Lushly-written and engrossing

This is one of my favorite fantasy series, and Anne Flosnik's narration really helps to bring Phedre, Joscelin, Imriel, Melisande, and others to life. The first Kushiel trilogy comes to triumphant conclusion as Phedre and Joscelin embark on a quest to find the kidnapped boy Imriel, son of Melisande and third in line to the throne. Their search leads them to Ptolemaic Egypt, then to Khebbel-im-Akkad, as they pursue a dangerous and degrading undercover mission to the harem of a mad cult leader.

Carey's alternate-history Europe, where Christianity remained a minor Jewish cult and Islam never rose in the Middle East, is brilliantly realized, as are her landscapes and cultures. The D/s themes and frank sexuality of these books mean they're not for everyone, but they are an amazing escape to another world... Highly recommended, and I look forward to starting the next Kushiel trilogy.

12 people found this helpful

Dark and epic!

Note: It is possible to read this book as a stand alone as relevant events from Book 1 and Book 2 are reflected upon in enough detail for a reader of Book 3 to grasp the point. However, I highly recommend reading the earlier books so that you get the most out of this book.

Set 10 years after Book 2, Kushiel’s Chosen, Phedre and Joscelin have had all that time to settle into their relationship. Both have made compromises to their wants in order to make room for their love. Phedre only takes two assignations a year in Naamah’s service while Joscelin has learned to let his sense of humor show here and there. But through this well-earned and hard-found bliss, Phedre has never forgotten Hyacinthe and his sacrifice for Terre D’Ange and herself. He still lives an isolated life out on the Three Sisters, learning the powers of the Master of the Straights. Then she receives an unexpected missive from an old enemy and one-time patron, Melisande. Phedre’s adventuring days are not over yet.

This is a re-read for me. I have enjoyed this series over and over again and it was awesome to revisit this book as part of a read along with several blogger friends. They brought new insights to this much beloved book. I have always found this book to be the darkest of the first trilogy. The entire series deals with consent in its many myriad forms. However, in this installment of the series we see how those lines can get blurred and shattered apart. This epic fantasy is not for the faint of heart.

There’s two plot lines for Joscelin and Phedre to solve in this book and one has always been more interesting to me than the other. First, as we know from Book 2, Melisande had a son who she somehow spirited away. Now, it is up to Phedre and Joscelin to track down this long-lost Prince of the Blood, Imriel. Second, the Master of the Straights has passed his powers on to Hyacinthe after a long 10-year apprenticeship. Phedre still searches for the key to free him and will never give up.

The search for Imriel is the one that has always held my attention. It deals with child slavery and the broken trust of a child and how, if ever, to recover that trust. Meanwhile, I have never gotten caught up fully in Hyacinthe’s plight. He went into the agreement with full knowledge as an adult. I know the life on the Three Sisters is a complete 180 for him, being trapped on these three isles with only his servants and the Master of the Straights for company. And yet…. Well, I always felt that he was moping about it, for ten years. He wasn’t trying to make the most of the situation. He wasn’t making an effort to embrace the few, yet awesomely powerful, perks of his new station in life and I think that is what dampened my feelings towards him. Meanwhile, Phedre was all in an anguish over him every other chapter and felt this great survivor’s guilt for not having been the one trapped on that isle instead of Hyacinthe. It’s totally in keeping with Phedre’s personality, and yet I still found it a little tiring.

So, setting aside that one tiny quibble, this is an excellent book to wrap up the first trilogy. Phedre’s gods ask her to take on a dangerous and most difficult task. The asking is subtle and I feel there’s plenty there for each reader to interpret their own way. The magic of Terre D’Ange is not often direct. Phedre’s deities will be tested by the dark powers that have taken up residence in Darsanga, a land far to the east of Terre D’Ange. Phedre and Joscelin won’t be able to count on any help from friends and allies. My heart really went out to Joscelin on this one. In the past books, Phedre’s actions have often tested Joscelin’s vows, but this is a new level. I think both Phedre and Joscelin lost a little bit of themselves.

There’s plenty of travel for Phedre and Joscelin in this story. New lands and new cultures are explored. The Yeshuites continue to play a part in this tale. Indeed, they have quite a significant role in part of the adventure. It’s easy to see how both Phedre and Joscelin have grown throughout the series in this book. They take on meeting new peoples in stride and adapting their own manners to be more accommodating to their hosts. In Book 1 and Book 2, Phedre can sometimes come off as a little conceited. I think she’s really grown out of that here in Book 3. She still observes differences, but she’s not longer simply comparing those differences to the ways of Terre D’Ange.

As with the first two books, the author doesn’t shy away from detailed sex scenes. They are always used to move the plot forward or show some aspect of the characters. One of the reasons that I adore these books is that they don’t ignore the fact that sex is a main driver for human behavior and that how we treat someone both outside and inside the bedroom is important (and sometimes is mightily different). This book contains one of my favorite sex scenes of all time. It involves fishing. The scene was moving, beautiful, arousing, loving, sensual, and meaningful.

Enough gushing. You know by now that I adore this book even if I find it the darkest of the three. I also find that it holds the most food for thought. The myriad of characters show their strengths, and try to hide their weaknesses, in a variety of ways. It’s not just swords and muscles that will win your way through this adventure. The ending was quite satisfying. Not everyone got everything they were hoping for, but everyone got enough.



The Narration: Once again, Anne Flosnik gives a stellar performance. The list of accents needed for this trilogy grows yet again with this installment. I can’t imagine the amount of research she had to put into this before she could begin the narration. Her character voices are always distinct and she holds this accent or that accent steady for each character. I love her little kid voice for Imriel. Great narration!

6 people found this helpful

Fine writing marred by self indulgence

Carey is obviously a gifted writer in many different ways. The world she has created (actually just a variant of our own but with a new cast of characters) is richly researched, reimagined and rendered. Her plotting is as sure handed as it is intricate. And she mines some pretty unorthodox psycho sexual material fearlessly. Her characters are engaging and consistent. Now if she could just shake her self indulgent penchant for spending huge amounts of time reminisciing about the events in her previous Kushial stories, she would cut the length of her book by thirty percent, move it along at a much more enjoyable pace and lose nothing. If I want the details of what went before, I will read the books I have missed. I came very close to giving up on this one by the end of the first section. Happily the story finally began to happen, gradually, at that point, though there were still far too many flashbacks for my taste. Between those flashbacks there was a really good book.

15 people found this helpful

All time favorite series

This series is magical and I haven’t found anything that really compares. This book is my favorite in the whole series, it gave me all the feels, touched on every genre. Magnificent.

1 person found this helpful

Absolutely a must read

This book is #3 in the Kushiel series.
Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar, Kushiel's Scion, Kushiel's Justice, Kushiel's Mercy.

I loved Phedre from the start. The book does stand on its own but it would really be better if you read the first two.

The adventure, the exotic places, customs, and the horrors Phedre and Joselin face were so well written and narrated that I felt I was with them.
It was perfect. A lot of unexpected turns and events happen but at the end Phedre does succeed in things she even didn't know she wanted.
Listen to it!

2 people found this helpful

Outstanding!

This was an audio book that I didn't want to end. It did get complicated as the politics and regions were rolled out in the story, but the obvious similarities with present day were there to help.
character development was good as well.

beautifully written historical fiction that grabs

what a wonderful mysterious story of a young heroine spy through our Europe Africa and the Middle East set in a time of queens and knights. beautifully written to enthrall your senses and leave you waiting on the edge of your seat. great for alone time and deep thought. you'll want your one on one time to contemplate the characters and scenes occurring.

Big adventure

A huge adventure for our beloved characters. This book just kept giving. If you're a fan don't miss this one.

Absolutely riveting conclusion

This book was a long haul for me and I just could not believe it could top who Kushiel's Chosen. The performance was impeccable and invested in all the characters. I am definitely revisiting all three books again in the future.

100 stars

Love Jacqueline Carey, Anne Flosnik, and the series.
read and listen to this series more than any other series in my life.