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hannaliebl 's review for:
Kushiel's Dart
by Jacqueline Carey
I was looking for an escapist book due to this weird world we all live in now, and fantasy novels are often really good for that. This one definitely did the trick!
First: this book has a lot of sex in it, and S&M-style sex, specifically, because the main character is a courtesan trained in those "arts", which in this book are literally god-given. The whole religious system in this book is based on sex as a form of worship, which did allow the author to sidestep some, uh, moral issues, basically. I haven't ever read a book that focused on sex so much. I don't know what to say, really; this book can't be divorced from its explicit content, and either you accept that and can enjoy what else the book has to offer, or you can't and won't enjoy it. It's integral to the plot. I won't say this didn't make me uncomfortable at times, though.
The first, oh, 1/3 of this book is quite slow, with a ton of names and characters and the upbringing/training of the main character, but it turns into an adventure story, spanning continents, with lots of political intrigue. The main villain is one of the best I've ever come across. The writing is over the top, but, again, it worked for me and what I wanted: a long, sweeping, over-the-top adventure story. I'll be finishing the trilogy here eventually.
First: this book has a lot of sex in it, and S&M-style sex, specifically, because the main character is a courtesan trained in those "arts", which in this book are literally god-given. The whole religious system in this book is based on sex as a form of worship, which did allow the author to sidestep some, uh, moral issues, basically. I haven't ever read a book that focused on sex so much. I don't know what to say, really; this book can't be divorced from its explicit content, and either you accept that and can enjoy what else the book has to offer, or you can't and won't enjoy it. It's integral to the plot. I won't say this didn't make me uncomfortable at times, though.
The first, oh, 1/3 of this book is quite slow, with a ton of names and characters and the upbringing/training of the main character, but it turns into an adventure story, spanning continents, with lots of political intrigue. The main villain is one of the best I've ever come across. The writing is over the top, but, again, it worked for me and what I wanted: a long, sweeping, over-the-top adventure story. I'll be finishing the trilogy here eventually.