There is no situation so dire that a hot bath cannot improve one’s outlook; so I have always found to be true.
An Exile’s Lament
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The honey fills the comb,
But here a rain falls never-ending
And I am far from home.-Jacqueline Carey
Day 01 – Best book you read last year
[Top]After much deliberation (lying on my bed staring at the ceiling for 10 minutes) I have chosen the Phedre Trilogy from Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy. Yes, I know that it’s three books but if you read them all one after the other, like I did, then they count as one. Logic.
Carey has created a world in these books that seems so real and rich in back story that you’re sure there should be history books out there about the land of Terre D’Ange. The characters that she created are equally rich in personal history and beautifully crafted in such a way that you can care for even the most hateful villian.
The trilogy follows Phedre from an unwanted orphan to the savior of her home lands that are poised on the edge of war. All along the way friendships are made and broken, relationships are kindled and put out, enemies are created and cut down.
The characters in these books quickly became some of my all time favourites, not only for their strengths but for their multitudes of weaknesses as well. (I may be 100% in love with Josceline Verreuil)
Disclaimer: These aren’t bed time stories to read to your kids. The whole axis that this epic tale revolves around is the fact that Phedre is marked by the angel Kushiel meaning that she finds pleasure in pain. Get where this is going? 50 Shades ain’t got nothing on these books. But know that Carey uses this element in her stories as a means to an end, a tool for Phedre to use to her advantage, not as the central focus.
Kushiel’s Mercy (Imriel’s Trilogy)
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If there is one series of book that I would recommend anyone, it just has to be Kushiel’s Legacy by Jacqueline Carey. I literally wept at the end. I am not lying, 3am in the morning, tears rolled down my eyes, as I told myself to stop and get a grip of myself, but I couldn’t, Carey has woven yet another tale, overflowing with so much fierce passion, love and emotion, and I crumbled under her language, how she spins words, the power of language. You won’t really understand how incredible these books are until of have read them. Jacqueline Carey, again, if I saw you wondering the streets of London, I would sit, abeyant to you, worship the ground you stood on, and call you my Queen of Terre d’Ange.
In this final part of Imriel’s trilogy, we embark on a more tragic, important and vital journey ever. Filled with tragedy, war, fierce love and passion and a terrible sorcerer that has cast a spell so powerful that binds everyone in the city of Terre d’Ange to forget about Imriel and his love to Sidonie, and that they are allies with the sorcerer. But of course, everyone outside of the city not touched by the spell know this is truth, although the the exact extend to why. Everyone is plunged into madness, and Terre d’Ange are on the brink of civil war. But Imriel is the only one who remember his love to Sidonie, and knows what has befallen, and seeks help from enemies.
I don’t want to give too much away. Because it is so intense. Literally, these books beat every other book for me, because they are so well written, so powerful and passionate, and I could read them over and over again and become so surprised. I now need to by the next trilogy, which I actually can’t wait for! Seriously, I recommend these to everyone, because they are just amazing. Go go go, my friends, may you find greatness in Kushiel’s Legacy, and may you follow Blessed Elua concept: Love as thou wilt.
Tell me, where does it end? With this greater purpose you perceive? Are you a minor character in my story, or am I a lesser figure in yours?”
“I don’t know my lady” I murmured. “I suppose it depends on who is telling the tale.
The Scions of Elua are gifted. But I am D’Angeline too, and if the blood that flows in my veins is not nobly gotten, it holds no less of the lineage of Elua and his Companions for it. My mother was an adept of the Night Court, and in Terre d’Ange, it means as much to be a whore’s daughter as a prince’s son.
Jacqueline Carey / Kushiel’s Dart
[Top]“You despise your patrons a little, and love them too, yes?”
“Yes, my lady.” I sat down in the chair held for me and accepted a glass of joie, eyeing her warily. “A little.”
“And how many of them do you fear?”
I held my glass without sipping, as she did, and answered honestly. “One, at least, not at all. Most of them, sometimes. You, my lady, always.”
The blue of her eyes was like the sky at twilight when the first stars appear. “Good.” Her smile held promises I shuddered to think on. “Be at ease in it, Phedre. This is the Longest Night, and I am in no hurry. You’re not like the others, who are trained to it from birth, like hounds cringing under the whip for a kind touch from their master’s hand. No, you embrace the lash, but even so, there is aught in you that rebels at it. Let others plumb the depths of the former; ‘tis the latter that interests me.”
At that, I did shudder. “I am at my lady’s command.”
“Command.” Melisande held her glass to the light, inspecting the sparkling cordial. “Command is for captains and generals. I have no interest in command. If you would obey, you will discern what pleases me, and do it unasked.” She lifted her glass to me, smiling. “Joy.”
There are going to be a few quotes from these two chapters.
And I must note, the last paragraph is so on point in a way that is all too commonly missed. I don’t know if I’ve ever identified with a fictional character quite so much.
Beauty is at its most poignant when the cold hand of death holds poised to wither it imminently.