Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of my favourite book of all time.
Incredible writing. Plot and story are divinely written, characters are so vivid, poignant, real. My heart goes to the Phèdre No Delaunay.
Incredible writing. Plot and story are divinely written, characters are so vivid, poignant, real. My heart goes to the Phèdre No Delaunay.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kushiel's Dart is an epic fantasy centered on courtesan/spy Phedre, who was born with the eponymous Kushiel's Dart in her eye, marking her as someone who experiences pain as pleasure. The setting is heavily based on medieval Europe, and Phedre's people - the D'Angeline - are descended from angels who loved mortals. Written in an autobiographical style, we follow the story through Phedre's perspective, which is written with dramatic flair and lengthy descriptions.
The story starts from Phedre's birth, and meanders through her upbringing as a courtesan and later a spy. While she is raised into prostitution, she doesn't participate in sex scenes until her late teenage years. The sex scenes themselves aren't particularly titillating, often short and almost clinical, and tend to fade-to-black, which surprised me, given what I had been told about the book. The plot is heavily political but does include war and violent action, though Phedre herself is not a warrior. Instead Phedre applies her skills as a courtesan to spy and manipulate, though she makes friends and allies as often with her charm as with her skills in bed.
I enjoyed the unusual perspective, since many epic fantasies focus on warriors or rulers. This book satisfied my craving for political epic fantasy. Other readers may find it long and tedious to parse through.
In terms of world building, the story reimagines medieval Europe, complete with the "French" Terre de Ange, the "Italian" Caerdicci city-states, the "Spanish" Aragonians, the "British" Pictish, the "ancient Roman" Tiberium empire, and the "Germanic tribes" of the Skaldi, and more. The fantastical elements come from gods and angels that are primarily ancestors and objects of worship who have passed down abilities and blessings. The magic people posses is subtle and limited but still plot-relevant.
I enjoyed my time reading Kushiel's Dart, and I look forward to reading more of the trilogy. I am intrigued and amused by Phedre's narration and appreciate her character. She is romantic yet also pragmatic, kind and clever. I hope the sequels take her character to new heights.
The story starts from Phedre's birth, and meanders through her upbringing as a courtesan and later a spy. While she is raised into prostitution, she doesn't participate in sex scenes until her late teenage years. The sex scenes themselves aren't particularly titillating, often short and almost clinical, and tend to fade-to-black, which surprised me, given what I had been told about the book. The plot is heavily political but does include war and violent action, though Phedre herself is not a warrior. Instead Phedre applies her skills as a courtesan to spy and manipulate, though she makes friends and allies as often with her charm as with her skills in bed.
I enjoyed the unusual perspective, since many epic fantasies focus on warriors or rulers. This book satisfied my craving for political epic fantasy. Other readers may find it long and tedious to parse through.
In terms of world building, the story reimagines medieval Europe, complete with the "French" Terre de Ange, the "Italian" Caerdicci city-states, the "Spanish" Aragonians, the "British" Pictish, the "ancient Roman" Tiberium empire, and the "Germanic tribes" of the Skaldi, and more. The fantastical elements come from gods and angels that are primarily ancestors and objects of worship who have passed down abilities and blessings. The magic people posses is subtle and limited but still plot-relevant.
I enjoyed my time reading Kushiel's Dart, and I look forward to reading more of the trilogy. I am intrigued and amused by Phedre's narration and appreciate her character. She is romantic yet also pragmatic, kind and clever. I hope the sequels take her character to new heights.
it took my actual years to finish this, solely because I gave up when the first 200 pages were very political and full of names that meant nothing to me.... thankfully, I chose to keep on and the following 700 pages sped by. one of very few books to make me shed physical tears.
It has been years since I have read this and I still have fond memories of it, hence moving it from 3 stars to 4. I need to go back and reread it so I can move on with the series.
Kushiel’s Dart is about Phedre no Delaunay, a courtesan and anguisette—someone who finds intense pleasure in pain—swept into political conspiracy. You’d think that this would just be some raunchy romantic fantasy, but it’s not. Sure, the romance is there, but it takes a backseat to more pressing matters (“There is no point in speaking of love when survival is at issue”), and BDSM was actually worked well into the plot. There are decent reasons for the sex scenes (which aren’t even graphic and are rather elegant), such as Phedre’s skills being vital to loosening lips and obtaining favors from powerful people.
The cast of characters felt real and not like those in your typical fantasy or romance. I didn’t think much of the characters introduced after Phedre and Joscelin came back from Skaldia, at first. Then I somehow found myself tearing up over the death of one of the Twins, had goosebumps for d’Aiglemort, and goddamn did I love Quintilius Rousse and Phedre’s Boys.
I didn’t even like Joscelin at first. I thought he was meant to be the catalyst of some turbulent love triangle, to make Phedre have to choose between Hyacinthe (I really wanted them together) and the new kid. I got to love him after a while, because he’s such an angry, politically-naive summer child who is, at the same time, dangerous and loyal to a fault (see: terminus).
As for Phedre, I love that her being an anguisette is not the most important or interesting thing about her; she actually has a love-hate relationship with it and usually uses it as a means to an end, rather than for pleasure alone. Despite her age, she’s extremely grounded in reality, resourceful, observant, and analytical. She is fiercely loyal to her country and people, most especially her mentor Delaunay.
I applaud Carey for how she wrote Phedre’s voice, which actually has a personality, unlike more recent first-person novels. Phedre is careful with her words, and after becoming Delaunay’s pupil, her observations are more shrewd and analytical. I sometimes have to use the Kindle dictionary function because Carey uses a thesaurus, but she makes it work; Phedre would use big words to describe her luxurious environments (“We are D’Angelines; we know what it is to weep at the sight of beauty”). You can’t just blaze through her prose; you have to savor it. I was initially averse to it but I adjusted and enjoyed.
There are, of course, the negative things. Early in the novel (eighth chapter), Carey throws a whole bunch of history and geography at you. I skimmed that part, as it didn’t seem as important as Phedre sneaking about, but after a second reading—after meeting the players and people described—it’s easier to follow.
The endless foreshadowing reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it was less darkly humorous and more somber and sad. I kept imagining dreadful scenarios a la GRRM but don’t worry, only a few important people die and we get a happy ending… which leaves you at a cliffhanger. But yeah, she went a little overboard.
Kushiel's Dart is a brilliant start to a series, with memorable characters and an interesting world. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants something like ASOIAF, with one point-of-view and far less rape and senseless murder.
The cast of characters felt real and not like those in your typical fantasy or romance. I didn’t think much of the characters introduced after Phedre and Joscelin came back from Skaldia, at first. Then I somehow found myself tearing up over the death of one of the Twins, had goosebumps for d’Aiglemort, and goddamn did I love Quintilius Rousse and Phedre’s Boys.
I didn’t even like Joscelin at first. I thought he was meant to be the catalyst of some turbulent love triangle, to make Phedre have to choose between Hyacinthe (I really wanted them together) and the new kid. I got to love him after a while, because he’s such an angry, politically-naive summer child who is, at the same time, dangerous and loyal to a fault (see: terminus).
As for Phedre, I love that her being an anguisette is not the most important or interesting thing about her; she actually has a love-hate relationship with it and usually uses it as a means to an end, rather than for pleasure alone. Despite her age, she’s extremely grounded in reality, resourceful, observant, and analytical. She is fiercely loyal to her country and people, most especially her mentor Delaunay.
I applaud Carey for how she wrote Phedre’s voice, which actually has a personality, unlike more recent first-person novels. Phedre is careful with her words, and after becoming Delaunay’s pupil, her observations are more shrewd and analytical. I sometimes have to use the Kindle dictionary function because Carey uses a thesaurus, but she makes it work; Phedre would use big words to describe her luxurious environments (“We are D’Angelines; we know what it is to weep at the sight of beauty”). You can’t just blaze through her prose; you have to savor it. I was initially averse to it but I adjusted and enjoyed.
There are, of course, the negative things. Early in the novel (eighth chapter), Carey throws a whole bunch of history and geography at you. I skimmed that part, as it didn’t seem as important as Phedre sneaking about, but after a second reading—after meeting the players and people described—it’s easier to follow.
The endless foreshadowing reminded me of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but it was less darkly humorous and more somber and sad. I kept imagining dreadful scenarios a la GRRM but don’t worry, only a few important people die and we get a happy ending… which leaves you at a cliffhanger. But yeah, she went a little overboard.
Kushiel's Dart is a brilliant start to a series, with memorable characters and an interesting world. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants something like ASOIAF, with one point-of-view and far less rape and senseless murder.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Upon reread, I like this less.
The writing is quite flowery. The discussion of other cultures borders on racist. And thenthere’s the whole concept of experiencing pain as pleasure. Why does that mean she enjoys being raped?
The writing is quite flowery. The discussion of other cultures borders on racist. And then
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, War
Kushiel's Dart is awesome and somehow manages to navigate having a fictional world that is extremely sex-positive without becoming silly or juvenile. Phaedre is a great protagonist and the story is choc full of political intrigue. Keen to move on to the next volume in the series.
1015 pages, and I'm impressed by how tightly the story was woven together, and yet how I can see that there will be plenty to fill the next two volumes of the trilogy.
A quote from a review (by Piers Anthony) that summarized my views better than I could have expressed them:
"It's a book the reader can live in for a while, and be sorry to leave. I think of a pyramid: the start is slow because there are many courses of tile to lay, setting up. But in time the courses build into a massive structure, intricately interlinked, with its devious mysteries. The protagonist is uniquely endowed for this effort: who would have expected a sexual masochist as a heroine! But how can one not love her? ... Overall, a powerful narrative, with savage action balanced by exquisite characterization. The best fantasy I've read in years."
A quote from a review (by Piers Anthony) that summarized my views better than I could have expressed them:
"It's a book the reader can live in for a while, and be sorry to leave. I think of a pyramid: the start is slow because there are many courses of tile to lay, setting up. But in time the courses build into a massive structure, intricately interlinked, with its devious mysteries. The protagonist is uniquely endowed for this effort: who would have expected a sexual masochist as a heroine! But how can one not love her? ... Overall, a powerful narrative, with savage action balanced by exquisite characterization. The best fantasy I've read in years."