Paladin of Souls: A Novel
by Lois McMaster Bujold | Science Fiction & Fantasy |
ISBN: 0380979020 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0380979020 Global Overview for this book
3 journalers for this copy...
Good book. HB SFBC edition.
I am sending this book to another bookcrossing memeber in Normal Illinois. Happy Traveling!
received book yesterday and started reading it over my lunch break today...
being sent to drommie1810...going to the post office tomorrow so its one step closer to be there!
Yea! New Bujold book to read! Woo-hoo! Received as part of a trade from dmp523, who is now pretty up there on my list of wonderful folks. I'm sure the library will be very happy that I won't be harassing them to please order it now.
Wow, Bujold is always good, but this might be right up there with Barrayar and Civil Campaign as one of my favorites. This is the second of Bujold's Chalion books (the third, with the working title of The Hallowed Hunt, is in progress) and continues with some characters familiar fro mthe first novel. The Curse of Chalion roughly echoed the farmation of the Castile/Aragon empire, with Iselle as an Isabella figure, Paladin draws more on the El Cid myths. Bujold also develops the theology of the first book into a reasonable belief system, and does so with sensitivity and a light touch.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book is that it's a coming-of-age story revolving around a forty year-old woman. The Dowager Royina Ista has been living in seclusion for years, since the death of her husband and one of his courtiers, an event for which she blamed herself. But after the removal of the curse of the first book, and her mother's passing, Ista begins to want to be out in the world again. She decides to go on what is ostensibly a pilgrimage, though she never plans on returning to her former life or the person she was ever again. It's an intersting point that we don't come of age at a certain chronological point in life, but when we take the steps to be responsible for our actions and their consequences. Or, to paraphrase another Bujold book, that adulthood isn't a rewar you're given for being a good child.
Wonderful! Well-developed characters, a dense and well thought-out plot, and some fabulous wry humor. Highly recommended.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book is that it's a coming-of-age story revolving around a forty year-old woman. The Dowager Royina Ista has been living in seclusion for years, since the death of her husband and one of his courtiers, an event for which she blamed herself. But after the removal of the curse of the first book, and her mother's passing, Ista begins to want to be out in the world again. She decides to go on what is ostensibly a pilgrimage, though she never plans on returning to her former life or the person she was ever again. It's an intersting point that we don't come of age at a certain chronological point in life, but when we take the steps to be responsible for our actions and their consequences. Or, to paraphrase another Bujold book, that adulthood isn't a rewar you're given for being a good child.
Wonderful! Well-developed characters, a dense and well thought-out plot, and some fabulous wry humor. Highly recommended.
