After years of training, Joscelin Verrail joins the ranks of the Cassiline Brotherhood as a celibate warrior-priest. As such, he’s displeased to find himself assigned to protect the young courtesan Phèdre, never anticipating how it’ll sweep him up into a world of danger and political intrigue.
I should say off the bat that I love the Kushiel’s Legacy series, and the first book, Kushiel’s Dart, is one of my favorite books of all time. While I didn’t exactly like Joscelin when he was first introduced, I came to appreciate him along with Phèdre and enjoyed the evolution of their relationship. However, I was a little wary when I heard that Carey was releasing a rewrite of Kushiel’s Dart from Joscelin’s perspective, because I wasn’t sure what was left unmined to uncover now.
The beginning of the story sucked me in. We follow Joscelin as he embarks on his training with the Cassiline Brothers, and I enjoyed learning more about his background, friendships, and the brotherhood itself. It was fascinating to see his blossoming relationship with Phèdre from his perspective, and how he reconciled it with his still strong adherence to the spirit of his vows. I certainly got a deeper appreciation for the dynamics at play, as well as his wry admiration for both her brilliance and her love of dramatics.
However, I am still unconvinced that this book needed to be written. After the first quarter of the book, we meet Phèdre and get back on familiar ground, and at that point the story became breezy. I almost felt like I was reading a recap of the events of Kushiel’s Dart. That Joscelin is so continually Phèdre’s companion and protector means that we don’t get to cover much new ground, and indeed his more straightforward perspective usually just made me miss her twisty, technicolor one.
Maybe we would have better off with just the prequel novella of Joscelin’s time in the Prefectory. I certainly would not recommend this book to casual readers of Carey, and temper any recommendation with the warning to read it only once you’ve read the main series through. It is just more supplemental material than book in my eyes.