Tagged: imriel
Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of Coverbrowser.)
Having learned a lesson about thwarting the will of the gods, Imriel and Sidonie publicly confess their affair, only to see the country boil over in turmoil. Younger generations, infatuated by their heart-twisting, star-cross romance, defend the couple. Many others cannot forget the betrayals of Imriel’s mother, Melisande, who plunged their country into a bloody war that cost the lives of their fathers, brothers, and sons.
To quell the unrest, Ysandre, the queen, sets her decree. She will not divide the lovers, yet neither will she acknowledge them. If they marry, Sidonie will be disinherited, losing her claim on the throne.
There’s only one way they can truly be together. Imriel must perform an act of faith: search the world for his infamous mother and bring her back to Terre d’Ange to be executed for treason.
Facing a terrible choice, Imriel and Sidonie prepare ruefully for another long separation. But when a dark foreign force casts a shadow over Terre d’Ange and all the surrounding countries, their world is turned upside down, alliances of the unlikeliest kind are made, and Imriel and Sidonie learn that the god Elua always puts hearts together apurpose.
As with all books that bring an end to a series or trilogy, I was more than a little skeptical of Kushiel’s Mercy. I mean, other than bringing his mother to justice what could Imriel possibly do next? In all honesty, I need not have worried.
Kushiel’s Mercy isn’t just about Imriel’s heart-breaking hunt for his own mother. It’s about the ruthlessly ambitious Astegal of Carthage and Imriel’s fight to stop him before Astegal destroys everything Imriel holds dear. I suppose Astegal could have became this stereotypical over-ambitious general type we get so often in fantasy fiction, but this was not the case. He was ambitious and at times completely ruthless but he had good reasons for his actions and most of his moves made sense in the wider political context. Readers can certainly draw similarities between Astegal and Hannibal of the Second Punic War, but they’re not so similar that you feel like Jacqueline Carey is rehashing history.
As with all of Jacqueline Carey’s books, I love the characters the most. I loved how Imriel developed and how his personality did nearly a 360 at a certain point in the story. (I can’t explain without giving away too many spoilers.) However, this change made sense and I liked it when it was reversed in a way. Imriel’s other self had developed, but also the real Imriel had changed at the same time. His love for Sidonie is reminiscent of the love his foster parents shared and you get the feeling that he will do anything to save her.
The plot never really dragged because there was constant character development and there were enough twists and turns to keep my on my toes. Truly, I never know what to expect from Jacqueline Carey’s great writing style and I was pleasantly surprised that even in her later books (which can go downhill for some authors) she still has that old spark that made Kushiel’s Dart appeal to me so much.
Of course there is quite a bit of graphical sexual content that may not appeal to everyone which is why I’d recommend it for those at least 16+. Probably more like 18+ to be on the safe side. Still, Jacqueline Carey has created a wonderful fantasy world that’s believable based on her alternate version of history, populated it with wonderful character and brought her Imriel trilogy to a sound conclusion. What more could I ask for?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of LOVEandLIVEtoREAD.)
Imriel de la Courcel’s blood parents are history’s most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phèdre and Joscelin, are Terre d’Ange’s greatest champions. Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in beauty, art, and desire.
After a year abroad to study at university, Imriel returns from his adventures a little older and somewhat wiser. But perhaps not wise enough. What was once a mere spark of interest between himself and his cousin Sidonie now ignites into a white-hot blaze. But from commoner to peer, the whole realm would recoil from any alliance between Sidonie, heir to the throne, and Imriel, who bears the stigma of his mother’s of his mother’s misdeeds and betrayals. Praying that their passion will peak and fade, Imriel and Sidonie embark on an intense, secret affair.
Blessed Elua founded Terre d’Ange and bestowed one simple precept to guide his people: Love as thou wilt. When duty calls, Imriel honors his role as a member of the royal family by leaving to marry a lovely, if merely sweet, Alban princess. By choosing duty over love, Imriel and Sidonie may have unwittingly trespassed against Elua’s law. But when dark powers in Alba, who fear an invasion by Terre d’Ange, seek to use the lovers’ passion to bind Imriel, the gods themselves take notice.
Before the end, Kushiel’s justice will be felt in heaven and on earth.
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at Kushiel’s Justice. Not only did we get to see more of the politics in the countries around Terre d’Ange, but Imriel really grew as a character. He’s so much more mature by the end of the book than he was at the beginning, let alone the beginning of his trilogy.
Poor Imriel! Contrary to the precepts of Elua, Ysandre sends Imriel off to marry an Alban princess named Dorelei in a political match. This is especially heartbreaking as Imriel and Sidonie finally realize just how much they really do love each other. What surprised me most about Imriel is his maturity about the whole arranged marriage, especially by the end of the book. Although he loved Sidonie he put duty first and I don’t want to give too much away, but you just know that it will end badly for Imriel and Dorelei. And although Imriel is heartbroken at having to part Sidonie, he still sucks it up and eventually learns to treat Dorelei as she deserves and learns to love her in his own way.
The plot is not what I’d call fast-paced, but that’s really not the point of the book. The point is Imriel’s amazing adventure across Jacqueline Carey’s vivid fantasy world as well as his own inner journey. Jacqueline Carey is hardly easy on poor Imriel, which makes him a better character for it. Background characters like Sidonie and Dorelei are three dimensional as well and although we only see them through Imriel’s eyes, you get the feeling there’s far more to them than just being love interests/plot devices.
If you loved Kushiel’s Scion, you’ll enjoy Kushiel’s Justice even more. Imriel grows as a character and does learn to overcome some of his demons from the past and confronts every challenge he faces. He’s a loyal, determined and caring person who makes for a great narrator that you can’t help but fall in love with. That doesn’t mean he does have flaws—he certainly does—but that he learns to overcome some of those flaws and is a better person for it. His unexpected action at the end of the book just reveals how much he has changed.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Imriel de la Courcel’s birth parents are history’s most reviled traitors, but his adoptive parents, the Comtesse Phedre and the warrior-priest Joscelin, are Terre d’Ange’s greatest champions.
Stolen, tortured and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood; third in line for the throne in a land that revels in art, beauty and desire. It is a court steeped in deeply laid conspiracies—and there are many who would see the young prince dead. Some despise him out of hatred for his mother, Melisande, who nearly destroyed the entire realm in her quest for power. Others because they fear he has inherited his mother’s irresistible allure—and her dangerous gifts.
As he comes of age, plagued by unwanted desires, Imriel shares their fears. When a simple act of friendship traps Imriel in a besieged city where the infamous Melisande is worshiped as a goddess and where a dead man leads an army, the Prince must face his greatest test: to find his true self.
I was skeptical about the spin-off Imriel Trilogy after the Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy was so good. But what I like about hearing Imriel’s story is that it’s a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist truly struggles with a terrible past in order to find out who he is. He has very real trust issues, he’s scared of his mother’s reputation following him everywhere and most of all, he still has the emotional scars he gained in Darsanga.
You can’t help but cheer for Imriel the whole way as he tries to overcome his past and discover what his future will be like. From his escapades in Tiberium to his burgeoning love life back home, he’s quite a likeable character. Imriel really does go on a physical, but also spiritual and emotional journey to find healing and make peace with his past. He does both great and not-so-great things along the way, but in the end he comes out as a better person. Yet still, because of his past, he has trouble reconciling the fact that he is of Kushiel’s line just as his mother is. But with friends like Eammon and Lucius, you have the feeling that he’s in good hands.
The complicated politics of Jacqueline Carey’s world are still at play here, which includes the fallout of Melisande’s treachery. There’s also the movement in Tiberium to return to a republic rather than having a princeps who is more of an emperor than anything. Not only that, part of the fallout of Melisande’s treachery is that although Imriel is third in line, there are those that would quite willingly murder Ysandre’s daughters to help him gain the throne. It makes me happy that Jacqueline Carey’s books are not just shamelessly sex-filled, but that she actually developed a world and populates it with three dimensional characters that have realistic motivations. Not many authors can do that, believe me.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
(Cover picture courtesy of Val’s Random Comments.)
The land of Terre d’Ange is a place of unsurpassed beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good…and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.
Phèdre nó Delaunay is a woman pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Her path has been strange and dangerous, and through it all the devoted swordsman Joscelin has been at her side. Her very nature is a torturous thing for them both, but he is sworn to her and he has never violated his vow: to protect and serve.
But Phèdre’s plans put Joscelin’s pledge to the test, for she has never forgotten her childhood friend Hyacinthe. She has spent ten long years searching for the key to free him from his eternal indenture, a bargain he struck with the gods—to take Phèdre’s place as a sacrifice and save a nation. Phèdre cannot forgive—herself or the gods. She is determined to seize one last hope to redeem her friend, even if it means her death.
The search will bring Phèdre and Joscelin across the world, to distant courts where madness reigns and souls are currency, and down a fabled river to a land forgotten by most of the world.
And to a power so mighty that none dare speak its name.
What a great end to a great trilogy!
In Kushiel’s Avatar we finally see what happened to the east in Jacqueline Carey’s alternate Medieval era. Not only has the kingdom of Akkad not fallen, Egypt has not fallen either because in this version, Cleopatra beat Rome (called the Tiberian empire). But of course there’s a purpose to all this travel and it’s really twofold: Melisande’s son Imriel has gone missing and Phèdre has promised her she will do anything she can to find him.
What both poor Imriel and Phèdre endure at the court of the Mahrkragir is horrendous and it’s not temporary either. Even later in the book, both characters are wrestling with and trying to come to turns with what happened. I won’t go into more detail than that, but I think you can guess what happened to both of them. However, this is an important part of Imriel’s characterization and it adds a new dimension to Phèdre, who is settling down now that she is older (about 32 at the beginning) and taking less and less assignments. The dynamic between Phèdre and Joscelin has changed and it seems they have come to terms with Phèdre being Kushiel’s Chosen. Joscelin is quite a different character in the beginning of Kushiel’s Avatar and his character arc certainly is complete by the end of the book.
The plot involves, of course, a lot of travelling, but that is generally expected in fantasy/alternate history. There were times it was a little slow and things were sort of bogged down in Menekhet, but overall I was quite pleased with the pacing. It was definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, so it’s a good thing Phèdre can hold my attention as a character. I thought the ending wrapped things up a little too nicely, but I think all the characters deserve such an ending after all the suffering they went through. As I said, it’s a great ending to a great trilogy and I look forward to the spin-off trilogy about Imriel.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.