Beguilement

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

After reading Lois McMaster Bujold's first Chalion book, I was an instant fan. So, I was really excited to get my hands on the audio versions of the first two novels in her second fantasy series: The Sharing Knife.

Alas, it really pains me to have to write a lackluster review for anything Bujold does, but here we go.

First, let me say that Beguilement is a romance novel, as clearly stated by Bujold herself on her website. In short, Fawn is not respected by her family. She is teased and called “stupid” by her parents and big brothers. She has gotten herself in some trouble, so she runs away from home. She manages to get herself in some more trouble when she meets the minions of a “malice,” a creature which sucks the life out of nearby living objects and can only be killed by sharing knives which are made of human bones and are primed by a human's death (someone has to give their life to the knife). Fortunately, Dag comes along with his knives and saves Fawn's life a couple of times. Because of an unexpected occurrence with the knives, Fawn and Dag find themselves traveling together. During that time Dag realizes that even though Fawn is extremely naive, she's actually very bright. And a relationship develops....

Second, let me mention that I really disliked the voice of the audiobook reader, Bernadette Dunn. I have heard her before (Memoirs of a Geisha) and I liked her then, but that was a novel about a Geisha. Her voice doesn't work for Beguilement. It's too feminine, so the parts of the novel that were written with the male point of view (Dag) make him sound wimpy and weak. The voice she used for the female (Fawn) was too naive-sounding, hickish, syrupy, whiny, and often downright cloying.

Two strikes already, but Bujold clearly warns me that it's a romance, and she can't control the voice of the audiobook reader, so I won't fault her for those issues. And, as usual, Bujold's writing is superb. Her characters are well realized (she's very good at letting us view their inner thoughts) and dialogue is realistic.

Here are my main problems with Beguilement:

1. Fawn is unbelievably naive and has low self-esteem. This does not make for a fun or admirable heroine. Her family tells her she's stupid, so she thinks she's stupid. She whines and uses the word “stupid” a lot. I'm guessing that Bujold is trying to impart the lesson that when parents tell kids they are stupid, the kids end up with low self-esteem. Hey, I'm a psychologist, and I'm in total agreement with Ms Bujold's philosophy, but it was getting to the point where I was wondering if Richard Rahl (Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth) was going to show up and start lecturing about Fawn's nobility of spirit.

2. Dag, while likeable, is MUCH older than Fawn. I mean like decades. It'd be like Jordin Sparks with Phil Collins. That's a little creepy.

3. The magic system is really interesting (as Bujold's magic always is). The malices are fascinating, but after the first encounter with one early in the plot, we are treated to no more of these interactions. The rest of the book is slowly pushed along by dialogue, romance, and wedding preparations rather than action.

For someone looking for a chatty romance, I'm sure Bujold is way better than most everything on the romance shelves. But for someone who is expecting the greatness of Chalion, sadly, this isn't it. However, I do wonder if now that we've got the romance out of the way, might she return to the problem of the malices in book two? Now that Fawn and Dag are together, might Fawn have more self-confidence and be a more interesting heroine? Just in case, I think I'll try Legacy. I wouldn't want to miss any excellent Bujold fantasy.

Read more Lois McMaster Bujold reviews at Fantasy Literature

The book is about a girl who got pregnant, fled home, met a monster hunter, kills the monster by luck and as such is held as someone of importance. There is a strong hint of a romance between the two of them.

Don't remember exactly what I didn't like. The writing is OK but the plot just seemed too boring.

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