The Sharing Knife, Volume 1

Beguilement

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Young, pregnant Fawn Bluefield has just fled her family's farm to the city of Glassforge, where she encounters a patrol of the enigmatic soldier-sorcerers known as Lakewalkers. Fawn has heard stories about the Lakewalkers, who are wandering necromancers with no permanent homes and no possessions except the clothes they wear and the mysterious knives they carry. What she does not know is that the Lakewalkers are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as "malices".

When Fawn is kidnapped by one of these creatures, it is up to Dag, an older Lakewalker, heavy with sorrows and responsibilities, to rescue her. But in the ensuing struggle, it is not Dag but Fawn who kills the creature, at dire cost. And an uncanny accident befalls Dag's sharing knife, which unexpectedly binds their two fates together.

Don't miss the second volume, Legacy.

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

Critic reviews

"Bujold develops the characters and their relationship skillfully enough to please romance as well as fantasy fans." ( Booklist)
"[A] saga of daring deeds and unlikely romance. Bujold quickly develops unforgettable characters as she crafts a world filled with unique monsters and an original approach to magic." ( Library Journal)
"Compelling characters lift this first of a two-book romantic fantasy from Hugo-winner Bujold....Bujold hints at an epic past of mighty kingdoms and ancient sorceries, a past that will hopefully be fully detailed in the sequel." ( Publishers Weekly)

Pulled me right out of a miserable few days.

If you could sum up The Sharing Knife, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

Coming of age story with romantic and fantastic elements.

Have you listened to any of Bernadette Dunne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to this book more than once and enjoyed Dunne's narration.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is a comforting book.

Any additional comments?

The first time I tried to listen to this book, I was unable to get into it so it sat in my library for a year or more. When I finally gave it a second shot, I was able to wrap my head around it and throughly enjoyed it. It is an odd, post-collapse tale with a richly conceived world and unique characters. Fawn and Dag make an unlikely couple who have adventures in a profoundly disturbed environment. At its core, it is a well written and optimistic coming of age story written by a master writer. I listened to it for the third time (start to finish) when I had to put my beloved 13 plus year old greyhound to sleep. I felt utterly miserable for days and was sliding into an emotional funk. On a hunch, I decide to listen to Beguilment on the off chance it could lift my spirits - which it did admirably so.

Harlequin novel in a fantasy setting

This book was hard to get through. Thinking back, a lot happened but the focus was almost entirely on the relationship between the main 2 characters. While not normally a bad thing, it was so overdone that I lost all of the other elements of the story.

About the main 2 characters. the male is 45, the female is 18. They also point out that the girls father is 43. Best like on this was "I don't know if he is robbing the cradle or she is robbing the grave".

Unexpectedly romancy.

I will drop a book in a heartbeat if it's not entertaining. I found Bujold's phrasing witty and artful. The characters had depth, layered like onions. The narrator was skilled. It was a guy plot woven into a romance novel. But I was still nicely entertained and satisfied at the purchase.

Fun, young adult story, with a touch of fantasy.

Fun, young adult story, with a touch of fantasy. Makes one believe in fatherly love.

Rich World Building

I want more. I'm glad to have met these characters and to have been introduced to this world, but I want more of what I love most about Bujold's fantasy writing, which includes thrilling life and death struggle and world crossing quests. I trust that this gentle first book is just the beginning.

Central relationship cringy

40 something powerful widow falls for 18 year old innocent farm child-woman. Much is made of her tiny hands and his large body. This. Again. Also the narrator sounds like Betty white to me which is a little off-putting for the steamy parts. Will I listen to the second? Well. Yeah. I wouldn’t pay for it though.

Enjoyable

I felt the author used descriptive words to assist in enabling you to follow with visions of a great journey!

Twice Told

I started reading this book before my eyes started to go, so I was full aware of the text before listening. It is a wonderful tale written by a master story-teller. The characters are immediately recognizable and easy to identify with. The story line is complex, coming to a climax at least three different times in the telling of the story.

All that is what I alread knew. What I didn't know was that the reader was a master at her craft. Each voice was distinctly different and identifiable as if it were really another person speaking the lines. The male protagonist, Dag, is hard for a soprano voice to manage but she does a reasonable job.

Even if you've read this book, you'll enjoy hearing it again as a Twice Told Tale.

Thoroughly enjoyable

I loved the first book so much that I went out and got the second and third volumes which I equally enjoyed. I found the story lines good and really enjoyed the narration as well. I found that the plot and background and characters clear enough to follow and make the audio book all that more enjoyable.

I was totally Beguiled

Lois McMaster Bujold develops a fascinating world and characters. On top of everything else, including the love story, the discovery of inner strength and talents, overcoming adversity, cooperation and more, it is a wonderful story of two groups of peoples slowly overcoming superstitious prejudice and the beginnings of true understanding and trust.

She provides just enough information about the events that occurred before the books for the reader to theorize about the probable history. I hope Bujold has plans for a future book(s) expanding on the history of this ‘world’ and possibly more development of the third group of ‘peoples’.

I bought the first book of this series through one of spend 2 credits get 3 book specials and it was one of my best buys thus far. I promptly bought the rest of the books of the series & enjoyed them all.