Rating: 
Summary: You won't feel guilty at all
Review: You might well think, when you first encounter Jaqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Dart," a long, languid alt-history historical fantasy whose heroine, Phedre, is among other things a sexual masochist. that you're about to embark on a guilty pleasure. Well, it's a pleasure alright (the plot twists surprise, the characters are hard to forget, the prose is elegant), but when you close the book 901 pages later, you probably won't feel guilty at all. You may even want to applaud.The setting is an alternate early-Renaissance Europe (France is called "Terre d'Ange"), in which early Christianity has taken an odd turn and for some reason there are three islands (as the helpful map shows) in the English Channel called "the three sisters." (It takes a while before you learn what they are, and what their significance is, but it's worth the wait.) Phedre, bisexual courtesan-avid reader-linguist-slave-spy is thrown by fate into a grand tour of this world and she helps to right some wrongs along the way--and rather cleverly at that; her methods are never out of character. And then there's the style: Quite daringly, Carey has Phedre tell her long tale in a first-person narrative. And that's a difficult thing to do. Authors less skilled than Carey who use the first person to describe a "built" world often resort to conventions to disguise the fact that the narrator, there in the built world, is writing for you, here in the early 21st century ("I have heard that in some worlds there are strange beasts upon whose backs people ride"). But Carey avoids this convention entirely. Phedre's narrative simply assumes that you are part of her world and that you've picked up her narrative some time in _her_ future (not ours), and as a result everything is left shimmery, impressionistic, as foggy as John Jude Palencar's amazing cover. It may take you a while before you slap your forehead and think, "oh yes. Now I see what those 13 houses of the night court are!" A stunning novel, superior in every way. And there are two more, ready and waiting.
Rating: 
Summary: Marked By the Gods to be Pleased by Suffering
Review: The lead character in this epic novel uses the above line to describe her own lot in life. Phedre is an apparently cursed orphan who is adopted by a mysterious nobleman and trained to be an erotic spy, gleaning empire-shaking intelligence as she services the wealthy and powerful of a renaissance kingdom. Jacqueline Carey has created a rather imaginative setting for this epic - a medieval Europe enveloped in an alternate history in which the far-flung cultural influence is Celtic and Gothic rather than Roman, while Christianity has followed a different course and developed into a set of sensual and erotic oath-making. Phedre is a very impressively well-drawn heroine, and Carey obviously put a lot of work into the creation of this deep and complex character. Phedre's two closest companions are equally interesting - the valiant but confused bodyguard Joscelin, and the mischievous but perceptive gypsy traveler Hyacinthe. Sadly, the fascinating backdrop and intriguing lead characters are often lost under wave upon wave of unnecessarily complex writing. The story is centered in a France-like kingdom full of unbelievably beautiful noblemen and duchesses, surrounded by realms of crude barbarians, all of which are predictable fantasy stereotypes. Political shenanigans are enacted by far too many minor characters who blend together into sameness. As the story (very) slowly unfolds, Phedre works her way through repetitive palace intrigues and political treachery, while later she embarks on an adventure through a never-ending succession of exotic locations and strange foreign peoples. This is all mostly much ado about nothing, and only illustrates an author's exercises in impressively intricate writing, but without much reward to the reader as the plotline is stretched out to interminable lengths. The valiant war of freedom at the height of the novel offers much page-turning action, only to devolve into even more unnecessary palace intrigue at the close. This is a highly intriguing novel that is fascinating at the surface, though with far too much detail that adds little to the overall plot and theme. Also watch out for the graphic descriptions of Phedre's assignations on the job, if you don't happen to be turned on by large amounts of masochism and bondage. But this epic is still recommended because of the great lead character of Phedre, who is surely a heroine complex enough to inspire many large literary epics.
Rating:
Summary: For the Romantic Goth
Review: I personally liked this book. It is the first book I've read containing dark subjects like S&M. However, it is essential to the story. I found the world very interesting. The fact that the world resembles Europe was interesting, and her twist on world history was fasinating. It makes it easier to understand the characters when one can relate them to actual people, something I find laking in most fantasy books. However, it can get a little sappy sometimes, almost to the point of wanting to toss my cookies. It's got, war, intrigue, magic, and romance. A dark fantasy worth losing a little sleep over. If your not frighteed by the darker elements (I've read worse) and are a little on a romantic side. This book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: the best book ever, and ever
Review: this is a great book. i've read more than 6 hundreds books in my lifetime and i say that this book is the best i ever read. i don't think i'll ever find anything to equal up to it. for the people who don't like this book, i think it's to complex for some people and it can never be a boring and un-original. it can be hard at times but if you take the effort, it's worth the headache you get from trying to understand the words. a wonderful book, a great heroine,warlords,human demons,a undying love what more can you ask? kushiel's trilogy gives you all that and ten times more.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I loved this book, although I think I ended up liked Joscelin more than Phedre. I don't find the S&M off putting at all, but then I write things that are much more descriptive than the things in this book. There were some great battle scenes and dramatic moments, and I felt a touch of true fear for some of the characters a time or two. I couldn't put this book down. Here's hoping certain things work out in the end!
Rating: 
Summary: Definetly NOT Fantasy
Review: I did not like it. I rarley put down a book yet I did not make it past page 75. This is not a fantasy book it is about S&M and politics . I was looking forward to reading a good fantasy book and instead got S&M.
Rating:
Summary: You have a treat in store
Review: I have now read all three books in this trilogy, and if you are considering reading this first one, I envy you the treat ahead of you. These books as a whole story are deeply satisfying, and each one stands on its own as well. The world that Carey has created is strangely familar... the shape of the continents is the same as our Europe, but something different happened to the history, around the time of the crucifixion. Out of the mingled tears of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the god Elua was born, and he wandered the world, joined by seven angels with different attributes. Today the descendants of Elua and his seven companions rule France, only the name "France" is never heard. Instead we have Terre d'Ange and its six provinces. Our England is named Alba, and the Romans (called Tiberians) never conquered it. And so on. By this device, Carey is able to draw on the richness of human history and her own fertile imagination, and the result is a world of great beauty.
We follow the life of Phedre, sold into indenture by her profligate parents, and bought by an erstwhile poet and spymaster who is involved in a mysterious way with the royal family. Phedre has a special talent--she takes pleasure from pain. Where this destiny takes her in the three books is a masterpiece of storytelling, and has a message for all of us: you are needed exactly as you are.
Above all, Carey is a master storyteller, with adventures, twists, and sexy romances that will keep you turning pages, and gorgeous language that will keep making you want to slow down! (The names alone are luscious: Ysandre de la Courcel, Melisande Sharizai, Anafiel Delaunay...are just a few.) Luckily for me, the books can be re-read with pleasure; they're that good. If six stars were possible, I would give them.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Fantasy
Review: I wasn't really expecting to like this book after I had heard a couple of bad reviews. Once I got into it though, I really enjoyed it.
The characters were well thought out, and nothing in the book fell flat.
The only thing I didn't care for in this book was all the S&M. I could have done without that, but I think it did add to the character of Phedre. Without that element the whole book would have to have been changed.
I would recommend this book to people who like involved fantasy--it's similar in feel to George R.R. Martin's, A Game of Thrones.
Rating: 
Summary: The Needle of Pain
Review: In some ways, this is an inventive book. Carey envisions a society that far from denigrating the business of sex-for-hire, instead details one that embraces it; where there are thirteen Houses as an established part of the society, each of which specializes in a different area of sexual gratification, and trains their candidates from a very early age in all the arts of love, entertainment, and impeccable personal service. She places this inventiveness against an alternate history background of Europe, which seems to have as its major demarcation point from our own history the defeat of the Roman forces by a united force of Picts. Within this history, the field of countries and societies she paints is a very standard semi-fuedal middlle-ages level of technology and monarchies, complete with all the standard court intrigues associated with that era. This is probably the main point of failure of this book, as to present the intrigue, she parades a host of characters to the reader's eyes early in the book - far too many of them, with few early clues as to which of these characters are important and which are mere spear-carriers. There is nothing new in this intrigue; it's still the age-old story of individuals grasping for the power of a crown by any means possible. What is new is her use of Phedre, a lady marked from birth as belonging to the House of Kushiel, which specializes in the S&M brand of sex, as a fantasy incarnation of Mata Hari, using her training and own sexual inclinations as the lever to pry important information about all the various plots from her clients. Phedre, from whose viewpoint the story is told, is a well drawn character. Also competently drawn are those who are closest to her, Delaunay, her patron and owner; Alcuin, her male counterpart; Joscelin, her ascetic martial-arts trained protector; and Hyacinthe, her gypsy-like friend. Unfortunately, the rest of the characters are only sketchily drawn, leaving me with little insight into the motivations of those grasping for power. Melisande, as the chief web-master of all the convoluted plotting, cries out for a far deeper characterization than what is shown, and if she had been so drawn, I think this would have been a much better book. The true fantasy elements of this book are few and don't really play a part in the story until almost 700 pages in; those looking for elves, dragons, and goblins need not bother with this book. Those looking for some titillation may also be disappointed, as Carey's description of Phedre's various sexual encounters are only mildly graphic and have far more emphasis on the use of pain than many people may be comfortable with. I found the prose style to be somewhat artificial, an attempt perhaps to re-create the lushness and verbosity of some eighteenth-century romances. It is this style, more than anything else, which leads to the 900 page length of this book. Far too often, Phedre would state "I don't really remember what else happened that night" and then proceed to give three paragraphs of description of those happenings. A more direct style would have probably reduced it to 600 pages, made it easier to follow, and held my interest better. An interesting idea, a personable main character that I could empathize with, but a story and setting that are just too commonplace, told with too many words to make this a gripping read. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rating:
Summary: Hardly the masterpiece the masses have proclaimed it to be
Review: I really tried to like this book since it came so highly recommended by people who I normally agree with about books, but I found it boring and offensive. Carey's writing style just did not engage me at all and neither did any of the characters (a must for me to like a book). It is very difficult for me to witness torture, sexual abuse, and degradation in books, so this was just not the right book for me. I felt that having the main character born to be a sex victim excused all of the torture in the book. I'm a big fan of complex world-building, but I really didn't see this book as being the world-building masterpiece that others have said it is. Furthermore, the political intrigue aspect did nothing for me. I've often wondered if I missed something or read the wrong book because I honestly can't understand all of the hype.
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