As usual, Jacqueline Carey made mythology recycling. Imriel was taken to Drujan on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It is a realm where is played the struggle between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, embodying the good and evil in Iranian mythology. The second has temporarily won the game and Drujan is ruled by his avatar (hence the title of the novel), the Mahrkagir "Conqueror of Death". Phaedra enters his harem, which is owned Imriel and gives herself to him. It is in this confrontation that the nature of anguissette (Elected to Kushiel) is fully justified. This episode is described with such realism that to start playing, it's best not to be depressed.
The search for the name of God, in the depths of Africa, then appears as a pleasant trip and almost tourist. Beautiful magazine Africa and corrected by J. Carey, with his oléphants and camélopards! It is regrettable that the author indulges in some rather ridiculous scriptwriting effects: many times, think Phaedra fail near the goal and despairs, but by the next page, we learn that all goes well. The player did not doubt!
But overall, this volume is perhaps the most successful of all three. Do not rely on the illustration, showing a nearly naked Phaedra in a vaguely oriental atmosphere. That does not match any scene from the book.