I’ve just finished Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel Trilogy for the second time. Because the series is full of politics and intrigue, it really needs a re-read to fully appreciate the story. Especially when you’re a speedreader like me. Only now I could see the hows and why’s of everything, the reasons, the foreshadowing and everything. This caused me to appreciate the series even more. I really, really like this series.

Sure, it has its weak points (Phedre is somewhat overMarySuish to me, I never quite got into liking either Joscelin or Hyacinthe all that much, and the third book was a bit too dark for me), but there are two things in this series that make this one stand out for me. While a lot has been said about the weak points of this series on other places, I want to focus now on the strong points. There are two of them, I think…

1) Phedre’s voice. When an author writes a story from first person point of view, he or she essentially plants the reader and the main character in a room, and make the main character tell the reader the story through the MC’s eyes. This does not always work too well, because the MC is speaking directly. This means that you need a MC with a very clear voice. Robin Hobb did an excellent job with Fitz in the Farseer series, but Jacqueline Carey definitely wins herself kudos with Phedre. Most of the time I felt as if Phedre and I were sitting in an intimate setting, with a glass of wine and a fireplace in the background, warm and safe, while she told me the story of her life, and I listened eagerly and felt as she felt, saw what she had seen. Phedre has a beautiful rich and vivid voice that I loved to listen to. Or read, rather. Her voice alone made the series worth it – but there is a second ultimate strong point, and that is:

2) Melisande. Technically the series’ villain, but shit, how I yearned for the bits and pieces that had her in it. Best. Villain. Ever. Maybe it was Phedre’s longing and love simmering through her vivid telling, but the way Melisande was described made me love her just as much. She was mysterious, but not overly so – beautiful, so smart, so wicked and so very wonderful. The chemistry between her and Phedre is what this series is based upon, of course, it’s the red thread through the series. And it is done so WELL! *squeals* The fascination I have with Melisande ressembles my own experiment with Jenni a little – not understanding, but wanting to know, wanting to pry, wanting to find out, and a sort of helpless love despite the shit you drag up in your search to know.

The helpless love bit is something that I feel attracted to for some reason. It’s been a theme in more than one of my own stories, I am now realizing. It speaks so loudly to me, that feeling of total indulgence and surrender to one another. Love is a dangerous thing because humans are dangerous, and love is a powerful thing. It can make you or break you… it is up to humans on how to use it. Every human being is beautiful. And beauty, in whatever way, is worth loving… by someone. Beauty is something that is subjective. Everyone thinks differently of art and beauty. What moves you to tears can leave me indifferent. What I would die for could make you wonder what the hell I am thinking. Love is one such a thing. Loving a person… it is a strange thing. Very personal.

But sometimes, when a voice speaks strong and true, you can almost understand what this person loves, and why.
I understood Phedre, in this story. And that’s what made me love this series.

Filed under: Books, Journal, Writing