Rating: 
Summary: Erotic Swashbuckler!
Review: Jacueline Carey has done something few writers can attest to:
She wrote a sequel that is just as good as it's predecessor!Carey returns us to the kingdom of Terre D'ange, the land of holy prostitution and lethal intrigue.Kushiel's Chosen leads off where the first book ends, with the mysterious escape of archvillianess, Melisandre.Phedre, our heroine is determined to find out the traitors who helped Melisandre escape from prison and when she gets cloak sent by her enemy as a challenge she takes it upon herself to find Melisandre. Phedre's obession with her enemy will pull her back into her holy order and it will strain her relationship with her lover, Joscelin.Phedre's adventure will take her sun-drenched villas of La Serenissima
where she will uncover Melisandre's sinsiter conspiracy to gain the crown and a deadly assasination plot against queen Ysandre!
This novel has all of the ingredients that made the first one such a smash hit: lyrical prose that sings upon the page; outstanding world-building that makes Phedre's world come alive
sweeping action sequences like daring escape upon island prison that holds our heroine and unforgettable swashbuckling swordfight between Joscelin Queen Ysandre's would be assasin! The characters of this epic novel are also a wonder like blood-cursed pirate Kazan Atrabiades who rescues Phedre and helps her at her cause.I love Phedre and her world of dark desire, darker intrigue and swashbuckling adventure! Bring on Kushiel's Avatar!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!!!
Review: Okay, I'm not into S&M. That being said, the main character is one of the most interesting, multi-dimensional heroines I've met in a long time. The teasing familiarity of the "real world" past is nicely mixed with the fantasy element. The plot twists, and reality spins. Its not easy to do first person story telling, but the author makes it look like a breeze. Pick up the first in the series, and prepare to be sucked into the Land of the Angels....:)
Rating: 
Summary: none
Review: Countinuing the saga that changed the face of fantasy, Carey gives us another, nearly poetic novel of myth, mayhem, intrigue. Beautifully written and a sheer pleasure to read. Gary S. Potter Author/Poet
Rating:
Summary: Just as enthralling and beathtaking as Kushiel's Dart
Review: When I finally got my hands on this book, and then had the chance to read it (exams...so annoying!), I was completely enraptured and finished it in under two days. I loved the first novel as I thought Jaqueline Carey's writing style was beautiful and her world was intriguing and incredibly interesting. I feel that Kushiel's Chosen lives up to its predecsor, and in some ways it surpassed it, and of course in others it did not.
I did miss the characters which had featured prominantly in the first, namely Delaunay and Alcuin, but then they're dead so this is a stupid gripe. The prose was just as good as the first, I never found it too repetative, but everyone has their own opinions. The story was perhaps a tad slow to get going, but I think that that only added to the depth of the story, and was a good introduction to the fast paced adventure which faced Phedre.
I really enjoyed the movement of the book the travelling was wonderful, and made it all the more exotic. The complex plot was very good and keeps the reader on their toes, a very important commodity for novels these days. Especially in the fantasy genre, which is steadily becoming more and more formulated. Its a rare thing to find wonderful new authors which are creative and raise it all to a new level. For further recommendations, go the SF site, which has excellent reviews. my main happiness in this novel was Phedre and Josclin finally sorting out their issues and being together properly. But then I am a complete romantic sap at heart.
So overall, if you are looking for a good strong read, with vivid characters, intricate plotting and exotic settings, then look no further than this novel. It is advised that you should read the first of the trilogy, Kushiel's Dart, but there are references to keep you going if you do forget at times what happened. There is strong sexuality and sensuality in this novel, although I think it is a lesser extent than the first. Carey treats it all with lyrical prose and never makes anything seem like [bad] porn. It is part of Phedre, and only enhances her tale. Give this novel a go, you cannot go wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Phaedre does Venice
Review: Kushiel's Dart, the first volume of what is apparently now a projected trilogy of which Kushiel's Chosen is the middle book, was astonishingly good. What a delight it was to find a fantasy novel with so much truly original and vividly imagined content, and that manages to commingle such unlikely elements as adventure fantasy, the coming-of-age story, intricate tales of courtly intrigue and sado-masochistic/polymorphously perverse eroticism that somehow combust explosively into one hell of a wild ride! I have seldom enjoyed reading a novel more than Kushiel's Dart. One of the things that made Dart so good was that Jacqueline Carey manages to carry off something that I would not have believed possible: making a girl/woman who genuinely enjoys pain and who hungrily pursues her pleasure (while getting well paid for it) into a convincing heroine of a swashbuckling action fantasy. Indeed, Phaedre is not only convincing, she is very likeable. Given the premises of the book's setting, Phaedre acts honorably and often selflessly, and though she has a weakness for pain, this is the weakness of springy steel that bends and does not break--and that acquires a fine edge as our heroine is put to the test. One reason for Carey's success in creating a believable and likeable heroine out of such unlikely material is that Carey has also created a remarkable setting: Phaedre fits into her world in a completely logical way. In the hedonistic culture of "Terre d'Ange" ("Land of the Angels"), a woman who can transmute pain into pleasure is seen as a sort of saintly miracle worker. Indeed, the world of Terre d'Ange has the conviction of true mythology (no, I don't think that's an oxymoron). Carey is one of the few fantasy writers who has created a compelling religion that is not mere frippery and decoration, but that actually motivates the characters in the novel and makes their actions seem sensible, where in our world they would be viewed as deviant and perhaps lunatic. ...Poor Phedre is whipped, stretched, ..., and slashed with razors--and that's just by her friends. Well, mostly her friends. People, this is not a soft novel. It is not a book I want my 12 year old daughter to read--not for quite a few years. It needs to be stressed that this is, indeed, fantasy: I doubt whether there are many women like Phaedre in _our_ world, and if there were, one probably would not want to spend the evening with them unless they were indeed stringently manacled. No one who isn't mature enough to understand the fantastic nature of these books' eroticism should be allowed to read it. But I was going to write a review of Kushiel's Chosen, was I not? The problem is that I don't have much to say about it. Yes, it was fun to read, but it was nowhere near as good as the first novel. Compared to Dart, Chosen is a pale shadow that has no real reason to exist. As someone mentions, Chosen goes over old ground, well furrowed by the first book. Still, Carey is a skilled writer, and there are a few scenes in Chosen that I remember, a few weeks after reading the book. The fortress-prison of La Dolorosa was colorfully unpleasant, though of course it's not particularly inventive--dank prisons abound in fantasy. The visit to Crete ("Kriti") was nice. But the trouble with this book is that my expectations of this writer had been set much higher than a merely pleasant reading experience. I wanted to be surprised and delighted by this book as I was by its predecessor, and in this Carey failed me...
Rating:
Summary: Where's the steam?
Review: A small quibble, perhaps...but I felt like Ms. Carey sold out to the contingent who were squeamish about the intensity of the sex scenes in Kushiel's Dart. This book is SLOW going in comparison. I was so riveted by the exotic nature of the Night Court and Phedre's compulsions in the first book that the second has paled in comparison. The prose is much more dry and contrived until well into the novel. Character was the great strength of the first book, and Phedre remains compelling, but I miss the lack of self-consciousness that Carey had in the first book. It SEEMS that the editors have had their hand in here... The "machiavellian" political intrigue is here...but Phedre seems to have lost a bit of her charisma or perhaps it is just a bit more controlled. The something missing might be termed "abandon". Nonetheless I enjoyed the book and hope Carey returns to form in Kushiel's Avatar. Phedre is one of the best written female characters I have had occasion to "meet" in modern fantasy, and the invented universe is akin to that of Guy Gavriel Kay in its unique combination of original and "real" elements of history.
Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Great Fantasy-Drama
Review: Just enough of everything to satisfy. Phedre is a spy, a courtesan, a diplomat, a self-made noblewoman, a pain-seeker, and a vulnerable human being --- and none of those dimensions are give short shrift. There's little here to titillate, if that's what you want, but otherwise it's a good story all around.
Rating:
Summary: Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence
Review: With the return of her sangoire cloak, Phedre recognizes the challenge issued by Melisande Shahrizai. The cloak marks Phedre an anguissette, one of Kushiel's chosen, as does the scarlet mark in the iris of her left eye. Phedre is a woman destined to enjoy pleasure in pain, finding love with Joscelin, who knew from the beginning what she was. Despite being condemned as an oath breaker, Joscelin has never violated the central precept of Cassiel: To protect and serve. But Phedre's plans will put his pledge to the test. When Phedre makes plans to rededicate to the Service of Naamah who commands only love as thou wilt, she risks Joscelin's love. Phedre seeks two things. She needs the answer that will free Hyacinthe from his eternal indenture to the Master of Straights, and she also seeks the conspiracy that allowed Melisande to vanish from a well-guarded chamber the night before her execution for treason. Melisande had once been Phedre's patron, later selling her into slavery. Phedre knows that the cloak was only the opening gambit of a deadly game. Until she can prove it, however, Phedre must use her gifts to gain the knowledge she seeks. Phedre's gift for courtly arts, and arts of the bedroom, is only surpassed by her ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Complexity of characterization and masterful plotting make KUSHIEL'S CHOSEN an addictive read. Phedre is a flawed heroine, ever aware of the consequences of her actions. The gift of Kushiel makes for a fascinating balance of pleasure and pain, lending her character a mesmerizing complexity. Her deep-seated attraction and love for her nemesis, as well as her complicated relationship with Joscelin, masterfully reveal both her strengths and flaws. Indeed, Phedre is one of those rare heroines who truly captures the reader's heart and imagination. Other characters are likewise memorable, including Joscelin with his heart torn between duty and love, and the pirate Kazan . Phedre's nemesis, Melisande likewise reveals a cunning and intricacy of characterization worthy of the most powerful of anti-heroines. Not having read the first book of the trilogy entitled KUSHIEL'S DART, I initially found KUSHIEL'S CHOSEN a challenge to follow. Missing the first 700 pages of a series definitely inhibits one understanding of the complexities of personal and political affiliations and affections. Nevertheless, I quickly found myself swept away on author Jacqueline Carey's prose and transported to an alternate world of breathtaking historical fantasy. By the conclusion, I did not feel that not having read the books in order inhibited my enjoyment in any way; it did, however, feed my need to immediately order the first book of the trilogy. Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Gawd, I loved this book!
Review: This book rocked!
I loved it!
This series is one of the best I have started by far! The first in the series Kushiels Dart was beautifully written and I fell in love and got hooked I had to buy them both in hardback but I found it well worth the price!
This is a series you definantly want in your home library!
Rating:
Summary: A well-crafted sequel.
Review: I was fortunate when I came across _Kushiel's Dart_ in October last year; it turned out to be a truly great read, and I didn't even have to wait all that long for its sequel. Now, however, half of my luck is out. I found _Kushiel's Chosen_ to be just as good as the previous book, but this time around I'll have to wait a full year for the next and (or so I believe) final book, _Kushiel's Avatar_. Like the first book of the series, _Kushiel Chosen_ is a well-written book that is a pleasure to read (and yes, I suppose I do mean in more than one way -- the erotic scenes are very well written, tasteful and yet not tame), combining the intrigues of the first half of _Kushiel's Dart_ with the action of its latter half. The language is beautiful and flows well, the characters are engaging, the plots are interesting and the world is well-crafted and fascinating. There really isn't anything I don't like about this book, but as with _Kushiel's Dart_, it is not a book for those who dislike adult content, a first-person narrative or characters of unusual beauty and brilliance.
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