Kushiel's Dart, and Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
01/05/2003 . Source: Sana Master 
Tor Fantasy, 901 page paperback. Price: $ 7.99 (US). ISBN: 0-765-34298-7. (Tor Fantasy, 678 page paperback. Price: $7.99 (US). ISBN: 0-765-34504-8. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.Tor.com Phedré is a beautiful young woman touched by the Gods. She is sold into the service of Naamah, the honoured profession of the courtesan, as a young child but she is outcast because of a pinprick of scarlet that mares the liquid brown of her left eye. A peer of the realm, Anafiel Delauney, is the only person who realises what it denotes and transforms what had been her flaw into a mote of rare value.  Only Delauney recognises that the celestial fingerprints that traverse Phedré's soul manifest in the scarlet mote. It symbolises Kushiel's Dart, marking her as one who will forever experience pleasure in pain. Delauney trains Phedré to listen, observe, think and this training, as well as that of pleasure, equips Phedré to deal with the political intrigues Delauney thrusts her into. The world Carey creates is at once familiar and alien. Terre D'Ange - the land of the Angels - is Phedré 's birthplace and as you can tell by the name bears resemblance to France. It is bordered by countries that are recognisable as Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain and Britain.  The myth Carey creates is a fantastic blend of the ancient Greek, Roman, Christian and Jewish faiths. The land of Terre D'Ange, however, is distinct in that all of its people are descended from the son of Yeshua (Jesus) called Elua. This son was born from a union between the blood of Yeshua and the tears of the Magdalene and given birth by Mother Earth.
Elua was abandoned by the is often limited having only one storyline to follow. However, Carey's heroine is so well-defined, created in such detail, that hearing the tale from her is no hardship. There is very little in the novel that is extraneous or unnecessary, so whilst the reader is given only one side of the story, Phedré's interactions with the characters she does meet are intriguing enough to hold attention. Phedré nó Delauney is a beautiful heroine who brings to life the classical hetaira and infuses her service with glamour. She is also refreshingly human. Self-deprecating in that she credits any success she achieves to her luck or curse in being stricken by Kushiel's Dart. Her loyalty to her Queen and country is threatened by her own destructive love for the villainess and as we journey around the world of ‘Kushiel's Dart’ and ‘Kushiel's Chosen’, carried safe in Phedré's head we see her struggle against her own nature to do what is right. Terre D'Ange is land that defies the reader not to fall in love with it. It is a world of grace and the sins of angels are made the glories of this race. A warning must be given, however. These books will challenge sexual proclivities- daring the reader to consider wider options shall we say and dare to live by Elua's precept: ‘Love as thou wilt’. Sana Master 
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