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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
I apparently started reading this years ago and didn't like it. I wonder what I was thinking?? I loved it this time! Caz is a touching and interesting hero, and I really enjoy the theology of the 5 gods and their approach to sainthood.
The Chalion stories are very different from Bujold's Vorkosigan series, but very strong in their own right. I'm glad I stumbled back on them.
The Chalion stories are very different from Bujold's Vorkosigan series, but very strong in their own right. I'm glad I stumbled back on them.
Enjoyable, reminded me of Goblin Emperor and Robin Hobb
The first third was slow, so slow in fact that I put this book down for almost a month. I was convinced to pick it back up and I am very glad I did. Around 40% the book picked up quickly and all the groundwork that Lois McMaster Bujold laid down paid off. I cared about the characters, the setting was fantastic, the story is not violent but kept me guessing about what would happen next.
I very much plan on reading the next book in the series.
I very much plan on reading the next book in the series.
4,5/5
Entre intrigues politiques et religieuses et personnages féminins très charismatiques et très bien travaillées, Lois McMaster Bujold nous offre une série pleine d'audace et de beauté
Entre intrigues politiques et religieuses et personnages féminins très charismatiques et très bien travaillées, Lois McMaster Bujold nous offre une série pleine d'audace et de beauté
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this complex fantasy and its complicated characters. Lois McMaster Bujold's version of 1400s Spain makes for a slightly unusual setting for a fantasy, instead of the usual Anglo Saxon-based setting. That immediately made this book more interesting to me, and I liked the many motivations of the characters and the various intrigues, many of them murderous. The main character, Cazaril, is fascinating, a humble, deeply loyal man, who's willing to undergo great adversity in the service of his noble household. (Just one thing, though. I didn't buy the romance between Cazaril and Betriz.)
The religions are also interesting, and the way demons can manifest and must be warded against.
The story kept me engaged and concerned for the fate of Cazaril, and though the next book is not centred on the same characters, I'm invested in this world and anxious to explore more of Bujold's characters and places.
The religions are also interesting, and the way demons can manifest and must be warded against.
The story kept me engaged and concerned for the fate of Cazaril, and though the next book is not centred on the same characters, I'm invested in this world and anxious to explore more of Bujold's characters and places.
After reading the Penric and Desdemona series, I started back for this one.
I didn't realize it was set in a different era and expected some bleed-through, but it was independent enough to standalone. It certainly felt much longer than the Penric novellas, but there was also more ground covered. The second book in the series changes narrators which makes me think I might be a bit slow to continue the series right away, though it seems to have merit.
My main complaint in this book is that Cazaril seems to be all things to all men. He is both weak and strong and sick and powerful. Maybe it was just my expectation, but I just wasn't all that into the romance angle of the book either.
I didn't realize it was set in a different era and expected some bleed-through, but it was independent enough to standalone. It certainly felt much longer than the Penric novellas, but there was also more ground covered. The second book in the series changes narrators which makes me think I might be a bit slow to continue the series right away, though it seems to have merit.
My main complaint in this book is that Cazaril seems to be all things to all men. He is both weak and strong and sick and powerful. Maybe it was just my expectation, but I just wasn't all that into the romance angle of the book either.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book's premise (a 35 year-old guy who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful, uneventful life gets dragged into an adventure against his will) although I found the way everything fit neatly together in the end rather too neat, if not a little far-fetched (the gods can only act through "Simone Weil" type characters, which are presumably rare, but somehow they've still managed to line up numerous far-fetched coincidences... how?).
This seemed like a Dave Duncan book, rather than a Bujold book. Strong characters, but the focus seemed more on the theological system than on the story. I kept thinking that it was a perfect framework for an Assassin's Guild game.