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Book Review: The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
Title: The Hallowed Hunt (Chalion Book 3)
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Published: New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2009 (2005)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 366
Total Page Count: 127,314
Text Number: 370
Read Because: recommended by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
phoenixfalls, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: When Lady Ijada kills a prince in self-defense, Ingrey comes to deal with the corpse and arrest the murderer. But he discovers that Ijada, like Ingrey, bears a powerful animal spirit which possessed her in an ancient and forbidden religious rite. What Bujold does best, here, is character motivation. Characters themselves are strong but unremarkable (the protagonists especially); their journey becomes a god-touched web of politics with powerful twists and climax but a surprisingly lack of emotional effect. But The Hallowed Hunt remains compelling, not because of its characters or events but because of the motivations which underlie both. Bujold's strong narrative, slightly stylized and archaic in a way that suits the late medieval-esque setting, hovers at the edge of Ingrey's thoughts; it turns careful eye on his self-examination and on his discoveries as he navigates a playing field rife with secrets and sacrilege. The same event may be anticipated, occur, and then be recounted to two other characters and still remain fascinating, simply because of the interplay between the events themselves and how, and therefore why, characters engage with and convey them. This was my introduction to Bujold, and while the book itself doesn't amaze me—it's an accomplished work, solid and satisfying, but not particularly memorable—it does make me eager to read more by the author; she has a strong eye for the aspects which interest me most. The Hallowed Hunt itself I recommend moderately. It can stand alone from the Chalion series.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Published: New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2009 (2005)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 366
Total Page Count: 127,314
Text Number: 370
Read Because: recommended by
phoenixfalls, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County LibraryReview: When Lady Ijada kills a prince in self-defense, Ingrey comes to deal with the corpse and arrest the murderer. But he discovers that Ijada, like Ingrey, bears a powerful animal spirit which possessed her in an ancient and forbidden religious rite. What Bujold does best, here, is character motivation. Characters themselves are strong but unremarkable (the protagonists especially); their journey becomes a god-touched web of politics with powerful twists and climax but a surprisingly lack of emotional effect. But The Hallowed Hunt remains compelling, not because of its characters or events but because of the motivations which underlie both. Bujold's strong narrative, slightly stylized and archaic in a way that suits the late medieval-esque setting, hovers at the edge of Ingrey's thoughts; it turns careful eye on his self-examination and on his discoveries as he navigates a playing field rife with secrets and sacrilege. The same event may be anticipated, occur, and then be recounted to two other characters and still remain fascinating, simply because of the interplay between the events themselves and how, and therefore why, characters engage with and convey them. This was my introduction to Bujold, and while the book itself doesn't amaze me—it's an accomplished work, solid and satisfying, but not particularly memorable—it does make me eager to read more by the author; she has a strong eye for the aspects which interest me most. The Hallowed Hunt itself I recommend moderately. It can stand alone from the Chalion series.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.