Paladin of Souls

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Three years have passed since the widowed Dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family's castle of Valenda. Her newfound freedom is costly, bittersweet with memories, regrets, and guilty secrets, for she knows the truth of what brought her land to the brink of destruction. And now the road, escape, beckons...A simple pilgrimage, perhaps. Quite fitting for the Dowager Royina of Chalion.

Yet something else is free, too, something beyond deadly. To the north lies the vital border fortress of Porifors. Memories linger there as well, of wars and invasions and the mighty Golden General of Jokona. And someone, something, watches from across that border: humans, demons, gods.

Ista thinks her little party of pilgrims wanders at will, but whose? When Ista's retinue is unexpectedly set upon not long into its travels, a mysterious ally appears, a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion's castle cannot ease Ista's mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods' own weaving.

In her dreams, the threads are already drawing her to unforseen chances, fateful meetings, fearsome choices. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.

Don't miss Lois McMaster Bujold's first book about Chalion, The Curse of Chalion.©2003 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• Romantic Times Award Winner - Best Fantasy Novel, 2003
• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 2004
• Nebula Award Winner, Best Novel, 2004

" "Rich in sumptuous detail and speculative theology....This engaging installment of Chalion's mythical history whets the appetite for new marvels yet to come." (Publishers Weekly)
"Bujold couldn't characterize badly if threatened with a firing squad, and what really keeps one turning the pages is the fascinating cast of characters, not that the plot is anything to sneeze at." (Booklist)

Good as a sequel, good stand-alone too

While I agree with the other reviewers that you'll do better listening to The Curse of Chalion first, this is not the conclusion of a cliff-hanger. Both books stand alone, with different protagonists and different plot lines.
The plot here is a mixed bag - sometimes fast, sometimes slow. At times I caught on to the next event almost too fast; at other times I was completely surprised.
The strengths of the book are the protagonist, the style, and the religion Bujold creates.
The protagonist begins as a depressed and cynical middle-aged woman, yet someone one can sympathize with - she becomes something far more, and far happier . . . while remaining entertainingly cynical.
The style is nearly word-perfect, creating a magical, courtly world unlike our own, but peopled by real individuals with distinctive strengths and weaknesses.
The religion is complicated, yet plausible (and I speak as a professor of religious studies). More than that, though, Bujold treated the heroine's spiritual journey in ways that made me think, and enriched my own spiritual life, speaking as a liberal Christian.
The narrator is a woman with a British accent, very good.

Loved it!

The book had me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. It was a great read.

It took a chapter or two for me to really start getting into the book. I think it took me a bit to get usto the narrator.

Excellent

I liked this book better than the first one. The characters developed throughout the book adding depth to the story line. I would recommend. Word of warning it has a deep theological presence (not the traditional God, Satan, and the Holy Ghost) but theological within this created world.

Lacks action. It’s mostly introspective 3.6 stars

It’s well written but long and the plot is weak. I felt like this book could have told the same story just as competently in 2/3 of the length. Similar to “ Curse of Chalion”, the ending is literally a due ex machina, which was disappointing. I hoped the author would rely less on interventions by Gods to tie together her books.

Paladin of Souls

I enjoyed listening to this book and would suggest friends to listen to it as well. It is a slightly dense read, but it has an entertaining plot and a couple of unusual twists in plot that surprised me. My only, very slight qualm with the book was that the main villain was unknown until about halfway through.

Again, I very much enjoyed it.