We met last night to discuss Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Curse of Chalion. We always have a great discussion (thank you to everyone!!!), and I try to hit some of the points that people made (aliases for those who prefer them).
- Rachel started our discussion by saying that she liked the book, and that she especially liked the main character, Cazaril. This book was a re-read for her, as well as for a few other people in the group (although Ed said that when he was reading, he didn’t remember anything at all about the book).
- Sabine said that she liked the book, but would have preferred it to have more fantasy & magic “More fantasy, less treachery.”)– she has read a lot of historical fiction and felt this book was similar in many respects. She also felt the book needed better flow, and felt the author’s syntax to be odd at times. Brian the Elder commented that while he liked the book, he found the author’s writing style to hold back the book. He mentioned that especially in the first third of the book, that he felt like he was reading topic sentences in each paragraph, and then skimming down to the next one (action, plot, place …. description).
- Other readers commented on how they felt the first third of the book was especially slow. For some people, this put them off reading the rest of the book (although at least one person said he might go back and try the book again at some point). A few people commented that there was a lot of “tell” rather than “show,” and especially in the first third of the book.
- In contrast, Mike said that he liked that the magic was more in the background of the story. He thought the author did a great job with her worldbuilding; he liked and believed in this place. He liked the rousing adventure feel of the story, and thought the book had a nice, fast pace.
- Furry said that she liked that there was a PTSD component to the main character. She also liked the whole religion/magic in the story, and how the gods had an active interest in what happened to people. Brian the Elder pointed out that he also liked how the gods had limitations – they can’t magically change things to how they want them.
- Hola said that she enjoyed how she kept being surprised by the book — that it was a lot of fun, and not at all predictable. She liked that the main character was flawed (below-average, actually), and that it didn’t turn out that he’s a “lost prince” after all; that he doesn’t become something completely perfect as a result of what happens to him in the story (like, he doesn’t turn into the most awesome-est warrior ever). She also liked that Cazaril “gradually gets the ‘holy crap’ feeling that he’s been set up by the gods.” Mike added that he liked how in this story, being able to talk to a god isn’t necessarily a good thing. Hola added that another thing she enjoyed about the book is that the female characters weren’t insipid (which was something other readers liked, as well).
- Burt Macklin, FBI said he was happy to have a book with a happy ending, especially after some of the books the group has discussed recently. He also liked the idea of “can you be a non-believer when you know the gods exist,” in this story. He added that he enjoyed the bits of humor that the author had throughout the story, which was something that other readers liked, as well.
- One person said that he had never read Bujold until the previous book group facilitator, Susan Emmons Kroeger, recommended her books to him (Susan was great at that here in the library!). He really enjoys Bujold’s writing style, and how she seems to ponder, “What is the worst possible thing that I can do to this character?” He likes Bujold’s worldbuilding and detailed writing and although he wasn’t sure how he would like this book (seeing as he usually reads her science fiction books), he found it enjoyable.
The group assigned these codes: REL, HIS, HOME, FEM and MVL — and the averaged-out rating was a 4.
If you have read The Curse of Chalion and would like to read the other two books in the trilogy, they are: The Paladin of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt (both are found in our library under call# SF-F BUJ). If you’d like to add your thoughts on The Curse of Chalion, please do!
Amazing book! I plan to read the sequels. How come the Czech cover is so much cooler than ours!? I agree with Burt Macklin, FBI – it was nice to read a book with a happy ending. And a tidy ending too – with all the loose ends tied up.