Twenty one years after her stunning debut of KUSHIEL'S DART, Jacqueline Carey revisits her lush and dark work of Terre d'Ange in CASSIEL'S SERVANT, labeled as book 1.5 in the Kushiel's Legacy series.  This series includes books one through three, which are Phèdre's trilogy, then books four through six are Imriel's trilogy.  Phèdre's trilogy was told in the first person, and now in CASSIEL'S SERVANT, we get to see the whole story unfold from the eyes of Phèdre's bodyguard and eventual lover, warrior-priest Joscelin Verreuil.  I adored the Kushiel's Legacy series in the 2000s, and I jumped on this opportunity to devour a revisiting of this enthralling world.

Joscelin is a Cassiline Brother, following in the footsteps of Cassiel, one of the fallen angels who followed the god Blessed Eula when Terra d'Ange was founded.  The Casseline Brothers are dedicated to celibacy, and their purpose to "to serve and protect" (unto death) their given charge.  Joscelin began his career as a stuffy young man with a rigid and disapproving outlook of the sexual behaviors of those around him, which is pretty funny given that the motto of all of the other eleven houses of the decadent Terra d'Ange is "love as thou wilt."  As a further contrast, Joscelin is given over to guard the courtesan Phédre, who was sold into sexual slavery as a child, and who is chosen by the angel Kushiel as an “anguissette”: someone who finds physical pain and submission pleasurable.  Watching Joscelin lose his prudish outlook and grow in his respect for the clever and brave Phèdre is a marvelous thing.

Phédre is a very competent spy, I love her devious as she can be!  Her patron and spymaster was killed as the result of a convoluted plot to take over the kingdom and install a new ruler.  Phédre and her bodyguard are sold into slavery in a nearby barbarian kingdom by one of the architects of the takeover plot, in order to get them out of the way.  Together, Phédre and Joscelin must fight to escape and survive the brutal journey, hoping to bring word of the looming treachery back to Terre d'Ange's young and unproven ruler.  Their quest with all its danger and intrigue is utterly captivating.  Fraught politics, massive battles, and abiding love coalesce to enervate this epic tale. 

While CASSIEL'S SERVANT is a retelling of KUSHIEL'S DART, it is somewhat simplified and parts are compressed to allow exploration of more of Joscelin’s backstory.  Reading CASSIEL'S SERVANT made me long to re-experience the whole byzantine trilogy of Phédre, and ultimately, I happily revisited the world of all six Terre d'Ange books after gobbling up Joscelin's tale.  Fans of Jacqueline Carey will find CASSIEL'S SERVANT to be a return to her original and marvelous storytelling, with delightful results.