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k8teviola's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Don't be fooled, this is not truly a romance but a tale of fierce political intrigue with web upon webs of deceit. It is a beautiful book but also heartwrenching and devastating. Amazingly well written but go into it with the bandwidth to deal with such things. An amazing depth to the story with the layers of fantasy world built on the traditions of many ancient peoples of Europe giving an extra richness to the histories and traditions detailed
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Classism
patremagne's review against another edition
5.0
http://abitterdraft.com/2016/02/kushiels-dart-by-jacqueline-carey.html
Well...my expectations were shattered.
There's a stigma at the mention of Kushiel's Dart, where labels do label things and either turn people off of books or turn people onto them (pun not intended, but very welcome). Romance and all its subgenres are particularly vulnerable to labels doing label things, as is YA, where people look up a book, see its most popular labels, and judge the book as easily as they would by its cover. It's something I formerly did subconsciously, finding a book labeled as a genre I generally don't like because of its themes and casting it aside. I recently came to realize what I was doing - generalizing entire genres without a second thought - and once I did realize and actually picked up those I would have cast aside, I came across some of my favorite recent books, like Pierce Brown's Rising trilogy, Victoria Schwab's work, and now Kushiel's Dart.
On the surface, sure, there's romance in the book, and in my mind most good stories need some kind of romance to have that feeling of completeness. Romance just can't be the thing, the entire focus of the book, for me. After finishing, I can safely say that it's not. Kushiel's Dart is one of the most sweeping, richly detailed, and simply engrossing books I have read for quite some time. It really does have everything: action, adventure, intrigue, love, war, heroes & villains, you name it. Yeah, it obviously has BDSM, considering Phedre is a courtesan that receives pleasure from pain, but it isn't the focus; it's a tool that Phedre uses to see her will done in the same way a sword is to a soldier, as she has a rare gift being the first anguisette in an age.
Incredibly deep world and characters, plenty you love to love, like Joscelin, Hyacinthe, and Ysandre, love to hate, like Melisande, and many yet in between. The book's an absolute tome at almost a thousand pages, though. I can't imagine how anyone can look at Kushiel's Dart, see its labels, description, and page count and still think it's a shallow romance for kink-enthusiasts. Carey writes in an odd manner that's generally beautiful but occasionally purple in its use of archaic speech, and I reckon a few pages could've been edited down here and there, but there were no points in the story that I was thinking "are we there yet?" from Phedre's coming of age a few chapters in all the way to the final pages, where my heart stopped and restarted too many times to count.
Well...my expectations were shattered.
There's a stigma at the mention of Kushiel's Dart, where labels do label things and either turn people off of books or turn people onto them (pun not intended, but very welcome). Romance and all its subgenres are particularly vulnerable to labels doing label things, as is YA, where people look up a book, see its most popular labels, and judge the book as easily as they would by its cover. It's something I formerly did subconsciously, finding a book labeled as a genre I generally don't like because of its themes and casting it aside. I recently came to realize what I was doing - generalizing entire genres without a second thought - and once I did realize and actually picked up those I would have cast aside, I came across some of my favorite recent books, like Pierce Brown's Rising trilogy, Victoria Schwab's work, and now Kushiel's Dart.
On the surface, sure, there's romance in the book, and in my mind most good stories need some kind of romance to have that feeling of completeness. Romance just can't be the thing, the entire focus of the book, for me. After finishing, I can safely say that it's not. Kushiel's Dart is one of the most sweeping, richly detailed, and simply engrossing books I have read for quite some time. It really does have everything: action, adventure, intrigue, love, war, heroes & villains, you name it. Yeah, it obviously has BDSM, considering Phedre is a courtesan that receives pleasure from pain, but it isn't the focus; it's a tool that Phedre uses to see her will done in the same way a sword is to a soldier, as she has a rare gift being the first anguisette in an age.
Incredibly deep world and characters, plenty you love to love, like Joscelin, Hyacinthe, and Ysandre, love to hate, like Melisande, and many yet in between. The book's an absolute tome at almost a thousand pages, though. I can't imagine how anyone can look at Kushiel's Dart, see its labels, description, and page count and still think it's a shallow romance for kink-enthusiasts. Carey writes in an odd manner that's generally beautiful but occasionally purple in its use of archaic speech, and I reckon a few pages could've been edited down here and there, but there were no points in the story that I was thinking "are we there yet?" from Phedre's coming of age a few chapters in all the way to the final pages, where my heart stopped and restarted too many times to count.
nox_lilium's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
dylanecdotally's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this but it's just so long, and I don't like it enough to finish it. There are other books I'd rather be reading. I thought the writing was good, the set-up engaging, and the characters compelling, but it just went on and on. If my Library borrow was longer than 14 days, maybe I wouldn't feel so pressured to finish it, but I'm letting it go for now.
DNF 70%
Couldn't stop thinking about this book so I purchased a paperback and will finish it.
DNF 70%
Couldn't stop thinking about this book so I purchased a paperback and will finish it.
faded_ink's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
les_anne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
readwithke's review against another edition
4.0
This book was part of a class curriculum and I found it daring. The professor really chose a great one.
catalogthis's review against another edition
4.0
Revised, with less snark:
I started reading this because I was looking for a mental palate-cleanser after [b:Lolita|7604|Lolita|Vladimir Nabokov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1228045893s/7604.jpg|1268631] (review forthcoming, BTW). I wanted a purely entertaining read, a rollicking adventure featuring much melodrama and a likable protagonist. A nice, escapist fantasy seemed perfect. This was darker than I expected... the protagonist of Kushiel's Dart is Phedre, a masochistic prostitute-spy, knee-deep in the ugly political (and literal) backstabbing of a fake France.
While the writing is a bit overwrought*, and the characters somewhat predictable, the storytelling is excellent... the kind that keeps you up to the wee hours of the morning just to find out what happens next. My high-school self would have given this a 5-star rating.
*Look to Zen's review for a pitch-perfect parody!
I started reading this because I was looking for a mental palate-cleanser after [b:Lolita|7604|Lolita|Vladimir Nabokov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1228045893s/7604.jpg|1268631] (review forthcoming, BTW). I wanted a purely entertaining read, a rollicking adventure featuring much melodrama and a likable protagonist. A nice, escapist fantasy seemed perfect. This was darker than I expected... the protagonist of Kushiel's Dart is Phedre, a masochistic prostitute-spy, knee-deep in the ugly political (and literal) backstabbing of a fake France.
While the writing is a bit overwrought*, and the characters somewhat predictable, the storytelling is excellent... the kind that keeps you up to the wee hours of the morning just to find out what happens next. My high-school self would have given this a 5-star rating.
*Look to Zen's review for a pitch-perfect parody!
erinrevesz's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0