Kushiel's Dart | Jacqueline Carey | Erotic high fantasy that is both erotic and fantastic

Kushiel's Dart | Jacqueline Carey | I love, love, love, love, love this series!

books:

Kushiel's Dart

	Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey Tor Fantasy, 2002 - 816 pages average customer review:based on 317 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission...and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair...and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

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Erotic high fantasy that is both erotic and fantastic

Confession time: I am leery of fantasy that deals with the erotic, mostly because I got burned to a crisp by Laurell K. Hamillton's badly pornographic dreck. Thus, I've been skirting around this one for a long time, but finally took a bold step and read it...

I was not pleased with what I read: No, I am blown away by it! The writing is lush and evocative, reminiscent of Tanith Lee but less meandering, the characters well-drawn and very human. In the hands of a less capable writer, they could easily collapse into cliches -- I shudder at the things the under-aged and less-creative fankiddy fanfiction writers could twist Phedre no Delaunay and her companions into (perhaps Ms. Carey's ban on fanfiction based on her work is for our protection as much as the protection of her intellectual property), bur Jacqueline Carey masterfully keeps their personalities and voices consistent. The sexual content is always handled delicately and deftly, even in the more cringe-inducing moments, never devolving into cheap pornography, but always remaining elegant and erotic.

I'll admit that, aside from Tolkien, I'm not a big fan of epic fantasy, but Ms. Carey manages to break out of the too-often copied Tolkien tropes and breathe new life into a genre in need of it. Her world-building is excellent and makes you wish you could live in a place like Terre D'Ange, that our world really had a parellell twin just like it. The mythos of Elua, the angelic offspring of Yeshua and Mary Magdelen, at first glance might seem yet another spin on the already beat-to-death Dan Brown cliches, but she manages to make something lovely and breath-taking from it. This book is a joy and a delight, and for all its length, you catch yourself wishing it wouldn't end -- which leads you to reach for the follow-up volumes.

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I love, love, love, love, love this series!

Did I mention that I love the Kushiel series? Everything about this series of books is well-done--characters, dialog, the world, the alternate reality/history. It's very unique. I think that most people who don't like this series have trouble with the idea of a masochist as a protagonist. Yep, that's dark and twisted. I think it's treated very tastefully in this series though. I think the other thing folks might have problems with is that these books are very sexy. I wouldn't recommend this series to just anyone, but to those who are OK with the two caveats I just mentioned, you'll love this series. It's one of the best fantasy series I've ever read.

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What a masterpiece!

As a life long voracious reader I can say with authority that you don't come across a writer of Ms. Carey's caliber very often. Her writing is as rich, ornate, and evocative as the Renaissance itself. The world she creates is fascinating and the characters unforgettable. She is truly a gifted storyteller in the truest sense. Even more impressive is her virtuoso use of the English language. Her writing is as beautiful as Shakespeares and her tales every bit as layered and involved with intrigue, suspense, and larger than life characters.

So many characters it is difficult to keep track of them but I became so attached that I wept with the first loss of Guy and more with each loss after. I'm glad she gave us a cast of characters at the beginning, I referred to it frequently. It thrills me to know that I have five more books after this one to enjoy the life of Phedre no' Delaunay. I mean to savor them like the rare jewels they are.

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Can't put it down

I started with the 4th one on accident. I loved it so much that I started again with the 1st one. This book was a page turner, it went everywhere with me. Phedre is an unforgettable character that will stay with me forever. I completely fell in love woth Joselin. 'He has replaced my first and only character love Haplo" With deep undertones of religion and heavy with politics, there is not much magic. Heroic tales almost out of history, and sex scenes to get the brain thinking;) I absolutely love the way Jaqueline Carey writes. She is very talented, she gets right to the point. These books will always stay in my "private collection" Its the kind that you want to read slower to make them last longer, and faster to find out what happens. All in all, a fantastic read!

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