Kushiel's Chosen (Kushiel's Legacy) (Hardcover)

by Jacqueline Carey (Author) "NO ONE would deny that I have known hardship in my time, brief though it has been for all that I have done in it..." (more)
Key Phrases: missing guardsmen, sangoire cloak, dogal seal, Kazan Atrabiades, Prince Benedicte, Little Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
In this engrossing adult fantasy tale, the fascinating Phèdre nó Delaunay fights to save her queen and country in a battle whose greatest weapon proves to be Phèdre herself. This sequel to Carey's accomplished debut novel, Kushiel's Dart, finds Phèdre, now Comtesse de Montrève, once again plying her skills as an anguissette--a courtesan for whom pain becomes pleasure--and her talents as a spy. She uncovers a conspiracy of treason and murder and begins an adventure that takes her once more to distant lands in the company of an intriguing cast of characters--and a new confrontation with her old enemy, Melisande Shahrizai.

There's some evidence of haste in this novel: the writing is not always as tight and controlled as it was in Kushiel's Dart. Nevertheless, Carey's fans will certainly enjoy this return to Terre d'Ange, and those new to her work will find a satisfying combination of fantasy, sex, and adventure, as well as a smart and engaging heroine. --Roz Genessee

From Publishers Weekly
After Carey's boldly imaginative fantasy debut, Kushiel's Dart (2001), in which the dauntless Phèdre nó Delaunay used intelligence and sexual skill to triumph in politics and war in a Renaissance-like world, Phèdre, elevated to the peerage and resuming her anguisette duties, returns for further fabulous, if at times redundant, adventures, determined to rest on something other than her laurels. While the first novel told a coming-of-age story, the sequel covers only a relatively brief period, though it has enough plot lines and melodrama for six heroines. The action first focuses on the recapture of Phèdre's evil nemesis, the dominating Melisande Shahrizai, who has escaped from prison and death. Alas, the initially fascinating Melisande turns into a tiresome harridan. Later plot twists include everything from a journey