Paladin of Souls (Hardcover)

Paladin of Souls is in the rare sub-genre of fantasy that deals with personal faith. The gods of her worlds are invented, but the simple faith and the miracles that come from it are not; Christians and non-Christians alike should have no problem identifying with the characters in it, their doubts and their faith.

Paladin of Souls does not disappoint. It is the sequel to "Curse of Chalion", but one does not have to read the original to understand or enjoy any of it. The book takes a secondary character from that original and makes her into the protagonist, giving her a chance to redeem herself. It makes a delightful sequel but an even more impressive stand-alone novel which I read before I discovered Curse of Chalion.

Having failed to lift the curse on her line and thought insane by her own mother, the main character seizes a chance to escape her prison of well-meaning relatives by beginning a spiritual pilgrimage that is interrupted by war. A middle-aged woman who believes her best years are already past, she learns that the gods care only about her soul, not her aging body. She must reconcile her bitter rage with the gods who failed to answer her prayers with the grace and faith she needs to stop a similar tragedy from occuring.

As always, Bujold's characters are human, full of depth that is rare in fantasy. They have hopes, dreams, doubts and fears, they bear scars, they are not superhuman nor young and untried, but rather the kind of ordinary person that rises to greatness with modesty and the same sense of ethics that drove them from the beginning. Although her worlds are realistic and sometimes gritty, her books are deeply satisfying, with heroes and villains all receiving their just rewards without seeming far-fetched. Her world is imaginative and rich, filled with original ideas, cosmologies and people, and just begging to be explored in more depth in the future!

After so much praise, I do not mean to damn this book by saying I liked Curse of Chalion even more. Paladin of Souls was a great read and well worth my time.

Bujold here expands and deepens her world, as well as expanding the theology of her Five Gods in a creative and interesting way. Like in the previous book, Bujold's characterization is fully-integrated and developed--it's so nice also to see a fantasy writer who is not concentrating on children or adolescents; Ista is a middle-aged woman, who has already experienced tragedy and loss, and in a way this book is a story of her healing as much as CURSE OF CHALION was of Cazaril's. Liss is wonderful and I would love to see more of her, as well as Ferda and Foix. Even the young and seemingly frivolous Lady Cattilara demonstrates unexpected depths, as she is shown to be hanging onto her dead husband solely by force of will. Keep up the good work, Bujold, I would not at all mind seeing another book written in this world.