Knife Children

A Story in the World of the Sharing Knife

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Lakewalker Barr Foxbrush returns from two years of patrolling the bitter wilds of Luthlia against the enigmatic, destructive entities called malices, only to find that the secret daughter he'd left behind in the hinterland of Oleana has disappeared from her home after a terrible accusation. The search for her will call on more of Barr's mind and heart than just his mage powers, as he tries to balance his mistakes of the past and his most personal duties to the future. A stand-alone story set in the world of the Sharing Knife.

©2019 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Barr, How You Have Grown

Lois McMaster Bujold brings us a new tale from the World of the Sharing Knife and I love it!

"Knife Children" picks up Barr's story approximately 12 years after the ending of Horizon. It was a wonderful revisit of a fun loving and enthusiastic character who is now a bit older and wiser.

I enjoyed Tim Campbell's narration and his portrayal of Barr's personality and moods was perfect. The story telling timing and rhythm was a lot like that of Grover Gardner, the narrator of The Vorkosigan Saga and may other wonderful books.

The Sharing Knife series was my first exposure to a novel written by LMB and I instantly fell in love with this fascinating world and characters. This of course lead to my discovery of LMB's other series, including The Vorkosigan Saga which has remained as one of my top five series of all time.

Enriches the story

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m Southern but I found the rhythm of the story improved by settling the speed to .75. That said the story was excellent, the narrator gave a lot of emotional depth to the characters, and it has made a definite enriching addition to the series. Highly recommended.

Great addition to series

I’m so happy that LMB has been moved creatively to write an addition to the Sharing Knife series!
We get to visit with Barr 12 years later and find out how he has matured; and we get to find out what happened with his daughter.
The quality of LMB’s writing is so good that I really appreciate it when she has something new to add to the worlds she has created. She’s got emotional intelligence down pat, and it’s a pleasure to read her books. Bujold is on my shortlist of master storytellers that I check regularly to see if there’s anything new.
I don’t care what genre you consider your favorite, she should be on your reading list, too. Yes, that good.
Recommend.

Possibly The Best Story in the Series

I think I may have enjoyed this novella the best of the entire series, but I'm not sure it would hit a new reader's radar with the same impact. While it serves as a standalone story quite well, being familiar with the main character's background increases the enjoyment of this story exponentially.

This is the story of a stupid young boy who lives long enough to both see the error of his ways and to eventually face the consequences of them. When this character is first introduced in the main series he is not a likeable guy, and it takes him a while to become so. This story takes place about 14 years later, and it goes above and beyond to prove that it may have taken him a long time to catch a clue but once he caught it it stuck and stuck well.

You could say it's a story of comeuppance gracefully done and beautifully resolved.

I worried that a different narrator would break the continuity of the story but that was not to be the case. I slid right into Campbell's voice as being an older version of this character, more experienced and world weary, without a single hitch.

A Pleasure

Spend a few hours with some really likable characters in an interesting world. The narrator did a great job, too. I’ve read or listened to everything LMB has published. I’m grateful for everything she writes.

Fan of Author and Series

I was excited for new book set in the Sharing Knife world. Unfortunately this book was a disappointment. It lacked any real substance the characters seemed flat. I like the idea of telling Barr's story I feel this effort didn't do him justice.

As always, an imaginative read

It's been quite some time since I finished the other four books. This one was easy to fall into in spite of that. I hope for more tales.

Good story and good narration

This was my favorite of the series so far. Narrator was quite good as well. The characters had interesting motivations, and the plot raised interesting questions. The narrator had recognizable voices for different characters with out resorting to annoying accents.

Best book of the series

I so wish it was longer. Lily and Barr are more likeable characters. I never cared much for either Dag or Fawn, would have been unmoved if either or both had died. The 37 year age gap between them made me feel slightly sick, Dag's moroseness and guilt were aturnoff and Fawn was a mouthy know-it-all. But Barr and Lily were real, people I could relate to and care about. I wish their part were longer, I wanted to follow them as Lily grew into herself as a Lakewalker. There is still so much of their stories untold.

I Have Read Every One of Her Books…

…but this one I listened to, and it was wonderful. I can name on two hands the authors that I feel I have underpaid for the enjoyment that I received. Lois is one of them. Thank you!!!

Love these uplifting stories

Well read. A story of family ties and inherited skills set in a magical world. Blood is thicker than water!