The Curse of Chalion

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Summary: Another brilliant novel!
Review: Her second fantasy novel (after The Spirit Ring), this book is imaginative and tightly written. As we've come to expect from Bujold, the characters are sympathetic and full of wit. The protagonist is particularly engaging, even if he dresses badly!

The worldbuilding is superb. The details on religion are novel and thought-provoking. And best of all, all the details come together in a brilliant piece of work that will keep you up all night.

Although I love the Vorkosigan series, I sincerely hope Ms. Bujold returns to Chalion for more.

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Summary: Another winnner by this talented writer
Review: Once he was a lord with his own title and estates until they were lost when his allies refused to ransom him. For many months, he was a slave on a galley ship until he found the opportunity to make a daring escape. Now Cazaril is walking back to Valenda, an estate where he began his military career as a page. He is given the job as tutorsecretary of the royal Iselle and her sister lady Betriz.

When the sisters and their brother Teidez are called to the court of Chalion, Cazarel accompanies them to try and keep them uncorrupted from the excesses at the royal residence. What they find is a weak king, an old enemy of Cazaril, and a curse that is put upon every member of the royal family. Although he is no saint, Cazaril is looked upon by the Gods to be the savior of Chalion if he lives long enough

Award winning author Lois McMaster Bujold writes a stand alone fantasy novel that is nothing less than fantastic. She creates a colorful imaginary world resembling medieval Europe, but makes that world and the people in it real. THE CURSE OF CHALION stars Cazaril, but a more reluctant champion this reviewer has yet to see. Ms Bujold has imbued her novel with a bit of tongue and cheek humor to lighten this taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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Summary: Exciting adventure, with humor
Review: This book is a wonderful story, featuring a new fantasy world and peopled with new characters. Usually I prefer the author's Vorkosigan novels -- but this book was great! The protagonist, Cazaril returns destitute to Valenda, in rags and injured after escaping as a galley slave due to betrayal. He is given a position as tutor to the princess Istelle and her companion Betriz. The intrigues, strategies, and divine intervention make a lively and interesting story. But this story has more than a good plot. Unlike a run of the mill sword and sorcery, here the characters are richly developed and the story is laced with humor. Parts of the book are very funny indeed. I read much of this book while stuck in an airport. I couldn't stop chortling, even though my fellow delayed passengers were giving me some strange looks. Buy this book! You won't regret it, it is a keeper!

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Summary: The Curse of Chalion - Lois Bujold in a new Universe
Review: As usual Lois Bujold's latest book, "The Curse of Chalion" is tightly plotted and beautifully and sympathetically written, with believeable three-dimensional characters. It is a fantasy, set in an area not unlike 15th Century Spain, but with a very different theology. It is written from one point of view, that of Cazaril, sometime page, sometime soldier, sometime commander of a besieged castle, and, most recently, sometime galley slave. Like all her heroes he has the ability to play the hand he has been dealt - and to make wry observations, to himself and others, about it. A short review should not risk spoiling the plot for readers, but I shall tantalise with one most Bujoldian quote:- "...utterly indifferent to wealth." "No, I'm not," Cazaril assured him earnestly, "I just dress badly. I quite like wealth."

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Summary: The Curse of Chalion-Another Bujold Home Run
Review: Lois McMaster Bujold manages to juggle characters and plots while never letting the reader get lost. She gently slides reminders or placeholders in strategically keeping the reader turning pages. This technique, mastered with the Vorkosigan Saga (MORE, Please), makes Bujold's works a pleasure to read.

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Summary: great story, interesting religion, good characters
Review: Don't make the gods of this world mad. Lois McMaster Bujold writes another wonderful story, this time set in a world reminiscent of medieval Spain, but with a twist. The gods are real and take interest in various characters. Cazaril is an older man who has been down-on-his-luck for several years. He ends up back at the castle in which he served as a page and squire. He is taken in by the dowager and eventually elevated to a position higher than he ever expected. Along the way, he meets old friends, old enemies, and new acquaitances. He learns first-hand what it means to be paid attention to by the gods of his world. The religion in this story is one of the best parts -- obviously well-though out and not the usual fare in fantasy novels. Read it! Lois McMaster Bujold gives us a new world to explore. May we have many more...

Rating:
Summary: Another great book by a great author
Review: This novel, somewhat different than her Miles books, is a stunning display of fantasy talent.

The book not only contains all the right elements, but weaves them together well to provide an immensely entertaining, and sometimes thought-provoking, read.

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Summary: Slow start, but definitely worth the effort
Review: At first, I didn't really like the book. I thought the voicing was pretentious in that Bujold will use the largest word she can find in her thesaurus at any given moment ("adhesion" or "contusion" instead of "bruise," for example). Her descriptions of things, especially in the beginning, had almost a Russian literature level of obsession to them. However, after ploughing through the first 30 pages or so with workmanlike toil, I found myself getting wrapped up in the story, and spent two days going to work with only a few hours of sleep because I stayed up reading. Half the book the second night of reading it (I stopped at about 40 pages in the first night), and then the rest of the book the night after. The plot is imaginative, as are the twists that lie within, and the climax of the story was very satisfying, although I found the last 20 or 30 pages a little too...whimsical while she wound up all of her loose ends. It was well worth the sleepless nights, however, and I definitely recommend it.

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Summary: Truly, A Wonderful Book
Review: It's rare for me to give out a five-star rating, but The Curse of Chalion has earned it and deserves it. This is the first book I've ever read by Bujold and it makes me want to read her other novels. The Curse of Chalion features one of the most well-developed plots I've read in a long while. Reading more like a medieval historical novel with a dash of fantasy -- mostly in the form of a mythological religion -- the novel is a slow burn that keeps building until the finale is finally reached. Along the way we're treated to exceptionally well-developed characters, an interesting world, and one of the most original high fantasy novels to come along in some time. No one who enjoys intelligently written fantasy or historical fiction will be disappointed in The Curse of Chalion.

Rating:
Summary: a delightful change of pace
Review: Making a decided departure from her well-known Vorkosigan saga, Bujold delivers a fantasy novel full of intrigue. Cazaril, betrayed and crippled, thinking to throw himself upon the mercy of his former employer, instead finds himself appointed as the tutor to the sister of the heir to the throne. In this position, he becomes the unlikely champion and somewhat romantic hero of the princess Iselle and her lady-in-waiting Betriz. Turning to forbidden magics, Cazaril discovers that it will take a miracle (literally) to save his new mistress.

One of Bujold's strengths lies in her ability to create characters that come alive for the reader, and Cazaril is no exception. Flawed, tragic, devoted, and compelling, he's sympathetic throughout the story. The secondary characters, though it seems a shame to relegate them to such a label, are diverse and intriguing as well. Plot and subplot weave together in a tapestry of storytelling, and the world-building is evocative and detailed. It most certainly deserved its Hugo and World Fantasy nominations. Definitely recommended.