The Curse of Chalion

This would be over 4 stars if I didn???t hate every man in the story drooling over 16 year olds.

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