num_pages: 720
description: Born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, Phèdre nó Delaunay is sold into indentured servitude as a child. When her bond is purchased by an enigmatic nobleman, she is trained in history, theology, politics, foreign languages and the arts of pleasure. Above all, she learns the ability to observe, remember, and analyse. Exquisite courtesan, yet talented spy, she may seem an unlikely heroine ... but when Phèdre stumbles upon a plot threatening her homeland, Terre d'Ange, she has no choice but to act.Betrayed into captivity in the barbarous northland of Skaldia, and accompanied only by a disdainful young warrior-priest, Phèdre makes a harrowing escape and an even more harrowing journey, to return to her people and deliver a warning of the impending invasion. And that proves only the first step in a quest that will take her to the edge of despair and beyond.For it transpires Phèdre nó Delaunay is the woman who holds the keys to her realm's deadly secrets, and whose courage will decide the future of her world.Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart - a massive tale about the violent death of an old age and he birth of a new one. Here is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal and deeply laid conspiracies. It's a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, deposed rulers and a besieged queen, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly unscrupulous villainess ... all seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine.
language: English
title: Kushiel's Dart
titlecomplete: Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1)
characters: Ysandre de la Courcel, Anafiel Delaunay, Phèdre nó Delaunay, Joscelin Verreuil, Hyacinthe (Jacqueline Carey), Melisande Shahrizai
genres: Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Epic Fantasy, BDSM, Erotica, Adult, Romance, Fantasy, High Fantasy
ratings_count: 78758
places: Terre D'Ange
series: Kushiel's Universe, Phèdre's Trilogy, Kushiel's Legacy
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Locus Award
category: Best First Novel, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Gaylactic Spectrum Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (RT Award)
category: Best Fantasy Novel
publisher: MacMillan