One of the most honored authors in the field of fantasy and science fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold transports us once more to a dark and troubled land and embroils us in a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm.Three years have passed since the widowed Dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family’s castle of Valenda. Her … imprisoned in her family’s castle of Valenda. Her newfound freedom is costly, bittersweet with memories, regrets, and guilty secrets — for she knows the truth of what brought her land to the brink of destruction. And now the road — escape — beckons. . . . A simple pilgrimage, perhaps. Quite fitting for the Dowager Royina of all Chalion.
Yet something else is free, too — something beyond deadly. To the north lies the vital border fortress of Porifors. Memories linger there as well, of wars and invasions and the mighty Golden General of Jokona. And someone, something, watches from across that border — humans, demons, gods.
Ista thinks her little party of pilgrims wanders at will. But whose? When Ista’s retinue is unexpectedly set upon not long into its travels, a mysterious ally appears — a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion’s castle cannot ease Ista’s mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods’ own weaving.
In her dreams the threads are already drawing her to unforeseen chances, fateful meetings, fearsome choices. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.
more
Fans of Magic After Midnight will love this story of an older woman discovering unexpected gifts and herself. There is also a slow burn love story. Loved it.
After a recommendation from another author, I’ve read both The Curse of Chalion and now Paladin of Souls, which I highly recommend. I loved these books, the wonderful plots, but mostly the amazing characters–deep, flawed and fascinating characters. If you haven’t read these yet and like Fantasy with a bit of romance, these books are binge worthy.
Do yourself a favor. If Lois McMaster Bujold’s name is on the cover of any book, read it!
A fantastic adventure with a most unlikely heroine, witty and entertaining dialogue, as well as exciting and heartfelt twists and turns!
This book will definitely go down as one of my favourites. I loved the Curse of Chalion, but I wonder if this one might just have topped that one?! Ista is an excellently written main character, and her inner dialogue is next to none. She is complex, shrewd, bright, funny, honest, and just a plain joy to read about. She most definitely kicks butt in this book!
The style of writing is right up my alley, with just the perfect amount of description, and flawless prose. The little clues laid out across the storyline, and the sudden turns of events just make it so entertaining, and its a real page-turner!
And the Gods and demons!! Not to forget the supernatural beings depicted in this novel, how – especially – the Bastard comes off as so human and relatable despite being precisely that – A GOD. It is so well-written, and the style of magic use in this universe is amazing! I love it when a writer does their own thing in describing the use of magic.
It was a pure joy reading this. Its a masterpiece!
One of the few books I will read over and over.
Excellent sequel to curse of chalion. Has become a re-read favorite.
bujold may be the finest living sf/f writeherd bes r and this is
Very enjoyable story! Excellent character development and follow-on story to Challion by the same author. Very different viewpoint of a person’s relationship with the gods of her country.
One of the best books I’ve read
Bujold is a master writer of fantasy (among other genres) and Paladin of Souls does not disappoint, except– its setting is unmistakably 14th-century Spain, even to the characters’ names. OK, that isn’t a problem — what author doesn’t crib from existing cultures and historical ones? But I personally prefer my fantasy to be somewhere unrecognizable. Despite that quibble, I’m enjoying the story. The characters grapple with the supernatural and magical, as well as with their political alliances and religious disputes in a skillfully-evoked atmosphere. It’s an entertaining book for sheer escape.
One of the best female characters in print!
It’s fun.
You can never go wrong with this author!!!
Very Thoughtful writing. Very, very enjoyable read…Great action, characrters were fantastic…
This 2nd novel of several in the world of Chalion is a treat – a delightful and engaging story of a woman with tragedy in her past, and resilience and strength in her present. Lois Bujold’s works prior to 2017 are wonderfully readable, Her character driven stories displayed a level of integrity and world building is awe inspiring.
I love it when an author can put into words those experiences that open and expand our souls and Lois McMaster Bujold does a stellar job of that while telling a riveting story.
Bujold is a master craftsman of building worlds. I read a review where she credited a professor who taught Spanish history, and its court structure, who made her understand the feudal relationship between dukes ,kings and queens and their vassals, in the power structures in a country and its neighbouring kingdoms. Alliances, secret negotiations, spys and rumours, she has them all.
I read the first novel, “The Curse of Chalion,” and loved it, so I thought I’d try this one and I’m so glad I did. In the first book, Cazaril was a great main character and I loved his story. However, Ista was not a strong character at all and I was concerned that, since this book had her as the main character, I wouldn’t like this story as much. Well, after reading it, I found out how wrong I was. Under Bujold’s guidance Ista became a fantastic main character and I loved this book just as much as the first.
In short, I very highly recommend this book to anyone who likes high fantasy and adventure. It’s going in my Best Books collection that I keep on my Kindle to reread when I can’t find any new books that look interesting. Try it, I bet you’ll like it, too!
One of my favorite books.