The Curse of Chalion (Chalion Series, Book 1) (original 2001; edition 2001)

Bujold's gift is to write internally consistent fantasy with well-developed characters.
The religion of Chalion makes sense. The rules are established and never broken. It's possible to make intelligent plot predictions (without the story being given away) because the story gives you information (always worked into the plot and never info-dumped) as to what the rules are.
If I could write this well, I'd be a very happy woman! ( )

This is a book I can pick up over and over again. It never gets old...how did she do it? Reasons I love this series:

1. The religion has 5 deities: Daughter, Mother, Son, Father, and Bastard. The Bastard! How great is that? They each have their special areas of godliness but the Bastard is like the thumb, able to touch and balance all the others. In a way, the Bastard is the most powerful. Yeah! (Note: Me being tickled by there being a Bastard god does not mean I am a bastard*)

2. She writes so that I could nearly feel the relief of finding a place to belong, the wind blowing off mountain passes, the sudden absence of tension at a forced marriage being derailed by the death of a bad guy, the impact of a sword sliding into guts.

3. She is funny. If I tried to repeat it would not be funny. It would end up being one of those situations where I get the funny look and the 'I guess you had to be there' platitude. But she is very funny, in context.

4. The plot seemed to sprawl out in a tangle of threads but by the end wove together into a totally coherent...woven thingy. There is no argh-feeling of wtf. It all makes sense in the end.

The end rushed a bit. Climax, few loose ends, the end. But it was gentle and satisfying.


*Not that there's anything wrong with that, since I have friends who fit the formal definition of "bastard" and are excellent people. Mostly. :) ( )

A nice way to start off the new year--the first book I finished in 2008 turns out to be, I think, a perfect genre novel.

And it's not as easy to write one of those as you might think. You have to give your readers some of the conventions of the genre, because that's usually why they're reading it in the first place. You also have to make it seem fresh, not just a tired rehash of whatever came before.

This book has all the stuff you look for in a political-intrigue-type fantasy (princesses, dark magic, sinister courtiers, etc.) and takes it seriously unlike some of those lame Hey Look At Me Subverting The Conventions writers.

At the same time, it has characters that are more than just chess pieces (imagine, women that are strong but still believable within the society of the period!), and a plot that's kind of like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel--you just jump in and hold on and have faith that it's going to come out all right in the end. ( )

This was my first taste of Lois McMaster Bujold and I will definitely be back for me. While the magic was very understated and there were no fantastic creatures or races to mark this as a fantasy, nonetheless it was a fantastic tale of dynastic misfortunes, political machinations and self-sacrificial secretaries.

Cazaril was the embodiment of a humble intelligent man seeking respite from his wearing and near fatal travels. We meet him [b:on the road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573], walking back to Valendra, fondly remembered from his days there as a page. His hope is to be hired on as a lowly scullery, but fate or the gods, have much grander plans for Cazaril. The Provincara remembers him and assigns him to her granddaughter's household, Iselle.

Just as Cazaril is settling into his secretarial and stewardly dutes, the Roya Orico, rules of Chalion, bids Iselle and her brother, Teidez, his Heir, to attend him at his court in Cardegoss. They travel to the fortress Zangre, where they are wined and dined by the corrupt courtiers, especially the Chancellor dy Jiornal's son, Dondo. Eventually, much to the shock of Iselle, Orico forces a betrothal between Dondo and Iselle with a wedding to follow in just three days. Iselle rails against it, petitions heaven, fasts and determines she would rather die than wed the odious Dondo. Cazaril spends the last day before the wedding attempting to assisinate Dondo, but fails to get close enough. He decides instead to attempt death magic, which if successful, would result in the death of Dondo, but also of himself.

Since Cazaril awakens on the morning of the wedding, he assumes that his death magic has been unsuccessful. He returns to his rooms, where he remains due to an unexplained sickness which weakens him almost to insensibility. He is rudely awakened by the Chancellor, dragging the Roya Orico in his wake, and demanding to see Cazaril, whom he is convinced murdered his son by death magic. Since Cazaril is alive, he obviously couldn't have been the murdered. From this day forth, Cazaril can see strange auras around various people - a black clinging shadow to Orico, his wife Sara, Teidez and Iselle; a white aura around the menagarie keeper, Umgaut; a green order around a midwife of the Holy Mother's Order; and the foggy gray remnants of forgotten ghosts in the fortress.

After seeing the white aura around Umgaut, Cazaril discusses his predicament and learns that he has become a "saint" of the gods, specifically the Daughter and the Bastard. His illness is a tumor created by the Daughter, encapsulating the soul of Dondo and the demon the Bastard sent to retrieve Dondo's soul. It continues to grow, slowing, and every night Cazaril hears the screams of Dondo around the time when the death magic occurred, shortly before midnight.

In order to thwart the next move by the Chancellor to further squander Iselle's marriage prospects, she orders Cazaril to journey in secret to Ibra to propose a marriage contract with the Fox's heir, Borgan. She proposes that they be equals in each domain and that their heir shall inherit the empire of Chalion-Ibra. The journey is long and arduous, but Cazaril's wit, cleverness and intelligence wins him through. He negotiates the treaty and returns, again as secretly as possible, with Borgan to Valendra, hoping to outfox the Chancellor's spies and army.

Within a day's ride of Valendra, they encounter the army of the Chancellor, but also receive word that Iselle has escaped to her uncle's fortress nearby. Cazaril and Bergan arrive safely, and Iselle and Borgan are married a few days before Daughter's Day. Unfortunately, the curse of Chalion not only remains after the consummation of the marriage but has spread to Bergan. Cazaril is chagrined and distraught.

There is not much time to ponder this predicament before the Chancellor invades the Daughter's Day ceremonies with the intention of widowing Iselle. He is distracted when he sees Cazaril and proceeds to skewer him in revenge for his son. He succeeds only in piercing the tumor, releasing the demon, which takes not only Dondo's soul, but the Chancellor's as well. Cazaril's soul is also caught up in the vortex.

Just as he did when performing the death magic, Cazaril submits completely to the will of the gods, in this case the Daughter, allowing her to enter the world through his death and remove the curse of Chalion. In return, the Daughter return's Cazaril's soul to his body, allowing him to live again, having tied twice in the service of the gods and Chalion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and felt the morals of self-sacrifice, humility and submission were well thought and told. Cazaril's very human struggle, his doubts and his ultimate release of will reminded me of the saying "Let go and Let God" which is much harder to do than it sounds. ( )

I believe I read a comment from the author somewhere that this book was her exploration of various issues of religion. That sounds hideously dull to me, but it's actually a pretty fantastic story. Even the sort of throwaway answer to the perennial "why me?" whine is brilliant - basically, "Why do you think we just picked you? You're just the only one who managed to get this far." There was maybe one too many foreseeable coincidence, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the story. I'd definitely recommend this to fans of traditional fantasy. ( )

Third read this year. ( )

This is a lovely and engrossing fantasy novel.

There are many things to like about The Curse of Chalion, but it is the characters that stand out for me, particularly Cazaril, the unconventional protagonist. At the start of the book, he has just returned from serving time on a slave galley, where he was sold after his name did not show up on the list of men to be ransomed after a siege. Though he is only thirty-five, he feels much older. He is tired, physically and emotionally—certainly not the young farmboy type you encounter in most fantasies and space operas.

I also loved the stern, no-nonsense, Provincara, the feisty royesse (or princess) Iselle, her sensible handmaiden Betriz, Caz’s earnest and nosy friend Palli, and the mysterious head groom of the royal bestiary, Umegat.

You know a book must be good when it makes you grin from ear to ear. That happened several times with to while reading The Curse of Chalion—once when Cazaril’s innocence is proven by an unusual sort of test, once when an impetuous Iselle confronts her half-brother Orrico and attempts to arrange her own marriage, and once when a figure from Cazaril’s past reappears in a very different guise to aid his plans. I’d like to say more about that last twist, but I don’t want to spoil it. Suffice to say that it’s amazing. I’m smiling again just from thinking about it.

It’s not often that a book leaves me wondering about the author’s personal life, but reading The Curse of Chalion certainly made me want to learn more about Lois McMaster Bujold, specifically the nature of her religious views. The Quintarian pantheon is fascinating, seemingly based on both the seasons of the year and the family unit. It includes five figures: the Father of Winter, the Mother of Summer, the Son of Autumn, the Daughter of Spring, and the Bastard. The Bastard is not included in the pantheons of some surrounding countries, being a Satanic/Plutonic figure in charge of demons and hell, but the Quintarians see him as providing balance, a very Eastern idea. At the same time, much of the theology regarding the interactions between humans and the divine smacks of Christianity, with the Quintarian view of human freedom having a decidedly Armenian slant. (I’ve read that in some of Bujold’s sci-fi, the characters adopt quasi-Calvinist views. At the very least, this author is very familiar with varying strains of Christian thought.)

My only complaint is not so much with the book itself as with the way I went about reading it. I did all right for the most part, but I was determined to finish by a certain time and so I read the last hundred and fifty pages or so while in a state of near exhaustion. As a result, the climax and denouement do not shine quite as brightly in my memory as the rest of the book. I’ll have to reread at some point. But I look forward to it, and to reading some of Bujold’s other tales. Recommended. ( )

Fantasy with a touch of Tolkien. The way in which our hero doesn't really want to be a hero but does what he has to do, reminded me of good old Frodo. Also, the fact that succeeding in completing his mission means going into the darkest of fates makes one think of walking into Mordor.
I really enjoyed the development of the characters and the way in which little by little one starts to care about what's going to happen to them. ( )

I loved the medieval Spanish influenced background, which felt new, exotic, a wonderful new world to explore.

There was plenty of action (wild horse rides, battles, miracles), court intrigue, and a touch of romance. And plenty of interesting intrigue to go around. The central mystery of the story draws you in and won't let you put the book down.

The main character, Cazaril, is a witty and fully fleshed person. But heck with Lois, even the villains are fully developed. I love clever heroes. Characters who are more than thews and a shiny sword.

If you like good fantasy. Fully developed characters. Interesting worlds. Good writing and you don't mind missing some sleep, read the book. ( )

Cazaril, a former soldier, returns from foreign imprisonment looking for peace, but the gods have other plans.

I loved the medieval Spanish influenced background, which felt new, fresh, a wonderful new world to explore.

There was plenty of action (wild horse rides, battles, miracles), court intrigue, and a touch of romance. And plenty of interesting intrigue to go around. The central mystery of the story draws you in and won't let you put the book down.

The main character, Cazaril, is a witty and fully fleshed person. But heck with Lois, even the villains are fully developed. I love clever heroes. Characters who are more than thews and a shiny sword.

If you like good fantasy. Fully developed characters. Interesting worlds. Good writing and you don't mind missing some sleep, read the book. ( )

This is a story of sacrifice, in the sense of Making Sacred. It's a story about god-given riddles. It's a world without magic, but with demons and gods who cannot truly act unless invited. (And who manage to be meddlesome from time to time even so.) It is rich, layered, and really awesome. (I like the sequel, Paladin of Souls, a bit better -- but Paladin has spoilers for this one, and this one sets things up so nicely. You should probably read Chalion first.) Get the sample from the ebook version. Read the sample. Get sucked in. (Unless you find it on sale, in which case, BUY IT FAST! Otherwise, you may well be kicking yourself later when it's no longer on sale.) ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-of-curse-of-chalion-by-lois.html ( )

I had a hard time getting into this book. It took me a while to read the first quarter of the book. However, once it started moving, I was completely absorbed. I felt like you really got to know each of the characters well. I ended up loving the book, and I'm very glad I finally sat own and made myself finish it. This was my first time reading Bujold and it definitely won't be my last. Cazaril was not your typical hero, but it made him all the more charming. I also really like Royesse Iselle and her best friend Lady Betriz. I definitely plan to read the rest of this series. ( )

I really enjoyed "The Curse of Chalion." It combines themes of religious mysticism, political machination, high fantasy, and redemption. Cazaril is extremely likable and I became very attached to him and his unintentional quest. Bujold was thorough in mapping out the details of the culture's religion, and all in all the intricacies of the plot were creative and cleverly designed. I'll probably read this book again some day. ( )

http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/weblog/algae-2011-05.html#bujold ( )

Good tight writing and then the occasional transcendant passage about personal qualities or theology. Wow! ( )

What on earth is up with Bujold and her "romance novels" - in this one the main male character is drooling over a girl 16 years his junior. After the child-oldman relationship of Bujolds other "romantic" series (The Sharing Knife), I'm quite wary now but I was willing to overlook this cringing age-difference fetish that Bujold seems to have - until I was subjected to the swimming lessons scene. Here the main character teaches two young girls how to swim and we the readers are subjected to reading about his perv-y erection. Plus... a) he's their TEACHER which makes it completely inappropriate in the first place b) he's 16 years older than the one he's making eyes at c) he's admitting to himself that he's being a dirty old man but DOES NOT STOP.

If you know you're doing something wrong and continue to do it, I have no sympathy for you. And if you have no sympathy for the main character in this story, the point of the story is ruined (it's about his fall and redemption but if you don't care if he's redeemed, why would you continue reading about his trials and tribulations) Send him back to the slave ships I say!

I think this book is meant to be "epic" in length and detail, but it certainly is not in tension and suspense. I want to find out what happens but I don't want to know what everyone in court is wearing in the process or every fart that Caz had during his years as a page (oh, okay, he didn't detail his farts, but that's about all he left out). And I'm tired of the old-man young-virgin romantic theme.

You can also check out my blog at http://the-shit-that-goes-on-in-my-head.com/ ( )

A couple of years ago I read Cordelia's Honor by Bujold, and although I had no trouble finishing it I was not terribly impressed either with the story or the caliber of the writing. I'm assuming that this series was written later because the first book in the series was very enjoyable with interesting characters and a compelling story well executed. I especially enjoyed the humor injected by the sardonic thoughts of the hero as the story progresses. I am anxiously awaiting starting the second installment and hope it lives up to the first one. ( )

The premise: ganked from Wikipedia: Lupe dy Cazaril, a castillar (a knight or minor baron), returns home to the Royacy (Kingdom) of Chalion a broken man, though he is only in his mid-thirties. "Caz", as he is known to his friends, had defended a castle during a long siege, only to be ordered to surrender it. Afterward, a jealous enemy had seen to it that he was not ransomed (as were the rest of his men), but sold into slavery, spending several years as a galley slave before finally escaping.

His old noble patroness finds a use for him as a tutor for her granddaughter, the Royesse (Princess) Iselle, half-sister to the king, and her companion, Lady Bertriz. Despite his ardent desire to live a safely low-profile, peaceful life, Caz finds himself drawn into a strange journey of dangers both spiritual and temporal as he seeks to dispel the debilitating curse that hangs over the royal family of Chalion.

My Rating

Like, Not Love: It took a long time for me to really warm up to the story, but once I did, I was engrossed. Not in love: it's a good tale with very fleshed out characters, interesting but minimal magic, and a fascinating religious pantheon, but it's a book to commit to in that it doesn't sweep you off your feet from the get-go. Still, it's well-plotted, and the Caz reminds me very much of the much loved characters from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Not a perfect hero, but a little flawed, a little haunted, but a whole lot of heart. By time I finished, I found the book to be an interesting mix of George R.R. Martin and Ellen Kushner, in that it's a character-driven, political fantasy that's light on magic. Despite the slow start, I was quite engaged by the end, and I'm very willing to read the sequel, A Paladin of Souls. When time allows, that is, as the TBR pile is simply too big at this point. But The Curse of Chalion a good book, and I'm quite glad to have read it.

Review style: I read this book a bit early in the month, but I was seriously concerned that it would take me a while to read it, and then my concerns were well-founded for a period. However, I ended up finishing the book in a timely manner and not writing the review right away so I'm a little fuzzy, despite notes. Don't worry, I have plenty to discuss, it's just not as fresh in my mind. :) As usual, what I liked and what I didn't, with obvious spoilers due to this being a book club pick. The full review is at my LJ if you're interested, and as always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Lois McMaster Bujold's THE CURSE OF CHALION

Happy Reading! ( )

There are mere fantasy novels, and then there are works of art. This is both. I had never read Bujold's work before, though I've heard a lot about her. This book has made me a convert to her writing.

The protagonist of the story is Cazaril, a man broken and battered by life's cruelty. A spiteful lord arranged for him to be sold into slavery, and by whim Cazaril survived. He returns to the land of his youth, looking far older than his age and scarred mentally and physically. This is where the book begins. He becomes a secretary and tutor to the beautiful, headstrong sister of the heir to the throne of Cardegoss. Caz's fondness for his young charges grows, but their connections bring about the thing he dreads most of all: a return to the royal court, and a confrontation with the enemies who doomed him to slavery. When dark magic brings about unusual results, Caz finds out the royal family carries a dreadful curse... and his student, the Royesse, is blighted as well.

The story is deep in political intrigue and also in theology. The land of Cardegoss holds an interesting array of gods who are very involved in the lives of their followers--including Cazaril. The writing is eloquent and the story manages to be gripping, even when nothing seems to be happening. The tension is there. The plot fits together better than any puzzle I have ever owned, and the characters...! I loved Cazaril. Even at the beginning, completely broken and mere steps from death, he carries a quiet nobility. The Royesse Iselle and her lady-in-waiting are vivid, brilliant women who don't let society's gender constraints form them to domesticity. The bad guys are truly bad, and yet utterly believable. This book is everything a good fantasy novel should be, and I hated to see it end. This will be one of my favorite books of the year, no question. ( )

I'm a huge fan of the Verkosigan series. Chalion doesn't hold me in its thrall to the same degree. It's still well written, fast paced, and often funny. I think that it's not as often funny. The protagonist is as smart, honorable, and competent as Cordelia Verkosigan. Perhaps my reservations are due to the gods? This world has 5 of them, and they meddle in the lives of mortals quite a bit. That messes with a plot a bit, to my mind.

James Lloyd's excellent narration contributed to my thorough enjoyment of the novel. ( )

The Curse of Chalion is a fantasy novel. There's no doubt about that; it takes place in an imaginary world, with a Medieval-like setting, with lands like kingdoms that all have their own strict codes of conduct. What sets it above and beyond most other fantasy novels is Lois McMaster Bujold's development of a deep and complex world, in which one person struggles to understand life and the world around him, rather than just having an all-consuming goal to achieve.

Full review: http://libwen.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/the-curse-of-chalion-by-lois-mcmaster-buj... ( )

'The Curse of Chalion' concerns a minor noble, Castillar Cazaril, who returns home after being rescued from a slave ship, and hopes to find an insignificant position within a castle where he served as a young page. He ends up (slight spoiler!) at the capital, in the king's palace itself, and has to find his way through the maze of political intrigue there.

You're thrown in at the deep end, at the beginning, as the first chapter or so introduces us to Cazaril and slowly reveals facts about our hero which the main character, naturally, knows all along. And you have to work through a welter of Spanish sounding ranks, such as royas (kings), royinas (queens), royesses (princesses) and so on. It would also help to know that the five gods of their theology have a real presence, and are not just an abstract.

Once I got those sorted out, though, I was captivated by the book and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. There was always a sense of danger (political, physical, mental and spiritual) threatening the central characters, and I had to keep reading, to see who survived. Though the hero is a man, there are several strong female leads, as well, and the hero himself is somewhat flawed, being a bit older, at 36, and having suffered the ravages of war (i.e. not tall, dark and handsome). I liked the way all the threads, even seemingly insignificant ones, came together quite tidily, and I felt the theological premise was quite an unusual twist.

I recommend it as a page turner. ( )

This was my first book by Bujold and after reading it I had to hunt up everything else she wrote I could find in stores or failing that borrow them from the library. This book earned a spot in my precious limited shelf space and I've read and enjoyed it more than once (and just writing this review makes me want to pick it up again). Bujold's an exceptional writer and I was pulled in at once; there was never a moment I wanted to put the book down.

The protagonist, Cazaril, immediately gained my sympathies--a broken man, he goes to a noblewoman asking for any place in her household and winds up tutor to her granddaughter, Princess Iselle, and through her is thrown back into court intrigues. The setting feels like Renaissance Spain, and in fact I think I recall reading somewhere Bujold modeled Iselle on the story of Queen Isabella of Spain--it certainly has a subtly different flavor than the plethora of fantasies that feel like a pseudo-medieval Britain. Bujold creates an interesting blend of Pagan and Christian mythologies for her religious system in this novel--complete with a curse on Cazaril.

I loved these characters and this world. I don't know what it is exactly at times that lifts a book from just a good read to one where at the end the characters feel like friends and the world one you want to enter again and again--but the book has it in spades. I loved the sequel to this book Paladin of Souls just as much--both books were nominated for Hugos. ( )