The Curse of Chalion

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Lord Cazaril has been, in turn, courtier, castle-warder, and captain; now he is but a crippled ex-galley slave seeking nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, the noble patroness of his youth. But Cazaril finds himself promoted to the exalted and dangerous position of tutor to Iselle, the beautiful, fiery sister of the heir to Chalion's throne.

Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cazaril is forced to confront not only powerful enemies but also the malignant curse that clings to the royal household, trapping him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death for as long as he dares walk the five-fold pathway of the gods.

©2004 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Bujold weaves a convincing and captivating fantasy world, well researched, with magic that works and gods that live without destroying the balance of this medieval society....A finely balanced mixture of adventure, swordplay, court intrigue, romance, magic, and religion makes this book a delightful read." (School Library Journal)

Incredible!

I love epic fantasy and listen to a lot of it, but this book shines. The hero, Caz, is remarkable in his strange journey among people and Gods. A really different sort of hero, he is most likeable. The author's language throughout the book is beautiful and the narrator is fantastic. I highly recommend this book.

One of my favourite stories EVER

Lois Bujold is a brilliant writer. I loved the characters, flaws and all, I became wrapped up in their lives. While I was listening everything around me disappeared. The Authors descriptions say so much in so few words. The story just picked me up and took me along. There are such strong relationships between so many of the characters it seemed to add magic to the story.
I would have to say this story is now up there with my favourites of all my listening.

Good

I ended up liking this book alot. Although I have to say it took me a while to get into it. I found the narrator's voice of Lord Caz to be annoying at first as well. However, by the end I liked the way he vocalized the different characters and I was very into the story. I listened to the follow up book about Lady Ista and actually liked that one a bit better. Overall a pleasant listen.

Pleasantly surprised!

The narrator skillfully and uniquely adapted his voice to the main character's pesonality. Truly entertaining!

great story, pitiful narrator

What made the experience of listening to The Curse of Chalion the most enjoyable?

I had to stop listening to Lloyd James's performance one quarter of the way through, but the story was so good I bought the book to read it myself. He pauses where there is no reason, then starts up again to finish the sentence. Half of his characters have strange stutters and stammers and throat clearing. He seems to have no idea what he's reading, he just likes hearing himself.

Would you be willing to try another one of Lloyd James’s performances?

I will never try another performance by him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I had to force myself to listen to him because the story is terrific. I had to stop listening because his performance was distracting me from the story.

Enthralling read

I took a chance on buying this book during one of the sales when it was marked down tremendously. I had no serious hope that it would be any good but I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The hero is such a deviation from the norm that it really captured my attention and kept it from being boring. I have already began purchasing other titles from this author!

Epic story, narrator could have been better

One of my favorite aspects of LMB's stories is how they often don't end with an epic battle between armies, but with subtler, more personal struggles. That's the theme of this story. While there is plenty of external turmoil, and plenty of swords and fighting, the major victories are not achieved through violence but through cleverness, logic, and self-sacrifice. It was a book I could not stop listening to, and I was sorry when it ended. I didn't hate the narrator for his creative pronunciations, and I thought it was fine that he tended to perform the characters' lines rather than simply reading them. Sometimes he didn't enunciate as well as he could've though, and sometimes there were "wet mouth sounds"--lip smacking, swallowing, etc. I've noticed this in a few audio books with different narrators and I think it is a microphone or post-production problem. It was a little annoying but it didn't ruin the book for me. I've been going through a post-Vorkosigan slump after finishing that series, and I was delighted to find that this book was an equal to those.

Excruciating narrator butchers a great author

If you’ve ever listened to a book narrated by a really great narrator, like Simon Vance or Steven Pacey or Tim Gerard Reynolds -one who reads each line with intonation and emphasis so as to give it the meaning author intended, and pronounces words correctly, and enunciates, and pauses where the writing and language calls for it but not randomly, and doesn’t make audible breathing or swallowing sounds, and doesn’t add extraneous extra-textual “acting” to the characters’ speech (like hems and haws and chuckles and stutters), and who overall enhances a book and brings it to life - then just disregard the commenters who praise Lloyd James, because they must have lower standards or not have experienced that magic of a good narrator.

Lloyd James does all those things and more, and manages to make listening to this book, written by a master, an utterly excruciating experience. Every time I thought I might finally have gotten used to it, he’d mangle another sentence, emphasizing the wrong word so as to totally change its meaning, or he’d narrate a meaningful passage as if he were reading a dictionary, or he’d slur and mumble through words. His accents for people in the same country ranged from Italian mafioso to some vague Mexican-Japanese jumble to a horrible Andy Griffith aw-shucks American to a sort of weird Deep South, and almost all were “enhanced” with his annoying chuckles and the like - even the “king” stuttered and stammered like a bumbling uneducated farmer.

It was painful to listen to and such a terrible injustice to the author and to the book. So many people adore this book; I have no idea whether I might have loved it myself if it hadn’t been so mangled, if it had been read by someone who did it justice and didn’t make it feel so...simplistic and cartoonish. Someone who might have made me feel a connection with the main character, who is the type of character I usually love. But I just couldn’t get past the narration. I made myself listen to the entire thing in hopes it was just a matter of getting used to it. While I was able to endure it slightly more easily after the first third or so, when the story got more interesting, the narration never really improved.

I can’t recommend this version.

Just Yes, on all levels

I’m so glad I stumbled upon this book first and started reading the World of the Five Gods series here. While not in chronological order, my personal recommendation is to read this book; then Paladin of Souls; then Hallowed Hunt; then Penric and Desdemona. To me, it’s a much richer world read this way.
This is a book and series that I’ve read many times and I’m going back to reread and post a review.
First, Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the best writers out there. She writes with a high degree of emotional intelligence and creates characters we want to know; set in well-crafted stories of their struggles in an interestingly imperfect world. Really high quality, unconvoluted fare.
This story starts with Lupe dy Cazaril “Caz” at the lowest point of his life and taking the very first steps up from there. While still recovering from injuries aboard a slave ship, Caz seeks refuge with the Dowager Provincara of Boaicia to heal and regroup. If you’re unsure about the character or story, read at least through the dinner at the Provincara’s castle. It gives you a taste of the real Caz and who he’s going to be. Better yet, read through Caz’s “bad tactics” conversation with Iselle before deciding.
It’s a very subtle fascination we develop as we learn all that Caz has lived through, and how that keeps influencing his present, both human and divine.
James’ narration started out rocky, but definitely improved as the story progressed. Well done!
Recommend on all levels.

great

favorite book definitely worth a read. intriguing and captivating story. rich characters and world. two thumbs up