Author: Jacqueline Carey
Publication Date: August 1, 2023
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Male
Having taken some time to think it over, I'm very much of two minds about Cassiel's Servant, Jacqueline Carey's retelling of Kushiel's Dart from Joscelin's perspective.
On the one hand, I'm a HUGE fan of Phèdre's story and was eager to have an excuse to revisit the realm of Terre d’Ange. It's a gorgeous world and an epic story, full of characters I've loved and loathed (sometimes at the same time) for two decades. Even though we start from a different place, exploring Joscelin's youth and training as a Cassiline warrior-priest, the world and the writing are wonderfully familiar. We're witnessing his youth for the first time, but doing so already knowing where his story ends, and that allows us to appreciate key moments and the meanings behind them.
Of course, that foreknowledge also allows us to anticipate the seeds of romance planted between Joscelin and Phèdre, and being inside his head reveals when and where his affections began. That's probably the most interesting (and significant) part of the book, knowing the truth behind what Phèdre could only infer from glances and mannerisms. Because of that, we get to experience his character growth and development at an earlier stage in the story, which softens many of his edges.
On the other hand, there's nothing new in terms of plot, no pivotal revelations to which we weren't privy the first time around. In many ways it's a weaker story because Joscelin is only a witness to so much of it, and his narrative lacks the urgency and self-awareness of Phèdre's. More importantly, through his voice it becomes a more traditional fantasy, sanitized and thinned out, without the groundbreaking eroticism of the original. It's interesting to experience the emotional pain behind his disdain for Phèdre's assignations as an anguissette, but it's her physical pain (and pleasure) that made the original book such a standout work of art.
Cassiel's Servant is an interesting experiment in narrative, and there's no question that reconnecting with Joscelin, Phèdre, and Hyacinthe is entertaining, but the whole book feels unnecessary (at best), and a awkward censorship of Kushiel's Dart (at worst). I'm sure that wasn't the intent, but given that I connected so deeply to Phèdre's erotic S&M experiences, it's hard not to feel a sense of loss or denial with such a retelling.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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