The Curse of Chalion - Review
Link to the author's (L. M. Bujold) personal website
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Type: Book
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (50)
- Length (5 / 10)
Series: World of Five Gods
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule.
It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will ultimately lead him to the place he fears most, the royal court of Cardegoss, where the powerful enemies, who once placed him in chains, now occupy lofty positions. In addition to the traitorous intrigues of villains, Cazaril and the Royesse Iselle, are faced with a sinister curse that hangs like a sword over the entire blighted House of Chalion and all who stand in their circle. Only by employing the darkest, most forbidden of magics, can Cazaril hope to protect his royal charge—an act that will mark the loyal, damaged servant as a tool of the miraculous, and trap him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death.
Review: If you've seen this recommendation before on another website then it inevitably was under some theme of 'adult fantasy'. I'd say that's the strongest aspect of the book too, which without much context doesn't sound great. The book essentially embraces a traditional fantasy universe without any large focus on younger characters, and this turns out to be surprisingly rare.
The book itself is solid, the writing smooth, with the setting being a very traditional medieval universe. There's a nice take on Gods / Magic, but their not really the focus despite their involvement in the story. I enjoyed the tutoring aspect of the book too. Tutor's are commonly influential characters in series, sometimes with their own POV, but they're also surprisingly rare to be the central character.
I have to admit that my memory's pretty foggy for this book, so I'm a bit hesitant to expand too much, and the above should be taken with a slight grain of salt. I still would recommend the book however, and think it's a good example of stand-alone fantasy. Edit: I did not know this book was part of a series..... I always appreciate having nice exit points of series provided they don't detract from the larger story (which is not easy at all). So kudos to this series if it was managed (I haven't and currently don't plan to read the sequel).
See the series review here.