Kushiel's Dart

By: Jacqueline Carey

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 31 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission...and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair...and beyond.

Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart - a massive tale about the violent death of an old age and the birth of a new.

©2008 Jacqueline Carey (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This brilliant and daring debut catapults Carey immediately into the top rank of fantasy novelists." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A very sophisticated fantasy, intricately plotted and a fascinating audiobook." (Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series)

Fairytale on steroids

What a story! and there is more to come as this is only the first book of the trilogy.
The audiobook gives more depth to the story than simply reading it. The beauty of the lands. The intricacies of the different gods and saints. The politics of the different rulers. The suspenseful moments are reflected well via the narration.
I highly recommend this series.

brilliant!!!

One of my most favorite books brought to full-color, immensely profound detailed life. Gripping, heartrending, beautiful, perfect!

Excellent story, pretty good narration

This is one of my favourite books and it translates very well into audio form. I thought the reader was excellent on narration, but found that her voices for many of the characters were a little off. Overall, a good listen.

bang for your buck! super long story.

Overall a good tale. hard to listen to in the beginning as there are a lot of names and interweaving that can be hard to keep straight when heard instead of read.

I recommend.

amazing book, ok narrator

I don't know how many times I have read kushiels dart, and loved it every time. I decided to give the audiobook a try, since I wear headphones all day at work and knew I already loved the story. what I will say is that it's a hard book to read aloud, and Anne gave it a good try. however, I feel that her accents and pronunciations for those characters and places outside of the Terre D'ange left a bit to be desired.

Engaging!

I read this book once a long time ago and it was great to do my crafts and just listen. Just as before I was lost in this world. Never once getting bored. Listen to his the main character grew into her role and the barriers she had to overcome made this story so worthwhile.

I strongly recommend this book.

Read this years ago wonderful series

Great alternative reality series. The voices the actor chose for some of the characters were not the same as the ones in my head. but otherwise a great book.

Fabulously narrated version of this fantasy classic

Kushiel’s Dart is the first book in the 9 book series beautifully written. Jaqueline Carey captures your attention and you can’t help but feel a part of Terre D’Ange.

so difficult

I own this book and the entire series in print. I just wanted to listen while at work. The performance was...less than optimal and the pronunciations and inflections on certain names, gonzago de escabares, really just took me out the story every time. But the book is good. Great mix of sci fi/fantasy and romance, especially as the series continues.

Hard to get into

The narrator is probably what is killing this book for me. Her voice is extremely dry and I can barely tell the characters apart. The story starts slow as well, but I can get past that. I can see how this would be good, but unless there’s a different narrator i don’t know if I’ll ever finish this one…