| Long ago, on a world very much
like our own, Yeshua ben Yosef was pierced by a spear as he
suffered near death on the cross.
The Magdalene wept over his dead body, and the tears of
her grief mingled with his blood.
Mother Earth gave birth to Blessed Elua, who wandered the
land with his followers until they settled in Terre d'Ange.
The One God eventually persuaded Elua and his followers
to join him in a Heaven of their own design.
Elua's influence remained in Terre d'Ange in a legacy of
beautiful people, descended from angels, who live by one rule:
"Love as thou wilt."
Phedre no Delaunay was born marked by
Elua's follower Kushiel, with a red mote in her left eye.
Indentured as a child because of this flaw, she was
eventually purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, who saw the mote and
recognized what it meant: Phedre
was an anguissette, one with the gift (or curse) of experiencing
pain as pleasure. Anafiel
took Phedre under his wing, training her in courtly ways and in
the arts of a courtesan, but also grooming her in skills more
suited to spying and political intrigue.
In KUSHIEL'S CHOSEN, second volume in Carey's trilogy,
Phedre travels the world seeking out her worst enemy in a
desperate attempt to save the throne of Terre d'Ange.
KUSHIEL'S CHOSEN is a masterpiece.
Carey layers each element of her story with a light but
sure hand, drawing every detail of a world not unlike
Renaissance Europe. Each
word is carefully chosen and placed as deliberately as the
rarest gem in a jeweler's creation.
Every setting is fully drawn, every scene completely
essential to the story as a whole.
There is a wealth of information here: history, myth,
poetry, and religion are woven into a complex tapestry replete
with fascinating, multi-dimensional characters.
Phedre narrates her story in language so lovely and
descriptive that it reads like epic poetry.
The tortured romance of Phedre and Joscelin
is beautifully delineated.
One cannot but sympathize with Joscelin's frustration at
Phedre's calling. The
sex scenes are extremely well done, placed perfectly to move the
plot forward while at the same time giving the reader a closer
understanding of the characters involved.
Carey is adept at writing sensual, erotic scenes that
stir the reader while leaving plenty to the imagination.
The Machiavellian scheming of Melisande, Phedre's enemy,
is clever and subtle. Each
piece of information is delivered at exactly the right moment.
Carey's pacing was perfection; she never puts a foot
wrong in the telling of Phedre's story.
Although the second volume in a trilogy,
KUSHIEL'S CHOSEN is elegantly successful as a stand-alone
release. Readers
will easily be able to navigate this book without having read
its predecessor, KUSHIEL'S DART, although they will probably
feel compelled to read that book as well.
Even knowing that there is another book to follow, the
denouement of this story is completely satisfying as loose ends
are tied up and rewards and punishment meted out to the
deserving. Carey
has crafted a haunting, lyrical novel that will stay with
readers long after the last page has been turned, leaving them
in eager anticipation of KUSHIEL'S AVATAR, due in 2003--not soon
enough! |
