The Sharing Knife, Volume 1: Beguilement

I really enjoyed Curse of Chalion and wanted to try out more Bujold, but this one didn't work out the way I had hoped. Perhaps I am not the target audience. I finished the book, but I'm afraid I walked away disappointed.

It's not that this book is badly written, but all the action and heavy world-building are in the first few chapters. After that the world-building is told entirely through dialogue, and the plot turns into a straightforward love story with decent character building but little dramatic tension.

I'm not a big fan of the unnecessary age gap, but it's the substantial power differential (from "I'll teach you how the world works" to "I'll teach you how to make love") that makes the relationship creepy in my eyes.

Clearly a lot of other reviewers enjoyed this book a lot more than I did, but for my part I think I'll go back to Chalion or pick up one of Bujold's books about this Miles character I've heard so much about.

I found this story line to be a little different than what I had come to expect from 5 of her previous titles I have read. Though it started out in a similar fashion with danger and life and limb in peril it shifted away from that format and unlike her other books didn't return. If I had known that was how the story would run it's course I would have stayed clear of this novel. If I had I would have made a big mistake.

This was a wonderful story of a warrior and a commoner/farmers daughter and their adventure in a land of a pre industrial society. Ms Bujold’s writing style is once again top notch and her story telling is captivating. If she can keep someone that usually reads Asimov, Bova, Card, Herbert and Richard Morgan with a novel like this then it has to be extremely well written, and it was. Highly recommended. Don't miss this one it's very very good.

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.

I like the author's fantasy novels as they are good fantasy without being a LOTR try hard. The characters are interesting and well developed. The fantasy world's laws are easy to understand and plausible. A great listen well worth the effort. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Narrator did a great job. Recommend

I waited to read Parts 1 through 3 before sharing my opinion of "The Sharing Knife" series. While it was more romance novel than my usual liking, I found the characters engaging. The descriptive narrative in that regard was very good (you could cast the movie in your head by reading/listening to the book). The premise of the sharing knife was well thought out, as were the stark differences (and newfound similarities) between the farmers and the lake walkers. The present-day relative class/race/religion struggles are more than subtly entwined in the chasm that separates farmers and lake walkers. I like a story with a moral, and this series has several: we all do better when we work together; don't judge a book by its cover; and try to see the world through another's eyes if you wonder what you have been overlooking...and that's just a few of them.

I wasn't too sure about the narrator at first. After I got used to her voices for the different characters I was totally engrosed. Fawn and Dag are wonderful. They seem to be an odd couple for many reasons. Fawn is young and seeming immature, but she soon starts showing a wisdom beyond her years. Dag is patient and brave. They encounter and overcome many obsticles while beginning their romance. Ms Bujold is a very talented writer, she's able to build multidimensional characters and describle worlds beautifully. This is one of my favorite series, I have listened to all of the volumes and I cannot wait for more.

While I enjoyed the story it wasn’t what I was expecting.
I was expecting more of an in depth story line with action and some romance (like the Challion series). Instead this is a romance novel with a sprinkling of magic and some action.

Book 1 & 2 are both good stories but again they are not fantasy/action novels – they are love stories.

If I had purchased these as romance novels I would have given them a 4 but I was expecting more out of Bujold.

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.

Another new universe from Bujold. Half the fun is figuring out the laws of magic. But people are people regardless of the universe they are in, and Bujold writes well about people, the way they act and interact.

This is my first book experience of anything written by Bujold. I'm not a big Romance novel fan, but I truly enjoyed how the book began with a shy, misguided, under appreciated farm girl who ran away from home to hide her poor judgement and shame. During her traveling adventure, she quickly came across fearful situations that brought forth fearless strengths and determination that quickly caught the interest of a living legend lake walker and malice slayer, named Dag. Absolutely lovely book, and I'm downloading Book 2 now, as I want to know what happens when Spark meets Dags' (the lakewalker) family and kin, and how their lives together will grow. Great book with just the right amount of romance, adventure, and peril, etc.