Jacqueline Carey’s debut novel is, in a word, great.
For a first-time author, she seems to be unusually confident, handling an epic scope, mythological invention and a large cast of characters with quite a bit of authority. She also pulls off a really neat trick; her fantasy world is actually old Europe, seen through a glass, redly. The device allows her to dispense with a lot of explanation that would otherwise be necessary, as the reader (if at all familiar with Europe) will immediately be able to take many things for granted. It goes beyond what, say, George R. R. Martin does in his (equally excellent) A Song of Fire and Ice series, because not only can the reader count on a certain familiarity with chivalric conventions, s/he also knows intangibles such as national character, physical features of the landscape and so on. Fantasy or not, twisted and bent to her own ends or not, Carey’s world is very familiar.
I also like what she’s done with the language. Carey uses fifth and sixth meanings of words in some places, adding to the slightly alien feel of the novel. And readers with a familiarity with French will find an extra layer of enjoyment in lots of places.
About the only quibble I have with the book is that it could have used a bit more detail in places. Carey supplies a few – sanding a parchment after writing on it, the multi-pronged tap used by a tatooist – but a novel of this size (900 pages) would have benefitted from more. As it is, the narrative sweeps you along, but you never really feel immersed in the world in the way that you do with, say, a Steven Pressfield novel.
Still, it’s a minor point. I would recommend Kushiel’s Dart to anyone with even a passing interest in Fantasy, and will definitely be reading the next few books in the Kushiel series.
Post a Comment