The Curse of Chalion

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Lois McMaster Bujold has long been esteemed in the science fiction genre, so I expected great things from The Curse of Chalion, and I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed. This is an excellent piece of work! Bujold's story is completely fresh, and the world-building and magic system are unique, too. I was hooked from page one and it proceeds at a pleasant pace with plenty of surprises and plot twists. Characterization is deep and somehow Bujold made me really like the main character, Cazaril, right from the start, even though he is not the type of hero I thought I preferred (see FanLit for the lurid details of that). As a psychologist, I especially appreciate how the characters realistically maintained their natural personalities throughout the story while maturing (or becoming more immature) as they grew from their experiences.

And, so importantly, The Curse of Chalion is beautifully written. I tend to be very critical about the writing style. But Bujold's writing is perfect. I'd like to especially mention the dialogue, which I think is so hard for an author to get just right. Some authors make their characters so annoyingly quick-witted and perfect in speech that it's completely unbelievable. Bujold's characters pause, hem and haw, and say “um” just like I do. And they occasionally have conversations that provide a dry comic relief (I laughed out loud many times).

I read part of this book in print, and I listened to part of it on audiobook. There are many ways an audiobook reader can ruin a book, but I was, as usual, impressed with this Blackstone Audio production. Lloyd James is an excellent reader who has a nice voice and uses different voices and speaking styles for each character. It is very easy to follow and pleasant to listen to. I highly recommend this format for Curse of Chalion.

Curse of Chalion is the first in a series of books which are set in the same world and have some of the same characters, but which can be read independently. So, Curse can stand alone if you like, but I think you'll want to go on to Paladin of Souls because it's highly decorated (many awards) and it tells a story which you'll want to hear after reading Curse.

Read more Lois McMaster Bujold book reviews at Fantasy literature.

The character of Cazaril grabbed me immediately, something that has been missing in several books I've read recently. The plot was well paced and kept the momentum going. This feels like a solid stand-alone to me not sure I want to see more of this universe in case it doesn't live up to its beginning

4.5 stars for this one! OK, so this one was a really slow start and I almost DNFed at less than 10%. I went back to the reviews page and kinda convinced myself (reluctantly) to continue pushing through. I'm so glad I did! Things really got going around the 30-40% mark and I was so pulled in to the world by then.

One thing that really stood out to me in this book was just how well the female characters in this one stand up until today. It doesn't seem so in the first half, but I felt like by the end, there was a burgeoning sense of female characters wielding agency and being very adept at playing the game of politics, even more so than their male counterparts.

The writing in this one was quite smooth, although I would've wished for shorter chapters. The names take a while to get used to but it's not too bad compared to others I've read. I think the reason for the slow start is because there's so much to set up. The overarching plot isn't super complex but there are a lot of details intricately woven and hints dropped right from the very beginning to make for a very satisfying ending with some twists here and there.

I love the World of the Five Gods and how the magical part of this works. There isn't a magical system to speak of, simply people who are dealing with living in a world where they are the tools or vessels of any one of the five gods. Some of them are granted a temporary “second sight” where they might see auras flaring around certain people, indicating if they have been god-touched or cursed. This whole thing takes a good long while to be established in the book, but I feel like the book really improves after that happens.

Cazaril starts off being a broken and beaten ex-slave into having some deep insights about the gods, and that journey was just such a ride to be on. The book was really about how someone who has already been betrayed to hell and back can still cling on to his morality and hope, and how that still serves as enough of driftwood to buoy him back. I won't say much else for fear of spoilers.

There was also one point where I almost DNFed because it was just too horrifying to contemplate if the book had really gone down that direction. I searched up for spoilers on that plot point and was sufficiently satisfied to continue. Spoiler: This was when Dondo almost had his way with marrying Iselle and had been threatening to rape her after their marriage if she wasn't willing to consummate it. If that had really happened - and I wouldn't have put it past this book - I certainly would've DNFed. Thank goodness things took a much better turn.

Overall, I'd recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy with a good mix of politics and religion, although be warned that the first half might be slow and might be tempting to DNF.