Paladin of Souls: A Hugo Award Winner (Chalion series, 2)

Paladin of Souls picks up three years after The Curse of Chalion, when the dreadful curse that plagued Chalion's rulers was lifted. Dowager Royina Ista is fed up with her padded prison at Valenda and is ready to live again. When her mother finally passes on, the 40-year old Ista seizes the chance to go on a religious pilgrimage around Chalion. Ista is not particularly interested in the gods, as they have so long ignored her prayers, but it soon turns out that the gods are not quite through with her and still need her to accomplish a task for them. Ista tries to resist becoming what she sees as a pawn, but the gods have ways of getting you to cooperate... Ista soon finds herself in Porifors, a fortress on the border of Chalion that has long kept the enemy Roknari at bay. Ista cannot be comfortable there, however, as it is the home of the dy Lutez family, the family that Ista and her husband had so grievously wronged years ago. But comfortable or not, Ista finds herself embroiled in the dy Lutez family's problems and finds herself strongly attracted to both Arhys dy Lutez, the dashing young commander, and Illvin dy Lutez, Arhys' half-brother, who lies still and cold on his bed, stricken with some unknown malady. Seeing her chance to assist the dy Lutez family, as they had tried to assist her while she was the Royina, Ista reluctantly begins using her god-given gifts and finds that there are many sinister plans afoot in this forgotten corner of the Chalion empire... Although Paladin of Souls is a sequel to The Curse of Chalion, it is not a traditional sequel in that the stars of The Curse of Chalion are mentioned only briefly here and the peripheral characters are given a chance to shine. Ista was a wonderful character to get to know and I felt that I understood the choice she made in The Curse of Chalion much better now that I have learned more about her personality. It was also fun to see Ferda and Foix, seen in the first book, pop up again and have a more prominent role. I also loved the fact that Bujold chose to write this story to help give closure to those who were wronged from the curse in the first book, specifically Ista and the dy Lutez family. It does a great job at wrapping up those little loose ends that otherwise would just be left alone. Although I still rated it at 5 stars, The Paladin of Souls is not as good as The Curse of Chalion, but Bujold is such a wonderful author that I loved this book anyway. For whatever reason, I did not connect to the characters as strongly and the story dragged in a few places, but it was still a wonderful fantasy adventure!

[Background info -- I am a big Bujold fan, and unlike most of them I thought Curse Of Chalion (the first book in this sequence) was the best she had ever written. I am only about 2/3 through Paladin Of Souls as I write this review.] Is this book good? Of course it is, Bujold wrote it. She's one of the best authors writing today, and not just in this genre. But is it good Bujold? Well, it is better than Diplomatic Immunity, and Bujold is clearly at the top of her style game, but it does not reach the heights of inspiration that she hit with Curse Of Chalion or A Civil Campaign. The story does not seem forced, but it does seem a bit constrained. In Curse Of Chalion, we discovered the Chalion-world (and especially their gods) as Cazaril discovered it, while in Paladin we are only rediscovering it as Ista rediscovers it. Her "here we go again" misgivings are faintly echoed by the reader's same thoughts. The issues, while not the same, are similar enough to feel slightly retreaded. And the main new topic introduced (demon sorcery) is disappointing. While at least it is not traditional fantasy magic, the most brilliant thing about Curse Of Chalion is that it was a medieval fantasy novel which was "swords and theology" rather than "swords and sorcery". This new demon magic is still a theological problem rather than a magical one, but it cuts much closer to more traditional magical stories (like Bujold's unrelated The Spirit Ring). On the other hand, Bujold's characters are as brilliantly drawn as ever, and her skill at anchoring them in a real world (even if it is not THE real world) has only grown with her biliography. She is still an artist improving her mastery with every work, and it shows clearly. You feel like you are there, from the descriptions of the landscape down to details like painful saddle sores and ignoble chamber pots residing under the most noble of beds. The book is only slightly disappointing by the standards I have come to expect from Bujold -- it is still one of the best novels I have read this year. [Dec 2003 update: I have recently reread the book, and liked it even better than before. My major concern -- the similarity in theme and subject to Curse Of Chalion -- seemed less of a problem the second time around. Being free to not worry about the plot allowed me to recognize some of the more subtle differences between the two books. It's still not quite the gem of perfection that CoC is, but this is a darn fine novel.]

I had a lot of fun reading it. Thanks for the chalion series

Three years have passed since a sorcerous curse was lifted from the royal family of Chalion. Chalion and the western kingdom of Ibra have allied and now prepare for a military campaign against the Roknari principalities to the north. Ista, the Dowager Royina, is far removed from such concerns. The lifting of the curse has returned to her a sense of self and intelligence, but her family is still treating her as a pariah. The removal of her children to the capital and the death of her mother have left her without purpose, so she plans to make a pilgrimage in honour of her memory. But it appears that destiny still has plans in mind for her. Paladin of Souls is a loose sequel to The Curse of Chalion, although you could probably get away with not reading the previous novel. This book is primarily a stand-alone story revolving around Ista, the mother of the new Royina of Chalion, who finds herself at a loose end as her family moves on with their lives without her. Ista was a minor character in The Curse of Chalion, where she was often confused and frightened. Here, in her own story, we meet a much more capable and intelligent woman, but one who is frustrated at being treated as a near-invalid by her family. This is an unusual epic fantasy in some senses. The protagonist being a middle-aged woman is a relative rarity in the genre and its primary thematic concern being with establishing or re-establishing a purpose in later life is a universally relatable one. There is also a lot of more familiar fantasy tropes, including romance, epic battles and formidable sorcery. Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most talented authors working in either science fiction or fantasy, with excellent prose skills and great characters, and she blends these elements together again her to create a novel which is vivid and engrossing. It's not quite as successful as The Curse of Chalion, although it's close. Paladin of Souls has a somewhat slighter story than its forebear but unfolds over around a hundred extra pages, making it feel at least a little flabbier and less-focused than the previous novel. The book also spends a lot of time establishing the secondary cast in the opening chapters, but surprisingly only a couple of them played major roles in the denouement, the rest either just hang around or disappear for large stretches of time. They're a fun bunch of characters but ultimately don't feel like they have a clear purpose in the book. That said, Bujold's world of the Five Gods remains an intriguing creation, effectively a magic-heavy version of Iberia in the 15th Century (fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan will particularly enjoy this novel and its forebear, I believe). The characters are sharp and some of the plot twists are quite clever. Paladin of Souls (****½) is a strong fantasy novel revolving around themes of love, war, family and honour. It's one of Lois McMaster Bujold's most critically feted novels, having won Best Novel in three of the genre's biggest awards, the Hugo, Nebula and Locus. The book is available now in the UK and USA.

Die Heldin bezwingt ihre Gegner dank eines Boosts, der ihr von den Göttern zufällt, während ihr Love Interest brav das Händchen hält - jeder andere Autor wäre wohl an dieser lahmen Story gescheitert. Doch Lois McMaster Bujold gelingt es, ihrem Paladin of Souls Witz und (jedenfalls meistens) Spannung zu verleihen. Allein das zeigt ihre Klasse. Ich habe das Buch gerne gelesen und ziehe den Hut vor ihren schreiberischen Fähigkeiten.

This is the second in the Series about Chalion and the five Gods. These books are terrific reads full of strong characters and a great storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them.

This could be the best story I've ever read. Deep and rich narrative the whole way. Loved the way it unfolds out of Curse of Chalion.