#50 Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
After the death of her mother, Ista, Royina of Chalion, is filled with the urge to wander. But the people around her want to see her protected
and kept restricted to a life they feel is proper for a woman of her rank. Ista manages to shrug off these shackles by beginning a pilgrimage, but the gods have bigger plans in mind for her. She soon finds herself caught up in a world of demons and sorcerers, and discovers that she may be the only one with the power to save the realm.
Paladin of Souls is a companion to The Curse of Chalion. Some would call it a sequel, as it takes place after the events of Chalion, but the new protagonist makes it a strong stand alone novel as well as a continuation of a series. The biggest strength of Paladin of Souls comes in the main character of Ista herself. It's unusual to read a fantasy book with a middle aged woman as it's protagonist, but it's Ista's history that makes her such an fascinating lead. Similar to Cazaril (the hero of The Curse of Chalion), Ista has already lived through plenty of traumatic life experiences, which have marked her soundly. She is also a satisfyingly competent protagonist, with a great dry sense of humor. It's very easy to sympathize with her plight, and cheer her on during her struggles. The secondary characters, especially the courier Liss, and the divine Dy Cabon, are also quite interesting.
For the most part, Paladin of Souls moves at a steady, comfortable pace. But that doesn't mean that there aren't moments of excitement, or surprisingly developments that I did not see coming. One thing that surprised me about Paladin of Souls was how engaging the romance was. I say this because is plays a rather small role in the book, but I felt what was there was exceptionally well done. If the book has a weakness, it is that is often feels too similar to The Curse of Chalion (in both the main character and the general direction of the plot), but as I liked the storyline so much, this did not bother me much at all.
Paladin of Souls is great selection for people looking for a good character based fantasy novel filled with a nice amount of adventure, spiritual peril, and a satisfying side romance. It's not necessary to read The Curse of Chalion first, but I would recommend picking that one up as well. On a more shallow note, I also really, really liked the title of this book, not only does it sound really cool, but it fits Ista's role very well.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 482 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Other books I've read by this author: The Curse of Chalion
Next I will be reviewing The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer and Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
xposted to temporaryworld , bookish , and goodreads
and kept restricted to a life they feel is proper for a woman of her rank. Ista manages to shrug off these shackles by beginning a pilgrimage, but the gods have bigger plans in mind for her. She soon finds herself caught up in a world of demons and sorcerers, and discovers that she may be the only one with the power to save the realm.
Paladin of Souls is a companion to The Curse of Chalion. Some would call it a sequel, as it takes place after the events of Chalion, but the new protagonist makes it a strong stand alone novel as well as a continuation of a series. The biggest strength of Paladin of Souls comes in the main character of Ista herself. It's unusual to read a fantasy book with a middle aged woman as it's protagonist, but it's Ista's history that makes her such an fascinating lead. Similar to Cazaril (the hero of The Curse of Chalion), Ista has already lived through plenty of traumatic life experiences, which have marked her soundly. She is also a satisfyingly competent protagonist, with a great dry sense of humor. It's very easy to sympathize with her plight, and cheer her on during her struggles. The secondary characters, especially the courier Liss, and the divine Dy Cabon, are also quite interesting.
For the most part, Paladin of Souls moves at a steady, comfortable pace. But that doesn't mean that there aren't moments of excitement, or surprisingly developments that I did not see coming. One thing that surprised me about Paladin of Souls was how engaging the romance was. I say this because is plays a rather small role in the book, but I felt what was there was exceptionally well done. If the book has a weakness, it is that is often feels too similar to The Curse of Chalion (in both the main character and the general direction of the plot), but as I liked the storyline so much, this did not bother me much at all.
Paladin of Souls is great selection for people looking for a good character based fantasy novel filled with a nice amount of adventure, spiritual peril, and a satisfying side romance. It's not necessary to read The Curse of Chalion first, but I would recommend picking that one up as well. On a more shallow note, I also really, really liked the title of this book, not only does it sound really cool, but it fits Ista's role very well.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 482 pages
Source: paperbackswap
Other books I've read by this author: The Curse of Chalion
Next I will be reviewing The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer and Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
xposted to temporaryworld , bookish , and goodreads