Carey, Jacqueline - Kushiel's Mercy
Wed, Oct. 15th, 2008 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterOverall, I'd say the Imriel trilogy is not bad if you liked the first Kushiel trilogy, but definitely nowhere near as fun.
Spoilers for Kushiel's Scion and Kushiel's Justice
Imriel is finally back in Terre d'Ange, with his beloved Sidonie. But the furor they've caused is still going on, and Ysandre declares that she will not allow them to marry unless Sidonie relinquishes her position as heir, or unless Imriel brings his mother Melisande back for execution.
I was curious to see how Carey would handle the long-dangling thread of Melisande, especially since she seems to like the character too much to kill. Let's just say that while I thought this book would go down one path, it ended up going down another one entirely. Although the switch-and-bait felt a little artificial at first, particularly because it wasn't foreshadowed, it comes early enough to not be too startling. Plus, I was more inclined to like it because it meant Imriel and Sidonie actually got to interact for more than a few chapters, which may not have happened had the book gone as I thought.
I did think that what ended up happening with Melisande was very anticlimactic, but oh well.
Spoilers for this book
The mindwipe was so odd! I was expecting this book to be all about Imriel tracking down Melisande, much like how Phedre's trilogy was all about her tracking down Melisande. And then in swoops Carthage!
I still dislike the way Carey writes about non-European-analogues, particularly since we've also gotten Darsanga and not much else of a non-white world. But the sheer mind candy quality of the books keeps me reading them. Also, I adore Sidonie to pieces. It is Imriel's book, but I felt that Sidonie held her own. The only quibble I had was that I wanted Sidonie to be the one to kill Astegal, and not as a gift from Imriel. But I am glad that Carey had Sidonie's hand on the sword; I've read so many romance novels that any time a heroine gets to act vengefully and violently, I cheer.
Also, it was nice to be in a non-Imriel POV (even though it was Imriel POV, but that's complicated) for a bit, and I laughed and laughed as everyone basically told Imriel he was totally emo.
Spoilers for Kushiel's Scion and Kushiel's Justice
Imriel is finally back in Terre d'Ange, with his beloved Sidonie. But the furor they've caused is still going on, and Ysandre declares that she will not allow them to marry unless Sidonie relinquishes her position as heir, or unless Imriel brings his mother Melisande back for execution.
I was curious to see how Carey would handle the long-dangling thread of Melisande, especially since she seems to like the character too much to kill. Let's just say that while I thought this book would go down one path, it ended up going down another one entirely. Although the switch-and-bait felt a little artificial at first, particularly because it wasn't foreshadowed, it comes early enough to not be too startling. Plus, I was more inclined to like it because it meant Imriel and Sidonie actually got to interact for more than a few chapters, which may not have happened had the book gone as I thought.
I did think that what ended up happening with Melisande was very anticlimactic, but oh well.
Spoilers for this book
The mindwipe was so odd! I was expecting this book to be all about Imriel tracking down Melisande, much like how Phedre's trilogy was all about her tracking down Melisande. And then in swoops Carthage!
I still dislike the way Carey writes about non-European-analogues, particularly since we've also gotten Darsanga and not much else of a non-white world. But the sheer mind candy quality of the books keeps me reading them. Also, I adore Sidonie to pieces. It is Imriel's book, but I felt that Sidonie held her own. The only quibble I had was that I wanted Sidonie to be the one to kill Astegal, and not as a gift from Imriel. But I am glad that Carey had Sidonie's hand on the sword; I've read so many romance novels that any time a heroine gets to act vengefully and violently, I cheer.
Also, it was nice to be in a non-Imriel POV (even though it was Imriel POV, but that's complicated) for a bit, and I laughed and laughed as everyone basically told Imriel he was totally emo.
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Thu, Oct. 16th, 2008 05:50 pm (UTC)