Oh, the turns of her phrases!
A book review
| Book: Starless | Series: Stand-Alone |
| Author: Jacqueline Carey | 4/5 Stars |
| Age Rating: PG-13 | Age Rating Comments: I included young adult within my categories. The characters and situations are true to what I believe today’s teens might struggle with from a coming of age standpoint. |
I am a longtime fan of Jacqueline Carey. She hooked me withKushiel’s Dart, as many of you would know from other reviews. I have read a great deal of her work…Kushiel’s Legacy—both trilogies, Moirin’s Trilogy, Agent of Hel Trilogy, her ode to the bard: Miranda and Caliban, and several of her short stories. My favorite, by far, remains Phèdre’s Trilogy. And while Starless doesn’t quite live up the grandeur of the Kushiel series, it is quite the work of storytelling.
I’ve read reviews that bash Ms. Carey for her lyrical prose, but that is what I love so much about her writing. She’s departed from that voice in some of her work (e.g. Agent of Hel), and while I enjoyed those reads, they didn’t pull at me the way her prose does in the world of Terre D’Ange or in her newest single-volume epic fantasy.
The imagery that begins this novel and presses through tothe end gripped me and just pulled me along. She makes the heat of the desertmagical in these lines, and though there is some magic within these pages, thetrue magic is in how she spins the words.
“It was midmorning in high spring, and the heat would have been rising like an oven, only a slight breeze swirling in the basin. I can imagine it well. Atop the arched bridge, Brother Saan opened his hand and let fall a single hawk feather.”
Location 88
Her deities are both awe-inspiring and frightful, they give power, but not without a price. Another factor that I love about the characters within Ms. Carey’s work.
“Pahrkun’s long, dark, misshapen head moved toand fro as he came, green eyes in deep-set sockets glowing through the veils ofsand as he surveyed the desert”
Location 2377
The tiniest details. Who wants to read about pulse-points in epic fantasy? I’d ask. We all want a new world, right? But when I read the following passage, it just flows and is interesting in a way that’s hard to fathom. It does more that build a world, it puts me right there inside the world.
“I could see a storm gathering on Princess Fazarah’s features, the pulse-points of khementaran beating more rapidly as the twins argued heatedly for doubling the City Guard and taking more aggressive measures in the lower levels. Seated beside her, her husband, Tarkhal, stroked her back in an effort to calm her.”
Location 4748
Even her transitions are interesting. I’m normally a skimmer, so I found it truly fascinating that once I started, I wanted to read every single word.
“So it was that with Anamuht the Purging Fire bearing down upon the city, the Queen’s Guard escorted Zariya and me into the Garden of Sowing Time, lowering her litter beneath an awning of water-soaked leather that had been erected on the lowest tier.”
Location 5831
And then we come to points where we’re dealing with relationships and the human condition and character depth. In Starless, as in her other work, Ms. Carey keeps this so real and raw that it’s almost impossible to turn away from. Her characters don’t fit the tropes. Khai…I’ll not give any spoilers here, but if you consider the psychology of being raised to believe certain things and a certain way only to learn later that what you know is not reality. Then you must power through and just deal with it. Zariya…so strong, yet so not, yet so… I’m in love with her, though she is not the princess we see portrayed for our daughters in the fairy tales.
“I am Khai, and remain myself,whatever that means.”
Location 64
“She kissed me, and there was nothing sweet about it. It was hard and searing and urgent and possessive; the press of her soft lips against mine, the thrusting of her darting tongue into my mouth. It sent a bolt of desire through my body as galvanizing as the lightning that forked from her fist.”
Location 8984
For me, 3 is a good review, 4 is a great review, and 5 is near flawless. Starless is pushing into the 4 and 5 range, but as a single volume, it leaves me wanting to explore more of the magical world. Also, I wasn’t thrilled with one of the devices used in the climactic scenes…it simply tripped a trigger point. That is a personal preference, and an opinion that many, many others do not share. I’ll not reveal it here so to not spoil the reader’s journey through the realm of Zarkhoum and beyond.
Keep turning that page…you’re guaranteed to find some magic!
Hugs to all.
*I read on Kindle, so locations instead of pages for the quote citations.
Who Fears Death
