Amph The Worlds of Jacqueline Carey (now discussing a new trilogy)

She's written the Kushiel series and the Sundering duo, and since her name has come up several times lately, I figured she needs her own thread

I really like the Kushiel series. The alternate universe is very interesting, and the characters are fascinating. I think I like the first trilogy, from Phedre's POV, more than this new one (though I haven't read book 5).

I didn't really like The Sundering. I've got 100 pages left of the second book, and wehile it's interesting how much the storyline and characters are like those in LOTR (though told from the POV of the "bad guys" -- "If all that is considered good considers you evil, are you?") the books are dry and boring and stretch out the story too much.

Has anyone else read them or been interested in them?

 

Kushiel's Legacy I think is awesome. Sundering isn't out here yet, I think, but Kushiel's Legacy is good just because it breaks barriers of what's supposedly acceptable

I haven't read the Imriel books yet though, because they're not out here yet either, which is annoying. But still, good writer. Though it amazes me that she can write so damn much per book

 

I think that the Kushiel series is one that shouldn't have been a series. The first book is by far the best, in my personal opinion. The series never tops the first book, never comes close.

 

Oh, the first is by far the best. For me, it got weirder the futther they traveled: in the second one she someone ended up on Crete, and in the next one they traveled down over half of Africa.

But even though the first it best, they others are good enough that I'll keep reading.

 

I didn't mind the second so much, the bits in La Serenissima and Illyria are good, though the bit on Kriti is a bit silly. The third was just too much

 

The third one (the part about Darsanka or wahtever) was kinda freaky, actually.

 

I thought the Mahrkagir was a funny bloke That was the only good bit of the book, it got stupid after that, trekking off down to Africa and finding the name of God and so on and so forth... Too farfetched even for fantasy

Plus, the third book suffered in that there wasn't any military stuff happening. The first book had the Skaldic invasion, the second book had the coup, but the third just had a load of sissy Akkadian troops too scared to go into Drujan...

 

Yeah, I didn't like the Africa trek. Too much, IMO.

 

We can have a thread about her books here?!

I just read Kushiel's Dart and I was definitely outside my comfort zone at some points in the book.

 

Yeah, if there's an LKH thread, there can be this. Just no detailed excerpts

I can understand that. I didn't really mind it; the sex scenes were brief and not often, especially after Alcuin and Delauney die, that I wasn't bothered. Senseless sex is annoying, but I feel that, detailed as it was, it served a point here. I could have lived without some of the detail, though.

 

I agree with you on the detail, and I read all five Earth's Children books. But then Ayla was um, more conventional.

I'm reading Kushiel's Chosen now and I like it so far. As far as I liked the first in the series anyway.

 

I dunno... flechettes...

 

I finished the latest book.


I was really hoping that Dorelei or the baby would die -- not because I'm cruel, but because that would mean that Imriel could go back to Sidonie. I was lucky enough that both did

I really like them (Imriel and Sidonie) as a pair. The whole going to Vralia was okay. IMO the farther they get from Terre d'Ange the worse it gets. Saba, for instance, was really far out there, both in distance and just in general. But it ended up okay, which made me happy.

I really like the "Battle of Imriel" thing But I hate that Ysandre won't let them be together, and that Drustan won't stand up to her. He's okay for their niece but not their daughter? I wish he would just say that it's okay with him, because the only reason he's not is because his wife doesn't like it.

I also really like Alais. She and Conor would be cute together. I admire her for wanting to rule Alba and for her kids to rule after her, but Drustan fought his cousin for doing that, so it seems silly to have his daughter want it.

 

I really wish they'd hurry up and publish the Imri stories here...

 

You've got neither of them?

 

It's not a case of me not having them, more a case of publishers not printing them

I even went to the flagship Waterstones (main British bookstore) in Piccadilly last monday. They didn't have them either.

 

I meant "you" as in "you guys on the other side of the ocean" That sucks If you want them badly enough, though, there's always Amazon.

 

I don't buy things off the net Bad experiences...

 

The Kushiel books should have a warning label: May cause the desire to get tattoos.

Official Jacqueline Carey Site

 

I know!! I really want one now

 

A rose on the back? That seems to be the most popular.

 

Yeah. They're so pretty

 

Next you'll all be wanting a flagellery

 

No, that's you

And I'd never get one, because I'm scared to death of needles, but they're still really pretty.

 

Needles are cool. Injections are fun. But I think tattoos are useless.