Description
From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Carey's fifth book in her Kushiel's Legacy series, volume two of her Imriel fantasy trilogy (after 2006's Kushiel's Scion ), is a moody tale of violence and divided loyalties. Phèdre nó Delaunay, the sexually adventurous heroine of the first trilogy, has become a placid foster mother to Prince Imriel, son of the unseen traitor Melisande Shahrizai. Carey's infamous explicit sex scenes now portray Imriel's illicit and often violent affair with Sidonie, daughter of Queen Ysandre. Their romance is frustrated by Imriel's obligation to marry Dorelei, an Alban princess, and beget future rulers of Alba. When Dorelei and her unborn son are betrayed and Imriel is badly wounded, he finds himself torn between his vow to avenge his wife and child and his desire to seek solace in Sidonie's arms. His inner conflicts are ameliorated by religious faith, a change from previous books that may please some readers and dismay others. Imriel serves well as protagonist, however, and events are clearly building to what promises to be a spectacular climax in the sixth volume. Author tour. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist *Starred Review* Prince Imriel de la Courcel's parents were infamous traitors, and he was stolen and tortured as a child. Rescued and raised by Terre d'Ange's champions, Phedre and Joscelin, he's now third in line for the throne. He and the dauphine, Sidonie, have always been mutually cool, and then, when Sidonie is 16 and Imriel a little older, theyxa0suddenly see one another with new eyes. Both know that neither queen norxa0realm would approve their marriage, soxa0Imriel agrees toxa0wed Dorelei, the daughter of the Cruarch, toxa0reinforce Terre d'Ange's alliance with Alba. But Alba's elders have foreseen what Imriel portends. Using his passion for Sidonie to bind him magically, they try to force him out. His sense of duty is strong, however, and surprisingly, he falls in love with Alba andxa0with Dorelei. Treason and magic make murderous bedfellows, and when a shape-changing magician-bear savages nearly nine-months-pregnant Dorelei, Imriel swears vengeance—a vow that could kill him as well as his quarry. Carey brings Alba vividly alive again in another stunner in the Kushiel series.xa0A multilayered plot and Imriel's complex inner life as he struggles with pain and lossxa0in the present while trying to make peace with the past hook the reader but good. Luedtke, Paula Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved JACQUELINE CAREY lives in Saugatuck,Michigan. Read more
Features & Highlights
- Imriel de la Courcel's blood parents are history's most reviled traitors, while his adoptive parents, Phèdre and Joscelin, are Terre d'Ange's greatest champions. Stolen, tortured, and enslaved as a young boy, Imriel is now a Prince of the Blood, third in line for the throne in a land that revels in beauty, art, and desire. After a year abroad to study at university, Imriel returns from his adventures a little older and somewhat wiser. But perhaps not wise enough. What was once a mere spark of interest between himself and his cousin Sidonie now ignites into a white-hot blaze. But from commoner to peer, the whole realm would recoil from any alliance between Sidonie, heir to the throne, and Imriel, who bears the stigma of his mother's misdeeds and betrayals. Praying that their passion will peak and fade, Imriel and Sidonie embark on an intense, secret affair. Blessed Elua founded Terre d'Ange and bestowed one simple precept to guide his people, love as thou wilt. When duty calls, Imriel honors his role as a member of the royal family by leaving to marry a lovely, if merely sweet, Alban princess. By choosing duty over love, Imriel and Sidonie may have unwittingly trespassed against Elua's law. But when dark powers in Alba, who fear an invasion by Terre d'Ange, seek to use the lovers' passion to bind Imriel, the gods themselves take notice. Before the end, Kushiel's justice will be felt in heaven and on earth.
