July Books 7) The Hallowed Hunt
7) The Hallowed Hunt, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Sorry, Potter fans, this is the book I'd been waiting for for ages, and got on publication from Amazon in May - but have only now had time to read it (Anne of course had first crack at it). This is a new book in the world of The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, with (as far as I could remember) an entirely new set of characters and a slight shift of geographical focus, but the same religious setting of five gods who are very real indeed; in this case there is also an Ancient Curse that has to be lifted. I was worried that it was a bit slow-moving and info-dumping at the start, but once we get the Grand Revelation about one of the central characters it really picks up, and I couldn't put it down while reading the second half. Bujold's usual well-rounded characters, including those who would be villains in a lesser author's book, combined with an intriguing puzzle which is solved with due regard to internal logic. So, I liked it, and it doesn't really need you to have read either of the previous two.
Sorry, Potter fans, this is the book I'd been waiting for for ages, and got on publication from Amazon in May - but have only now had time to read it (Anne of course had first crack at it). This is a new book in the world of The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, with (as far as I could remember) an entirely new set of characters and a slight shift of geographical focus, but the same religious setting of five gods who are very real indeed; in this case there is also an Ancient Curse that has to be lifted. I was worried that it was a bit slow-moving and info-dumping at the start, but once we get the Grand Revelation about one of the central characters it really picks up, and I couldn't put it down while reading the second half. Bujold's usual well-rounded characters, including those who would be villains in a lesser author's book, combined with an intriguing puzzle which is solved with due regard to internal logic. So, I liked it, and it doesn't really need you to have read either of the previous two.