In 2001 with Kushiel’s Dart, Jacqueline Carey introduced us to Phèdre nó Delaunay, gods-touched courtesan-spy, and the network of friends and lovers who aid her in delving into the courtly intrigues of Terre d’Ange while following Blessed Elua’s precept of love as thou wilt. Including one austere, beautiful Cassiline warrior-priest and bodyguard, Joscelin Verreuil. Now, nearly twenty years later, Carey will retell the events of Kushiel’s Dart through Joscelin’s eyes in Cassiel’s Servant.
The announcement comes from Publishers Marketplace, which describes the book:
Jacqueline Carey’s CASSIEL’S SERVANT, which retells the events of cult favorite KUSHIEL’S DART from the warrior-priest’s point of view, starting with his own childhood and training and following his epic quest to avert the conquest of Terre D’Ange
Carey also tweeted about the exciting news:
Okay, so I was kinda waiting until all the "i"s were dotted and "t"s were crossed to reveal this, and I'll have more to say later, but in brief… yeah, almost 20 years after writing the original, I'm telling Joscelin's side of the story.
You may squee now. https://t.co/2QMzM3CE0j
— Jacqueline Carey (@JCareyAuthor) April 17, 2018
Buy the Book
Kushiel’s Dart
While Joscelin sticks by Phèdre’s side almost unfailingly—aside from taking his vigils during the Longest Night while she’s at the Midwinter Masque—his experience of the events of Kushiel’s Legacy vastly differ from hers. Just as Phèdre is caught in the grip of love and cruelty of the god Kushiel, as a scion of Cassiel, Joscelin is forced to stand at the crossroads and choose, again and again, the path of the Companion.
No publication date has yet been announced. More to come on Cassiel’s Servant as Carey shares more details. In the meantime, check out our Kushiel’s Reread and let us know which parts of Dart you can’t wait to see from Joscelin’s POV!
Kushiel’s Dart art by Tran Nguyen for Subterranean Press
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
No no no no. That’s a money-making trick for Meyer and E.L. James and the like, not for the echelon Carey belongs to. I loved the original Kushiel trilogy, but I’d just read them over again rather than buying into this idea. Unless she can put a whole different spin on things, reveal all kinds of secrets Phedre and the readers never knew. Joscelin doesn’t seem like the secret-hiding type, though. And he is completely the wrong kind of personality through which to view and appreciate the fantasy world he’s living in.
Depends on how it’s handled. Sometimes this sort of thing works if you give enough new details (example: The Last Colony/Zoe’s Tale), sometimes it doesn’t if there isn’t really anything new to say about the situation (example: Feedback). So I dunno about this news. I’m not bouncing off walls.
I’m very excited about this project, and think if anyone can pull it off, it’s Carey.
There’s a lot of flipped perspective in her work outside of Kushiel, so I’m more than happy to see this. Admittedly, I’m more eager for Starless at this point, and the last trilogy from Terra d’Ange wasn’t as resounding (although I reread it not long ago, and held up better than I remembered, might’ve been my expectations getting in the way there), but Joscelin’s inner monologue is definitely something I want insight on.
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am very excited for this. In all honesty, Joscelin’s POV wasn’t something I thought I wanted. I’ve been dying dying dying for more of Anafiel’s story (yes, I know there’s a short story already, but it just didn’t do it for me) but I’ll take Joscelin’s and hope to see more of Anafiel on the page. And, you know, if Ms. Carey wants to throw in an extra POV or two I won’t be mad.
Hm, it did occur to me that Joscelin might have had ah, quite a bit of inner debate regarding getting together romantically…so that might be interesting.
If there’s anyone I would trust with this type of retelling, it’s Jacqueline Carey. I am so looking forward to this!
Count me among the skeptics. It’s a very tall order to make Joscelin’s first-person voice as compelling as Phedre’s. He has a much less unusual psychology, and it is difficult to imagine him writing or retelling his life in a way that mirrors the fascinating slippage between the implied older Phedre as author and her immersion into her younger self and its perspective. I’d like to be pleasantly surprised, but I’d much rather have a different novel in this or another world from Carey than a perspective-flip.
I for one am very excited and interested to see this from Joscelin’s point of view. I think Joscelin is an extremely compelling character in his own right, and I think it would be fascinating to see how his accounting of events differs from Phedré’s. And I think if anyone could pull off this type of novel and not have it seem gimmicky or what have you, it would be Jacqueline Carey.
I understand the skepticism, but after Starless, I think Carey is totally able to show Joscelin’s perspective. While reading that book, I kept finding myself comparing the desert training and what I knew of the Brotherhood.