Knife Children

Patroller Barr Foxbrush stops at what he knows as Lily's farm to discover that it has burned down. Fourteen years earlier, when he was a new patroller, he had an encounter with Lily's mother that resulted in Lily. He didn't know about her until she was about 2 and since has been keeping an eye on her. Odds are that she'll take after her farmer mother, but if she started developing Lakewalker powers, he'd have to do something.

Barr tracks down the family and learns that Lily has run off. She's been accused by her younger brother of starting the fire that burned down the farm and, since the younger brother died, she is dealing with the suspicion alone. With her newly emerging groundsense, she can feel that her mother doesn't believe her show more and might even hate her.

She takes off and Barr, still keeping the secret of her parentage from her mother's husband, begins searching for her. Once he finds her, he has to decide what to do with her. His first thought is to take her to Dag and Fawn who might know what to do with a girl who was farmer raised but has Lakewalker powers. However, an encounter with a sessile malice in which Barr is injured makes it necessary to head to the nearest Lakewalker camp to dispatch a crew to take care of it.

The nearest camp is Pearl Riffle which is where Barr's family is and where he grew up and where he has the reputation of being something a of screw up and prankster. This means that Barr has to confess his sins and hope that his family will take in both he and Lily.

I liked learning more about the lakewalkers and sharing knives. I liked seeing Barr realize that he is growing up and accepting responsibility. I liked his relationship with Lily and Lily's introduction to the lakewalker lifestyle. I liked Lily's resiliency.

Bujold's storytelling ability is unmatched and filled with all sorts of thought provoking moments. show less

I was expecting to see more of Dag and Fawn - slightly disappointed I didn't, but the story I did get was very much worth my time. Barr gets to deal with his half-farmer daughter, who's throwing up Lakewalker powers. It's a little bit about Lily, and her problems at home and in her new place; it's a _lot_ about Barr growing up, on multiple levels. He's no longer the "young" patroller, following instructions or wriggling out of following them - now he's one of the ones teaching and leading, much to his surprise. Becoming a father is another level of growing up (that is, having a child to take care of. He's been a father in the sense of having sired a child for some time, but didn't have to deal with her directly). Lots of really good show more story here - some of it straight adventure (another malice encounter), more of it about people and the way they deal with each other. Also about lies and secrets and how they tangle people up - and how they can get untangled. Very rich, very worth reading, I hope there will be more in this vein.
Reread - Nice to get more of the story that started at the end of Horizon. A glimpse or two at Barr, having changed quite a lot from what he was when he first joined Dag and Fawn. The whole thing with Lily had some unpleasant twists, but it could have gone a lot worse - and seems like it came out straight in the end (from the glimpse in the epilogue). There could be lots more stories - hope we get some eventually - but this was a very nice one. show less

Lakewalker patroller Barr was told to stay away from his half-farmer daughter and leave her unaware of her true parentage, but he has watched her from a distance. But when Lily disappears from her family’s farm, Barr sets out to find her.

This novella technically stands alone but what I enjoyed most about it was seeing how much Barr has grown -- from an impulsive young man in Passage and Horizon into someone who deals maturely with the consequences of past mistakes, and provides proper support and guidance for a teenager whose world has been turned upside down. It’s satisfying, and hopeful, and unexpectedly poignant.

“Same jobs over and over, all have to be done again tomorrow or something dies? Despite the weather or the hurting, show more or, or whatever. Yeah, I guess there are some parallels.” While he was weighing this, his mouth kept moving without him. “Or maybe it’s just called being a grownup.” show less

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my favorite authors and I am always happy to read anything she releases. The Sharing Knife series is not as much fun as the Vorskosigen series, but it's enjoyable in other ways.

Barr of the Foxbrush Tent was an impulsive boy who has developed into an impulsive man. -Lakewalker elders see the promise of leadership in him, if only he can keep himself alive. In this novella, Barr faces the consequences of an early flirtation with a pretty farmer woman: a teenage daughter whose Lakewalker heritage has started to emerge.

Bujold tells the story well and also deepens our understanding of Lakewalker culture. While there is some action, Barr's story is about growing into the responsibilities of adulthood.

I received show more a review copy of "Knife Children" by Lois McMaster Bujold from Subterranean Press through NetGalley.com. show less

Lakewalker novella. Fatherhood!

Ah, the Lakewalkers! It's been so long since I've read the Sharing Knife series that I'd almost forgotten Malices, and Bonded knives. The Lakewalker's commitment to rid their world of the blight monsters that feed on living things, and as they grow more powerful, reproducing vassals out of mud from animal and humans. Eew!
I'd also forgotten about the beguilement aspects of the Lakewalkers.
Barr Foxbrush out of Pearl Riffle Camp, had discovered two years after her birth that he'd shockingly fathered a daughter, Lily Mason, with a farmer's girl, Bell Mason, he'd had a brief liaison with. And yes he had beguiled her, although as Barr tried to tell himself, "He’d not mistaken those artful glances of admiration show more she’d cast his youthful good looks." Something his leader would have been more than furious about if she'd known. His confession to his mentors Dag and Fawn Bluefield resulted in the mantra about Lakewalker persuasion never being used "on farmers for sexual favors, ever," was well and truly hammered home." As was Barr's responsibility.
Whenever he could make the detour to near Hackberry Corner he'd kept an eye on Lily from a distance in case she "threw to her Lakewalker bloodline."
On this visit he discovered Lily had run away. He trails her only to find she is indeed a Lakewalker in need of training and grounding. Of course their journey back to the camp is eventful.
I guess the part I really related to was the way Barr gradually found himself growing to care for Lily, appreciate her and fear for her. The way the father-daughter bond begins to develop.
As always with Bujold's writing, the twists she brings to her storytelling are intriguing.
A thoughtful addition to the series.

A Subterranean Press ARC via NetGalley show less

Lois McMaster Bujold is so brilliant... I love her books, and this novella was wonderful. There is magic and monsters, but the book is really about families, tangles they get themselves into, and above all, found families. "Knife Children" is filled with wisdom, kindness, love and sorrow. It was a very happy read :)))

Though my hopes to know more about Dag and Fawn were dashed, I still enjoyed the story )
As usual, Bujold talks about responsibilities towards one’s children - some of her message comes in a rather direct form and some is more metaphorical, but both are very clear.