The Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Curse of Chalion

By Lois McMaster Bujold

  • Release Date: 2009-10-13
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 278 Ratings
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Description

A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril returns to the noble household he once served as page and is named secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it must ultimately lead him to the place he most fears: the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies who once placed him in chains now occupy lofty positions.

But it is more than the traitorous intrigues of villains that threaten Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle here, for a sinister curse hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion. And only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge -- an act that will mark him as a tool of the miraculous . . . and trap him in a lethal maze of demonic paradox.

Reviews

  • 4d chess in a riveting historical fantasy setting

    4
    By chiburui
    What happens when a man broken by war is asked to bear yet another terrible burden even as he begins to find his place at court among those he loves in a land of tentative and comparative peace? Nothing he or perhaps even the gods expect. McMaster-Bujold’s Chalion teems with an earnest pageantry and a metaphysical intellect seldom found in the genre.

  • Very well done

    4
    By Albinokid
    A lovely, intimately told story of court intrigue and of the good people who are sorely tested to remain good in the midst of peril coming at them from all sides. There are moments of beauty and lots of quiet, good humor, that are brought to vivid life by a sharply-drawn and entirely believably human cast of characters. This was my first Bujold novel and it most certainly won’t be my last.

  • Got it on sale!

    5
    By Archangel Beth
    I have it in hardback, so I was having a hard time justifying paying for it in ebook as well -- but it was on sale! I got it for a song! HOORAY! Ahem. This is a story about sacrifice, in the deepest sense of Making Sacred. It's a story about god-given riddles. It's a story without magic, but with demons and gods who cannot act unless invited. It is rich, and layered, and really awesome. (I actually like the sequel, Paladin of Souls, a little better now -- but this is still a great book and Paladin has spoilers for this book in it, so you should read this one first.) Get the sample. Read the sample. Get sucked in. (Unless it's still on sale, in which case you should just buy it so you won't kick yourself later.)

  • Excellent in every way

    5
    By cagimi
    Everything you could want from a fiction novel with the bonus of excellent writing--the imagery, vocabulary, syntax... I could go on but I'm afraid my praise would still not give this novel its due justice.

Comments

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