Kushiel's Dart

4 Pages 997 Words

Kushiel’s Dart

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey is 816 pages long, and I loved every minute of it. Originally categorized as ‘Fantasy’, the book springs to life with richly detailed, and often dramatic, romances, raging wars, and startling betrayals. Though written in 2002, this book should hardly be considered anything other than a masterpiece. Whether it be the imagery of scenery, the mental anguish of different characters, or the stunning turns of events that left me surprised every time, this book was by far one of the best I’ve ever read.
The story is that of Phedre, sold in to servitude at the age of 4 in the service of Cereus House, foremost among the Court of Night Blooming Flowers, the most prestigious house of courtesans in Terre d’Ange. But the small pinprick of scarlet in Phedre’s eye that was once thought of as a flaw changes when she meets Anafiel Delaunay for the first time. “Might Kushiel /of rod and weal/ late of brazen portals/ With blood tipped dart, a wound unhealed/ pricks the eyen of chosen mortals.” With those words Phedre’s flaw is transformed in to the rarest of gifts- Kushiel’s Dart, forever cursed to find pleasure in pain. It is with these gifts that Delaunay teaches Phedre to be not just a courtesan, but the most dangerous of spies in a society of treacherous politics. Phedre relates her story from her own point of view as honestly and unbiased as she is able, detailing the desperate struggle of her and her ill fated companion, Joscelin Verruil, as they are betrayed by Melisande Sharihizai, scion of Kushiel and traitor to the realm of Terre d’Ange, and it is up to Phedre and Joscelin to make it back to Ysandre de la Corcel, Queen of Terre d’Ange, before Melisande’s end game is played out. But the Gods’ are not without irony, and Phedre, servant of Namaah and Kushiel’s chosen, soon falls in love with the Joscelin, Cassiel’s priest and the Perfect Companion. Through all ...