 |
Paladin of Souls
by Lois McMaster Bujold
(US: Eos, $24.95, 464 pages, hardcover; October 2003. UK: Voyager,
£11.99, 456 pages, trade paperback; 2003.)
Review by Robert I Katz
Lois McMaster Bujold is well known  as
the author of the Miles Vorkosigan series (The Vor Game, Barrayar,
A Civil Campaign, etc.), which has garnered her to date a total
of two Nebula and four Hugo awards. While not nearly as well known outside
of science fiction and fantasy as J.K. Rowling or Anne Rice or even
Laurell K. Hamilton, she is a superstar within the genre. I've read
a number of the Vorkosigan books and liked them very much.
Paladin of Souls is the second in the fantasy series begun in
The Curse of Chalion. The current book begins with Ista,
the mother of the newly crowned Royina, considering her options. In
the prior book, Ista was instrumental in lifting the Curse, which had
blighted the court of her husband and, among other things, driven her
mad. The Curse gone, Ista is now sane, but unhappy with her lot. Middle-aged
and widowed, she has little to do and so decides to get away and forget
her cares (beware of what you wish for...). She takes a pilgrimage and
winds up in the castle of Porifors, whose "March", or Lord, has rescued
her from a band of invading brigands. The March, named Arhys, seems
too good to be true. Noble, handsome, incredibly sexy, a great swordsman
and loyal companion, he has only one flaw (which I shall not reveal,
since it is central to the plot). Arhys's brother, Illvin, lies in a
coma, the nature of which baffles the residents of Porifors. Ista is
blessed (or cursed) by the gods, particularly by the fifth god, the
"Bastard", and can see things other men cannot. She quickly discerns
the nature of the problem and, not at all surprisingly, the book comes
to a satisfactory conclusion.
The plot works quite well, but is predictable and hardly original.
Many other fantasies have ploughed the same Earth. Ista is a complex,
sympathetic heroine. The other characters are not as finely drawn but
are certainly better than many of the cardboard cutouts and spear carriers
that litter second rate fantasy.
Someone once said (I forget who) that, "Style is supposed to be the
feather in the arrow, not the feather in the hat." Many highly regarded
authors have had pedestrian styles: in sf/f, Isaac Asimov comes to mind,
and Larry Niven, and Robert A. Heinlein, but these authors' styles served
well enough to tell original and compelling stories. Bujold's style
is hardly elegant and not at all lyrical. For example, at one point
Ista delivers a message from one of the Gods to a hero who is about
to die: "Your Father calls you to His Court. You need not pack: you
go garbed in glory as you stand..." Considering the context, "You need
not pack" seems quite beside the point, if not downright silly.
But, in the end, Paladin of Souls is a competent and entertaining
fantasy by an author who deserves her fame. It's not Lois McMaster Bujold's
best book, and it is not one of the best fantasies I have recently read,
but it is worth spending a few hours on, and I doubt her many fans will
be disappointed.
Elsewhere in infinity plus:
|
|
