The Kushiel books are among my all time favorites. They are simply Epic. I highly, *highly* recommend you give Kushiel’s Dart a read.

*hangs head* I’ve never read any of Jacqueline Carey’s books. They sound…lush…but I’m kind of put off by their size *ducks*

*wavers* Perhaps I should start at the beginning…

Jenni

Yep, there’s a lot of sex…but it’s not like, romance novel sex. Ana and I have discussed this at length, lol. It’s not so much “play by plays” (which make me giggle); it’s less explicit.

And, a note to those who (like Ana) are uncomfortable with this sort of thing: please, please keep in mind that these are not romance novels. There is romance, but Phedre and Imri (and Moirin) do not quest for their one true loves and only sleep with them and live HEA. It’s not that kind of story at ALL.

Phedre’s trilogy in particular has some darker scenes (she’s an anguisette, who takes pleasure from pain – but I hesitate to simply label it as “BDSM” because…it’s not) that do not sit well with some readers (again, see Ana).

That said, I think you’d be depriving yourself of some of the absolute FINEST books written if this keeps you from reading Ms. Carey’s work. I encourage everyone to keep an open mind and to give her books a try.

Tiah – Huzzah! I am so thrilled that you are loving it. I dog-ear pages in books when there’s a sentence or a phrase that I love, and I cannot do this with Ms. Carey’s books because I’d be dog-earing every page! The world is fantastic, isn’t it? Just wait until you read on…simply brilliant.

And the pages are soft? I hadn’t noticed, but I’m going to check now

Hur, did you say lots of sex? Cha-ching!

(Though, my personal favorite has to be Kushiel’s Avatar!)

CJ – You don’t have to read the Imriel books to get into this one Just mosey on over and pick up a copy, it’s such a gripping story, I think you’ll read through it pretty quickly!

Christina – I couldn’t agree more. I was initially daunted by the sheer size of her novels, but Ms. Carey’s writing (at the risk of sounding cheesy) is breathtaking. From the very first sentence she draws you into a beautiful, fantastic world. I think it’s safe to say that you’ll really love Naamah’s Kiss

Maya – Oh, we shall have to remedy that. The Kushiel books are among my all time favorites. They are simply Epic. I highly, *highly* recommend you give Kushiel’s Dart a read.

KMont – Dude, that’s it. I’m officially Daring you. Yes, again. This time, you are reading Kushiel’s Dart. *puts on bossy pants* I really think you’ll like it. It’s darker, but it’s such beautifully written fantasy…you really need to try it already! (Although, you can start here with Naamah’s Kiss and still be fine with all the terminology, you’ll have a more full appreciation if you read at least Phedre’s trilogy first)

On one further note, I should mention that this book is less risque than Phedre’s trilogy, so those who may have been turned off by Kushiel’s pleasure from pain will probably be able to get into Moirin a bit more readily. Of course, this is Jacqueline Carey, so there is a lot of sex. But it’s all written well and within the context of the story. So…there you have it.

So that leads me to a question: Since I haven’t read the Kushiel series yet, will all that worldbuilding and terms, etc. be well laid out in this book? I know you say this one can stand alone thanks to the main character, but is that also true in regards to the worldbuilding?

Ahh crap, the more I think about it the more I think it would be crazy not to start with the Kushiel series first. Cripes.