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tachyondecay's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moment of shame as I admit I have never read anything by C.J. Cherryh! I picked up a whole stack of her paperbacks from the used bookstore; I decided to start with The Paladin because the internet told me that it was a good standalone work. No lies! Now, it took me over a week to read this little story because I was distracted and, perhaps, not in the mood for exactly this type of tale. Nevertheless, while I didn’t love this book, it showcased Cherryh’s writing skills in a way that left me wanting to read more of her work.
Shoka, once Lord Saukendar and swordmaster to the Emperor, lives in self-imposed exile on a mountain on the outskirts of Chiyaden while the young Emperor continues to be overshadowed by a tyrannical regent. His peace is disturbed by Taizu, a peasant girl on the cusp of womanhood. She has crossed the empire in search of the fabled Saukendar and is determined to have him teach her the art of the sword, despite her unfortunate gender and Shoka’s own desire for solitude. Taizu’s goal is no less than the killing of Gitu, the Emperor, and Ghita, the Regent. As you might imagine, she gradually wins over Shoka, but things don’t quite turn out the way either would expect.
I loved the start of this book. It feels a bit like an ancient legend, you know? Determined, plucky youth convinces the grouchy old master to take her on so that she can train for her revenge. All the ingredients are here. Cherryh’s style, at least in this novel, is incredibly lush and descriptive—the dialogue is sparse, but she spends a lot of time on setting, as well as on what’s going through Shoka’s head. The narrator is quick to highlight that Shoka is past his prime, both in age and in political will. Similarly, Taizu’s revenge plot is absolutely bananapants—something Shoka never fails to point out to her—and the way Cherryh handles this later in the story is pretty good.
I could have done without all the lust on Shoka’s part. I have come to expect that from fantasy novels written by men, and perhaps from Tanya Huff, so this was a bit of a surprise. It’s not quite lechery, I suppose, on Shoka’s part, but it just weirds me out, the way it goes beyond addressing the elephant in the room and turns into a kind of fixation for him.
Nevertheless, the first half of the book is quite the training montage. The second half turns into what I can only describe as military fantasy, and that’s where the novel starts to lose me. I had trouble following some of what was going on—there were a lot of names of people and places, a lot of discussion of tactics and difficult situations, and not a lot of moments for our protagonists to pause and work things out. When we finally get to meet the Emperor and his evil Regent, it feels hollow because we don’t really know either of these people. They were just names to us, and then their encounter with Shoka and Taizu is all too brief.
At the same time, as I said earlier, I really respect Cherryh’s storytelling chops. Even as I felt my interest flagging, I could see the wonderful story structure and thematic elements at play. The way that Shoka must shift back into his old persona of Saukendar, how his legend precedes him as he and Taizu travel towards the capital, his awareness that this is a double-edged sword that might get others killed … it’s very good. It’s a slick commentary on the issues with placing our faith in legends who turn out just to be men—with all the fallibility and foibles of age!
I doubt The Paladin will sit with me for a long time. We’ll see how I feel about the other Cherryh novels I pick up in the months to come! But it’s an example of how a novel can still be a solid work of story even when it doesn’t personally grab me the way I want.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
Shoka, once Lord Saukendar and swordmaster to the Emperor, lives in self-imposed exile on a mountain on the outskirts of Chiyaden while the young Emperor continues to be overshadowed by a tyrannical regent. His peace is disturbed by Taizu, a peasant girl on the cusp of womanhood. She has crossed the empire in search of the fabled Saukendar and is determined to have him teach her the art of the sword, despite her unfortunate gender and Shoka’s own desire for solitude. Taizu’s goal is no less than the killing of Gitu, the Emperor, and Ghita, the Regent. As you might imagine, she gradually wins over Shoka, but things don’t quite turn out the way either would expect.
I loved the start of this book. It feels a bit like an ancient legend, you know? Determined, plucky youth convinces the grouchy old master to take her on so that she can train for her revenge. All the ingredients are here. Cherryh’s style, at least in this novel, is incredibly lush and descriptive—the dialogue is sparse, but she spends a lot of time on setting, as well as on what’s going through Shoka’s head. The narrator is quick to highlight that Shoka is past his prime, both in age and in political will. Similarly, Taizu’s revenge plot is absolutely bananapants—something Shoka never fails to point out to her—and the way Cherryh handles this later in the story is pretty good.
I could have done without all the lust on Shoka’s part. I have come to expect that from fantasy novels written by men, and perhaps from Tanya Huff, so this was a bit of a surprise. It’s not quite lechery, I suppose, on Shoka’s part, but it just weirds me out, the way it goes beyond addressing the elephant in the room and turns into a kind of fixation for him.
Nevertheless, the first half of the book is quite the training montage. The second half turns into what I can only describe as military fantasy, and that’s where the novel starts to lose me. I had trouble following some of what was going on—there were a lot of names of people and places, a lot of discussion of tactics and difficult situations, and not a lot of moments for our protagonists to pause and work things out. When we finally get to meet the Emperor and his evil Regent, it feels hollow because we don’t really know either of these people. They were just names to us, and then their encounter with Shoka and Taizu is all too brief.
At the same time, as I said earlier, I really respect Cherryh’s storytelling chops. Even as I felt my interest flagging, I could see the wonderful story structure and thematic elements at play. The way that Shoka must shift back into his old persona of Saukendar, how his legend precedes him as he and Taizu travel towards the capital, his awareness that this is a double-edged sword that might get others killed … it’s very good. It’s a slick commentary on the issues with placing our faith in legends who turn out just to be men—with all the fallibility and foibles of age!
I doubt The Paladin will sit with me for a long time. We’ll see how I feel about the other Cherryh novels I pick up in the months to come! But it’s an example of how a novel can still be a solid work of story even when it doesn’t personally grab me the way I want.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
missbear's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I wouldn't have picked up The Paladin if not for a friend of mine, who was convinced that we had both read the book as teenagers and wanted to read it again, as she thought that the central relationship may have aged poorly in retrospect. So, that's not a very auspicious reason to read something. Now that I'm done, I can say that I'm not really all that sure I did read it before, and that it definitely aged poorly.
This book is split into two distinct halves, which I had two distinct problems with. The first half, which is a very slow, peaceful, slice-of-life kind of story (the sort of thing I tend to like), focuses on Taizu, the main character, as she learns sword fighting and begins to trust Saukendar, her teacher. It's unfortunately uncomfortably blighted by Saukendar's constant thoughts about how much he would like to have sex with her despite the fact that she is explictly, verbally afraid of him raping her. And they talk about this a lot, so it's not really something that you can look past.
In the second half, the story transforms into a cross-country adventure tale with lots of combat and political intrigue, which is not my favorite kind of story. I found the descriptions of court politics and the geography of the land they were crossing to be particularly confusing, somehow both vague and overspecific. By this point in the story, Saukendar and Taizu are in fact sleeping together, which puts a stop to all the talk about rape, but is still uncomfortable, as Taizu's motives in agreeing to have sex are a little hard to puzzle out.
I will say that I did enjoy the conceit of having the story told from Saukendar's perspective but be focused on Taizu, and I think I would have really enjoyed watching Saukendar slowly grow to respect and admire Taizu if not for his constant thoughts about having sex with her. But all in all, this was largely a slow and uncomfortable read for me and I probably would have put it down if not for my friend.
This book is split into two distinct halves, which I had two distinct problems with. The first half, which is a very slow, peaceful, slice-of-life kind of story (the sort of thing I tend to like), focuses on Taizu, the main character, as she learns sword fighting and begins to trust Saukendar, her teacher. It's unfortunately uncomfortably blighted by Saukendar's constant thoughts about how much he would like to have sex with her despite the fact that she is explictly, verbally afraid of him raping her. And they talk about this a lot, so it's not really something that you can look past.
In the second half, the story transforms into a cross-country adventure tale with lots of combat and political intrigue, which is not my favorite kind of story. I found the descriptions of court politics and the geography of the land they were crossing to be particularly confusing, somehow both vague and overspecific. By this point in the story, Saukendar and Taizu are in fact sleeping together, which puts a stop to all the talk about rape, but is still uncomfortable, as Taizu's motives in agreeing to have sex are a little hard to puzzle out.
I will say that I did enjoy the conceit of having the story told from Saukendar's perspective but be focused on Taizu, and I think I would have really enjoyed watching Saukendar slowly grow to respect and admire Taizu if not for his constant thoughts about having sex with her. But all in all, this was largely a slow and uncomfortable read for me and I probably would have put it down if not for my friend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship
tome15's review against another edition
5.0
Cherryh, C. J. The Paladin. Baen, 1988.
This book is the odd duck in my reading pond by almost any standard, and I enjoy it immensely. In fact, it is about the only story of its genre I have reread several times. It is a one-volume martial fantasy set in a world that seems like ancient China but isn’t and is rumored to have magic but doesn’t. It is a martial arts training story, a revenge story, an apprenticeships story, a woman warrior story, and a love story. We have seen all these elements before, but the characters so gradually reveal their complex individuality and prickly relationship that the drama never lets down. This is how our heroine is introduced in the prologue from the villagers’ point of view: “Emphatically, the master took no students . . . and certainly no students as ragged as this—so small and starved and so evidently some yeoman farmer’s son, no different than any of their own.” So things are not what they seem, and perhaps that is the point.
This book is the odd duck in my reading pond by almost any standard, and I enjoy it immensely. In fact, it is about the only story of its genre I have reread several times. It is a one-volume martial fantasy set in a world that seems like ancient China but isn’t and is rumored to have magic but doesn’t. It is a martial arts training story, a revenge story, an apprenticeships story, a woman warrior story, and a love story. We have seen all these elements before, but the characters so gradually reveal their complex individuality and prickly relationship that the drama never lets down. This is how our heroine is introduced in the prologue from the villagers’ point of view: “Emphatically, the master took no students . . . and certainly no students as ragged as this—so small and starved and so evidently some yeoman farmer’s son, no different than any of their own.” So things are not what they seem, and perhaps that is the point.
murraycampobianco's review against another edition
5.0
A stand alone novel unrelated to any of Cherryh's others. A classic rif on the unwilling swordmaster dragged back into the world by a determined disciple.
boris_beard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
msjenne's review against another edition
3.0
Okay. For the first two thirds or so, this was a full-on five-star book. It was a completely awesome story of a reclusive master swordsman who lives on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, and this girl who comes and insists he train her.
Totally great. I love an apprentice story, which is basically a makeover story (and I have probably said before that I LOVE makeover stories), and the characters were interesting and behaved like normal, stupid people.
AND THEN, just when things are getting good, they go off and get caught up in an EXTREMELY BORING WAR that lasts for the entire rest of the book. Seriously, I read the first part in one day and the rest took me almost a week to finish. sigh.
Totally great. I love an apprentice story, which is basically a makeover story (and I have probably said before that I LOVE makeover stories), and the characters were interesting and behaved like normal, stupid people.
AND THEN, just when things are getting good, they go off and get caught up in an EXTREMELY BORING WAR that lasts for the entire rest of the book. Seriously, I read the first part in one day and the rest took me almost a week to finish. sigh.
henryarmitage's review
3.0
I thought I was through with this author. The last few books I've read by her
were disappointing. I picked this up with the idea that I would read a few chapters
and toss it in the rejects bin. But, surprise, it was pretty good.
were disappointing. I picked this up with the idea that I would read a few chapters
and toss it in the rejects bin. But, surprise, it was pretty good.
dlwchico's review
4.0
Though it’s never stated as such, the setting of this book is very much like Medieval Japan. The story is about a young girl who goes to a legendary Lord that lives in exile on a mountaintop and begs him to train her so she can avenge her family. Pretty good book.
leons1701's review
4.0
It's been years since I first read this, and I'd forgotten just a bit how good it really was. It's a bit of a love story, if a sometimes slightly creepy one, in addition to a very classic martial arts revenge story.
aimee70807's review
5.0
As much as I love Cherryh's science fiction, my favorite books by her are the Rusalka series. This book feels a lot like those, although perhaps not nearly as stellar.
In addition to the world-building (a semi-China or Japan) and the general feel of the book, what I liked the most was the way Cherryh chose to use the problematic guy as the protagonist. It would have been oh so easy to write this story from the point of view of the young girl, but instead, we follow the less sympathetic man, who still manages to appeal to the reader.
As a side note, I just read this interesting factoid on Wikipedia: "Cherryh (pronounced "Cherry") appended a silent "h" to her real name because her first editor, Donald A. Wollheim, felt that "Cherry" sounded too much like a romance writer." I've been struggling with her name for decades!
In addition to the world-building (a semi-China or Japan) and the general feel of the book, what I liked the most was the way Cherryh chose to use the problematic guy as the protagonist. It would have been oh so easy to write this story from the point of view of the young girl, but instead, we follow the less sympathetic man, who still manages to appeal to the reader.
As a side note, I just read this interesting factoid on Wikipedia: "Cherryh (pronounced "Cherry") appended a silent "h" to her real name because her first editor, Donald A. Wollheim, felt that "Cherry" sounded too much like a romance writer." I've been struggling with her name for decades!