The Curse of Chalion

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Lloyd James

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)

Action, Magic, Romance = Absolute Heaven!

A grizzled galley slave turns out to be a hero, and a very high magician. And that's just the beginning!

For anyone looking for a new series, or a new brilliant story teller, or a great reader -- look no further. Curse of Chalion is brilliant. I promise you will fall in love with the characters. LMB has a unique ability to create a world that comes alive. I enjoyed every minute of my time in Chalion, and know I will revisit it over and over again.

Also: Do NOT miss the sequel, Paladin of Souls. It is every bit as good. And when you've finished both of them, start the Sharing Knife series. It's exquisite, too! Then, it's on to the Vor books!

Characters Well Done and James' Reading is Great

Like Le Guin, Bujold works well both in science fiction and fantasy genres. Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga books are high science fiction with a big emphasis on characterization--the hero of those books is only four feet tall and has brittle bones. After reading this book though, I find I like her fantasy much better. The Curse of Chalion does have good and evil in it, but the main emphasis is on how the characters choose to act. There are not armies of bad orcs, who just kill and burn because of their nature, but rather the book is full of people trying to make decisions on limited information and uncertain outcomes. Few characters enter the story without being flushed out in detail, giving the reader a real feeling for the complexity of the Chalion world. The reading is well done also with Lloyd James playing all the characters with great voices!

Outstanding Storytelling

This book caught me up right from the beginning. The characters are so well drawn they become real - you care what happens to them. The narrator of this book was excellent, conveying the essense of the characters completely with his vocal skill. I've listened to the book a few times and find it as engaging every time. LMB has created a world of intriguing characters, a theology that is wonderful in it's complexity and a story that is outstanding.

An Original Metaphysical Historical Fantasy

This is an original, well-conceived, well-written, exciting, and unpredictable historical-fantasy novel, featuring an unusual protagonist in Lupe dy Cazaril (Caz for short), a thirty-five-year-old ex-soldier who has been physically and emotionally damaged and wants only to live out his days quietly and out of sight, preferably working at menial tasks for charity, but who finds himself caught up in the complicated and dangerous political and spiritual affairs of his home state of Chalion. Bujold takes genre conventions like the weak king, the evil counselor, the innocent princess, the weathered hero, the dire curse, and the set of patriarchal and bickering medieval states and develops all of them in unexpected and satisfying ways, partly due to how carefully she works out her secondary world's religious system and gods so as to make the reader think in new ways about fate, free will, divinity, heaven, matter, and spirit. And she tells a good story with believably human characters we care about.

As for the reader, I came to enjoy Lloyd James voice and mannerisms very much, his hesitations, laughs, accents, all work (even when he seems to don a southern accent for an old former court woman), and he infuses the story with extra wit, humor, emotion, and intelligence.

All in all an enjoyable book difficult to turn off.

Very different, thoughtful read

You follow a broken man back from complete destitution into the heart of a political & mythical struggle.

Yet, this isn't the tried powerless learns to be powerful story-line. It takes you along on a somewhat complicated and usual path. While there is some action, it is far from action packed.

I would recommend it.

I laughed, I cried, I couldn?t turn it off...

I?ve listened to over 100 audiobooks and this one is now in my top three! This book ranks up there with ?Ender?s Game? for plot twists, thought provoking philosophy, and characters you really care about, with ?The Company? for depth and complexity, with ?The Hitchhiker?s Guide? for wit and humor, and with ?The Time Traveler?s Wife? for heart-warming romantic suspense. The best of what we all listen for, woven into a middle-ages tapestry that will delight any listener.

Great characters, excellent tale

This story keeps unfolding into new and more thought-provoking places as it goes ... one is never quite sure what will come up next, but when you see what it is, it makes sense. Everthing hangs together. There's a really intriguing theology in this universe, which adds quite a bit to the tale (particularly if that sort of thing interests you at all). The narrator is very good, although some of the names are a bit tricky to get used to when you can't see them written, still, one does get the hang of it. Highly recommended!

Good story, well read , and captivating

I really enjoyed the story. It is always good when the underdog comes out on top. The detail was brillent it read like a movie in my mind. The end was a bit predictable but only because I was rooting for the good guys, and they won in the end. I also enjoyed the Paliden of Souls the sequel. This was a very good start for a series, and the Paliden of Souls left room for a third installment. So I will be looking for something soon.

Magnificent

This was a completely engrossing "read". Once I began listening, I could hardly stop - often falling asleep after listening late into the night. If you are looking for a story with absorbing and sympathetic characters, be sure to pick this one up.

Terrific book -- can't say as much for the reader

I'd give the book a five if the reader was better.

Bujold is a superb story teller and It's a marvelous story -- well crafted, endearing characters, an appealing hero, thoroughly hate-able villains, a well-designed parallel universe (a vaguely feudal land reminiscent of medieval Spain).

But the reader is ALL WRONG for the book. The "voices" he gives the characters (particularly the women), the implausible accents -- above all that irritating little laugh to indicate whenever a character says something that we are supposed to take as humorous or satirical -- all grated.

I should have paid more attention when I ran the sample.