Jacqueline Carey

The Sundering

    She's done it again. A word of warning, though, to fans of the Kushiel series - this is a very different, and much darker, story. In it, the seven Shapers made the world and all the races, but the First, Haomane, Lord of light and thought, quarreled with his brother, Satoris, the Third, Lord of passion and reproduction. All the world was involved in the war, and it was sundered in two. Satoris fled, terribly injured and burned by Haomane's sun, and now hides in a fortress cloaked in shadows, sure that his brother won't attack him directly while he holds the weapon Godslayer. Haomane, determined to destroy his brother, has engaged in a campaign of lies and false prophecy that will spark the races to rise up in one last war against Satoris.
    This story feels like a slightly twisted retelling of Tolkein's Silmarillion, with that kind of vast scale and heartbreak. Carey tells both sides, and somehow manages to lose none of the heroic spirit or faith in good and right, even when good and right aren't quite what they seem.
    It is, however, hard to read. Not for any flaw in the writing, which is excellent, lyrical and epic, but because it hurts. This story is emotionally draining in a way I haven't encountered outside of a Guy Kay novel. It is beautiful, compelling and powerful, all at once, like Carey's previous series, but ten times more bittersweet, without the moments of true joy interspersed in the Kushiel series.
    The reader roots for both sides. The bright, desperate, heroic army of Haomane's Allies, with their tragically pure faith that what they do is right, never seeing that they are being lied to about nearly everything they think they know. The equally desperate and noble army of Satoris, and the folk who come to him, finding solace and a sense of belonging from a world that rejected and betrayed them as well as him.
    Carey strikes just the right balance between faith, fate and irony, with a deft touch and truly lovely, piercing writing. As much as one comes to care for the characters, no one really wins in a story such as this - no one except the reader.

(Please note: reviewer's copy included both volumes, Banewreaker and Godslayer, so both are included in this review)

2005-09-21 | nlforrett@yahoo.com | 0 trackbacks | 0 comments | Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Dart

Carey's Kushiel trilogy is set in the land of Terre de Ange (presumably, Land of the Angels), which she places geographically in the region of France, and chronologically following the downfall of the Roman Empire. The historical ties are imprecise enough to bear no burden of accuracy, however, and the mythology is based only loosely around our own.

The central mystery of this proto-France land is a being born from the blood of Christ and the tears of Mary Magdalene, mixing in the mud of the earth. Twelve angels abandoned the service of God to follow this new being called Elua; Kushiel was one, an angelic scourge in charge of punishing the sinful, yet whose punishments were exquisite enough that the punished were left craving more; Naamah was another, whose angelic beauty and grace served to raise lovemaking to a form of worship, and whose charms purchased freedom and sustenance for Elua.

The result, two hundred years later, is a uniquely-conceived backdrop for Phedre's gripping tale of intrigue and divinity. Readers will not be disappointed by any aspect of this first novel; it is written with taste and subtlety. While the focus of the story is intrigue, in the shape of Phedre's assignations and their dire consequences, there is enough straightforward conflict to satisfy anyone.

Phedre's peculiar tastes are, if not the driving force of the plot, at least extremely significant to it. As such, readers who find the idea of an erotic aspect of pain distasteful might prefer to skip the book. However, that aspect of events is handled with grace and delicacy; even those who don't share that particular passion should not have their experience ruined by it.

An unexpected treat is the depth of cultural, historical, and mythological knowledge interwoven into the tale. The reader with a knowledge of these elements in our own history will be drawn into a world where the myths are living, vibrant, and both viscerally real and rationally ambiguous. The reader is gracefully presented characters who believe in the supernatural, combined with events that leave room for skepticism.

There is truly something in this book for every taste, and the various elements are woven together skillfully. This is one of the best novels I've read this year.

<-- Prev Displaying results 0 - 2 of 2 Next -->

Read this group via RSS or Atom.

Enter your email address to receive email updates for new entries in this group: