Paladin of Souls

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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 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 unforseen 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.

Don't miss Lois McMaster Bujold's first book about Chalion, The Curse of Chalion.

©2003 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• Romantic Times Award Winner - Best Fantasy Novel, 2003
• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 2004
• Nebula Award Winner, Best Novel, 2004

" "Rich in sumptuous detail and speculative theology....This engaging installment of Chalion's mythical history whets the appetite for new marvels yet to come." (Publishers Weekly)
"Bujold couldn't characterize badly if threatened with a firing squad, and what really keeps one turning the pages is the fascinating cast of characters, not that the plot is anything to sneeze at." (Booklist)

Pure joy

Lois McMaster Bujould is a writer who is a master storyteller. There are so few of them Robert A Hienlien, Robert Jordon, and Andre Norton to name a some of the Best. Like those authors Lois grabs your mind and twists it so that belief is suspended until when the last page is done it requires an effort of will to return from the world she has built in your mind.

Paladin of Souls is a different story from most of her writing but she as usual used all her skill to build a wonderful tale. It is well worth the time invested to listen to this book.

Good story

Great entertainment and interesting characters, looking forward to the sequel. This is a great follow up to the Curse of Paladin

A well crafted story

I could listen to the narrator all day long. Lovely reading. The writer casts a spell on the reader.

Terrific reading of one of the finest American fantasy novels.

Sequel to The Curse of Chalion and a multiple award winner. One of Bujold's 3-4 best novels and that is saying a lot. Ista, mother of the new leader of Chalion, has been relieved of the burden of the curse, but at the age of 40 she does not know how to live. Running away from home, disguised as a pilgrimage, seems like a solution, until she is kidnapped by invading soldiers. She is rescued by an attractive man who seems recently... dead and discovers that the gods are not done with her.

Great adventure, beautiful characters, much wisdom. It should become a classic. Excellent reading by the appropriately-named Kate Reading.

One of my favorites.

I find myself going back to relisten every few years. Fabulously entertaining journey of perspective.

A story I keep coming back to

best description of conquering self-doubt I have ever read where is convincing World building excellent

Poetic, intelligent, spiritual

So satisfying: storyline, characters, whole new universe of complexity and a rocking good story. Don’t miss this, I hope there is a sequel.

wonderful wonderful wonderful

I have listened to this before and it is even better the second time The performance is lovely and right on the mark.

Unforgettable

This is one of those rare and precious stories about a grey haired women who takes on the world. Trapped by social custom, Dowager Royina Ista finds a way to escape, and in so doing, embarks on a wonderful adventure with earth shattering results. Marguerite Gavin does a lovely job of bringing this unforgettable book to life. #FemaleProtagonist #Fantasy #Witty #Magical #Suspenseful #Inspiring #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Superb

I had never read any other books by this author, but this one drove me to find her others.

Paladin of Souls was a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The characters are extremely well-crafted, the dialogue is written with a very deft hand and the plotting is truly satisfying. It was delightful to stumble across a quick-witted, sharp-tongued and vibrant middle-aged woman as the heroine of a fantasy novel where so often the genre presents the reader with hopeful young warriors or plucky young maidens.

I truly enjoyed it from start to finish and the reader was excellently suited to the story.