Kushiel’s Avatar – Jacqueline Carey

Tor, copyright 2003, printing March 2004

Editor: Claire Eddy
Read: March 2010 (at age 32)

First time read

What to Expect:

This is book 3 of a trilogy.  If you haven’t read Kushiel’s Dart and Kushiel’s Chosen, read them first.

If you liked the first two, while I found this one weaker, you’ll probably still enjoy it.

Suitable for mature audiences only – as with the first two books, there’s a bunch of sexual cruelty in the books, some of it on-camera.

My reactions (and probably spoilers) after the break.

Premise:

Ok.  The idea of an “anguisette,” our heroine who feels pain as pleasure, is starting to lose its novelty.  In the first book, as Phedre is discovering herself, it makes for fascinating reading.  Now, it’s nothing special.  The major plot point – free Hyacinthe – doesn’t have the immediacy of prior major plot points – stop an invasion, avenge a murder, etc.  It was less compelling a premise than either of the previous two books.

Setting:  

Excellent.  The story is set in an alternate Europe and Middle East that is just different from history to be fascinating.  Sometimes the alternate naming struck me as a bit too cutesy, but it’s a wonderful way to attach some baggage to place names and events without having to spell things out, and also without forcing all of the baggage to be present. 

Plot:  

Fair.  Track down Melisande’s son somewhere in the Azerbaijan.  Languish in some dungeons where things are so deliciously evil that they’re unbearably sexy (Thanks, Kushiel!)  Go through Egypt and the Sudan to Uganda and find the name of God.  Free Hyacinthe.  Throw a party.  I think that pretty much catches it all.  It didn’t have much tension or immediacy, more like the heroine was running through a checklist, finding the appropriate people to sleep with to get what she needs, (although in this book, she even found some that she didn’t need to sleep with) suffering all the bad stuff the author can throw at her, and completing the quests from a bad video game – “go to X to get Y.  Use Y at W to get Z”.  There were interesting bits, for sure, but overall, it didn’t do much for me. 

Characters: 

Excellent.  Phedre is a wonderful character, and she’s surrounded by a strong supporting cast.  Most of the supporting cast is new in this book, unfortunately – old friends from prior books mostly just put in cameos, where we get to marvel at how wonderful they still are.  The relationship between Phedre and Joscelin has settled down, which is good, since they’ve worked through a lot through the first two books.  It’s also unfortunate, since the friction between the staid Casseline and the much less staid Namaah’s servant made for some of my favorite passages in the previous books.

Readability:  

Ok.  The beginning was slow going, but it picked up near the end.  It’s picking nits, but I got annoyed at the occasional “mayhap” or “twas” just because most of the writing was modern, and then the archaic usages jarred.  Generally well written.

Overall:  

Worth reading to finish up the series, if nothing else.  For much of the book, I had trouble sticking with it.  I’d read a chapter or two, then set it down and do something else.  That’s not always a bad sign, but in this case, I think it was.  There is another set of books following this one, starring Imriel.  I don’t think I’ll pick them up.

Rating: 3

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