The Hallowed Hunt

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Lois McMaster Bujold returns to the vivid, perilous world of her previous masterworks, the Hugo Award-winning Paladin of Souls and Hugo and World Fantasy Award-nominated The Curse of Chalion, with this tale of devotion and strange destiny.

The half-mad Prince Boleso has been slain by a noblewoman he had intended to defile. It falls to Lord Ingrey kin Wilfcliff to transport the prince to his burial place and to bring the accused killer, Lady Ijada, to judgment. His mission is an ugly and delicate one, for the imminent death of the old Hallow King has placed the crown in play, and the road he travels with his burden and his prisoner is fraught with danger. But in the midst of political chaos, magic has the fiercer hold on Ingrey's destiny, and Ijada herself may turn out to be the only one he dares trust.

Don't miss Lois McMaster Bujold's other books about Chalion, The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls.

©2005 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Inventive, with engaging characters and lively storytelling." (Denver Post)

"Bujold's reworking of a classic romantic situation is distinguished by its setting in a well-crafted world and masterly creation of characters whose fates will keep readers turning the pages." (Booklist)

"Absorbing....Bujold's ability to sustain a breathless pace of action while preserving a heady sense of verisimilitude in a world of malignant wonders makes this big novel occasionally brilliant and not a word too long." (Publishers Weekly)

Poor choice of narrator

This wasn't my favorite in the series, but just because something's not my favorite doesn't mean it's not good. Bujold is a fantastic writer, so I'm sure this IS some people's favorite.

It could have been much better, though, with a narrator who was better suited to the material. She's not terrible, she's just completely wrong for this book. The main issue is her overall tone, but it doesn't help that nearly all of the characters are men, and the narrator struggles to differentiate between their voices. When a male character does sound different, it's usually due to an overdone caricature-type voice, which is distracting and grating.

The narration was a travesty.

This is the "least" of the three iniitial "5 Gods" books, but I think it is still a good book worth reading. The narrator was not good. On many occasions she changed the words of the text to make them sound more modern and more American. I honestly think she just didn't recognize perfectly valid idioms and grammar that is influenced by English writers and past centuries, so she just changed them to something that made more sense to her. In many cases, this actually changed the meaning of the sentence. Total bummer.

Enjoyable

I was a bit cautious after reading the poor reviews but I thought to myself it seemed very unlikely Lois could write a ho hum book. I really enjoyed it and had no problems with the narration. The Hallowed Hunt contains all the twists and turns I expect from this wonderful story teller.

Good but slow moving

Any additional comments?

Parts of Hallowed Hunt were good while other parts were extremely slow going. It got better as the plot progressed after a long, slow start. The narrator did a good job giving the book an atmospheric feel.

This was my first Bujold book. It was on sale and I decided to try it even though a number of reviewers commented that it is not one of her best. I liked it well enough that I will probably listen to some of her other books.

Highly recommended.

Very Good! Great Pace and excellent narrating voice. The reader does an excellent job of diferentiating the charactes.

Quite entertaining

An interesting and complete plunge into a truly excellent fantasy realm. any book you never wish to end has been well done good job Ms Bujold.

The reader did not help this book

I had so much trouble following the reader, that it was a chore to follow the story. The reader divided sentences into unconnected phrases and some words were lost without any connection at all. My mind kept trying to put the sentences back together, and follow the disjointed flow. I am always ready to be swept away by a good storyteller - it was a shame to waste this story with this reader. I liked the Curse of Chalion best, and then the Paladin of Souls (after a shaky beginning). I did like this story but I did not enjoy listening to it.

Good story

I am a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold's Sci-Fi writing. I read this book from the library about 4 years ago, and did not write a review back then. I find myself reading some of the Chalion Novelas, and I wanted to review the Hallowed Hunt and the Chalion universe.

The book was good, but it lacks some of the humor and wit that normally accompanies the author's characters and writing. I listened to the audible version. The Narration by Marguerite Gavin was good, but not as good as that of Grover Gardner, who's voice seems to epitomize Bujold's writing style.

Good not great

Probably my least favorite of the series so far. It was good but not great.

Like all of Bujold--very very human

Unlike several readers, I found it very easy to identify with the leading character in this book. Bujold brings into her best characters the confusing ambiguity of intention and conviction which is an inescapable part of what we find when we look deeply into our own inner workings. And she manages to do it without neglecting the human capacity for sacrifice and nobility which can lead us to transcend our weaknesses at times.

The action in LMB's writing is always as much interior as overt, but she gives it a momentum which keeps me, who cannot abide plots which plod, entirely engaged and fascinated. I think it is because all of the strengths in her characters seem to rise out of apparent weaknesses. As a result she can weave them more and more deeply into what seem to be inextricable situations and still have rescue or redemption appear inevitable and truthful when it arrives.

I had no problem with this narrator. As a matter of fact, I actually delighted in the unusual resonance of her voice and her excellent phrasing and subtle, but almost always clear, character delineation.

Was this as good as the two books in this world setting which preceded it? Perhaps not quite, but that is holding Ms. Bujold to a very high standard indeed.