Cheap Paladin of Souls (Book) (Lois McMaster Bujold) Price

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Customer Reviews of Paladin of Souls

Paladin of Souls, an engaging tale.
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>The spiritual pilgrimage of a middle aged woman who finds herself widowed and with no more children in her house may not, on the face of it, sound like an interesting story. But Lois McMaster Bujold is a remarkable writer and if she wanted, I have no doubt that she could enthrall readers with an account of drying paint. Not that she would have to, for her fantasy world of Chalion is as interesting as it is intricate. <
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>Ista, the Dowager Royina of all Chalion, is suffocating within the walls of her home castle and simply must get away to do something ... anything but continue in the confinements of her courtly life. Haunted by dark secrets from her past, and freed by the death of her elderly mother, she launches haphazardly into a pilgrimage, but is she fleeing from her destiny or to it? She collects an odd assortment of traveling companions as if by random as she sets out, however, each of them turns out to be not only a richly human and dynamic character but exactly who and what she needs. <
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>The members of their small caravan soon find themselves fleeing from what at first appear to be random raiding parties form across the Jokonan border. They are, in fact, even then being swept up in a swirl of supernatural forces directed by the gods. Visions of a man reclined as if on a sick bed and pleading for her help give Ista a hint as to the direction she is being drawn. She finds the man strangely compelling but the vision a sign of the gods involvement and tries to turn violently away with all her strength. Ista has never imagined it possible to find love in the autumn (perhaps late summer) of her life, or ever for that matter, but finds herself inexorably drawn into the spiritual tangle that enfolds the man in her visions. <
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>The theological construct in her world of five gods may be a challenge for some to accept, but once that is done, the story is both believable and compelling. Perhaps too believable and I would forewarn those not well grounded spiritually. I'm not usually a fan of fantasy, preferring stories closer to the real world, but Lois has captured me as a reader with her use of description and subtlety. If you have no problem sorting out fantasy from reality then by all means escape for a visit to the world of Chalion! You will find it both refreshing and rewarding. <
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>Reviewed by Hugh Mannfield at stormbold.com

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A very pleasant surprise, a feast for lovers of language
This was my first book by Lois McMaster Bujold, picked up on a visit to a bookshop, principally because of the "Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel" banner across the top of the cover. I was expecting science-fiction, or least something science-fictiony, but this is little more than a medieval romance with a dash of the supernatural. I also found that Paladin is a sequel to an earlier novel involving the same world and some of the same characters. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find not having read the first book a disadvantage to understanding or enjoying Paladin. Bjold does a good job of filling you in on the details of the previous story, dolling them out in bits and pieces until you finally understand the source of the main character's gloom and misery. <
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>But even if Bjold failed to clue you in on all the background, it really wouldn't matter as so much of the enjoyment that comes from this novel is found in Bujold's development of character and in her writing style. With few exceptions, the characters are all well sketched, with logical motivation and each distinct from the other. Bujold's writing called me to read slower, to really taste the words and the sentences. Paladin was a great feast of language. <
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>Bits of the story seemed a bit improbable, such as an army of 1500 soldiers marching across the countryside without anyone being aware of it, or 3 prisoners escaping from the midst of this army simply by walking out. But these are really small complaints when weighed against such a beautifully written story.

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The Story of Lady Ista
Paladin of Souls is the second in a series of three fantasy novels written by Lois McMaster Bujold. All three books take place in the fictional country of Chalion and its surrounding lands on the Ibran Peninsula in a time when magic and the enigmatic presence of the five gods are very real and very believable parts of daily life. Bujold's first book in this series, The Curse of Chalion, serves as an introduction to this land and this time. The reader is lead by the main character Lord Cazaril from the real into the surreal, where the impossible becomes highly plausible. <
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>Paladin of Souls continues the story of Chalion by focusing on a relatively minor character from The Curse of Chalion, Lady Ista dy Baocia. Ista has been a prisoner of her own madness and her family's concern for her welfare for many years. The story opens shortly after Ista's strong-willed and overly protective mother has died. It is now three years since Ista's madness was lifted through the courage and sacrifice of Lord Cazaril, and Lady Ista seeks to escape her royal bonds. She embarks on a flight from her mother's castle with a desire to see places she has never seen and perhaps to find herself after years of being little more than a shadow figure. In order to obtain permission from her concerned family to leave the protection of the castle, Ista refers to her journey as a pilgrimage. Such a journey cannot be denied to anyone in this land where the presence of the five gods is everywhere. Ista's pilgrimage in name only soon becomes a journey of enlightenment and freedom for our heroine. Ista does, indeed, become a paladin (champion) of lost souls, including her own.