Review: Kushiel's Dart

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



First, a warning. The world of Kushiel’s Dart involves a religion that includes sex as worship (some pretty weird masochistic sex-worship at that), with courtesans who have multiple partners of both sexes. It is explicit in ways that are uncomfortable to me at times. If this kind of content is uncomfortable to you - well, you might be able to get past it like I did.

I am not usually fond of books that have a strong sexual aspect, but this was part of a very well-defined religion in a world full of political intrigue and danger. Though a bit shocked at first, I grew attached to the characters, invested in their inner conflicts and caught up by their motivations. And after the foundations of the society are built, the masochism and sex-worship do fade into the background to allow a more political plot to come to the fore.

I include this series among my favorites because of the world-building, intrigue and compelling characters. It gets very dark at times (another trait I typically don’t go for), and does take a while to get going, but still I can’t help numbering it a favorite. I have to say I did prefer the second trilogy because the main character is not actually a courtesan, so the sexual aspect is a bit more muted later on.



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