Loved it!

I love this storyline. it was entertaining, engaging and Lloyd James did a fantastic job of all the characters. Highly recommend it.

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Lois McMaster Bujold’s “The Curse of Chalion”

Captures your attention from the beginning and has you hoping that the curse of Chalion will not eventually fall upon the returned soldier weary from the wars and undeserved slavery in the galleys. Excellent read.

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one of my favorite books

this is of my favorite books to listen to over and over again. I can't praise it enough.

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Sooo good

This book is much better than the first in the series. So glad I kept with it.

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GOATED Audiobook

First of all, there are not enough words in the English dictionary to describe how excellent Lloyd James' narration was. He is the best narrator I've ever heard.

The book itself is excellent too. It mixes humor and theology together in an excellent mix, along with a truly unique main character in Cazilar. The side characters are all really damn good too, from the young but strong Iselle to the slimy asses that are the DiJironal brothers to the absolute GOAT, Umegat.

This book is a masterful display of how an audiobook can elevate a story.

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1 person found this helpful

This book changed my thinking completely

Speculative theology embedded in a fantastic story with an incredible audio performance.

I now consider myself a Lay Dedicat of the Bastard. The God of Chaos and disasters out of season has clearly been around in my life. :)

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Superb fantasy novel, amazing audio listen

Decades into the curse, with little or no exposition, you gather the story as you follow Cazaril, the survivor of too many wars to recall. He is the main protagonist, but it is clear he is not the main character in the overarching story, while he is the main force in this novel.

Dealing with intrigue (political mostly), traitors, death threats - this is a superb, well written story.

This is one of my favourite Bujold novels. I love the world building, the politics, but mostly how well divinity is worked into this novel. The world is imbuded with religous feast days, but the pantheistic religion is not a solace to the protagonists. I just delight in reading how the individual characters live while being touched (or abandoned) by one the of the five gods.

Personally the sub plot romance was totally unecessary and, disquieting age disparity aside, there is little chemistry, plus no real reason for it as it does not serve the plot.

BTW: this novel is why I joined audible, after borrowing the audio (repeatedly) from the library I needed a copy of my own. Lloyd James does not so much narrate this novel as perform it. Truly amazing experience to listen to this audio.

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Good fantasy story

This is a good fantasy story aimed at a more mature audience. Somewhat like Game of Thrones but less violent and a bit more magic.

The narrator was generally good and gave the different characters different voices but I found it a bit jarring and to have an American narrate a fantasy story and give most of the characters different American. For some reason I always expect characters in fantasy stories to have British accents but maybe that’s just me.

#Audible1

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Excellent world building

Great characters; love the story & world building. Enjoyed the narrator with the exception of Ista, who Kate Reading does a fantastic job with in the sequel, Paladin of Souls.

Didn't notice that until re-listening The Curse of Chalion though, as there's not much character development for her to go on in this first novel.

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