This book was soooooo not what I was expecting it to be.
For some reason, I had it in my head that this was some sort of paranormal romance? And that it was sort of trashy? I have no idea where I got those ideas from, because they couldn’t be further from the truth. This book is epic fantasy, well-written, has intricate plotting, seriously intense worldbuilding . . . and it’s not your mom and pop’s epic fantasy, either. It’s sexy. Like, SEXY sexy. Sex is a vital part of the world in Kushiel’s Dart.
So the background here is that we’re on an alternate history Earth about 1,000 years after the death of Jesus, specifically alternate Europe, once in which Christianity never really took hold because the real focus was drawn to a group of rebel angels who believed in the union of men and angels. Their leader, Elua, is the foundation of their society and religion the way that Jesus is to modern day Christians (Jesus still existed in this version of history, he just had less of an impact). In fact, Elua couldn’t exist without Jesus, having been born from the blood fallen from the crucified Christ, mixing with the soil of the Earth. Elua and his followers founded Terre D’Ange, the land of angels (the equivalent of modern day France), where they mixed with men and taught people to “love as thou wilt.” The people of Terre D’Ange are part angel as a result of all this.
Our main character is Phèdre, a devotee of the angel Naamah, who taught people to worship through the gift and use of their bodies. Phèdre was sold as a child to the Night Court and eventually taught to serve Naamah, essentially becoming a courtesan/priestess hybrid. But Phèdre was also born with a mote in her eye, a sign that she is a descendant of the angel Kushiel, and who feels pain as pleasure. Early on, she’s adopted by a man who educates and trains her in court politics so that she may use all her training to effect political change. She largely escapes all the hoopla surrounding stories about Special Ones because the way she uses her specialness has everything to do with her own choices, and the way that others view her as a tool or something to possess.
I was utterly captivated by this book. And it’s really hard to describe, because it’s so easy for people to focus on the sex parts. Granted, those are important, but it’s never titillating. The sexuality in this world is so foundational it just becomes background at a certain point. And there’s so much more that is also interesting. The political maneuverings, the espionage, the battles, the different cultures, the friendships and romances . . . it’s like Game of Thrones if that series weren’t so concerned with pointing out social inequalities by subjecting its characters to atrocities in the name of power. Here, the powerful people obliterate each other and play a version of the game of thrones, certainly, but it feels so different without the misogyny, with more focus on other stuff that is traditionally considered feminine. And yet, it also doesn’t shy away from violence, and even though there is romance in this book, it’s not the focus. If you’re not skeeved out by the unique sexuality here, it become fascinating. Phèdre uses her sexuality as a weapon, as she’s been trained, and she’s not ashamed of it . . . also, the pain as pleasure thing might be a bridge too far for some readers, but I didn’t mind it at all, even though I can’t sympathize with her at all in that regard.
The first third of the book is basically table-setting. Setting up the world, filling in Phèdre’s background, letting us get to know all the characters and the political and religious situation, and then BAM, shit doesn’t let up for five hundred pages, so if you’re a bit bogged down at the beginning, you should push through.
I’m so glad Malin kept bugging me to read this after she so generously gifted it to me in the last CBR book exchange. I will DEFINITELY be reading the second two books in this trilogy, and probably all the other books set in this world as well.
If you’re a fantasy fan, you should for sure check this series out. I can’t believe I almost didn’t read it.
[4.5 stars]
It’s really well written and intricate. I read it the year before I started Cannonballing, so I probably won’t review it for a CBR, but it’s well worth reading.
Have you read any of the sequels?
Yay! I’m glad you liked it! I loved this one. It’s not at all what one expects from the cover, and I’m forever telling people to look past that, because the book is really a wonderful alternative history.
I kind of like the cover? Is that weird? (I’ve looked at the later covers and they are a bit much for me.)
Yes, I’m extremely happy (to be fair, I’m still coasting on the blissful endorphins that finishing Carry On filled me with)! Furthermore, if you hadn’t liked it, I would have been seriously devestated. It’s one of my favourite books of all time, and I kept pushing it on people (even the ones who don’t traditionally read fantasy) with the admoniton to NOT read the back cover before they had finished it (as the blurb makes the book seem about as lame as the cover, sadly).
I envy you the feeling of discovering the book for the first time. True story, when I got the book, there was a printing error in my first paperback copy, resulting in about 90 pages missing (starting in the middle of the escape from the Skaldi) and it was gutting having to wait until morning when I could rush back to the bookstore to get a new copy.
My favourite books of Carey’s, set in Terre D’Ange, are this one, book 3 in the Imriel trilogy (Kushiel’s Mercy) and book 1 in the Moirin trilogy (Naamah’s Kiss, set a couple of generations after the other books).
That is literally the worst place to lose pages!!
I’m planning on getting to the second two in this trilogy next year. Maybe if I get super into it I will read more, but sometimes it’s nice to save books up for a rainy day.