Helpful Score: 4
The world Jacqueline Carey has created with this series continues to have a great deal of beauty and grace about it in this seventh novel. Her characters are still fully-fleshed and wondrous, each one unique and each one worthy. Like the first books in the other two trilogies, this one starts at the beginning of its heroine's tale, and many people may find it slow going at first, for Moirin's journey to her destiny does not really start until she leaves for Ch'in 2/3 of the way through. More than the others, this one feels like the first book in a trilogy, despite its excellent resolution. Nonetheless, Carey remains one of the strongest authors in the fantasy genre today.
I must admit, however, that I begin to suspect she has already created the greatest protagonist she has in her in Phedre. Imriel and Moirin are both beautiful souls, and I follow their journeys breathlessly, continually delighted by their passion, their integrity, and the myriad ways they are nothing at all alike and yet still equally worthwhile as fantasy protagonists. But both fall far, far short of Phedre in one important respect: Phedre, even as a child, was always thinking about her situation and moving in ways to make what she wanted happen. Even when she was an unwitting tool of another character, she was the one performing the actions and in that way always ended up with the upper hand. Both Imriel and Moirin, admirable though they are, are not always the active movers of the plot. Imri is driven by his haunted past; Moirin is driven by her diadh-anam, and while both have plenty of their own will, they spend much of their novels trying to glean what they should do. Phedre always knew what she should do, even though the way to do it might be obscured, for she carried her moral compass within herself rather than looking outward for it.
Perhaps this makes Imri and Moirin more realistic or approachable as characters, but they are not quite so romantically heroic as Phedre was, and that leaves me wanting just the tiniest bit more.
I must admit, however, that I begin to suspect she has already created the greatest protagonist she has in her in Phedre. Imriel and Moirin are both beautiful souls, and I follow their journeys breathlessly, continually delighted by their passion, their integrity, and the myriad ways they are nothing at all alike and yet still equally worthwhile as fantasy protagonists. But both fall far, far short of Phedre in one important respect: Phedre, even as a child, was always thinking about her situation and moving in ways to make what she wanted happen. Even when she was an unwitting tool of another character, she was the one performing the actions and in that way always ended up with the upper hand. Both Imriel and Moirin, admirable though they are, are not always the active movers of the plot. Imri is driven by his haunted past; Moirin is driven by her diadh-anam, and while both have plenty of their own will, they spend much of their novels trying to glean what they should do. Phedre always knew what she should do, even though the way to do it might be obscured, for she carried her moral compass within herself rather than looking outward for it.
Perhaps this makes Imri and Moirin more realistic or approachable as characters, but they are not quite so romantically heroic as Phedre was, and that leaves me wanting just the tiniest bit more.
Helpful Score: 2
Naamah's Kiss returns us to Carey's well thought out fantasy world. Moirin, the daughter of a D'Angeline Priest and a Maghuin Dhonn woman, begins this story in Alba, more than two generations after Prince Imriel slays Berlik.
I found the story to be compelling and captivating and the characters deep and rich. The adventure theme is similar to Phedre and Imri's stories, in that, Moirin has been handed a destiny by the Bear Goddess of the Maghuin Dhonn. The elements of desire, magic and danger are all present as are bloody battles and the ever present egos of the D'Angeline peerage. The erotic scenes in this book tend to lean more to the lesbian side, but there are hetero scenes as well. Overall this is an excellent story and I can't wait to read the next.
I found the story to be compelling and captivating and the characters deep and rich. The adventure theme is similar to Phedre and Imri's stories, in that, Moirin has been handed a destiny by the Bear Goddess of the Maghuin Dhonn. The elements of desire, magic and danger are all present as are bloody battles and the ever present egos of the D'Angeline peerage. The erotic scenes in this book tend to lean more to the lesbian side, but there are hetero scenes as well. Overall this is an excellent story and I can't wait to read the next.
Helpful Score: 2
You don't need to read the other series in order to start at this one, however there are references to what happened in the past which could be spoilers if you're paying close attention to them about what happened in the earlier books. The world building in these books is complex, but the book is written so even if you don't know all the background (such as knowing the complete story of Elua and his companions - which I did not), you can still grasp what's going on. This is a very easily readable book despite it being over 600 pages. The words flow and the language lends itself to just paying attention to the story. Told in the first person point of view, the book is a coming of age tale that's in three parts: Moirin's childhood in Alba, her introduction into society in Terre d'Ange, and her adventures in Ch'in.
Overall: An epic fantasy coming of age tale (at 645 pages-a bigger time commitment than the average book) with a very spiritual and sexual young heroine. If you're a fan of Jacqueline Carey, this book is as strong as her past books, with the same detailed world building and absorbing storytelling. If you DO mind sex in your fantasy, then skip this one. I had only very minor issues (regarding Moirin's Destiny - I'd rather see her chose things for herself than use Destiny, and Moirin's exotic factor, which was much lauded), and found it a good read.
Overall: An epic fantasy coming of age tale (at 645 pages-a bigger time commitment than the average book) with a very spiritual and sexual young heroine. If you're a fan of Jacqueline Carey, this book is as strong as her past books, with the same detailed world building and absorbing storytelling. If you DO mind sex in your fantasy, then skip this one. I had only very minor issues (regarding Moirin's Destiny - I'd rather see her chose things for herself than use Destiny, and Moirin's exotic factor, which was much lauded), and found it a good read.
A fabulous sequel! Can not wait for more
This is quite a good read, if a bit on the erotic side. Naamah is a godess whose followers find love with either gender. Moirin, the heroine of this novel, has more than one secret. She can hide between the real and the shadow world, a technique she knows as the "twilight." The only situation in which the technique doesn't work is when someone is looking directly at her. In addition, she can encourage plants to grow. Moirin leaves her mother, the cave and forest where she grew up to seek her destiny. Her adventures range wide and far as she encounters a rather sophisticated society in which she finds love with the queen to a nation across the ocean where she works to rescue a beautiful princess occupied by a dragon and falls in love with a stick fighter who serves the master who is teaching her how to breathe and follow the "way." Carey does a nice job of putting a rather lengthy story together, yet leaving the ending open for another book to follow.
Note: This is the first book in the third trilogy set in the Kushiel's Legacy series. However, this last trilogy is set a few generations later and stands on it's own so don't be afraid to start here if this book intrigues you.
The Bear Witches of Alba are all but extinct but for those few that remain, they do possess small magics and the Great Bear does look out for her own. Moirin grows up in a cave in the depths of a forest and from these humble beginnings she will be tasked by her divine Bear to fulfill a destiny that lies over seas. First she travels to Terre D'Ange to find her D'Angeline relatives, including her father. A D'Angeline lord and healer is intrigued by her small gifts and she's soon wrapped up in a semi-secret demon summoning circle. She also meets a Chi'in Master and his student/body guard Bao. Perhaps her destiny lies even further than she could imagine.
I read this for the second time as part of a group read and there were weekly discussions which hold plenty of detail on what I think of the book. Once again, I was wrapped up in Carey's world building. I fell in love with the D'Angelines when I read Kushiel's Dart so many years ago. I recall my first time reading this book and how it didn't wow me as much as the first 6 books. However, knowing this round that this is Moirin's tale, I gave it a better chance. Indeed, I did like this book quite a bit more the second time through. I think with the first read through, I was constantly looking for reflections of the characters I had come to know and love from the first 2 trilogies. Now with the second reading I was focused on Moirin.
I loved Moirin's small magics. She's inherited a few from her D'Angeline side as well as her Alban side. Each individual one is rather small, but as we see Moirin grow from a child to a young lady to a woman, she learns to use her powers to great effect. Carey does a most excellent job of showing the reader this growth as the story unfolds.
Moirin is of the Maghuin Dhonn, the Bear Witch people, which we learned a little about in earlier books in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Maghuin Dhonn directly through Moirin. While much of Maghuin Dhonn live in near isolation, they are still a connected people and will come together in larger groups for certain occasions, such as Moirin's coming of age ceremony. Moirin has to work hard to be acknowledged by the Bear Witch herself, but that acknowledgement comes at a steep price, one that I think we won't fully understand until the end of this trilogy.
As usual with this series, there are several lovely sex scenes. Carey doesn't skimp but she also doesn't toss in throwaway love scenes. These interactions always reveal something more about the characters involved. I found this especially true in the later part of the book where there is a princess and a dragon. I won't say anything further as I don't want to be spoilery. Just know that it's worthy.
I do have one quibble for this book. At the end, there is some drama and death and I did feel there was some deus ex machina involved. It involves the ultimate bad guy and why he wasn't properly trussed up. Even with this one small criticism, I did enjoy how the ending leaves our heroes in a complicated place, setting us up for the next adventure.
The Narration: Anne Flosnik is a joy to listen to. She does such an excellent job with the multitude of accents needed for this book. She's also great with a voice for Moirin that ages as she comes of age throughout the story. Her male voices are quite believable.
The Bear Witches of Alba are all but extinct but for those few that remain, they do possess small magics and the Great Bear does look out for her own. Moirin grows up in a cave in the depths of a forest and from these humble beginnings she will be tasked by her divine Bear to fulfill a destiny that lies over seas. First she travels to Terre D'Ange to find her D'Angeline relatives, including her father. A D'Angeline lord and healer is intrigued by her small gifts and she's soon wrapped up in a semi-secret demon summoning circle. She also meets a Chi'in Master and his student/body guard Bao. Perhaps her destiny lies even further than she could imagine.
I read this for the second time as part of a group read and there were weekly discussions which hold plenty of detail on what I think of the book. Once again, I was wrapped up in Carey's world building. I fell in love with the D'Angelines when I read Kushiel's Dart so many years ago. I recall my first time reading this book and how it didn't wow me as much as the first 6 books. However, knowing this round that this is Moirin's tale, I gave it a better chance. Indeed, I did like this book quite a bit more the second time through. I think with the first read through, I was constantly looking for reflections of the characters I had come to know and love from the first 2 trilogies. Now with the second reading I was focused on Moirin.
I loved Moirin's small magics. She's inherited a few from her D'Angeline side as well as her Alban side. Each individual one is rather small, but as we see Moirin grow from a child to a young lady to a woman, she learns to use her powers to great effect. Carey does a most excellent job of showing the reader this growth as the story unfolds.
Moirin is of the Maghuin Dhonn, the Bear Witch people, which we learned a little about in earlier books in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the Maghuin Dhonn directly through Moirin. While much of Maghuin Dhonn live in near isolation, they are still a connected people and will come together in larger groups for certain occasions, such as Moirin's coming of age ceremony. Moirin has to work hard to be acknowledged by the Bear Witch herself, but that acknowledgement comes at a steep price, one that I think we won't fully understand until the end of this trilogy.
As usual with this series, there are several lovely sex scenes. Carey doesn't skimp but she also doesn't toss in throwaway love scenes. These interactions always reveal something more about the characters involved. I found this especially true in the later part of the book where there is a princess and a dragon. I won't say anything further as I don't want to be spoilery. Just know that it's worthy.
I do have one quibble for this book. At the end, there is some drama and death and I did feel there was some deus ex machina involved. It involves the ultimate bad guy and why he wasn't properly trussed up. Even with this one small criticism, I did enjoy how the ending leaves our heroes in a complicated place, setting us up for the next adventure.
The Narration: Anne Flosnik is a joy to listen to. She does such an excellent job with the multitude of accents needed for this book. She's also great with a voice for Moirin that ages as she comes of age throughout the story. Her male voices are quite believable.
