Kushiel's Chosen (Kushiel's Legacy) by Jacqueline Carey Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Kushiel's Chosen (Kushiel's Legacy)
Book Review: Ms. Carey has done it again
Summary: 5 Stars
On the back of this book there is a quote from a published author, saying something like, "Only once in every 10 years or so does a book like this come along."I would agree! I haven't read a trilogy like this in many, many years. Broad of scope, filled with fantasy and magic, an adult fantasy (in all senses of the word "adult"). And the eroticism doesn't read (as in some novels) as eroticsm soley for the sake of titilation, but Ms. Carey has blended the eroticism as a solid part of the overall story, just as eroticism is a solid part of human existence.
By creating a world that is similar to, but slightly different from the one we inhabit in our waking ours, Ms. Carey offers - inadvertently or no - an interesting commentary on our own culture.
Wonderful read!
Book Review: I miss Joscelin's character traits...
Summary: 4 Stars
This sequel to Kushiel's Dart is not quite as good as the original. While the first book was very well thought out, there are some flaws in "Chosen". The biggest of these is with the character of Joscelin Verreiul, Phèdre nò Delaunay's beloved, her oath-sworn protector, and eventually, her lover. While their conflicts at the beginning are believable, if less mature than one would have expected, the ending is hardly plausible. Some of Joscelin's actions, abandoning Phedre and the like, are hard to believe in one who is usually so adamant about keeping his oaths. And at the end, after a touching, if brief, reunion, these problems just vanish....why? It could have been much better xplained if Joscelin's point of view was expresed more, but it wasn't. In that, the book was not as good as its predecessor. The sex scenes were a bit more erotic in this book, so, once agian, not a book for children.
Book Review: Who says sequels can't deliver
Summary: 5 Stars
Kushiel's Dart was GREAT! Kushiels Chose was equally GREAT!Once you pick up this book, you may find out just how quickly you can read a 700 page book. This is truely a great storyline, with well developed characters in a fantastic setting. Phedre and Joscelin of course return in this book (right on the heels of where the first book ended). Will they find the elusive Melisandre? Read this book and find out, you won't be at all sorry.
Book Review: Solid and Enjoyable Middle Act of Trilogy
Summary: 5 Stars
Which can be tough to do. One only has to look at some of the overly long and tedious series of other fantasy writers to appreciate Jacqueline Carey's accomplishment. Kushiel's Chosen covers a shorter time frame (less than a year), two years after the conclusion of Kushiel's Dart. It has a much more mature heroine, and thus one of the weaknesses for a few readers will be a perception of less character development and action (at least through the first third), relative to the frenetic pace of the first novel. Such perceptions (a) fail to acknowledge the role of the book in setting up the dark concluding volume; (b) misgauge the key development of Carey's resolution of the Phedre-Joscelyn relationship (where each can accept each other as they are); (c) ignore another rousing adventure on the high seas and a spectacular climax in La Serenissima -- treason, kidnapping, murder -- it's all one could want. And you'll want to meet Nicola, she's great. It is also a novel about individuals making choices and accepting the consequences. This novel also has a stronger fantasy dimension and clarifies many elements for the trilogy. A good and engrossing read.Book Review: Successfully occupied my time.
Summary: 4 Stars
Kushiel's Chosen seemed to me a worthy follow-up to Kushiel's Dart. I wasn't disappointed in it (unlike many of the other reviewers) largely because I wasn't that impressed with the first book. I think the series is a reliably well-written historical fantasy-- no more and no less. For people who haven't read the first-- this isn't a swords and sorcery fantasy, really. There's very little magic as such and what there is is fairly constrained to priestly magic. Many fantasy books set magic as the foregrounded element where here it can be best compared to the spice in the food.
Also worth noting is that the sex in Kushiel's Chosen is at least a little bit more explicit than in Kushiel's Dart. It's still not disruptive to the story, but this probably isn't for your pre-teen (or even teenage) reader. And (if you haven't figured it out from the back of the book already) Phedre isn't a vanilla kind of girl, so if power games in sex disturb you pick up another book.
So why isn't this five stars? Lots of bad things happen to Phedre, but in the end you never really believe (even for a moment) that she's going to fail. She's too beautiful, speaks too many languages, and is too good at political intrigue. I tend to prefer my heroines (even in escapist fiction) with more flaws to overcome.