first half, that I found it moving a bit slow, but it made up for it and then some! I think much of it had to do with being the first book of a series...often they begin fairly slow. She made up for it with beautifully written language. Great mythology and well-chosen names. Loosely based on Europe, France being the main area of the story. I can't even describe how brilliant the formation of the mythology is! She uses established mythology but builds on it. Lots of action, especially throughout the second half, and lovable characters. Interesting society with a large group of religious courtesans. I definitely will have to read more of these books!

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Some things which bugged me¿

Carey glosses over some of the more difficult parts of the book (i.e. battles or combat of any kind for that matter) which is interesting given a storyline that revolves in large part around war. I also got tired of thinking- hmmm it¿s a good thing this (insert evil characters name here) is totally undone by their lust for Phedre or she might not get out of this one. That happened over and over again, which leads me to the second thing that bugged me. Over the course of the novel Phedre somehow manages to screw virtually every character of any importance inside the storyline with the exception of those unfortunate enough to die early on. Does it ever even explain how she keeps from getting pregnant? Or how she keeps from catching a single disease? I also disliked the enormous lack of detail in parts of the novel where Carey was hurrying things to get to the next major event, usually Phedre having sexual relations or being physically abused with/by one of the other main characters. Anyways¿ As many of the other reviewers have pointed out the novel has quite a few strong suites as well. The storyline is original if predictable and Carey is obviously a talented writer. I wish Tor Books agreed with me that 90%Romance-10%Fantasy is not a Fantasy-Romance novel. It¿s a Romance with a few fantasy elements thrown in.

5 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

Kushiel: Another Great Series for Fiction Lovers

I am always looking for a "fix" in the form of good fiction and Kushiel's Dart was unexpected pay-dirt. It would be easy to dismiss this gem by presuming it is lacks more than the charachter of Phedre'. Huge mistake!

Not only do we deeply relate to the main character, we see a richly detailed adventure and highly developed charachters as intimately related by Phedre.

A very good book. Pick it up and you will find yourself transported to an adventure rife with intrigue, passion, treachery, and good old fashion kinky lust. I liked it so much I bought the next two in the series. I have read the second and it is just as good as the first.

You owe it to yourself. Escape into Phedre's world. Trust me. You'll like it.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

The Litany of One a'Cursed; potent, beautiful, and defiant writing for a modern reader

I found Kushiel's Dart in B&N on a doldrums evening. I hadn't read a good book in some time and needed something refreshing, mentally stimulating, and gently challenging to excite my thoughts into refined pictures and imaginings.
Though I wasn't sure I would like reading a book I knew almost nothing about, I was pleasantly surprised when I began to read Kushiel's Dart, as it instantly drew me into the beautiful and estranged land of Terre D'Ange. The characters bloom into fascinating spectacles of ferocity, longing, beauty, and emotion. Every written person, be they of importance or no, weaves into the overall tapestry with a master's perfection.
Though the plot is sometimes difficult to decipher from the interceding emotions of supporting characters and livid sexual dialogues of Phedre--the storyteller--and her devious clients, one can still spot the underlying story, if given to such attentions, weaving between the pages.
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is easily discouraged by sexuality in reading. This is an "R"-rated story for a sophisticated reader who is not easily bored with a lack of bloodshed and easily deciphered characters.
If you find fancy in complex plotlines and advanced character development, this is the book for you.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

One of My Favorite Books in the Fantasy Genre

Despite fitting into the coming of age genre often seen in young adult fiction, this is a very adult book--in every way. I avoided this book at first although a friend raved about it. Prostitution in fiction is generally a deal breaker with me. I didn't expect to be entranced and sucked into a world where it's an honored profession and the heroine a celebrated practitioner--and one with a very wide masochistic streak--it's literally her selling point. Yet ultimately this book and the trilogy of the first three Kushiel books became among my top favorites in the fantasy genre. Carey creates such an engaging voice for Phedre, from the first line I was hooked, the world she creates is unique and the plot bubbles along nicely and delivers a great blend of fantasy, adventure and romance. I'd add that the trilogy as a whole is wonderful and if you love this book I don't think you'll be disappointed with Kushiel's Chosen and Kushiel's Avatar. I found the Kushiel books after the first trilogy not as moving, but still good reads.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

WOW

I decided to go on a whim and read this book. I am a 30 year old male, So, I had a little trouble at first, thinking I was reading a romance novel. Boy, I was wrong. My whole being was captured right off bat. I was enthralled in the entire story. I could not put it down. The characters are beautifuly written. The plots and betrayals are masterfull. Carey also does a excellent job with descriptions. I loved how she mentioned the coach looking like a trap(lol). I can't wait to read all the others, Im too excited about the treasure I have found in Jacqueline Careys books.
Please read and enjoy, I highly reccomend it...

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A fantastic adventure!

This book had everything: love, adventure, conspiracy, sex, politics, frienship, war... I've never read fantasy before & it was difficult to follow at first but once I got going it all started making sense. I couldn't put it down! I'll read the rest in the series.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Darkly erotic epic fantasy

Great epic fantasy is successful when it takes you to places you have never entered before.Authors like George Martin,China Mieville, Robin Hobb, Steven Erikson and Goodkind are examples now add Jacqueline Carey name to this esteem list. 'When Love cast me out,it was Cruelty who took pity upon me.' These words help start up this dark erotic epic fantasy that will take you to the kingdom of Terre d'Ange, a country born of angels where prostitution is a holy act and court intrigue is most lethal.You will see this through the eyes of unforgettable heroine,Phedre who is sold to the engimatic Delaunay to be trained as a courtesan and schooled in foreign languages and is to become Delaunay's spy.She will learn her nation's darkest secrets and deadiliest conspiracies.Phedre's adventures will take her to the beds of her country's most powerful men, to be sold to slavery to a barbarian king and savior of her homeland from a brutal invasion! This lavish epic fantasy is filled with scenes of disturbing sexuality as Phedre who gets sexual pleasure through use of pain, court intrigue as she uncovers a treasonous plots to overthrow the king.This novel also boasts casts of characters like the warrior priest,Joscelin who vows to protect Phedre as he loses his heart toward her.The Noble Anafiel Delaunay, Phedre's owner who teaches her to become a master spy for his agendas.Hyacinthe,Phedre's kind-hearted friend who is the prince of travelers and to save his homeland will make a heartbreaking sacrifice and the power hungry Skaldian warlord, Waldemar who seeks to conquer Terre d'ange and the brilliant but utterly ruthless villianess, Melisandre who use machivellian manuvers in quest for ultimate power.Carey has the ability to tell scenes of disturbing sensuality and sweeping battle scenes.Carey's world-building abilities are excellent.So pick up this book and enter Phedre's world of dark desire and darker intrigue.You will never forget the journey!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A good read for a long day. . .

This book started out interesting enough, but there was nothing amazing about it. Once the reader understood the society all that was left were the slowly revealing consperices. Not my kind of book.

2 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

WOW - Great Read!

This was an outstanding read. It was a bit slow, to start, but to be fair, there is a great deal of ground to cover - numerous characters, plots, sub-plots, etc. Once she gave you the foundation, however, she took off, and the book was a page turner from then on. Thoroughly enjoying in every sense. Not a book for teens, and not for the sex-shy type - parts require a definite respect for others choices in sexual interests. Beautifully descriptive, including the battle scenes. One of the few books that truly evokes every emotion possible - over and over again. If you like descriptive sagas, and multiple levels in a story line - and sex doesn't offend you when spoken of descriptively - buy this book. I guarantee you'll end up buying the rest in the series. I just did!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

My all-time favorite book.

This was one of the first books I read once I was old enough to leave the young adult section. I was afraid that years later it might not be as good as I remembered, it was better than my memory. Fantastic novel, the characters are rich and real. The heroes are beautifully flawed, I will probably read everything this author writes due to this one book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

fun read

It took me a while to actually get this book to read. I kept looking at it and never getting it, finally after about 2 months of it catching my eye every time I looked for a new book, I got it! I am glad I did. It is a pretty long book and a lot (I mean a LOT) of different characters, but it was pretty good. There is a lot of detail in it, and made me blush a few times, but overall it was a fun read. Sometimes there was too much detail making it a dry read, but the author made up for it with its gripping scenes that would make me read a few more chapters before going to bed. If you are okay with a few detailed sex scenes to make you blush, politics, conspiracies, romance, love and a story to keep you guessing, this is a great series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hard to follow

I had heard of the author and wanted to try her books. However, I found the story difficult to get into -- confusing -- too many different 'families'. I ended up putting it down about 3/4 of the way through

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is Epic

An amazing story of epic proportion. This is not a one or two-day book read. You can not rush through reading Phedre's story. At times your eyes will tear and you will find yourself actually holding your breath. I was happy the author thought to include a map and glossary as I found myself referring to them many times. I look forward continuing reading this fantasy adventure with Kushiel's Chosen.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sex, politics, and love

This book was sexy, full of surprises, a dangerously good. The characters were memorable and distinct. It certainly surpassed my expectations.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting Job Skills

This book revolves around the interesting job skill of it's main character. There was not as much 'romance' as I expected, but if you're looking for a book about political persuits and twists...this is the book for you. I definitely plan on reading the whole series, and have already purchased the second book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I'm not sure this book could be any better

This is almost certainly my all-time favorite. It takes a little getting used to, but gradually sucks you right in. A real page-turner! It just keeps getting better and better...and the best part is, there are 2 more! The second trilogy is not really comparable. Read this though I wish everyone would you are missing out!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not What I Expected

I have read the Kushiel trilogy, and it was very interesting in the beginning. However, one starts to lose interest when there are so many confusing character names and nationalities, and there is more intrigue than I cared for. The main characters are interesting, and that is the only thing that kept me from putting the books down. Kushiel's Dart is the best of the three.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Wild Ride!

I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Kushiel's Dart. This book blew my mind. It's really epic in scope with intrigue, betrayal, war, sex, love and honor. There are a lot of layers here-in addition to writing a wonderful story, Carey has distorted (and created) history and religon enough for it to be fun to figure out where she detoured from what we know as real. The main character, Phedre, is a courtesan and spy with an unlikely 'gift' (I don't want to spoil it). The book is told from her point of view. Let's just say that, as peculiar as she is, you have no trouble putting yourself in her shoes. You're 'there' all the way during this wild and fascinating ride. I recommend this for fantasy and non-fantasy readers.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

extraordinary exotic political fantasy

In Terre d¿Ange, physical perfection means freedom and anything less denotes some form of bondage. Phedre no Delaunay is born with a red speck on her left eye, which means a life of slavery. Because of he ¿scarlet letter¿ on her eye, as a child, she is sold to eventually work as a servant of Naamah, providing pleasures to the free people of Terre d¿Ange.

However, unlike the rest of the free masses, noble freethinker Anafiel Delaunay, upon seeing the red spot, feels Phedre¿s mar is not a flaw. He believes it represents a greater perfection. He buys Phedre¿s marque and begins to educate her for more than the art of pleasure. She begins to spy for him, but soon becomes embroiled in a dastardly plot to dethrone the King, in which she struggles to warn His Highness before doomsday arrives.

KUSHIEL¿S DART is a powerful, extraordinary exotic political fantasy that never slows down yet fully develops the key cast and the culture. The epic fantasy story line is loaded with action that flows due to the characters seeming genuine while providing a deep look into a different culture and way of life. No one will believe that this is Jacqueline Carey¿s debut because her first published novel has to have come from someone with at least a five-book resume.

Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.