Naamah's Curse (Moirin's Trilogy Book 2)

Note: This is the second book in the third trilogy set in the Kushiel’s Legacy series. However, this last trilogy is set a few generations later and stands on it’s own. This book, as the second in this trilogy, works mostly well as a stand alone but is definitely enhanced by having read Naamah’s Kiss.We return to Moirin’s adventures as she sets off to find Bao, her stubborn warrior love. She leaves the relatively comfortable Chi’in lands for the wilder and much colder territories ruled by the Tartar tribes. Once reunited, things don’t go as expected and some double crossing has them separated again. Moirin has to match wits with a Vralian religious zealot and later on face the Spider Queen!It was good to be back in Moirin’s world. Her archery skills serve her well once again, as well as her small magics. For me, the beginning and then the last third of the book were more interesting than the middle part. She starts off on this solo quest to find Bao and that tests her determination and dedication to Bao. When they meet up, Bao is living with his father’s people. Sparks fly…. but then a complication becomes apparent to Moirin. The two simply can’t go off and have their own lives. The Tartars love their competitions which center mostly around horses and archery. Yep! Moirin has another opportunity to be the one that saves Bao.The middle part sees them separated and Moirin is held captive by this man and his family as they attempt to convert her to their religion. There are a lot of good points in this section wrapped up in this story and these characters but I found that it lagged a bit. After all, I agree with Moirin 100% in this section so the arguments only reinforced my dislike for people who try to push their religious believes onto others.The last third of the book sees us back in adventure land as Moirin befriends the Lady of Rats and has to face off against the Spider Queen and her husband, the Falconer. They have a band of assassins. Moirin is definitely in danger! Then there’s the caste system that has been strictly enforced for generations. Moirin had a real balancing act here between what she felt was right and also respecting local culture and religion. It was a tightrope walk.Since Bao isn’t with Moirin for much of this book, he doesn’t play as big a role. He’s often in Moirin’s thoughts but she has herself to worry about as she travels from one strange land to another searching for him. One of the things I really like about them as a couple is that they aren’t a traditional couple. Throughout this book, they care greatly for each other, respect each other, but they each have other lovers along the way and they are OK with that.Moirin often does the rescuing even though she’s not some tall, athletic warrior. She has certain skills (archery, summoning the twilight, etc.) and she uses them wisely and quite well. She often uses her compassion and patience to win people over. Also, she doesn’t shirk her fair share of the tougher chores be them tending to her horses or taking out enemy scouts.While I enjoyed the first book in the series a bit more, this was a pretty good adventure tale. I look forward to seeing what Bao and Moirin get up to in the third and final book.The Narration: Anne Flosnik keeps on impressing me. In this book she takes on even more accents as Moirin travels out of Chi’in (Chinese accent), into Tartar lands, then Vralia (Russian accent), and finally into Rasa (Indian accent). She manages to keep all the characters distinct even though this book has a sizable cast. Her male voices are believable. One of her greatest strengths is nailing the nuanced emotions of the main characters – truly impressive!

Before reading this book I read the reviews of it and found that many of them said that they were disappointed. With trepidation I began the book and waited for it to go "very very wrong". Naamah's curse may not be as good as Carey's first books but it is still like poetry whispering on the wind of things our society is just beginning to ponder, let alone understand. Moirin is the opposite of Phedre and yet the same, I'm sure a purposeful paradox. I'm grateful for Carey, her stories are healing wounds long overdue & in desperate need. While exposing religion she shows great respect for it. I'm a little bit in love with her for it.

There are huge tracts of thinking and philosophy and remembering, especially in the beginning. For those of you coming into the series in the middle, or who for whatever reason took a while between books, this is a good thing. It gives a very thorough--very, very thorough--background and sense of the heroine. I, on the other hand, did a LOT of skimming for the first couple of chapters, and through some of the later chapters, when the heroine went back over philosophical musings she'd mused over before, either in the previous book or in previous chapters.Oh, and much as I liked Bao, I so wanted her to kick him to the curb a couple of times. Make that much of the book. As partners go, it is pretty impossible to top the Casseline but Sidonie held her own. Bao, not so much, at least in this book. I'm hoping he'll redeem himself in the next book and not be such a 'stupid boy'.

As a fan of Carey's older work, I thought, "what the heck," and gave this a try. It was nowhere near as good. It was beyond utterly predictable, a poor mix of reality trying to be fantasy " i.e. some places being named after real, "foreign" cities, use of actual foreign languages being called other languages in the book...at one point, she even referred to D'Angelines as "European" people. The hero, Moirin, has virtually no substance/growth throughout the series, and she literally hops from "fantastic" versions of Europe, China, South America/Mexico....in the span of one novel she travels more than one continent and saves more than one empire. The quests could have been epic, but instead they were just crammed into this trilogy, and the result is nothing more than "blah."

Although I remain rediculously grateful to Carey for continuing to write in the "Kushiel universe"...this is definitly a weaker book by far. The first of this trio started out quite promising...(as other reviewers have aptly described) but this one...pfft..hmmm..it felt like filler. I mean, now that they have proclaimed their love for one another it was like a floodgate of "I love you, I love you too! I love you.." I was actually rolling my eyes in parts. I gave it 3 starts becaue I'm just happy to be along for the ride, and (crossing fingers) hoping that the next book 'picks it up' with the suspense and political intrique and snappy diologue that I have come to love from these books...and maybe Bao will fall into the Bog of Eternal Stench or a Deep Dark pit and die and put an end to this (YAWN) rather dull pairing.

This book is part of a trilogy with an interesting blend of our older cultures set into a fictional world where magic is real. The heroine is feisty, fun and believable. The weaving of various religions and cultures is fascinating. Recommended for those looking for a fun fantasy read, well written , with good characterisation. Not 'classic highbrow' but very well developed

I cannot say enough good things about this book, or the trilogy to which it belongs. The books of the Kushiel's Legacy series (9 books in total) are without compare my most cherished possessions, and they have been read (and listened to in audiobook format) more times than I can count.

Fantastic book Ms Carey is one of the most gifted writers I've ever read. And the final Dune books would have been so much better if she had written them!!

Wonderfully written, excellent stories and characters. I love the way the world mirrors ours with its geography and religion, and touches upon genuine world issues, as well as drama, action and romance!

Great fantasy