Rating: 
Summary: appropriate ending to the trilogy!
Review: I don't want to discuss too much of the plot -- there would be too many spoilers -- but Carey does a very thorough job of wrapping up all the loose ends leftover from her middle novel "Kushiel's Chosen"... Phedre's quest to free Hyacinthe and its links to the One God, the whereabouts of Melisande's son Imriel, the mysterious bronze edge of power in Phedre's voice... She answers all the questions we were left with before.At times the book is a touch melodramatic, and there are definitely a few slow spots, but if you enjoyed "Kushiel's Dart" and "Kushiel's Chosen," I highly recommend the final book in this trilogy. (If you haven't read either of the first two books, I recommend you start with those, because you won't be nearly as caught up in the characters' histories without them). For those people who complained about "Kushiel's Chosen," don't worry -- the scope of the novel definitely extends beyond a Phedre-Melisande contest of wills (taking us to new countries and introducing the power of new gods, no less), Phedre grows as a character (much better than she was in "K's Chosen," though I still liked her best in "K's Dart"), and the ending is satisfying (if slightly bittersweet). Despite the few flaws I mentioned earlier, I thought this book was worth the wait... You know a novel is good when you finish it and find yourself wishing the series wasn't over! Anyone know if Carey is planning to write more novels set in Terra D'Ange?
Rating:
Summary: The last book of an extremely original and addictive trilogy
Review: I first read Kushiels Dart as the second book of the series, Kushiel's Chosen, was released.. and then waited very very patiently for "Avatar".
I must admit, that when I first started "Dart", it took awhile to really get into the story. This sometimes happens with the more complex realms of fantasy, where you have to learn the ropes of the world you've entered. But it was worth the effort, and if I have any real disappointments about Avatar, it was mostly that loose ends had to be tied, and you recognized them once they were, and it saddened me that a really great series was coming to an end. I would have been upset if the loose ends hadn't been tied.
So, on to a synopsis.
Phedre is descended from a line of Angels, in a country of such descendents, the D'angelines. Elua is the patron saint/deity of the country, and is born of the blood of a messiah and mother earth. His precept is merely, love as thou wilt, which drew anglelic followers to him, hence the descendence of the people from angels.
This tale is about a woman marked by a higher power, the angel Kushiel, to be a saviour not only for her own people, but ultimately for her world. It is a tale of a woman with faults, and failings that she herself despises, but who loves and is loved greatly in return. It is a tale woven into a tapestry of an almost renaissance era alternate universe, where you recognize parallels, yet appreciate the differences.
"Avatar" is the quest to save a beloved friend from a curse. As with any great fantasy, Success is a given, but the trip along the way will transport you as well. And it stays with you.
Love as thou wilt.
Rating: 
Summary: Where to begin?
Review: I have to say that I was rather surprised to find that this lacklustre sequal to Kushiel's Dart and Kushiel's Chosen was so well received by the majority of the readers on Amazon. I must confess that the book would have been quite enjoyable had I not read the first two before it. The only thing is that I feel that this falls in the shadow of its predecessors. All the same, I would recommend it to those who have read the first two of the series, and I would recommend the series as a whole to those who haven't. This review is just to warn future readers not to set their hopes too high for Kushiel's Avatar. Part of the reason for this would be that some of the tension that keeps a reader going in the first books is released, because of the fact that Phedre and Joscelin are finally together and other resolved plot-points. Oh well, it was still a well-written, mildly enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I really enjoyed the ending to this trilogy. The story was fantasically, wonderfully and amazingly woven together. The highest praise that I can give for any book is that I don't want it to end. As I neared the end of "Kushiel's Avatar", I found myself slowing down my reading as I did not want it to end. The only other fiction book that I have done that with was "The Lord of the Rings", which I consider one of the greatest books ever written. I'll look forward to reading more of Ms. Carey's work. And I will miss Phedre, Joscelin and all the rest.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful ending
Review: I thought this final chapter in the Kushiel Trilogy was absolutely riveting! The mixture of Old Testament stories, mythology, and high adventure was fascinating and made for a wonderful read. Carey really knows how to mix elements of eroticism, historical fiction, traditional or "high" fantasy, and produce something completely amazing. I have only ever written one other review on Amazon.com for my favorite book, Mists of Avalon, and this is how highly I recommend this. In my opinion, it was the best of the trilogy. Phaedre's journey is spiritual, physical, and emotional all at once, and Melisande is serves as both foil and a temptation to her. I think what I appreciate most about Carey's writing is not only her beautiful, erudite mixture of mythology and history, but the way that her characters are so human and not one-dimensional. Melisande, the "villian", is as fascinating in her own way as Phaedre, and avoids being so stereotypically "evil". I don't think I can praise this book, or this series, enough!
Rating: 
Summary: phedre matures
Review: I was expecting to be disappointed from the reviews on here and from the ho-hum 2nd book in the series. I wasn't. Carey put in all the usual convoluted plot twists, family and political intrigue, strange events, unpronounceable names and excessive traveling to new lands. The main difference is that 10 years have passed since we last knew everyone and that time has been good. All the characters have matured and their personalities have deepened. Phedre is a woman, not a girl playing spy games and I find her even more appealing than in the other two books. Joscelin is a much more relaxed man, secure in himself and their love together. Melisande even has her claws cut a bit and becomes much more human (she now has a HUGE weak-spot). The plot starts off simply but becomes tangled and the travelers become very sidetracked, as always. This time, their adventures become extremely dark for about 1/3 of the book. Joscelin and Phedre are tested to the core of their beings and their love. I found this section of the story very moving. Phedre begins to feel the presence of her gods and this drives a lot of the rest of the story. She finds out the truth of her nature, more than she ever wanted too. (She also gets the chance to save the world, essentially, but that's almost a footnote.) The whole book is about faith and love-losing it and finding it, both within and without oneself. Above all, it is about love itself, in all its forms and powers. Love can be a weapon and a healer, it can save and it can curse, it can kill and bring life. Phedre's journey through her spiritual awakening is much deeper than I expected for this series. On the whole, I found it to be a very moving book and deeply religious (in the various religions of the land.) For the book itself, it is much better than the second book. They are faced with the real world more than simply backstabbing court politics (like the second book). There are a few explicit sex scenes between her and Joscelin thrown in (only one integral to the plot). Her abilities as an anguissette are used only for one part of this book, sexually speaking (it saves her life and the lives of others). Part of her journey is discovering that bearing pain can take many forms and not just for the pleasure of others or herself. She also begins to find purpose in the fact that she was god-chosen and that it wasn't just a random event. All the political intrigue seems to wear on her and after her experiences she feels it's all rather shallow. I have a feeling she'll be less immersed in court politics when this is done. This book is the same as the other two on the surface, but the deep thread running through the book is about the larger questions of humanity and Carey does a good job of letting Phedre figure out her own answers. I think it was a fitting ending to the series. We have watched a girl grow into a complete woman.
Rating:
Summary: More Adult Themes, Less Swash
Review: In _Kushiel's Chosen_, an oracle promised Phedre no Delaunay de Montreve ten years of peace. Now, the ten years are up and she finds that the peace that is threatened is her own peace of mind as she struggles to find the final key to undo the curse that keeps her childhood friend, Hyacinthe, imprisoned on a lonely island. _Kushiel's Avatar_ is a quieter and more contemplative book in tone than the previous two in the series. It's a Quest book, yes, but the quest is as much spiritual in nature as it is a quest for a physical object. To complete the tasks before her, Phedre must come to certain realizations about the nature of love, the nature of compassion and the importance of family. I thought Carey handled these topics incredibly well, indulging in less sermonizing that one might expect while showing a lot of clarity of thought and example. The plot is complex, encompassing a huge number of characters and covering a lot of territory, but events are more important as pieces of an underlying pattern. Therefore, they are not always gone into in great detail. There is much less action, less intrigue, less swashbuckling and straightforward adventure than we have seen in Carey's previous novels. There is less kinky sex. This might annoy some readers who are looking for an action-packed book, but I found it very fitting. Overall, I found _Kushiel's Avatar_ to be a more mature book and I thought it was an appropriate close to the series. I actually liked this volume better than I liked its predecessors. Unfortunately, grammatical concerns force me to rate it at only four stars; I just think writers should not use words like "Whence" and "Thence" when it's obvious that they have no idea what they mean. Carey also has trouble recognizing adverbs and choosing the correct noun case in complex sentences. I am the kind of person who finds this extremely distracting. If you're looking for the sword fighting, political hijinks and steamy encounters of _Kushiel's Dart_ and Kushiel's Chosen_, you may be disappointed in _Kushiel's Avatar_. If you can enjoy a thoughtful book where theme and plot are carefully woven to tella complex story, you won't be dusappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Divine Epic
Review: Kushiel's Avatar is in the line of those rare epic journeys one mourns the end of and desires more of when it is done. The greatness of this trilogy derives from the strength of Carey's unique heroine Phedre and the quality of her and her many companions' love. I would recommend this trilogy and especially the last chapter of it to anyone who believes in and seeks expression of love's fullness in its many forms and also to anyone who enjoys an adventure, for it truly delivers both of these. I would like to thank the author, for I feel she has done a great service with her trilogy by liberating love from its many conventions and in taking me and many others for a time into a world of wonderous beauty and great humanity.
Rating:
Summary: Good... But out of nowhere
Review: Kushiel's Dart left me spell bound, it was one of the best books I'd read all year with excellent culture, a twisting plot, and many remarkable characters like Melisande, Delauney, sweet Alcuin, Eamon and Grainne, Drustan, and even Hedwig and Gunther of the Skaldi... I even had a certain respect for Selig when the book was done. And Phedre herself truely had a miraculous transformation, from a sex-craving "whore's unwanted get" to a strong woman.
In Kushiel's Chosen I felt it did not quite do justess to Phedre or many other characters, I particularly did not like the way Phedre described people who were not D'Angeline, which was much more unflattering in LaSerrenisima and Ilyria than it was in Eire and Alba in Kushiel's Dart. But I still throroughly enjoyed the book.
Kushiel's Avatar, however, did not at all live up to my expectations. Phedre seems by far to be too much of a perfect character, and her romance with Joscelin seems forced at best. I never really liked Joscelin's character much, but by the end Kushiel's Dart I had appreciated him and his romance with Phedre -in Chosen I could look past the rigidness of their scenes together. But in Avatar the romance was utterly lacking and I could not understand why Phedre was in love with him when she is the desire of more than half the the D'Angeline nobility.
The part I really enjoyed was her time in Drujani with the zenana. The Makhagir's character really caught my attention, he was beautifully done, as was Phedre's character in that interval and all the other of the zenena, particularly Kaneka and Druscilla.
One of the problems with this story is that it has been stretched to far in the previous book, Chosen, and Phedre has already evolved to the point where there is really no point in making her run around, as she is clearly perfect.
Imriel was a gem to the story though, I found his bound with Phedre quite real and truly a wonderful thing in her character, as was the zenena expirence... It was a good book, but it laked the brilliance and intrigue of its predesesors.
What I really did not enjoy was Valere L'Envers, it was really stupid how she liked Phedre and hated her when she returned, I could understand if all she did when sending Phedre off was bid her good luck, but Valere made a big speach on how she tresured Phedre as a friend and was loathe to send her off. Curtesy did not demand that, so it made no sense when she came back.
I also hated the sudden romance between Hyacinthe and Sibeal, it was completely unrealistic and so obviously a devise to remove Hyacinthe complications from the picture. I could understand a simple crush on Sibeal's part, her becoming enamoured with Hyacinthe because of his sacrifice and valore, but love? Especially on Hyacinthe's part, who has scarse spoken with the girl. He has been locked on an island, cut off from everyone for the past twelve years and suddenly he is in a deep relationship with some one he has not spoken too nor even known so long? It is unbelivable.
Personally, I would have more thoroughly enjoyed it if Carey spent another hundred pages for Phedre and Hyacinthe to realize the end of their relationship, and perhaps, at the end show Hyacinthe flirting with Sibeal and the begginings of their love, rather than forcing it out of nowhere.
Still, Phedre's growth into motherhood was satisfing, and their traveals to Dirsanga and conter-part africa pretty much made the story a good read.
Rating:
Summary: I am forever singing Jacqueline's praises
Review: No words can do this series justice.I have been a fan of it for a couple years now and I can't shut up about it.This series is just as good as Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings.In this book,Phedre goes on a search for Melisande's son Imriel and ends up in the harem of an awful ruler who is so dark and twisted that it's sick.She is also still on that quest to free her friend Hyacinthe from his duty as the Master of the Straits.She she succeed in finding Imriel and freeing her friend?Read the book. =)
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