Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1) in Beyond Reality

Apr 26, 2011 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-modern

once upon a time, in response to the question What Would You Like To See In Fantasy, i responded:

1. i would like to see an old woman as a protagonist.
2. or an interesting demon - but not a 'sexy' PNR demon.
3. or more epic fantasies set in steamy, wet jungles rather than european-style forests or meadowlands.
4. or a hero who is also a slut (male or female).
5. or a YA fantasy series in which the hero grows progressively more villainous.

________

i felt confident that Kushiel's Dart would all ...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Justin rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, read-2011, epic, not-good, sex, macmillan

http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...

In an effort to be totally upfront about what Kushiel's Dart is and isn't, let me get this out of way - there's a lot of sex. Some of it's pretty graphic. There's rape and torture and the main character enjoys both on some level. Too many reviews out there emphasize this. Yes there's sex and yes it's graphic, but for anyone with access to the internet you can find far worse in about 10 minutes of browsing around. Don't overlook Jacqueline Carey's novel ...more

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Sep 30, 2007 John rated it it was amazing

I just seem to pick good things to read and watch! Maybe I don’t take enough chances in my selection of what to watch and read, only going with things that I’ve heard positive things about. In this case, I heard about Kushiel’s Dart in the [infrequently updated] weblog of one of my favorite fantasy writers, Steven Brust.

I’ve already warned you, this is going to be a positive review. The characters (if you’ve been reading my blog long, you know how important those are to me) are well-drawn, belie I just seem to pick good things to read and watch! Maybe I don’t take enough chances in my selection of what to watch and read, only going with things that I’ve heard positive things about. In this case, I heard about Kushiel’s Dart in the [infrequently updated] weblog of one of my favorite fantasy writers, Steven Brust.

I’ve already warned you, this is going to be a positive review. The characters (if you’ve been reading my blog long, you know how important those are to me) are well-drawn, believable, and dynamic. The plotting is good, and it’s important that it is: this is a complex tale of political intrigue and plotting. More, it’s an epic story of a nation’s battle against internal and external forces.

And I like to think of this book as a great value. Fantasy novels, you may know if you have some experience with the genre, typically come in trilogies (or other lengths of series, but still in series). Kushiel’s Dart is virtually a trilogy all by itself. I had a mass market paperback edition, which clocked in at just over 900 pages. This may seem daunting, which is why I’m pitching it to you as a value. This is a compete story. Although there are additional books that follow after this one, this story is complete in and of itself, and if I never read the next books in the series (though I probably will), I could be satisfied. Kushiel’s Dart is a complete story with intense richness. Perhaps, indeed, its this richness which helps give it the sense of completion by the end. It would be far less praise-worthy if it was shorter, because the length is needed to draw such lifelike characters and allow them to live, to set up such an intricate plot, and to craft such a rich world.

A few words could profitably be said about the world in which it takes place. It’s our own world of the past… sort of. Certainly, the outlines of the map will look familiar to anyone who’s seen a map of Europe. And yet… this is a world in which at the crucifixion of Jeshua ben Josef (we’d call him Jesus), his blood mingled with the tears of “the Magdalene” and this co-mingling created an Angel named Elua, who was rejected by God and who, in turn, embraced the earth and its passions. Elua wandered the earth for a long time, seeking a place. At one point, while he was imprisoned, a woman named Namaah slept with the king to get him freed, and because of Namaah, prostitution and the courtesans who practice it are accepted—even honored. Elua, in fact, had a bunch of followers, and they create almost a pantheon of angels who founded the country of Terre d’Ange (in what is now France). They mingled with the humans there who accepted them, and a new, beautiful, amazing race came to people this land. Really, it’s this one change that has caused most of the other differences between our world and this one. All this is only to give you some small idea of the amount of detail in this novel. A whole, believable religion and culture are created and are fascinating in their own right. You’d have to read the novel yourself to get the whole of it.

But I also use that to introduce another aspect of the novel: sex. I mentioned Namaah and the place she carved out for prostitution of all sorts. The culture here—and, naturally enough, the novel itself—are very free with sex. Elua’s prime directive to his people was “love as thou wilt,” so sex and relationships of all sorts are well-tolerated, whether for love, for gain, for pleasure—whatever. I should add that this is essentially a Renaissance-era society, which means that this sexual freedom is still itself confined by the class-constraints of such a society. Nonetheless, there is considerable variety in the expressions of sex in this novel.

Our protagonist is Phèdre, a courtesan who is marked by a red spot in her eye known as Kushiel’s Dart (named for a member of the angel pantheon whose sexual pleasure is tied up with pain. In part, this marks her as a masochist, and an exploration of what this means in this character is central to the novel. Sadomasochism has never been my bag in the sack, which perhaps made this all the more fascinating to me. Though this certainly isn’t a pornographic novel, it is sexually graphic, which may be off-putting or appealing to readers, but is probably worth knowing regardless. It’s a significant part of the novel, but it certainly isn’t a novel about sex; this is just one aspect of a great, rich novel.

The writer Orson Scott Card, in his book How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, delineates four types of novels: milieu, idea, character, and event. Milieu novels are primarily about showing and describing the world in which they’re set. Idea stories center around a quest to find something, to understand something: mystery stories, for instance. Character novels focus on the growth and psychology of the main character. Event novels are about some earth-shaking events, some save-the-world type stuff, in which something is wrong and needs to be fixed. While pretty well all novels involve aspects of each of these, there tends to be a preponderance of one or the other of these aspects. I guess with 900 pages, you can afford to be all of these novels at once. The world is shown to us in loving detail, with all the complexity of the real world. There are mysteries aplenty to be sorted out in the intrigues of plot and politics. All the characters are well-drawn, and several—especially Phèdre—are explored intimately. And as the novel progresses, we realize that our characters are inhabiting a world on the edge of disaster, in which internal betrayal and external scheming are threatening to destroy the narrator’s fascinating and beautiful culture. Maybe what made this such a satisfying novel, ultimately, is that it could be so many different things and be them all so well. Kushiel’s Dart is a big investment, but ultimately an excellent one. ...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Kerry rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2005, 7-out-of-10

Terre D'Ange was founded by Elua, offspring of the One God's son and Mother Earth. Turned away by the One God, he wandered the world with his Companions, angels who had abandoned the One God to follow him. Their descendants are the citizens of Terre D'Ange, who follow Blessed Elua's one precept - Love as thou wilt.

The protagonist of Kushiel's Dart is Phedre, an "unwanted whore's get" who is marked with a red mote in one eye, the sign of Kushiel. She grows up in Cereus House, one of the thirteen Terre D'Ange was founded by Elua, offspring of the One God's son and Mother Earth. Turned away by the One God, he wandered the world with his Companions, angels who had abandoned the One God to follow him. Their descendants are the citizens of Terre D'Ange, who follow Blessed Elua's one precept - Love as thou wilt.

The protagonist of Kushiel's Dart is Phedre, an "unwanted whore's get" who is marked with a red mote in one eye, the sign of Kushiel. She grows up in Cereus House, one of the thirteen houses of the Night Court, place of courtesans, where this is a respected profession following in the way of Elua and his Companion Naamah. Phedre's marque is bought by Anafiel Delauney, a man with secrets, a score to settle and hidden agendas. Also a good man, he teaches Phedre to watch, to listen, to reason and to spy while she keeps her assignations. From this, Phedre quickly finds herself caught up in high politics and intrigue. She will face a long and dangerous road before coming safely home again and the fate of the land may even at times rest of her shoulders.

This is not a simple book and not a short book. It is also not for everyone, with its themes of sexuality, sex and some pain and bondage thrown in. Marked by Kushiel, Phedre is blessed or cursed to find pleasure from pain, whether she wills it or not. However, this book is neither gratuitous or titilatting. Instead, a complex and fascinating world is built from Elua's basic principle to love as one chooses. Choice is very important - rape is still rape here - and there are many branches to Elua's path. Kushiel's is but one of them; the one Phedre is set to walk.

I found myself having two seperate reactions to this novel. One one level, I loved it. Phedre and the other characters are fascinating people who are well described and fully grown and rounded. The plot of complex and convoluted, but it all fits together neatly in the end, even if the reader can't always tell that until later. Terre D'Ange and its surrounding lands are a fascinating society.

However, I struggled to read this and I'm still not exactly sure why. It took me almost a month to read it, and while it is a long book, it shouldn't have taken that much work. It did. Others on the mailing list have said that the pacing is off, and I think I would agree with this. There are times when everything happens furiously fast and others where the story drags. It also took me a while to get into it. The language is generally lovely, but at time long-winded and even tedious. But for all that, I never stopped. I never didn't want to finish the book, I just wished it would go faster at times.

I do recommend Kushiel's Dart. It is an excellent and fascinating story. I also offer a couple of comments and warnings. If you don't think you can handle even delicately and lyrically written bondage, this probably isn't for you. It's there and fundamental to Phedre's character, but neither intrusive nor unnecessary. And you might find it a tough read. I felt it was worth it in the end, but others might not. I suggest sticking with it if you possibly can as there's a solid and satisfying tale within some occasionally poor pacing.

[Copied across from Library Thing; 27 September 2012] ...more

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Nov 28, 2007 Tani rated it it was amazing

Shelves: female-author, five-stars, fantasy, favorites, 2008

This book was a little bit of a slow start for me. The first 300 pages or so had me wondering a little just what everyone was raving about. Phedre starts out as a spoiled child, and it was hard for me to sympathize with her. Plus, I think that the nature of the events in the beginning made things difficult for me: lots of characters that it was difficult to keep straight, and not even Phedre really knew the exact purpose of what she was doing.

However, once I got past that beginning section, I f ...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: epic-fantasy

Although some of the kink was more than I needed to imagine, this was hands down one of the most vivid fantasies I've read in awhile. I would give it 5 stars if the world she created wasn't slightly distateful to me. Not the sex, which was really fairly tame considering, but the idea of a society where children are raised knowing their purpose is to eventually be sex objects. Ick. Oh, it's all sacred and meaningful, but still. Ick. But the political intrigues and the characters kept me reading, ...more

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