I made it halfway through but just couldn't muster the will to go any further. This was a real disappointment after the excellence of the first trilogy. Her writing has not worsened, but the main character is straight-up boring, and in lieu of any semblance of plot she just followed him around during his late teen years. Give him something to do besides have sex, fight, and be an annoying teenager! All the sexytime was fine in the first trilogy when it tied into the main character's superpower (no, really), but here it was just annoying and intrusive. Fan-service at its worst.
First book of the second trilogy in Terre d'Ange - it's the story of the teenage years and start of adulthood of Imriel, stepson of Phèdre, who leaves Terre d'Ange to go study in Tiberium. A very nice first book for a trilogy, a nice mix of old and new characters, and a good successor of the first trilogy (and since I liked the first trilogy a lot, well, I like this one too.)
Another amazing book! Ms. Carey's writing is exquisite, which I know I've used that word before to describe her writing, but it truly is. Readers who were disappointed in her Godslayer duology will not be disappointed in Kushiel's Scion. I stayed up too late reading this book and immersed myself in it. It is a book that you read, wanting to keep reading more and more and more (and Carey does not disappoint here either), but you also do not want it to end, so you stop reading in places to digest what you have already consumed.
I am a little disappointed in the cover. It is meant to entice Kushiel's Legacy's readers with Phedre, who is a part of the story, how could she not? However, Imriel, our beautiful hero of this tale is in the shadows behind a curtain. This is not Phedre's story, it is Imriel's. So, …
Another amazing book! Ms. Carey's writing is exquisite, which I know I've used that word before to describe her writing, but it truly is. Readers who were disappointed in her Godslayer duology will not be disappointed in Kushiel's Scion. I stayed up too late reading this book and immersed myself in it. It is a book that you read, wanting to keep reading more and more and more (and Carey does not disappoint here either), but you also do not want it to end, so you stop reading in places to digest what you have already consumed.
I am a little disappointed in the cover. It is meant to entice Kushiel's Legacy's readers with Phedre, who is a part of the story, how could she not? However, Imriel, our beautiful hero of this tale is in the shadows behind a curtain. This is not Phedre's story, it is Imriel's. So, the cover artist missed her mark. Perhaps she was so in love with Kushiel's Legacy that she could not let Phedre go as the center of the cover art.
I am glad that so much time has passed since I read Kushiel's Legacy. If I had been able to plunge into Kushiel's Scion, I would have. But, I worried that I would not like the portrayal of Phedre when we saw her through someone else's eyes, or that she would change the way characters often do change or stay exactly the same when authors are no longer telling that character's story, but you see him/her in another novel. I loved Phedre in this novel. She was who she was. She was not stagnant, yet her changes fitted her.
Imriel was an excellent voice. He was believable with one exception. Some of the exchanges between males seemed not likely. The comraderie I've seen is different. Maybe you can chalk it up to different time, different people, and even different universe. But, it is hard for me to imagine a teenage boy acting as Imriel, or perhaps not so difficult given Darsanga, but at least his teenage friends, who had never seen such horror to act in certain manners. A particular encounter sparked those thoughts, and that broke the flow of the novel that one time when it became apparent that this book was written by a female author for a primarily female audience.
This first novel of what I expect is another trilogy is like Kushiel's Dart, in that it is Imriel's coming of age story. Imriel had more hardship and lessons behind him when we meet him at 12 than Phedre had prior to Skaldia (even including Skaldia). Imriel really and truly comes of age in the second half of the novel, especially in Lucca. I cried and cried starting about page 525 until the end. Carey is back to that tactic of her writing I hate so much: she introduces one or two characters that you fall in love with, and they die. Of course, Imriel being Imriel, he carries guilt for those deaths, and every time he mentions one, new tears stream.
I was struck at the beginning of the novel of how much adults in Terre d'Ange treat teenagers as adults for the most part. I recalled how Phedre was treated in Dart and it holds true. The teenagers are not protected from themselves. I found it an interesting aspect of the novel.
Imriel does a fair bit of whining that any brooding teenage boy does. Those who cannot tolerate whining will probably not enjoy this novel that much. Imriel has a lot to heal from and he tends to not let healing come. Those who have suffered violent crime probably will be able to relate better to Imriel and understand why healing is so hard.
One last thought: I am really glad this book did not have the first few chapters of the next book in it or I would be a frustrated reader having to wait until another Kushiel book comes forth.
