Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #166651 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 656 pages

Customer Reviews

Fun but not Fabulous
This was a fun read in places, but seemed to take forever to get going. When something interesting happens - potential demon possession, or being pursued by a furious army - and just as you begin to think that this might go from mildly entertaining to gripping, the threat is immediately dealt with and rendered moot. I never felt Moirin or any of the others were in real danger, unlike Phedre and her companions, or Imriel even. Moirin's talents are also such a convenient and ragbag mix I never properly believed in them, or her.

If it wasn't Jacqueline Carey, I would have said I enjoyed myself but wouldn't buy another one. As it stands, I'll give the next one a chance, certainly, but must confess I was expecting a bit more.

I really wanted to like it
Being a huge fan of Carey's work, I was really looking forward to this new series, the result though is ultimately disappointing.

It feels rushed, Carey goes through the motions, but never creates any real depth to the plot or her characters (which is her real strength). Moirin is shallow and trite, where she should be naive and savage. All the support cast are a shadow of what Carey can do. They are just not engaging at all.

In the end, this book is like a theme park ride, it certainly is enjoyable but ultimately lacks any emotional engagement.

Everything comes to Moirin easily. Whatever poor decisions she makes, success falls into her lap. A good example is the magic she learns: Through no effort of her own, it just comes to her (or is given to her) and you just know as a reader at that point that she'll just oh so conveniently will use it to save the day a couple hundred pages later. Please. You can do better than that.

All the while she has her very own homing beacon of fate inside her, that makes all the decisions for her. It's the ultimate killer of any sort of suspense. If you add Moirin's almost singular focus on 'desire', she comes across as unlikeable, shallow and unreflective, bumbling through the story, waiting for a 'Thumbs Up' from her fate traffic light.

On the whole, the sexual component of the book lacks the meaning and importance of her previous books. She just comes across as overeager, sleeping with everything that isn't on a tree on a count of five.

I could go on, but suffice to say that while I applaud the effort, this book comes across as uninspired and it's miles away from the quality of her previous work. It's a shame.

Nonetheless, as far as theme park rides go, this is a fairly good one if you don't expect anything other than a cheap thrill. At least it's worth the price of admission.

Another winner
I have read all of the "Kushiel" novels of Ms Carey and picked up this one thinking that it would be a follow on from the last. To begin with I was horrified that the action took place over a 100 years later but that soon turned to delight as I read the story. As usual her characterisation is excellent - both primary and secondary characters leap off the page. I finished the book last night after staying up late into the night and at my age to be prepared to forgo sleep for a good read is rare indeed! I cannot praise these novels enough and I am delighted that this is the start of another trilogy.