Kushiel's Legacy: Difference between revisions

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The first trilogy, beginning with ''Kushiel's Dart'', continuing with ''Kushiel's Chosen'', and ending with ''Kushiel's Avatar'', follows the exploits of Phèdre, a woman with a red mote in her eye which marks her as an ''anguissette'', one who experiences pain as pleasure. This talent means she draws a high price, as prostitution is a highly valued and respected profession in her home country. Added to this, she is trained in espionage, escape, and other things by her bondholder, with intent to use her as a weapon to stabilize the realm. Over the span of three books, Phèdre goes from girl to adult, and winds up deeply involved in the politics of the realm and the divine, thanks in part to her... unique talents, both as courtesan and spy.

All seven-plus books are probably examples of [[Your Mileage May Vary]], at least on the erotica part, but are still interesting stories without the sex. ''Kushiel's Legacy'' is widely lauded by reviewers for having complex societies, likable characters, and a continuous onslaught of politics and intrigue which blend seamlessly with the sex.

 

 

{{tropelist}}

*** There's also a subtext that strongly implies that {{spoiler|it was all part of the plans of the Gods to prevent the destruction of the world}}.

* [[The Alcatraz]] - The prison island of La Dolorosa in ''Chosen''.

* [[Always Someone Better]]: The ancient Hellenes are this to D'Angelines. In the second half of ''Chosen'', Phedre travels to the island of Kriti and gushes about everything she sees there. This is interesting because-this one exception aside-she (and most D'Angelines) tend to look down on non-D'Angelines.

* [[All Myths Are True]].

* [[The Archer]]: Moirin. No tricks, just a nice bow and a lot of practice.

* [[Ars Goetia]] - The spirits summoned in Naamah's Kiss all come from here.

* [[Anguished Declaration of Love]] - Joscelin has a hard time admitting his love for Phèdre. It takes him two full books to finally decide he'll put up with her no matter what.

** Of course since the book is told from the perspective of Phèdre, she might not encounter too many fetishes outside of BDSM, since that's her speciality.

*** Confirmed with the newest trilogy. Moirin is just as sexually active as Phèdre and Imriel, but she has yet to show interest in BDSM and is thoroughly baffled that it exists.

* [[Babies Ever After]] - Eventually, after Imriel and Moirin [[Earn Your Happy Ending|earn their happy endings.]]

** Subverted, however, with Phèdre and Joscelin, who never do have biological children.

* [[Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad]]: the Mahrkagir.

* [[Band of Brothels]] -The Court of Night Blooming Flowers, which is composed of the different pleasure houses at which the Servants of Naamah work.

* [[Batman Gambit]] - It's heavily implied that the first 2/3rds of ''Kushiel's Avatar'' is part of Kushiel's plan to {{spoiler|punish Melisande}} and {{spoiler|kill the Mahrkagir}}. The former Punisher of God does not putz around.

* [[Bawdy Song]] - "Phèdre's Boys" have made up a few songs about her. An example? "Man or Women/We don't care/Give us Twins/We'll take the pair!"

* [[The Beard]] - Allegra Stregazza for her husband Ricciardo

* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]] - A Cassiline technique called ''Terminus'' is built around this trope. If things are looking particularly grim for a Cassiline and their charge the Cassiline will use their daggers to kill both of them.

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: The biggest [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment in the series is when {{spoiler|Barquiel L'Envers charges out of Troyes-le-Mont to rescue Phèdre and Joscelin, just as Joscelin is about to perform a [[Mercy Kill]] on himself and Phèdre to save them from Waldemar Selig.}}

**** Actually in Imriel's case, {{spoiler|he eventually heals to the point where he can enjoy sex without being mentally tortured. He learns he enjoys kissing men, but decides that he's a bisexual who prefers women.}}

** There was also the case of {{spoiler|the current D'Angeline queen and former adept of the night court, Jehanne, who took Moirin as a lover and confidante in ''Kiss'', but did not survive the birth of her child. Her death occurred off the page and Moirin does not find out until almost a year after the fact.}}

* [[Can't Stand Them Can't Live Without Them]] - Joscelin towards Phèdre. Really, what do you expect from a celibate warrior-priest paired with a courtesan who enjoys her job?

* [[Celibate Hero]] - Joscelin is a [[Warrior Monk]], raised from age ten to be the "perfect companion." Part of their final vows is indeed a vow of celibacy. {{spoiler|Breaks his vow later in the books, is outcast, but still gets his respect.}}

* [[Chekhov's Gun]] - The Companion's Star Ysandre gives to Phèdre at the end of ''Chosen'', which entitles her to one boon. It finally pays off in ''Avatar'' when {{spoiler|Phèdre uses it to force Ysandre to let her and Joscelin adopt Imriel}}

* [[Chekhov's Skill]] - Surprisingly enough Joscelin's ability to ''fish'' becomes important in ''Avatar''.

** There's also Phedre's Cruithne and Skaldic language lessons, which come in handy in ''Dart.''

* [[The Chessmaster]] - Melisande and, to a lesser extent, Anafiel. Phèdre inherits this from the both of them, and is incredibly clever when ''god-ordained'' lust isn't turning her brain to mush around Melisande.

* [[City of Canals]] - La Serenissima.

* [[Deadly Decadent Court]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Barquiel L'Envers

* [[Death World]] - Drujan

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]] - Sidonie.

** In ''Naamah's Blessing'', {{spoiler|Jehanne's death, followed by ((overly hasty)) news of his son's death, push King Daniel over this. He drowns himself in the river.}}

* [[Determinator]]: Several. Joscelin and Phèdre both have this in spades, and Moirin shows tons of it when chasing Bao. Jacqueline Carey likes her women strong-willed.

** Although the Master of the Straights is the product of precisely this form of rape. When nobody will seek pardon for him, he places a curse on his own son and refuses to lift it until he is himself pardoned.

* [[Dramatis Personae]] - Each book in the series has [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] and therefore have a dramatis personae that can go on for pages and pages. Averted most recently in the soft cover edition of ''Namaah's Kiss'', a few pages of praise for the past books, the usual title pages, and the ever present map, then it jumps straight into chapter one with no preamble.

* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]? - Alais can receive dreams of the future. But she doesn't always interpret them correctly.

** Moirin gets this, in a way, when she {{spoiler|talks to the spirit of Jehanne in her dreams.}}

* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]] - Imriel. Poor guy.

** This pretty much applies for any main character in the series. Joscelin and Phèdre, Imriel, Moirin and Bao...

* [[Estrogen Brigade Bait]] - Nearly every darn male in the series. Alcuin and Delaunay certainly have their moments. And why, why, ''why'' is Joscelin so hot?

** Um, because he's a gorgeous, [[Badass]], chivalrous, protective, sweet, devoted man with incomparable swordsmanship and more than a bit of [[The Woobie|woobiefication]]. That's why.

** It's also noted that having sexual freedom doesn't necessarily make choices of the heart ''easier.'' In some cases, they're actually harder.

* [[Even the Girls Want Her]] - Melisande and Phèdre, both in canon and among fans. Can we add Moirin and Snow Tiger to this list as well?

** Don't forget Nicola L'Envers y Aragon.

* [[Evil Uncle]]: At first, {{spoiler|Barquiel L'Envers appears to be this. Phèdre is very suspicious of him in ''Chosen'', and easily believes the real traitors' attempts to frame him for Melisande's escape. However, he is in fact staunchly loyal to his niece Ysandre and works to secure her throne, making him a subversion.}}

** Played straight with {{spoiler|Benedicte de la Courcel, Ysandre's great-uncle.}}

* [[Fallen Angel]] - Elua's Companions, Rahab from the first trilogy, and the spirits in Naamah's Kiss.

* [[Famed in Story]] - Pretty much every major character.

* [[Fantastic Fighting Style]]: Joscelin's "two daggers and vambraces" fighting style probably qualifies.

** Basically every single location is some version of this.

* [[Fertile Feet]] - Blessed Elua according to legends. This is similar to the [[Real Life]] story of Buddha.

* [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant]]: Phèdre.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]- {{spoiler|Isidore d'Aiglemort's death after dueling and killing Selig.}}

* [[Hero of Another Story]] - A few examples, but most prominently Micah Ben Ximon and the Yeshuite pilgrims from ''Kushiel's Chosen'', who later reappear in ''Kushiel's Justice.'' Not to mention the result in "Naamah's Curse"...

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Joscelin does this a lot, especially where his Cassiline vows are concerned--however, Phèdre knocks this out of him eventually.

** Though, admittedly, Phèdre has shades of this as well, given that she's willing to give herself up to a madman's seraglio because of an oath she gave her greatest enemy.

* [[Improvised Weapon]]: Most notably, the hairpin that Phèdre uses to {{spoiler|kill the Mahrkagir.}}

* [[Inhumanly Beautiful Race]]: The D'Angelines, who impress every other people with their beauty.

* [[It's Not You, It's Me]] - Imriel pulls this on Sidonie in ''Justice''. Joscelin and Phèdre exchanged this occasionally.

* [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies]] - Sidonie and Imriel do this to each other in Justice as well. Then again, given her position, and his mother's, possibly reasonable.

* [[Jedi Truth]] - A few times, but especially with Melisande.

* [[Karma Houdini]] - Melisande Shahrizai; she's just too good at [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] for karma to catch up to her.

** Though it does catch up a little in the end--she never gets to have her son back, for one.

* [[Like Brother and Sister]] - Imriel and Alais - but in this case it really is like that, no romantic undertones at all. (Well, as far as this series goes, anyway.)

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]] - The Cassiline Brotherhood are sworn only to get their swords out to kill (normally, they use daggers and vambraces). You'd better believe that when they do, things are going to get VERY dangerous. Especially if it's Joscelin, and doubly especially if Phèdre is in peril.

* [[Long Hair Is Feminine]]- Averted. D'Angeline men typically have long hair and it isn't considered feminine.

* [[Long-Haired Pretty Boy]]- Nearly every D'Angeline man qualifies.

* [[Meaningful Echo]] - Kinda. After the second book Melisande's reply to Phèdre's accusation of treason gets said in one form or another at least once per book. It's usually mentioned that Melisande said it first.

** Original quote

** Notable one in Scion

'''Imriel''': No, it's not. Mayhap if we obeyed Blessed Elua's precept, it would be. Elua cared naught for thrones or mortal politics. }}

** Even the third trilogy continues the trend

'''Moirin''': We're the ones who make it that way. Blessed Elua cared naught for crowns or thrones. }}

** She's going to.

** Also, {{spoiler|Lo Feng}}

* [[No Periods, Period]] - In Terre D'Ange women can only become pregnant if they [[Fantasy Contraception|pray to Eisheth, a fertility goddess to open their wombs]], and then the Goddess may or may not grant this wish. So essentially no one has a menstrual cycle until then, and no one has to worry about unwanted pregnancy unless they change their mind. [[Be Careful What You Wish For]].

* [[Not Hyperbole]] - The Mahrkagir's iron rod is, in fact, just that.

* [[Not Worth Killing]] - Inverted. Instead of killing Phèdre, Melisande continuously deals her more merciful punishments, {{spoiler|like selling her to slavery, trapping her in the worst prison in the world, etc.}} because legend has it that a descendent of Kushiel who kills a bearer of Kushiel's Dart suffers [[And I Must Scream|ten-thousand years of torment]] in the afterlife. This is a smart decision in a world where gods and angels are proven to exist. Rather than not being worth killing, Phèdre is ''too valuable'' to kill. That, and the fact that Melisande just finds her [[Brutal Honesty|too much fun as a sex slave.]]

* [[Omniglot]]: Phèdre picks up 13 languages over the first three books, most of which she learned while traveling. Imriel can speak almost that many.

* [[Pimped-Out Dress]] / [[Costume Porn]] - Phèdre spends a while waxing lyrical about her dress before every fete, ball, masque or other special occasion. The red and black dress for her first assignation comes to mind. When she anounces that her return to being a servant of Naamah she wears a gown with a low back that shows her tattoo, to show she means business. {{spoiler|Phèdre gets really dressed up on the night she plans to kill the Mahrkagir with her hair-pin.}}

** Other characters get to wear these as well, especially in the books that don't have Phèdre as a main character.

* [[The Power of Love]] - Might as well be a physical force equal to gravity in this series.

*** This is also the key to why the Mahrkagir is vulnerable to Phèdre. {{spoiler|He loves her, and if he performs the ritual sacrifice, he will unleash the full furry of his God. The fact he wants to do this is the only thing that allows Phèdre to get him alone long enough to kill him.}}

** In Terre D'Ange, the Camaelines are credited with only being to think with their swords {{spoiler|before one of their leaders turns out to be Melisande's traitor}}. The Skaldi, meanwhile, are ''never'' credited with thinking, swords or otherwise. {{spoiler|Then, their leader also turns out to be working with Melisande.}} Hmm, notice a pattern here?

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] - Drustan and Eammon fit this trope although both are very clever and thoughful men. It's more about how other people preceive them as being couth or uncultured.

* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: Zigzags in the case of Imriel and the Maghuin Dhonn. They foresee the possibility of a terrible future, and at first all their attempts to avert it make it ''more'' likely and ''worse''. However, in the end, they do manage to change the course of fate... but at a terrible price.

* [[Semi-Divine]]: The D'Angeline people are like this; descended from God's son and his angelic companions.

* [[Sex God]]: Any of Terre D'Ange's courtesan, due to the glorification of prostitution as sacred. Special mention goes to Phedre.

** Taken very literally in the case of Naamah, though she's more of a Sex Angel than a [[Sex God]].

* [[School of Seduction]]: The Court of Night Blooming Flowers.

* [[Screw Destiny]] - Phèdre's reaction to Hyacinthe's fate in the first trilogy. {{spoiler|Succeeds, of course.}} Joscelin after deciding he can't live without Phèdre in ''Chosen''.

* [[So Happy Together]] - Melisande and Phèdre towards the middle of ''Dart''.

* [[Someday This Will Come in Handy]] - Or as Delaunay and Phèdre like to say, "All knowledge is worth having".

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]] - Joscelin and Phèdre are presented as this at first, as are Sidonie and Imriel. {{spoiler|Moirin and Bao seem to be setting up for this as well}}

* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works]]: Sort of. In ''Kushiel's Chosen'', Joscelin makes a dagger throw that disrupts the aim of an enemy on the other end of a large temple filled with fighting men. Phèdre comments that she thought the throw was impossible.

* [[Time Skip]] - The books mainly continue where the last one left off, but there's a ten year jump between Chosen and Avatar and a hundred year jump before the third trilogy. There's also little time skips during the books when the characters are traveling or nothing important is happening.

* [[Too Kinky to Torture]] - Phèdre. Early on in ''Dart'' she is burned with a red hot poker. She states that "There was no pleasure in it, at least not one who was not an anguissette would understand." Of course, there are lines even for ''that'' - she derives no pleasure from being skinned, for example. Still, she says late in the first book that she cannot be forced to tell secrets through torture. This appears to be true.

* [[Troubled but Cute]] - Imriel, according to others in the book. Sometimes when reading, it's far too easy to imagine him in a James Dean type get up.

* [[Trust Password]] - Used during the siege in Scion.

* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]] - The ability to speak the language of ants was originally given as a prank by an irritated spirit. In Terre D'Ange, it's this. In the Amazon Rain forest, [[Lethal Harmless Powers|it's]] [[Heart Is an Awesome Power|a little]] different.

* [[We Could Have Avoided All This]] - Almost as soon as he sets foot on Alba in ''Justice'' Imriel is stalked and harassed by the Maghuin Dhonn. They keep mentioning they are trying to prevent a future disaster, but instead of just talking to Imriel they stalk and bind him with magic. When they eventually reveal that the disaster would be {{spoiler|Imriel's son killing off the Mahguin Dhonn and becoming a conqueror due to his and his father's hatred for them}}. Imriel was understandably not impressed and immediately called them out as idiots for not just ''talking'' to him.

* [[When the Planets Align]] - used by the Carthaginians in ''Mercy'' to put a spell on the entire city.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] - Alcuin. Although he's a good guy and is only Phèdre's rival in terms of vying for Delunay's affections.

[[Category:Fantasy Literature]]

[[Category:Alternate History Literature]]

[[Category:Literature]]