Kushiel's Scion (Kushiel's Legacy, 4)

by Jacqueline Carey

Book Overview

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,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 044661002X
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 976 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.5" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Continuing in excellence

Unlike other epic fantasy series out nowadays, Kushiel's Scion doesn't disappoint! Jacqueline Carey writes so beautifully that reading her prose is a true joy. Her imagery and phrasing is beyond compare and it often feels to be as if I'm reading poetry disguised as a novel. It just flows perfectly. Kushiel's Scion takes up a few years after her previous trilogy, and follows the story of Imriel, the young boy that becomes more than just a plot device in the third book of the series. This is a rich wonderful world and Ms. Carey has gleefully cherry picked some of the best of European history to play with. Imriel deals with his own demons, and this story is much more of a character piece than the novels of Phedre and Joscelin, though one cannot ever discount her characters. This young man has a major amount of issues to work through, and I feel that she handles them with a delicate touch. Some reviewers disliked the toned down nature of the sensuality, but to me this is a necessary part of Imriel. Someone that was denied and damaged so much that he needs to learn to appreciate all matters of sensuality, not just in the physical. He has shut parts of himself off just to keep himself alive and this book slowly peels the layers of that protection from him. His journeys from his home in Terre d'Ange to travels in Tiberium, the scale is somewhat less grand, but is more internal, referencing back to the character piece this is. There is action, there is combat, and this time not shown by the dual natured Phedre and Joscelin, but by one single character at war with himself rather than a relationship that struggles constantly but keeps love at its core. Both have value, but neither is less than the other. I truly look forward to reading more of Imriel and his journeys, not only of distance and adventure, but of learning and maturity, of love and death, and sacrifice and passion.

Back to Terre D'Ange

In Kushiel's Scion, Carey returns to the lush alternate Europe she mapped so well in the Kushiel's Legacy trilogy. This is a fascinating world, grounded in an imaginative religion/mythos and vividly detailed. And as in the Kushiel's Legacy books, Carey has once again created a narrator with a marvelously unique voice. As young Imriel no Montreve de la Courcel, foster child to Terre D'Ange's greatest living heroes, shares his struggles to find his place in the world and define how to shoulder the legacy of heroism and villainy he was born to, the reader is enmeshed in Terre D'Ange's past and future. The device of revisiting the stories in Kushiel's Legacy, through Imriel's eyes, was very well-done. And Imriel's own story as it unfolds becomes just as fascinating as Phedre's once was. I expected to like this book, if for no other reason than that I was eager to revist Terre D'Ange - one of my most favorite landscapes. But this book far surpassed those expectations, going off in directions I had not anticipated. Imriel is a wonderfully complex character - brooding,angry, wounded,loving, honorable and intensely driven. I really loved this book and impatiently look forward the next volumne. Kudos to Ms. Carey, for finding a way to include and be true to Phedre and Josceline and to give Imriel his own voice and story. Highly, highly recommended for Kushiel's Legacy fans.

Kushiel's Line throws as true as Kushiel's Dart

After the hideous disappointment of "Banewreaker", I was on pins and needles regarding Carey's return to Terre D'Ange in "Kushiel's Scion." Would the sexy, dark, original voice that had given us Phedre, Joscelin, Hyacinthe, and Melisande be replaced by the boring tediousness of the "Sundering" series? I just knew it would kill me to see that happen to these beloved characters. Furthermore, what to make of the fact that the next three books would not be narrated by that most cunning of linguists? Would Terre D'Ange without Phedre be whipped cream without the cherry? Thank Elua, all my fears were unfounded. "Scion", while taking the Kushiel's Legacy series in a new direction, is a welcome and worthy addition, and Imriel is an excellent and insightful new narrator. His voice is, naturally, different from Phedre's, but the beautiful, rich language is the same. Carey has done a great job making the transition from anguissette to prince. Imriel's story is also very different from Phedre and Joscelin's, and part of what makes this book interesting is that he recognizes it. Imri adores his foster parents, but despairs at ever living up to their example. For one thing, Phedre and Joscelin are once-in-a-generation heroes, larger than life and - in Phedre's case - chosen by Kushiel himself. Imri, while a royal Prince of the Blood, is still ordinary, and the son of Terre D'Ange's greatest traitor to boot. More than anything, he wants to be good - but first, he must decide what that means. Can he be good without ever saving the world the way Phedre did? Is it possible to be good with Kushiel's blood - and his mother's treachery - in his veins? More than anything (and unlike previous books), "Kushiel's Scion" is a coming of age story. Still scarred by his childhood abuse, and troubled by the shadow that his mother Melisande continues to cast, Imriel stumbles through his life, torn between the various factions that either support or suspect him. One of the most interesting things about having him as a narrator is seeing old and beloved characters through his eyes. For instance, while Phedre loves Ysandre and Nicola dearly, Imri doesn't like either of them - and Carey makes us understand why and even empathize. On the other hand, Phedre's feelings towards House Shahrizai (Melisande's family) were justifiably complex, bound up with mistrust and desire. Imriel feels some of that, too, and yet his young Shahrizai cousins are among his closest and most loyal of friends. The second half of "Scion" has Imriel participating in that most time-honored rite of adolescent independence - going away to college. In this case, it's the University of Tiberium, where Anafiel Delauney studied so many years ago. Imri hopes to find out where Delauney learned the arts of "covertcy", and ends up stumbling into a large and powerful Guild of spies and power-brokers who are quite interested in Melisande's talented son. He also makes a group of international friends, including the

So glad to be back in Terre d'Ange

Return to Terre d'Ange with Kushiel's Scion, sequel to the Kushiel's Legacy trilogy. This book follows Phedre's adopted son, Imriel, son of the treacherous Melisande and third in line for the D'Angeline throne. Carey does an excellent job of developing Imriel into a complicated, troubled young man without in any way betraying the character he was in Kushiel's Avatar: haunted but with the proverbial heart of gold. Imriel is coming of age here, and coming to terms with desires he finds hard to face. Between his molestation at the hands of the Markhagir of Drujan, his anger with Melisande, and the dominant tendencies inherent in his bloodline, Imriel finds sexuality a minefield of issues. He wants more than anything to be a good person, but fears he's fated to be something else. His quest to find maturity and inner peace will lead him to the Night Court (fans of the Night Court rejoice--we see more of it here than we have since Dart), into court intrigues, and to an Italy still clinging to the ghosts of its glorious past. Imriel finds himself surrounded by schemes, plots, and conflicted desires, and truly comes of age in this hotbed of troubles. I really love what Carey does with his character, and can't wait to see what comes next for him, as it's clear there will be further Imriel books. The one thing I didn't like at first was that the climactic battle didn't seem to have much to do with Imriel; it was more that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But on further thought, I realized that Phedre, too, was sucked into things she never meant to be involved with, in Dart and Chosen. I'm just so accustomed to the Phedre of Avatar, plunging herself headlong into adventure because she knows she has to--but this is a mature, 30ish Phedre. Like the younger Phedre, Imriel ends up in situations he never intended to be involved with, but becomes a stronger character through these tribulations. In the end, I think the plot works, and really shows how far Imriel has come since the beginning of the book.

Jacqueline Carey and Imriel do not disappoint

I was very excited and a bit apprehensive about the newest novel set in Terre D'Ange. When I heard that Ms. Carey was continuing the story of the Kushiel's Dart trilogy in a new book, I was ecstatic because frankly, the series is one of my all-time favorite reads. But as many a loyal fan of a popular book or movie can attest to, there is always that fear that the sequel just won't measure up to the original. Well, for me that fear was put to rest within the first few chapters. As told by the title, Kushiel's Scion no longer follows his chosen, Phèdre, but his descendent, Imriel. The book is still in first person, and I was very glad to see that the voice was clearly new and distinctly Imriel's, with all his tortured memories and confused yearnings. I certainly don't want to ruin anything for those who haven't read the original series (and if you haven't, then begone! This book will absolutely ruin some of the best shocks and surprises in those books), but be at ease that all the beloved characters return and are given an opportunity to be themselves without the feeling that they were just names dropped in to please the fans. Phèdre is still a part of the book because she is such a large part of Imriel's life, despite all the complications it is sure to cause. Imriel is a character who manages to be heartbreakingly fragile in one moment and ridiculously brave at the next. He's boyish with an innocent yearning to just be good, but at the same time he's moved by dark, violent desires. He possesses a keen intelligence that can sense and manipulate the flaws in others but is haunted by the shadow of his traitorous parents and his time as a slave in a place worse than Hell. The poor kid basically couldn't be boring if he tried. As for the plot? Well, it's a Carey book and it operates on the Three Chapter System, as I like to call it. The first chapter you're trying to figure out what "needs must" and "anon" mean (Yes, the writing style is formal. And beautiful.). The second chapter you're trying to figure out who the heck everyone is, who their lover is, who they're married to, who they have a feud with, how they're actually royalty on their mother's side, and so on. The third chapter you get introduced to the sadomasochistic sex. Then there's a betrayal or an attempted assassination or an invasion and you have to find out what happens next and suddenly it's 3 a.m. and you have to work tomorrow and damn it, why is this so addictive? My favorite thing about her writing is how, in the midst of all this court intrigue and secret societies and global politics she inserts these raw, human moments that make you pause and remember that these are people you're reading about, with joys and loves and sorrows just like yourself. Yes, I loved it. No, it's not The Original Series: The Redux. The story continues to grow while maintaining the elements that made it good in the first place. It's something new, something exciting with the promise or more intrigu