Kushiel's Avatar (Kushiel's Legacy) by Jacqueline Carey Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Kushiel's Avatar (Kushiel's Legacy)
Book Review: Love as thou wilt
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ten years peace, she had promised; one, I thought, for every man I sent to death outside the City of Elua." Ten years of peace is shattered by two dreams; one of Hyacinth, Phedre's childhood Tsingano friend, and the other of a diamond on a velvet chord, a token of Melisande. When Melisande summons Phedre's aid to find her son Imriel de la Courcel after he has gone missing, she offers up the only thing that could tempt Phedre to undertake such a task, the location where she might discover the clue to breaking Hyacinthe's curse, the name of God.
Her search leads her to Aragonia, where she unearths a child slave trade market that has been selling D'angeline children to foreign lands for high profits. To follow the trail is to venture first to Menekheten, then to hell itself. Phedre must decide whether the gain outways the risk as her relationship with her perfect companion, Joscelin, is put to the test and her own sanity stretches to the brink.
I didn't think this series could have gotten any better than "Kushiel's Chosen" but I was happily mistaken. "Kushiel's Avatar" is a stunning book, fraught with peril, sacrifice, and yearning unlike anything I have read before. I blew away all of my expectations and sets a new precedent for the fantasy novel. This was, simply put, a fantastic conclusion to a phenomenal series, one that showcase Carey's skills with such resonance. I found myself completely drawn into this spellbinding world of intrigue and opulance once again, and also found a pleasant new addition in the presence of Imriel, whose story is so compelling and heart rendering that there was several times I had to put the book down to clear my head and readjust my thoughts to accommodate him. This, for me, was a fabulous book, and a great end to a treasure of a story.
I almost wish that Carey would pursue the story of Imriel in a follow up series, as I found him so ingaging and so haphazardly thrown into the world his mother had created for him against his will. If it never happens, I will not hold it against Carey, as she has already made me a stalwart fan with this series. I am sure that I will be reading anything she writes after this, and I am a little sorry that the story is over because I am going through "Kushiel" withdrawl already. This is a must read. I would not avoid it if I were you.
Book Review: Good... But out of nowhere
Summary: 3 Stars
Kushiel's Dart left me spell bound, it was one of the best books I'd read all year with excellent culture, a twisting plot, and many remarkable characters like Melisande, Delauney, sweet Alcuin, Eamon and Grainne, Drustan, and even Hedwig and Gunther of the Skaldi... I even had a certain respect for Selig when the book was done. And Phedre herself truely had a miraculous transformation, from a sex-craving "whore's unwanted get" to a strong woman.
In Kushiel's Chosen I felt it did not quite do justess to Phedre or many other characters, I particularly did not like the way Phedre described people who were not D'Angeline, which was much more unflattering in LaSerrenisima and Ilyria than it was in Eire and Alba in Kushiel's Dart. But I still throroughly enjoyed the book.
Kushiel's Avatar, however, did not at all live up to my expectations. Phedre seems by far to be too much of a perfect character, and her romance with Joscelin seems forced at best. I never really liked Joscelin's character much, but by the end Kushiel's Dart I had appreciated him and his romance with Phedre -in Chosen I could look past the rigidness of their scenes together. But in Avatar the romance was utterly lacking and I could not understand why Phedre was in love with him when she is the desire of more than half the the D'Angeline nobility.
The part I really enjoyed was her time in Drujani with the zenana. The Makhagir's character really caught my attention, he was beautifully done, as was Phedre's character in that interval and all the other of the zenena, particularly Kaneka and Druscilla.
One of the problems with this story is that it has been stretched to far in the previous book, Chosen, and Phedre has already evolved to the point where there is really no point in making her run around, as she is clearly perfect.
Imriel was a gem to the story though, I found his bound with Phedre quite real and truly a wonderful thing in her character, as was the zenena expirence... It was a good book, but it laked the brilliance and intrigue of its predesesors.
What I really did not enjoy was Valere L'Envers, it was really stupid how she liked Phedre and hated her when she returned, I could understand if all she did when sending Phedre off was bid her good luck, but Valere made a big speach on how she tresured Phedre as a friend and was loathe to send her off. Curtesy did not demand that, so it made no sense when she came back.
I also hated the sudden romance between Hyacinthe and Sibeal, it was completely unrealistic and so obviously a devise to remove Hyacinthe complications from the picture. I could understand a simple crush on Sibeal's part, her becoming enamoured with Hyacinthe because of his sacrifice and valore, but love? Especially on Hyacinthe's part, who has scarse spoken with the girl. He has been locked on an island, cut off from everyone for the past twelve years and suddenly he is in a deep relationship with some one he has not spoken too nor even known so long? It is unbelivable.
Personally, I would have more thoroughly enjoyed it if Carey spent another hundred pages for Phedre and Hyacinthe to realize the end of their relationship, and perhaps, at the end show Hyacinthe flirting with Sibeal and the begginings of their love, rather than forcing it out of nowhere.
Still, Phedre's growth into motherhood was satisfing, and their traveals to Dirsanga and conter-part africa pretty much made the story a good read.
Book Review: good thoughts, good words, good deeds
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first discovered the Kushiel's Legacy trilogy, I did not expect anything more than a mix of fantasy and romance, spiced with kinky sex. I made the same mistake as all those characters who underestimated Jacqueline Carey's heroine, Phedre, missing the keen mind working behind the guise of a beautiful courtesan. What's more, both author and protagonist have aged gracefully. Ten years after the events of the last novel, Phedre seems less a weapon of her country and more her own woman. She thus has much more to lose when she sets out on a personal quest to rescue a childhood friend. Her journey takes her to distant lands in Carey's reimagination of our world: from a deathly harem beyond the Tigris and Euphrates, south past the realm of a menacing pharaoh and across the desert, to a land where a lost tribe of Yisra-El hides the Name of God. The pilgrimage seems certain to cost Phedre her friendships, her lover, and her life. In a sense, these losses are what make this character and this trilogy so remarkable. She owes all her accomplishments not to skill with a sword or supernatural power but to her capacity for love and self-sacrifice (and a fair amount of wit, to be sure). To the author's credit, this theme never came across as hokey. On the contrary, I had a harder time putting this novel down than its predecessors. Suffice to say that I'm looking forward to Carey's next work, though by now she has earned high expectations!Book Review: Nightmarish, Beautiful, Sublime and...Jewish?
Summary: 5 Stars
The final book of the Kushiel trilogy is simply stunning. It is also far more difficult to read than its predecessors. There were times when I had to put it down and come back to it because the sadism was too intense, whereas I read the first two in three sittings each. But it was too compelling to abandon. The emotional resonance of the story is amazing, light-years beyond "Dart" and "Chosen," and the plotting is magnificent. I cried several times. I don't know what more I can say about the book in general except that it is a more than fitting finale to an amazing trilogy.That said, for me the sadism of the episode in the Mahrkagir's palace would have been irredeemable if it were not for what followed. There were references throughout the first two books to Jewish culture and folklore (the Book of Raziel, the "khai" pendants, the culturally "Jewish" Yeshuites who are religiously Christian (Why, Ms. Carey? Why?) etc.) but I did not expect the sudden and and heartrendingly beautiful welling of Jewish mysticism in the finale. Carey's use of the concept of the Name of God was a breathtaking departure from the expected, and while I am ideologically troubled by its juxtaposition with sado-masochism, prostitution and paganism, my emotional side was satisfied, delighted and swept away. The talent and depth of knowledge that must have been required to pull it off leaves me nearly speechless.
Book Review: An Intense And Glorious Conclusion To The Kushiel Trilogy!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Kushiel's Avatar," is the last book in Jacqueline Carey's dramatic trilogy of life in a world similar to Earth, during a period reminiscent of our Renaissance. This fantastic romantic adventure is every bit as exciting as Ms. Carey's first two books, "Kushiel's Dart" and "Kushiel's Chosen," and a very worthy conclusion. (Although there are still some loopholes left - tiny ones, but just enough room for another book to slip through. Always hoping)!Ten years have past since we last saw our lash-loving lady, the true "anguisette," Phedre no Delauney, Comtesse de Montreve, peer of Terre d'Ange. She and her beloved companion, the Cassiline apostate, Joscelin Verreuil have been residing on their estates and maturing with grace and beauty. But neither is able to forget the fate of Phedre's childhood friend Hyacinthe and the terrible sacrifice he made in order that a queen be crowned and peace reign. Nothing less than discovering the most secret and holy name of the "One God" will do to free him - an almost impossible task to accomplish which will involve traveling over continents and seas, in what I believe is the most awesome adventure of them all! Then Melisande Shahrizai, Phedre's nemesis and patron of old, surfaces and begs a boon - I won't even go there. You'll have to read the book.
The adventures of Phedre and friends are every bit as breathtaking, if not more so, than those in preceding books. Ms. Carey has explored various religions and forms of spirituality in her other novels - religions resembling Christianity and Judaism, and others where gods and demigods are worshipped, similar to those of ancient Greece and Rome. In this, the last part of the trilogy, the author pulls all her characters and their adventures together to show a bigger pattern and spiritual purpose. In other words, there is an author's message. These folks are not just hanging out to have fun while risking life and limb...and lash! Phedre discovers that her service to Kushiel has served a much higher cause than she ever thought possible, and has been integrated into the service of all whom she has served. Ms. Carey gives additional depth and dimension to her characters and story with this last touch. A terrific conclusion to a superb epic fantasy!
JANA