The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1) in Beyond Reality

Dec 20, 2011 mark monday rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-modern

when i was younger, i was always confused by the moniker of "Adult Fantasy" (less used today, but more common decades ago). i assumed it meant Sexy Sextime and possibly Ultra-Violence, but that was never the case... what it ended up meaning to me was BORING, I Can't Finish This.

well now that i am clearly an adult, i get it. for example, Curse of Chalion. this is definitely an Adult Fantasy. it does not feature sex - if anything, it is rather pleasingly old-fashioned and discreet about sex. and i when i was younger, i was always confused by the moniker of "Adult Fantasy" (less used today, but more common decades ago). i assumed it meant Sexy Sextime and possibly Ultra-Violence, but that was never the case... what it ended up meaning to me was BORING, I Can't Finish This.

well now that i am clearly an adult, i get it. for example, Curse of Chalion. this is definitely an Adult Fantasy. it does not feature sex - if anything, it is rather pleasingly old-fashioned and discreet about sex. and it does not feature extreme violence - the violent moments are just that, 'moments', and there is no juvenile dwelling on the pornography of blood, guts, & pain (although there is definitely blood, guts, and pain in our protagonist's life).

Curse of Chalion is Adult Fantasy in a few ways.

first, it is all about the interior life and the slow-burning changes in a broken man. he is a man in constant turmoil - one who lives in fear due to his tormented past and the betrayals that haunt him, one whose path appears to be a slow, step-by-step attempt at staying under the radar while looking out for the interests of those he loves. Cazaril is a hero, but not an easy one. action is not his automatic response (and so when it does occur, it is genuinely thrilling). the reader will find little knee-jerk wish fulfillment in his carefully-considered feints & moves. he is one of the most thoughtful protagonists i've come across in Fantasy and a truly Grown Up, Adult Hero.

second, the pacing is very deliberate. this is not a novel where action jumps off the page in a big rush. it moves at a conservative pace, bringing the reader along on Cazaril's slow journey. it forces you into understanding what makes the man, why he acts the way he does, before finally picking up the pace and beginning Adventure Time - if you can even call such a thoughtful progression An Adventure. it seems almost purposefully designed to throw off the rather shallow needs of the thrill-seeking reader (and i include myself in that group). the book is thoughtful.

third, religion is front and center. there is magic in Curse of Chalion - Death Magic even - but it is linked entirely with the worship of 5 gods & goddesses. it is a painful sort of magic. it is a deep and rich and nuanced portrait of religion. i loved it. the novel's intense and nuanced focus on faith and spirituality was my favorite part of the experience.

and finally, it features the inclusion of a major supporting character who is queer. it did not feel arbitrary, the character is not there as some form of liberal tokenism, there was no stereotypical nonsense to annoy me, and the character and his actions are completely organic to the story - he is not shoe-horned into the narrative. as a queer, i really appreciate this sensitive, realistic, and exploitation-free approach. ...more

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Jul 27, 2007 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I loved this the first time I read it. The second time around, at least a decade later, I listened to an audiobook read by Lloyd James and found myself impatient and dissatisfied with the tale. I read much faster than I can listen, so my impatience was mostly due to the enforced slower pace and I expected to feel it. But I was surprised at how little I liked Cazaril this time around, and how narratively forced I felt his heroism to be. I hated every part of his romance with one of the teenaged g ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 John rated it liked it

I read this a decade ago, but remembered almost nothing about it. I've recently been discovering the Vorkosigan books for the first time, thanks to audiobooks through my library, and as I waited for the next to come available, I thought to revisit this novel as well.

I found it to be well-written, not surprisingly, as Bujold is a mature writer and master of her craft (should that be mistress?). Looking back, I found the opening to be a perfectly crafted and succinct introduction to the world, th ...more

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Jan 12, 2008 Jeffrey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Simply one of the best fantasy novels. A winner in every way.

I can pick it up years after I read it and like it just as much.

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Sep 02, 2012 Steve rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-women, 2012-reading-list, fantasy

The Curse of Chalion is classic fantasy--royalty, palaces, romance, horses, sword play, and more. If that's not your usual thing, will take a bit to get into it. Yet once the story gets going, it's hard not to engage.

The story has demons, religious conflict, curses, ghosts, disgusting Alien I creatures in the belly, matched by good and helpful animal spirits, and more of that as well.

Yet its really the characters that hold the reader--how they respond to all this stuff and more importantly to ...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Adrienne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, owned, bookskype, characters-that-feel-real

I usually don't grumble about the lack of half-stars, but I would have given this book 4.5 stars if I could have. I enjoyed it quite a bit -- but just not enough to give it 5. So. Four stars it is, then, but with an asterisk.

I think the best part of this book for me was Cazaril, our non-traditional hero. At the beginning of the book, he is returning from an unexpected stint as a slave on a ship, and understandably has acquired a lot of baggage surrounding that experience. He ends up as the advis ...more

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