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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
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
Jacqueline Carey has a lot of talent as a writer. After reading her book Santa Olivia I thought to give another of her books a try. The thing that makes her writing great, in my opinion, is her prose. Kushiel's Dart and Santa Olivia are written with an entirely different flow, but they are both beautiful.
This book would have been five stars all the way, but the length of the book lost a star in my mind. I think the fact that I read it as an ebook made it even worse when gauging the length. But this book was long... There were four different adventures in this book that could have been divided into two separate books. Could have made some more money IMO.
The characters had so much life. It was so easy to picture each character and their own quirks and traits. Phedre was a hell of a main character. She keeps chalking up her skills to what Delauney had taught her and what Kushiel had given her, but she fails to see the strength and abilities that are all her own.
Joscelin was a shining star when it comes to heroes. I hate stories that make relationships all about the "love." They ignore the other aspects as simple as companionship and just being there. Joscelin wasn't just a lover for Phedre. He was so much more than that. I admire the role he played.
The story itself was quite intricate. Carey wove a complicated tale full of religion, politics, friendship, betrayal, and love. During the first quarter of this book I found it hard to follow what was going on, and at the end I still don't think I fully understood. But I got the gist of it and thats all I need.
Overall, this will be one of those books I will remember. Carey made me care about her characters and what happened to them and for that I thank her.
This book would have been five stars all the way, but the length of the book lost a star in my mind. I think the fact that I read it as an ebook made it even worse when gauging the length. But this book was long... There were four different adventures in this book that could have been divided into two separate books. Could have made some more money IMO.
The characters had so much life. It was so easy to picture each character and their own quirks and traits. Phedre was a hell of a main character. She keeps chalking up her skills to what Delauney had taught her and what Kushiel had given her, but she fails to see the strength and abilities that are all her own.
Joscelin was a shining star when it comes to heroes. I hate stories that make relationships all about the "love." They ignore the other aspects as simple as companionship and just being there. Joscelin wasn't just a lover for Phedre. He was so much more than that. I admire the role he played.
The story itself was quite intricate. Carey wove a complicated tale full of religion, politics, friendship, betrayal, and love. During the first quarter of this book I found it hard to follow what was going on, and at the end I still don't think I fully understood. But I got the gist of it and thats all I need.
Overall, this will be one of those books I will remember. Carey made me care about her characters and what happened to them and for that I thank her.
I read this book a long time ago and gave it a 5. Maybe it was super refreshing. But years later, it's the only 5 on my list that I can't remember a single plot point or character from. This doesn't make it bad in any way, I'm just noting it here for myself, to justify why I've suddenly decided to drop it to a 3.
medium-paced
This book is unexpectedly funny and cool. It has a totally different view on sex and what makes a person strong and capable, and that was refreshing. The protagonist is never good at physically FIGHTING, and that's ok! Not everyone is going to be! It was...a lot of names to keep track of, so I didn't really try too hard. Just let it wash over me and paid attention to how our Lady P felt about everyone. She's real good at listening to her gut, and it makes me want to listen to mine even more. Riveting! It opens with child sex slave training, and it doesn't really get less explicit from there, heads up.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
a complicated and difficult book to read. i read it via the (lengthy) audiobook, which is read very well but makes for a genuinely disturbing listening experience. to say that i enjoyed it does not feel quite appropriate, and i certainly don't fall in the camp of viewing this novel as a fun bdsm erotica with a side of politicking.
i am not even sure how to really articulate how i felt about this novel, because i did end up giving it five stars, and quite emotionally attached to these characters, particularly phedre. i cried several times throughout the dénouement of this novel (although it's not that hard to make me cry) and i thought it was very well written - aligning with my taste for flowery and dense worldbuilding and plot coils.
i must admit that without a physical copy i sometimes became confused at which aristocrat was which and i'm still not 100% sure that i connected every dot, but i generally understood what was going on in all conversations and scenarios. i honestly found the inclusion of joscelin, a very stereotypical fantasy romance love interest, a bit frustrating because he brought with him into the story a lot of prejudice and judgement against sex work and women in general. this dampened my enjoyment of such a uniquely sex work-positive fantasy society.
as for the sex (the elephant in the room), i thought it was fine. quite frankly, this book toed the line between hardcore bdsm scenes and some really quite vanilla beliefs. the idea that phedre is the only person in this entire world who actually feels sexual arousal from the pain and violence being enacted towards her (as implied by her conversation with the second of valerian early in the novel seems to imply) feels frankly ridiculous.
whilst sex is at the forefront of this novel, and is inextricably linked within the plot of the book, there aren't actually that many scenes, and they're often not very long. they're well written, as is the rest of the book and phedre is a sympathetic protagonist who does genuinely seem to have agency and be able to freely give her consent.
however, therein lies the serious issue with this novel, and the reason for my discomfort, disgust, and, at times, genuine distress. because of the world that jacqueline carey has created, phedre is essentially groomed from childhood to be a sex worker. her consent, whilst freely given in the moment, has been manipulated from her literal infancy when she was sold into servitude by her parents.
reading about experiences she had when she was a young child with this cast of sexuality and subservience is extremely disturbing. reading about her obsession with, and continued adoration of the man who is essentially her glorified pimp is disturbing. reading about her becoming (and encouraged to be) an active sex worker at the young, young age of sixteen is really fucking disturbing! reading about her glorified pimp (delauney) engaging in a sexual and romantic relationship with his foster son who he raised and manipulated into sex work was extremely disturbing!!
i understand entirely why this is written from first person (phedre's perspective) because that's why it is acceptable for these characters to be beloved and not reprehensible. reading from phedre is why delauney reads as a hero, not a fucking creep and i think that was an intentional decision from jacqueline carey. i understand that this is a very particular reading of this novel, recognising and being distressed by all the issues about consent and grooming within and still giving it five stars.
ultimately, i thought this was very well done. i loved the political intrigue and the worldbuilding and the travelling aspect of this novel. i liked the mythology and the depth and the characters. i thought the pacing stumbled a bit for me, when phedre and joscelin were with the skaldic tribes but it picked back up after that, and i'm really not someone who minds a lengthy book. i don’t think the questions this book raises around consent and grooming are unintentional (but that’s an unpopular opinion).
it's five stars. a very complicated, and qualified five stars, but five stars nonetheless.
i am not even sure how to really articulate how i felt about this novel, because i did end up giving it five stars, and quite emotionally attached to these characters, particularly phedre. i cried several times throughout the dénouement of this novel (although it's not that hard to make me cry) and i thought it was very well written - aligning with my taste for flowery and dense worldbuilding and plot coils.
i must admit that without a physical copy i sometimes became confused at which aristocrat was which and i'm still not 100% sure that i connected every dot, but i generally understood what was going on in all conversations and scenarios. i honestly found the inclusion of joscelin, a very stereotypical fantasy romance love interest, a bit frustrating because he brought with him into the story a lot of prejudice and judgement against sex work and women in general. this dampened my enjoyment of such a uniquely sex work-positive fantasy society.
as for the sex (the elephant in the room), i thought it was fine. quite frankly, this book toed the line between hardcore bdsm scenes and some really quite vanilla beliefs. the idea that phedre is the only person in this entire world who actually feels sexual arousal from the pain and violence being enacted towards her (as implied by her conversation with the second of valerian early in the novel seems to imply) feels frankly ridiculous.
whilst sex is at the forefront of this novel, and is inextricably linked within the plot of the book, there aren't actually that many scenes, and they're often not very long. they're well written, as is the rest of the book and phedre is a sympathetic protagonist who does genuinely seem to have agency and be able to freely give her consent.
however, therein lies the serious issue with this novel, and the reason for my discomfort, disgust, and, at times, genuine distress. because of the world that jacqueline carey has created, phedre is essentially groomed from childhood to be a sex worker. her consent, whilst freely given in the moment, has been manipulated from her literal infancy when she was sold into servitude by her parents.
reading about experiences she had when she was a young child with this cast of sexuality and subservience is extremely disturbing. reading about her obsession with, and continued adoration of the man who is essentially her glorified pimp is disturbing. reading about her becoming (and encouraged to be) an active sex worker at the young, young age of sixteen is really fucking disturbing! reading about her glorified pimp (delauney) engaging in a sexual and romantic relationship with his foster son who he raised and manipulated into sex work was extremely disturbing!!
i understand entirely why this is written from first person (phedre's perspective) because that's why it is acceptable for these characters to be beloved and not reprehensible. reading from phedre is why delauney reads as a hero, not a fucking creep and i think that was an intentional decision from jacqueline carey. i understand that this is a very particular reading of this novel, recognising and being distressed by all the issues about consent and grooming within and still giving it five stars.
ultimately, i thought this was very well done. i loved the political intrigue and the worldbuilding and the travelling aspect of this novel. i liked the mythology and the depth and the characters. i thought the pacing stumbled a bit for me, when phedre and joscelin were with the skaldic tribes but it picked back up after that, and i'm really not someone who minds a lengthy book. i don’t think the questions this book raises around consent and grooming are unintentional (but that’s an unpopular opinion).
it's five stars. a very complicated, and qualified five stars, but five stars nonetheless.
Plus: a rich and detailed world that one can really step into while reading, multi dimensional and interesting characters, an original premise,
minus: this book is very long which is not necessarily a bad thing but at times it really felt long. the plot dragged from time to time and I found myself skipping through certain parts just so I could finish and move on
minus: this book is very long which is not necessarily a bad thing but at times it really felt long. the plot dragged from time to time and I found myself skipping through certain parts just so I could finish and move on
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes