Kushiel’s Scion

by Jacqueline Carey

$26.95, Warner Books, 753pp

This is the 4^th novel in Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series. The supposition is that the apostles to the son of god, were themselves gods, and actually walked the earth and founded a nation on their principles and gifts. Phedre is a legacy of one of them – Kushiel. Phedre, who was raised in a house of pleasure, and was adopted by a man who also taught her more…esoteric skills. Skills to read a person’s face and body and know the truth, skills to know what words to use at a moment when history could change on one person’s whim, skills to win the heart of any man or woman. Phedre’s greatest pleasure came from pain; which made her the most sought-after courtesan in the country. But that was not her only destiny. Her unique combination of talents helped her save her own country, forged an alliance with another nation, defied a god, saved her best friend from immortality, saved the whole world from a heinous evil, and rescued the son of her greatest enemy. (Is this great story-telling, or what?)

This is the beginning of her foster son, Prince Imriel’s, story. Imriel’s mother was the greatest traitor the country had ever known; and his fostermother, Phedre, is its greatest heroine. It’s a challenge to know where he fits in. So, when he’s of an age, he leaves for a university, to live as a commoner. But his life is anything but common and too many people either want him dead or on the throne – neither of which suit him. And he’s just beginning to understand that the bloodline that he shares with Phedre may be the reason for the dark desires he’s experiencing.

The first three books were an increasingly complex story of Phedre with a wonderfully satisfying conclusion. I can see that this new trilogy will be much of the same. Kushiel’s Scion lays the foundation for an equally complex rendering of Imriel. Carey is a marvel. Her stories are wonderfully complex, layered, deeply insightful of human desires, and marvelously characterized. The plotting is amazing, as well. In the words of a popular redneck comedian… “it don’ get no better ‘n this.” - Catherine Book