Kushiel's Avatar [Paperback]

Carey put in all the usual convoluted plot twists, family and political intrigue, strange events, unpronounceable names and excessive traveling to new lands. The main difference is that 10 years have passed since we last knew everyone and that time has been good. All the characters have matured and their personalities have deepened. Phedre is a woman, not a girl playing spy games and I find her even more appealing than in the other two books. Joscelin is a much more relaxed man, secure in himself and their love together. Melisande even has her claws cut a bit and becomes much more human (she now has a HUGE weak-spot).

The plot starts off simply but becomes tangled and the travelers become very sidetracked, as always. This time, their adventures become extremely dark for about 1/3 of the book. Joscelin and Phedre are tested to the core of their beings and their love. I found this section of the story very moving. Phedre begins to feel the presence of her gods and this drives a lot of the rest of the story. She finds out the truth of her nature, more than she ever wanted too. (She also gets the chance to save the world, essentially, but that's almost a footnote.)

The whole book is about faith and love-losing it and finding it, both within and without oneself. Above all, it is about love itself, in all its forms and powers. Love can be a weapon and a healer, it can save and it can curse, it can kill and bring life. Phedre's journey through her spiritual awakening is much deeper than I expected for this series. On the whole, I found it to be a very moving book and deeply religious (in the various religions of the land.)

For the book itself, it is much better than the second book. They are faced with the real world more than simply backstabbing court politics (like the second book). There are a few explicit sex scenes between her and Joscelin thrown in (only one integral to the plot). Her abilities as an anguissette are used only for one part of this book, sexually speaking (it saves her life and the lives of others). Part of her journey is discovering that bearing pain can take many forms and not just for the pleasure of others or herself. She also begins to find purpose in the fact that she was god-chosen and that it wasn't just a random event. All the political intrigue seems to wear on her and after her experiences she feels it's all rather shallow. I have a feeling she'll be less immersed in court politics when this is done.

This book is the same as the other two on the surface, but the deep thread running through the book is about the larger questions of humanity and Carey does a good job of letting Phedre figure out her own answers. I think it was a fitting ending to the series. We have watched a girl grow into a complete woman.

That said, for me the sadism of the episode in the Mahrkagir's palace would have been irredeemable if it were not for what followed. There were references throughout the first two books to Jewish culture and folklore (the Book of Raziel, the "khai" pendants, the culturally "Jewish" Yeshuites who are religiously Christian (Why, Ms. Carey? Why?) etc.) but I did not expect the sudden and and heartrendingly beautiful welling of Jewish mysticism in the finale. Carey's use of the concept of the Name of God was a breathtaking departure from the expected, and while I am ideologically troubled by its juxtaposition with sado-masochism, prostitution and paganism, my emotional side was satisfied, delighted and swept away. The talent and depth of knowledge that must have been required to pull it off leaves me nearly speechless.