NUMBER: 44TITLE: Kushiel's Chosen
AUTHOR: Jacqueline Carey
STARTED: June 8, 2005
FINISHED: June 16, 2005
PAGES: 678
GENRE: Fantasy
FIRST SENTENCE: No one would deny that I have known hardship in my time, brief though it has been for all that I have done in it.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] Phedre no Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye and sold into indentured servitude as a child. Her bond was purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with a very special mission - and the first to recognize her for who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.
Phedre has trained in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Having stumbled upon a plot that threatened the very foundations of her homeland, she gave up almost everything she held dear to save it. She survived, and lived to have others tell her story, and if they embellish the tale with fabric of mythical splendor, they weren't far off the mark.
The hands of the gods weigh heavily upon Phedre's brow, and they are not yet done with their charge - for while the young queen who sits upon the throne is well loved by the people, there are those who believe that other heads should wear the crown. And those who escaped the wrath of the mighty are not yet done with their schemes for power and revenge. To protect and serve, Phedre will once again leave her beloved homeland.
From the sun-drenched villas of La Serenissima to the wilds of old Hellas, from a prison designed to drive the very gods mad to an island of immutable joy. Phedre will meet old friends and new enemies... and discover a plot so dreadful as to make the earth tremble, masterminded by the one person she cannot turn away from.
REASON FOR READING: I had trouble keeping my hands off of it after I read the first one.
THOUGHTS: Carey has a ability to paint a picture with words. I often read this book while drinking a glass of merlot and I was often struck me how often the two were related: fine and delicate yet full-bodied, sensual and smooth, and always leaving a taste for more. Carey's characters and world are, in a word, exquisite. She writes politics with the knowledge of an insider, her passionate scenes are heated and leave the reader gasping for air, and - above all - she crafts a story that draws a reader in from the first page and doesn't release them until the end. Even the, the reader begs for more.
Kushiel's Chosen is, luckily, the second book in a trilogy. Knowing there is more left me panting for the next book. Carey's books are to be enjoyed, contemplated, and savored.
MISCELLANEOUS: I would recommend an Australian wine for this book.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): Keep
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
CR: Celtic Fire by Joy Nash
RN: No clue.
Comments