The Curse of Chalion

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

WOW.

This was a very welcome surprise. It started slow for me, but the story creeps up on you, having as mesmerizing and mysterious effect as Cazaril’s unexpected encounters with the gods in this strange yet familiar world. I’d never read Bujold before. Now I think I’ll have to read everything she’s ever written.

Read. This. Book.

Best I have read in a while

I read a lot of fantasy and struggle to find new good books. Loved the fantasy elements and the political intrigue. The characters are great.
The reader pretty good once you get used to him.
The only draw back is that I found the attraction the main character had for girls much younger than him creepy, and that made me dislike him quite a bit and not root for the romantic storyline. But as it is not a large part of the plot I was able to ignore it.

This is my #1 favorite book!

Everything about this is excellent, even the narration is superb! I've gone through "The Curse of Chalion" close to 20 times since discovering it over a decade ago.

a long time favourite

a fast moving fantasy romp
with an intriguing look at a different cosmology via curses and God touched

Solid

Not as engrossing and clever as her Vorkosigan series but still entertaining and creative. A solid fantasy.

Excellent narration

This narration is truly exceptional. Lloyd James does an excellent job of being emotive, without overdoing it, and he changes his voice and demeanor to suit the characters, perfectly.

New Favorite Narrator -- And story!

I love this story. I have listened to it approximately 15 times in this last year, and every time I glean some new bit of foreshadowing or world building or character development I missed the time before. Each time I return, I cannot help but be immersed in the world and the narrative. The narrator brings life to each character so well, building off of the author's incredibly strong foundation.

One warning. If you do not care for fantasy, this might be the wrong book for you. If you like your fantasy with an abundance of magic, this book will not scratch that itch. That being said, give it a go. Rarely have I seen world building that is so quickly and effortlessly immersive, nor a story that deserved it more.

One of my faves!

This is the 1st Audio book I ever listened to (several years ago) and I loved it. It turned me into an audible junkie, and after several years, I listened again, and enjoyed it just as much. A great fantasy with a well developed alternate world, religion & culture. It has just the right amount of supernatural goings on without overshadowing the intrigue and character development. I really like this narrator, he has a light touch, and very much inhabited the voice of the Caz, who you'll fall in love with.

Wonderful book

I have listened to this book several times. It is a perfect balance of adventure, thought provoking allegories, romance and fantasy. Truly a pleasure. The second book in this series is also excellent.

Fantastic story - beautifully written.

This book is now one of my all time favorites. It took me until hour 3 to be fully onboard, but the layers and characters and blended descriptions of human experiences and God-touched experiences ( as well as the ongoing questions of free will in a world where the Gods find action through people) are superbly beautiful. As with all of her books, I found myself welling up at the beauty and fullness of the words coming into my heart from such a fantastic writer. Imperfect people, imperfect heroes, and heroes all the same. Lois Mcmaster Bujold is just an absolute gift unto our world, and her writings bring me joy after joy each time I listen to, or read them. Very grateful for this story, as well as all of her others works. I will say, I missed Grover Gardner as the reader, but understood that a different tone might be useful for this book. VO performance? —-After hour 3 I would say it improves and the pacing is a bit better - the accidental wrong voices for characters throughout were a bit of a shame, but forgivable/ easy to forget as the writing was so good. However, the pacing at the beginning was a struggle. I think it was the breathing in the middle of sentences and thoughts that threw off me off the most, and as much as I’d grown to accept the reader’s choices for characters, those strange breaks in the middle of phrases or ideas, or fumbling over lines, could have been improved. Basically, I spent the first part of the book moaning about the reader, and then accepted my fate and possibly experienced stockholm syndrome to stick with the story that I so loved. In sum: I’d say while I loved certain character voice choices, I’d hope for smoother reading in future books. Stuck between a 2 or 3 star for performance because there were times when it really flowed.