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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oof. So good. I personally love Lois McMaster Bujold. Most of what I've read by her is A+++. I loved this book. The characters were so good and I was so invested in their lives and what was happening politically. The romance was the sweetest thing.
mysterious
Emotional resonance: 4 / 5
Social awareness: 4 / 5
Craft (structure/style): 5 / 5
Novelty (plot/ideas): 4 / 5
Accessibility: 3 / 5
Social awareness: 4 / 5
Craft (structure/style): 5 / 5
Novelty (plot/ideas): 4 / 5
Accessibility: 3 / 5
I am madly, passionately in love with this book. It is the only novel in my long life that I've finished and then immediately re-read (except for Lord of the Rings, and I was a teenager then). It is letter-perfect, character-perfect, plot-twist perfect, thoroughly satisfying. I want to crawl into it and disappear. It is the first book I'd ever read by Lois McMaster Bujold, and discovering it marked the beginning of a wildly joyful reading binge through all 3 Chalion books, then the Vorkosigan saga and the Sharing Knife quartet. The main thing I want to say, though, is that it takes a very particularly gifted kind of fantasy writer to take on religion in a way that's so (here's that word again) tone-perfect and at the same time fresh, innovative, rock-solid, helps a reader think about the real world more deeply, and is perfectly entwined in the plot, like air and water, like a heartbeat. (Full disclosure: I'm a religious-studies professor in some of my spare time, so I care a lot about this stuff.) LMB utterly nailed it. The Quintarian worldview is brilliant; the conflict with the Quadrenes right on target, the nuances and vagaries, the animals and seasons....basically, YES. World-building Nobel Prize! And also I just plain outright love Cazaril. He is a hero for grown-ups and other great-hearted souls. I want to press The Curse of Chalion (and Paladin of Souls too) into my friends' and students' hands as a gift of love and honor. Read it. Me, I'm going to re-re-read it.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
A betrayed soldier returns to seek employment where once he was a page. Those who betrayed him are still in the 'court' business of thievery, machinations and other devious dealings. And oh, by the way, there is a curse upon the land. Enter the gods and sorcery.
An intriguing, medieval fantasy. This book can certainly be read as a stand alone, however there are others in the author's series, so I will give the second book a gander. The author's style of writing is pleasing.
An intriguing, medieval fantasy. This book can certainly be read as a stand alone, however there are others in the author's series, so I will give the second book a gander. The author's style of writing is pleasing.
Gosh, I just love the stories Lois tells. (Although perhaps I love them a bit TOO much - I stayed up way too late last night finishing this book!)
I was introduced to Lois's writing via the Vorkosigan series, and tend to be more of a Sci-Fi than Fantasy person, but this book just grabbed me and didn't let go. Like all of her other books that I've loved, the story is strongly character-driven, centered around flawed but compelling characters whose motivations were understandable and drove the plot.
I was introduced to Lois's writing via the Vorkosigan series, and tend to be more of a Sci-Fi than Fantasy person, but this book just grabbed me and didn't let go. Like all of her other books that I've loved, the story is strongly character-driven, centered around flawed but compelling characters whose motivations were understandable and drove the plot.
I had forgotten that I'd read some Bujold in the past.
I often find her novels strangely uneven.
I picked it up from a list of "cozy sf/f" however I do not think it fits the bill.
I loved the tone in the beginning of this novel. By the end of the novel, the protagonist had taken the expected arc and landed exactly where one expected them to land which left me underwhelmed after what I felt was a much stronger beginning.
I often find her novels strangely uneven.
I picked it up from a list of "cozy sf/f" however I do not think it fits the bill.
I loved the tone in the beginning of this novel. By the end of the novel, the protagonist had taken the expected arc and landed exactly where one expected them to land which left me underwhelmed after what I felt was a much stronger beginning.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes