Paladin of Souls: A Novel (Chalion Book 2)

~~~SOME MILD SPOILERS for first novel and, perhaps, this one, depending what you consider a spoiler. Be warned~~~Well, I was so totally delighted with THE CURSE OF CHALION , that I plunged immediately into the sequel, PALADIN OF SOULS, .This novel picks up three years after the grand and happy conclusion of the first. Here, the Provincara who first sheltered Cazaril (the hero from CHALION) is dead, and Ista--she generally thought driven mad by her sorrows, but whom wise and deep-seeing Cazaril came to understand was one of the specially-sighted, a once-saint of the Mother goddess--remains feeling more trapped than ever in the fortress under the care of the kindly, but overprotective dy Ferrej and her own powerful brother.She is still much angry with the gods for her sufferings and their meddlings-to her sense, poorly done and mostly ineffectual--in her life. She yearns, desperately, for escape. And so she does, under pretense of a pilgrimage to plead the gods at various holy sites for the boon of a male heir for her daughter and her husband, the rulers of Chalion-Ibra.But the gods are not done with their reluctant and bitter saint, and the pilgrimage turns into an unexpected and harrowing journey into the demon-infested and tragedy-haunted northlands, where Ista must choose to truly be a saint and work with the gods or remain in defiance and turn her back on a great need in her land.The choice will make or unmake her.McMaster Bujold builds slowly, as she did with THE CURSE OF CHALION, but once the key characters are involved--first dy Cabon, the portly and dream-touched divine of the Bastard's order; then the amiable and heroic dy Gura twins from the first book; and the sexually magnetic and magnificent leader Arhys, lord of Porifors, who lives with an uncanny situation and wounds from the past and present; and his stricken brother Illvin, who haunts Ista's dreams and is haunted in dreams by Ista; the spunky female courier Liss; the beautiful marchess Cattilara, obessed and loyal wife of Arhys-- and once the most dreadful conflicts emerge, the pace quickens and much action ensues.Will Ista find redemption, and will she become an instrument of salvation in doing so? Or is the dark conspiracy too much for a memory-haunted and shame-burdened royina (dowager queen).As in CHALION, the spiritually focused and dramatic climax is a beautiful and wondrous thing to read and experience.I still think that I prefer CHALION by a few hairs. I found the repeated capture and rescues in PALADIN a bit tiresome as we neared the grand conclusion. But the characters are sympathetic and flawed, and it is a pleasure to see them face huge obstacles. As in CHALION, there is a lovely romance we root for and heroic men and women who change the world into a better place by just doing what they can according to their abilities as the need arises, and sometimes, even doing what they think they can't, stepping out in faith or hope or love or for honor.The medieval Spanish/Portuguese echoes are strong here as in the first novel, and the villain is more gruesome. A curse of a different sort becomes the focus for humans and gods. Here, the Bastard god is at work, even as the Daughter goddess was focal in the spiritual action of the first book; and he is absolutely fascinating and quite a tease. The Father god, barely present in the first novel, gets a beautiful scene of his own, one that will resonate with Christians.The climactic battle sequences are very strong, quite moving, and rivetting, as this is no conventional warfare. I won't divulge any details, because plot points would be ruined, but LMB certainly opened the conduit of creativity to come up with this powerful endgame. I wept, more than once.This novel won the Hugo award, and it's certainly another fine offering from the very talented LMB. I look forward to delving into THE HALLOWED HUNT, even with the reviews not so glowing for the third in the CHALION series.Highly RECOMMENDED

Bujold writes very well and makes the story flow and keeps ones interest all through the book. She tells a good story whether it is fantasy or Science Fiction.

The three year gap is a nice touch. What starts as a willow's pilgrimage, swifty changes as demons and foreign powers invade the lands. There were some excellence twists which I did not see coming.

[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.]

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.

Sequel to 'Curse of Chalion' (which stands alone well but is so good that you NEED more). It is weaker than its prequel but still gripping and satisfying.Unrelated to this 2 book series but of the same world (also BRILLIANT) are 'Hallowed Hunt' and 'Penric's Demon'The book is focused on a less tidy plot line and hero, the Dowager. Unexpected and all the more rich for developing this unexpected and original line. It becomes quickly exciting and is well p[aced and richly drawn. The characters are a deep mature and credible as all Bujolds works. Many loose ends are tied up and a satisfying conclusion achieved, with greast effort and loss.Another triumph - Recommended

This is a tour de force that thoroughly deserved to win the Hugo prize. Lois McMaster Bujold has used the world she created in the Curse of Chalion to create another book that, although not exactly a linear sequel, draws on the back story and some of the characters she had already introduced to create another superb book. I neglected everything I should have been doing to read this in one go, and am just about to start it again to savour it more slowly. If you have already read the Curse of Chalion you have to read this, if you haven't and like clever, well written fantasy read the Curse of Chalion and then the Paladin of Souls - you won't regret it.

strangely paced, with a long introduction, setting up the plot, a fairly decent development, then some bogging down towards the ending, which, after some backing-and-forthing, picks up speed, and finishes quite abruptly...the central character is driven by guilt and anger, and works out her emotions in the actions, at last finding atonement and peace of mind, as well as love with a good man...i found it too simplistic, and wanted less agony and more adventures...ista's crises of conscience did not appeal to me, all the demons, god visitations, magic and sorcery felt, to me, too superficial...there were good secondary characters, great settings, interesting conflicts and connections, but since the central problem of ista's guilt feelings did not grip me, all of the events left me cold...too bad, it is well written, with an attractive world, just too full of (unnecessary?) anguish for me....and, by the way, the cover is very off-putting...a fat, sloppy god, the "bastard", in a soiled nightgown...no, no, no...

I have had owned this book since it was first released, and have read it many times. I wanted the Kindle version too ... Bujold builds a convincing and fascinating world and is one of my favourite authors. I am particularly fond of the unheroic thoughts and reactions to their circumstances, of the people who inhabit the world of the Five Gods, who muddle through the dilemmas and difficulties they encounter. And who are after all, heroic. Interested to notice an edit at one point which shows the author still thinking about the story and refining it.