Kushiel’s Scion: Jacqueline Carey
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Kushiel’s Scion is the fourth book in Jacqueline Carey’s fantasy series Kushiel’s Legacy. The world of Terre d’Ange is a strange but somehow familiar reworking of our own Renaissance Europe, and the author’s rich imagination has filled it with an amazing variety of wonderful characters. Readability is excellent – the author does a great job of describing her world, allowing you to immerse yourself in the book with ease.
Synopsis:
Unlike the previous books, Kushiel’s Scion does not center around Phedre no Delaunay, although she is an important character in the story, but rather re-introduces us to her adopted son, Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel. Imriel is a Prince of the Blood, the son of Melisande Shahrizai. During the course of the story we learn of Imriel’s scarred childhood and watch his rise to young manhood as he travels the author’s well-wrought countryside.
Haunted by the spectre of his infamous mother, his unwanted nearness to the throne of Terre d’Ange, the perils of his past and his own awakening sexual desires, Imriel is driven to travel abroad in search of himself after he is horrified to discover his own desires for Phedre. During his journey he learns much of sex, war and friendship as he travels to Tiberium to attend the university, and is drawn into more adventure than he bargained for as societal upheavals erupt.
My Take:
Imriel is a wonderfully self-aware individual who has done much to overcome the tortures of his childhood and settle into a relatively normal life. Relatively normal, that is for a prince who is uncomfortably close to the throne, lives with a famous courtesan (who is also one of Kushiel’s Chosen, given over to being dominated by her lovers), a Cassiline warrior-monk who has forsaken most of his vows to be with his beloved, and whose own bloodline descends from the formidable Melisande Shahrizai. As his sexual nature begins to mature, Imriel discovers his own deeply buried desire to dominate others, something which is very at odds with his own most strongly held tenet: “I want to be good.”
As you might guess, the Kushiel saga deals often with sex and intrigue, particularly focusing on Terre d’Ange’s primary tenet: Love as thou wilt. S&M is one of the primary themes, but is handled with grace – unless you are particularly offended by this sexual tenet, you should be able to enjoy the book whether bondage is your thing or not.
Because of the sexual content (there isn’t a great deal of explicit sex), this book deserves an ‘R’ rating.
I found this to be an excellent novel, and look forward to the next book in the series!
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Hardcover: 768 pages
Publisher: Warner Books (June 12, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 044650002X