Naamah's Blessing (edition 2011)

I've very much enjoyed reading this trilogy, and revisiting Terre D'Ange. I don't think these books are as good as the first trilogy, but they were still very good, especially read back to back in a long glut of reading! This third book takes Moirin and Bao to Terra Nova -- essentially, the Aztec nations. A lot of plot threads from the trilogy are tied up here, and no detail seems to have been meaningless.

I did feel as though Jacqueline Carey wasn't that able to make the reader feel her characters were truly threatened. In the first trilogy, I did, but Moirin easily found help or a way out again and again. And again, most problematically, Moirin gets to meddle with other cultures for her idea of what's best. It leads up to the ending, where Moirin sees all gods as being one in a way -- an idea close to my heart as a Unitarian Universalist -- yes, but it still troubles me.

The minor characters were, once again, quite well done: I especially enjoyed poor King David, so fatally flawed, and his kindness and sympathy to Moirin; Moirin's father, of course; Balthasar Shahrizai; Jehanne; the Aztec king; Cusi...

The whole plot with Raphael de Mereliot was well played. Everything ties together quite well.

With no more books awaiting me, I'll miss Terre D'Ange, but I sort of hope Moirin and Bao are the last word, at least until Jacqueline Carey has some new ideas. I felt that many parts of this and the last book were very reminscent of Kushiel's Avatar. ( )

I had a hard time with this third book in the Naamah Trilogy. It seemed so very formulaic to me, and it really dragged. There were times I despaired of finishing, so to help me get through it, I made up the Naamah's Blessing Drinking Game, which I include below. I don't recommend that any reader actually try to play it though, as they would be reeling drunk in next to no time.

This is my least favorite of Carey's books by about a mile. Excuse me, a league. Moirin is a Mary Sue to end all Mary Sues, and the plot is not particularly satisfying. The big reveal in the jungle made me roll my eyes. The ending was lovely, however. 1.5, on the strength of the ending.

Naamah's Blessing Drinking Game
Reader must drink whenever

Moirin says "the gods use their chosen hard"
Bao is described as insolent
Someone notices that Moirin has a way with animals
Moirin feels her diadh-anam flicker, flare or jump
Moirin has an idea no one else thought of that saves them from disaster
The ruler of a country falls in love with Moirin at first sight
Moirin calls the twilight
Bao fights a hardened warrior with only his stick and wins decisively
Moirin inadvertently causes great goodness to happen
The eye color of Moirin or Phanuel is mentioned (two drinks if rushes or jade are referenced)
The word destiny is used
Moirin pulls out her bow and with a well-aimed arrow, saves someone
Bao's death and resurrection are mentioned
Someone wildly unlikely asks Moirin for advice and finds it incredibly wise
Bao talks about the fat babies, round as dumplings that he and Moirin will someday have
The ruler of a country confides his or her deepest secrets to Moirin
Moirin refers to the twilight as a cloak
Tears streak down someone's cheeks
Moirin and Bao's diadh-anams mingle and merge while Naamah's blessing spreads over them like a blanket
The ill-fated circle of Shalomon is mentioned
The ghost of Queen Jehanne comes to Moirin in a dream
Someone who fails to take Moirin's advice dies
Someone suddenly begins speaking a new language fluently
Someone brings up Phedre
Moirin refers to herself as a half-breed bear witch

( )

A fitting end to the Naamah's Legacy trilogy! I wish we could meet Moirin and Bao's fat dumpling children, but that would be giving too much. It's enough to know that Terre d'Ange is safe for now and that Jehanne's daughter Desiree will be happy

The presumably final book in Terre d'Ange has a thoughtful, bittersweet tone throughout. I found it a little less engaging, in some ways, than the earlier novels - the plot is straightforward, the sex is fairly perfunctory (and dreadfully straight) and the characters are either familiar or trivial (with the exception of the delightful four-year-old Desiree.)

That said, I tore through it like someone might take it away if I didn't finish it fast enough. The South American exploration sections are well-done (based on my very recent reading of The Lost City of Z) and suitably perilous. The villain, while not all that interesting in himself, has a superpower that was simultaneously hilarious, creepy, and desperately implausible. And I found the musing on the nature of religion and the afterlife to be a nice way to wrap up this pleasantly non-Eurocentric trilogy.

On a slight tangent, I think I have enough data to say that without the S&M power games in the Kushiel books, free love is just not all that interesting as a central plot point. It sort of becomes obvious because Moirin really doesn't sleep with anyone (other than her now-husband) unless he or she rules a tribe, nation, or empire. Without that power-disparity tension it's just porn - and even with, the fact that she is supernaturally interested in sleeping with all those heads of state really takes away any tension in the scene.

I'm pleased overall with Namaah's Blessing as a closing chapter in the saga. I think Moirin doesn't come anywhere close to being as captivating a character as Phaedre, but she's certainly charming, and it was fun to sail around the world with her. ( )

This is a great conclusion to yet another fantastic trilogy. The heroine did not initially appeal to me, but by now she has thoroughly won me over, and this book once again takes her far far from home. The conclusion is satisfying, the sex is imaginative, and the work Carey has created is engrossing. Recommended for adults. ( )